county gossip . air Minister drops in for a chat . a royal air force helicopter of the Queen &apos;s flight put down some distinguished visitors to the U.S.A.F station at Daws Hill , High Wycombe , on Friday last , chief among whom was the air Minister , the right Hon Julian Amery . accompanying the Minister on his visit , which also included a tour of RAF Upper Heyford , were air Chief Marshal Sir Edmund Hudleston , Vice-Chief of air staff , Sir Maurice Dean , permanent under-Secretary of state for air , Mr John Roberts , the Minister &apos;s private Secretary , air Marshal Sir Douglas Jackman , co-ordinator of Anglo-American relations , air ministry , and squadron leader Peter Scott , personal air Secretary to Mr Amery . the Secretary of state and his party were greeted by Major-General Charles B Westover , strategic air command &apos;s 7th air division commander , who talked over with the Minister the command &apos;s activities and mission in the United Kingdom . never a dull moment . the life of a headmistress in school is not all sunshine and brightness , said Miss K A Walpole , of Wycombe Abbey school , when she presented her last annual report at the school &apos;s speech day on Friday . Miss Walpole , who retires at the end of the year , said there were shadows even for a headmistress , with the care and administration of a school . but she had loved the life . there was never a dull moment for the head of a community of 400 or so people . one never knew what the next day would bring forward - it might be a challenge . sad goodbye . appointed to the school in 1948 , Miss Walpole said it would mean a sad goodbye to many friends in High Wycombe . she had received much kindness from borough councillors , education officials in the county and the Wycombe division , and local school heads . Miss Walpole , who told parents and visitors that she could look back over 40 years in the profession and 27 as a headmistress , heard words of tribute from Sir Ambrose Dundas , chairman of the school council . Sir Ambrose said that at school speech days Miss Walpole had paid tribute to staff , girls , parents and members of the council . I will n&apos;t say these tributes are not deserved , he said but you have never once paid tribute to the person to whom a lion &apos;s share is due - yourself . regiment &apos;s visit . the county regiment of Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire , the 1st green jackets , 43rd and 52nd , at present stationed in Wiltshire , will be visiting the parent counties during September , the free press learns . detailed plans are still to be made but it is likely that the tour will start in Bucks in late August , when a rifle company group , including mortar and anti-tank detachments , will be here for about ten days . there will be public displays and the men of the regiment hope to challenge local clubs at various sports . supporting the company will be the regimental band and buglers and a demonstration drill squad . a number of other activities are to be arranged to coincide with the visit . honours list . Viscount Curzon , chairman of Bucks education committee , and Dr G W H Townsend , county medical officer and chief welfare officer for Bucks , were congratulated at the June meeting of Bucks education committee on their award of the C.B.E in the Queen &apos;s birthday honours list . Col F W Watson said Lord Curzon &apos;s honour was one much deserved , not only for the work he did in the county but outside also . Lord Curzon offered the committee &apos;s congratulations also to Dr Townsend . among other awards in the Queen &apos;s birthday honours were - Mr Frederick Hugh Dalziel Pritchard , Secretary-General of the British red cross , of Gerrards Cross , made a C.B.E ; Group-Captain Angus Archibald Norman Nicholson , of Lakes-lane , Beaconsfield , C.B.E ; and Lt.-Col William Cavendish Carter , R.A , of Sandels-way , Beaconsfield , O.B.E . now he is their leader . a man who joined the High Wycombe squadron of the air training corps as a cadet in 1941 , soon after the unit &apos;s formation , on Monday became its new commanding officer . pilot officer Edward Maddox , aged 36 , of 26 Squirrel-lane High Wycombe , took over command of no 332 ( High Wycombe ) squadron from flight Lieutenant Harry Drinkwater , who is leaving the High Wycombe area after receiving a civil service promotion . pilot officer Maddox , who is married , with one daughter , left the A.T.C with the rank of leading cadet in March 1943 . he went straight into the royal air force , did aircrew training in the United States and received his pilot &apos;s wings . towards the end of the second world war he flew unarmed Stinson Reliant aircraft on communications and air-evacuation flights in the Burma theatre of operations and left the R.A.F with the rank of warrant officer pilot in April 1948 . in September , 1959 , he received a commission in the R.A.F volunteer reserve training branch and has since served as equipment officer of the High Wycombe A.T.C squadron . a technical representative with the High Wycombe firm of Richard Graefe Ltd , pilot officer Maddox is also treasurer of High Wycombe Wye Valley angling club . plans for future . the man he succeeds , flight Lieutenant Drinkwater , lives at 12 Shelley-road , High Wycombe . married with two daughters and a son who is a member of the Marlow squadron of the A.T.C , he is employed at the High Wycombe valuation office . flight Lieutenant Drinkwater , who served as an administrative officer in the R.A.F from 1940-46 including tours of duty in Sierra Leone , Nigeria and the Gold Coast is a former adjutant of Marlow A.T.C squadron and a former commander of no 757 ( Vectis ) squadron in the Isle of Wight . present strength of the High Wycombe squadron is well over 40 . there were seven new recruits at Monday &apos;s meeting and the unit hopes next spring to take possession of a new-type cedar hut , designed specifically for the A.T.C , which will be erected in the area of High Wycombe territorial army barracks . musical barge . when the American symphony orchestra arrive in Marlow on July 15 they will use an 18-foot barge as their auditorium . at the regatta enclosure at Marlow the 65 musicians will play from the barge , which has large flaps 100 feet long by 60 feet to provide a stage depth of 32 feet . the craft , built at Dartford for the orchestra &apos;s Thames tour was specially designed to negotiate the river &apos;s lock and bridges . it is also equipped to give a fireworks display after each performance . established at Pittsburg , U.S.A , in 1957 , the orchestra has played in many countries of the world , including Japan , Mexico and China . when the orchestra arrives in Marlow , the musicians hope to be entertained in the homes of local people . Marlow urban council has given the visit every support and appeals have been made for residents to entertain the players . so far 60 of the 65 players have been guaranteed accommodation . exchange visits . the 27 teenagers and three adults who are visiting Amersham from Amersfoort , Holland , at the end of July , for an official seven-day visit , have been invited to bring over their national costumes to wear at one of the two parties organised in their honour . one of the parties will be on the day after they arrive , on July 22 , at Amersham community centre . Amersham ladies &apos; circle have offered to provide refreshments on that occasion . the other party will be in the form of an official farewell on July 27 , the day before they return home . a party of a similar size will go with them from Amersham for a stay in Amersfoort . at the final party Amersham inner wheel will provide refreshments , and plans are being made for an exhibition of Scottish dancing . finishing touches were this week being put to the programme for the visitors . Amersham estate agent and historian Mr L Elgar Pike , is taking the party on a history tour of the district by car . reading trends . although the Prime Minister , Mr Harold Macmillan , and other commonwealth Prime Ministers , have been among the borrowers of books from Princes Risborough &apos;s branch library , the public seems less keen on reading , the library &apos;s annual report reveals . the number of books issued has dropped by 10,000 compared with last year . closing of the library on Wednesday morning probably accounted in part for the decrease in the number of books issued , but the extra morning enabled more time to be given to administrative work , as a result of which new books have been more quickly circulated , books needing repair have had more regular revision and readers &apos; requests have been speeded up . more people have been using the library as a source of information , especially children , and the library has also played its part in the recreational and cultural life of Princes Risborough . last summer the library served as a point of contact between a lecturer from Oxford University and people likely to be interested in a class in modern literature - and such a class was successfully launched in the autumn , books for the class being lent from the library &apos;s headquarters . social and personal . a 21-year-old Prestwood man , Mr Roy Taylor , son of Mr and Mrs J E Taylor , of High-street , Prestwood , has gained a first class honours B.Sc degree from Leeds University . three years ago he won a county scholarship to the University from Dr Challoner &apos;s grammar school at Amersham . he is planning a career in engineering , starting with a year &apos;s spell with a Leeds firm . Mr Brian James Bond , only son of Mr and Mrs P H Bond , of Ferry-lane , Medmenham , a former head boy of Sir William Borlase &apos;s school , Marlow , has been appointed tutor in the department of history at Exeter University . he graduated at Worcester College , Oxford , in 1959 , and is at present a research student at King &apos;s College , London . bright prospects for a bigger Wycombe school . officials and supporters of High Wycombe show , taking heart from the present brilliant summer weather and the bright forecasts of more to come , are striving to make this year &apos;s show in September bigger and better than ever . it will be the first show since the appointment of the new secretary , Mr Wilfred Heritage - former High Wycombe police superintendent . and his all-consuming ambition at the moment is to put the show on to a firm financial footing . a bad-weather spell last year cost the show a credit reserve which had been slowly built up , and a committee was appointed to explore ways in which funds could be raised during the year . it has made a good start . but still it must be emphasised that to ensure the show &apos;s continued existence for the general benefit and advertisement of the town and district , more subscribing members and vice-presidents are needed . officials feel that they must have a regular income on which to rely - lessening their dependence on the weather . this year the show will stage the southern area finals of the foxhunter competition , the winners going on direct to the main show in London . the green jackets will stage a marching band display , and there will be , among other attractions , a session of American baseball . already there is a demand for trade stand space , and in the horticultural section , always a strong feature , there will be some new exhibits . new deputy Chairman . the approval of the Lord Chancellor is being sought for the appointment of Mr John R T Hooper , a well-known barrister and resident of Chalfont St Peter , as a deputy chairman of Bucks quarter sessions . this was announced by Sir Arthian Davies , chairman , when the midsummer quarter sessions opened at Aylesbury on Monday . Mr Hooper , he said , had been a practicing barrister for some 20 years and had had considerable judicial experience as an assistant recorder and as a member of the midland circuit . Mr Hooper lives at Beech Lawn , Chalfont Heights , and earlier this week was appointed a member of the Beaconsfield magisterial bench . new tractor his prize . a Little Marlow farmer , Mr Richard Barnes , of Wood Barn Farm , will have a very happy visit to the royal show at Cambridge on Thursday , July 6 . there , on the Dow agrochemicals Ltd stand , he will meet Ted Moult , farmer and B.B.C personality , to be presented with the first prize which he has won in the know your enemy competition organised by the agricultural chemical firm . 