Upon entering Dover Castle a distinguished guard, while looking at my hat, asked, "May I answer any questions for you?" With that introduction commenced a most enjoyable and informative personal guided tour of the historically rich castle. At the conclusion of our tour I didn’t know if I should thank him for his kindness, offer a gratuity or just disappear; so I said, "Can I do anything for you?" As we talked during our tour Marcelle and I told Victor a little about ourselves, and it came up that we had attended high school with, and had been personally acquainted with, Elvis Presley. On our previous trip when we told people we from Memphis, Tennessee we were frequently be asked if we knew Elvis; so on this trip we carried our Humes High School 1953 Yearbook — with Elvis’ graduation picture with a friendship endorsement to me next to it. We had copies of the signed picture to give to those who wanted one. But Victor, instead of requesting an Elvis picture, said, "I certainly am attracted to your hat band." We assured him we would send him a similar one upon our return home, which we did.

Over the years we continued to correspond with Victor and learned more about this remarkable man. Some of Victor Yeakes’ talents included a remarkable storytelling ability, an exceptional talent for writing both prose and poetry, an artistic ability to illustrate by cartoon, and the unusual hobby of participating in an all-British organization known as the "War-horse American Union Cavalry Society," where he held the rank of Commissary Master Sergeant. He was very proud of his outfit and he sent us several photographs of himself and other members of the society in full-dress American cavalry uniforms, circa 1860. Their organization was (and still is) very active in their fascination with the American Civil War. They didn’t just read about and discuss the events; they actually recreated the times and battles by collecting and making authentic uniforms, armor, wagons and other equipment appropriate to their re-enactments.