The King of the Belgians' annual Fete was celebrated towards the end of that year. It was tinged with sadness for Grace, as her old friend General Clooten, was to be replaced as the Belgian Area Military Commander. There was a service in the Cathedral as part of the Fete, and Grace, who had had been given a prime seat, watched Clooten come in with the new General and a group of VIPs, and , she couldn't help but notice: "came out first - all alone –"
Later that afternoon he made a surprise visit to The Mess at Belgian FANY Unit 5, There he was welcomed by the FANYs, who knew how much he had helped them in so many ways, He made a long and moving speech thanking the FANY for all they had done for L'Armee Belgique, and Belgium.
After lunch next day, Grace went up to General Clooten's house to say her personal goodbyes. It was very obviously an emotional meeting, a parting of great poignancy for her. From their first brief meetings in the chaotic time of siege and evacuation of Antwerp and Ghent in 1914, their relationship grew with mutual respect. He had been commanding the Belgian 7th Division then, and when Grace returned from England, he was Commandant of the Belgian area of Calais.
There is a sense of grief and almost despondency at their farewell. She writes about it at some length in her Diary. 'He was so kind and nice and is so sad about going." He opened up his heart to her. "He said he had been married very young - at 20, and his wife was 19 – but they were very much in love and were still and they had always been together and now for 3 years he had to live alone. – He was very sad, and says he goes from here to - he knows not where, to live in hotels or rooms - alone."
There is so much anguish and distress in the words of this tired old man, heavy responsibilities on his shoulders, unsure whether he will ever see again the wife he loves so much. Here they are, Belgian General and young Scots girl, in a foreign land, both separated from family and friends in their respective countries.
Grace continues; "He said beautiful things about our work & what he thought of the FANY & then I cried & he cried & he kissed me on both cheeks & said it was 'le baiser d'un Bon Pere' - & I just squeezed his hand and pressed it to my lips and ran away with tears rolling down my cheeks & he stood with his eyes brimming over – Poor old Gen Clooten – I am so sorry for him – and he has been so very good to me always."
As she was leaving the house, her old friend Colonel Dieu-Donne ran out to greet her and shake hands, but she couldn't face him just at that moment, writing "I made Marples drive off quickly."
And so they parted, each deeply saddened, to go their different ways, their paths dictated by the immutable exigencies of war.