The first phase - covering most of the 1950s

In March 1951 my father was off deep-sea fishing which in those days meant being away for several days.

My mother asked him, if their imminent first offspring arrived whilst he was away, if she were a girl, what should she call her.  

In reply my father, as he left the flat, poked his head around the door and said in a girly voice "Jennifer".  This was quite appropriate - as at that time there was a precocious little girl on the radio with that name (on 'Ray's a Laugh' with Ted Ray) - but it was really only a joke.

The family story is that my mother did have me before Jack came back from his fishing trip (11 days early) and did call me Jennifer!  So did Dorothy have the last laugh?

Jack with his firstborn

For my first year we lived on the Antelope, a converted Brixham Trawler, moored in Mashfords Boatyard in Cremyll, opposite Plymouth.  But the sad thing is that I remember nothing of it.  At least, however, we do have a few tiny black and white photos of life on board.

Dorothy at the helm, November 1948

Auntie Dorothy with Bunty and baby Rob.

 One of my favourite photos

 Rob and Jenny in the saloon

Rob and Jenny on deck

The following year we moved to the Barley Sheaf, Liskeard, a town pub.

I still have few memories of that time, except seeing our cat stuck up the tree in the garden; our neighbour opposite used to do dressmaking for people and had a wonderful scrap bag which I loved delving into; being in hospital after having my adenoids removed (in the days when visiting was allowed for one hour per week, on a Wednesday afternoon if I remember rightly); seeing men in the street with partially lost limbs (from the Second World War, which had finished fewer than ten years earlier); having a lovely dolls' house made out of a cardboard box (nothing fancy in those days!); one day, after a storm my father was mending a window and I came along to 'help' and cut my arm, scar still there.

Enjoying lollies in the Garden with Stewart

I started school at the local Liskeard Church Primary School at four and a half and wore a red dress with polka dots. The loos there were outside and the noise from them was very loud and frightened me, so I used to wait and go at lunchtime, well most of the time I waited, once it was too late!

Just before we left Liskeard I came down with appendicitus and was rushed to Plymouth Hospital in Dr Eckersley's black car for it's removal - we were the first on on the ferry (before Saltash Bridge built), first off - very exciting.

Jack and Dorothy's presentation on leaving of Barley Sheaf 1956

On return home from the operation we had moved from Liskeard to live at Menheniot Station at the Sportsman's Arms as my Grandfather had died.  
This pub had been bought from the Coldrenick Estate by my Grandparents a few years previously.  I can remember visiting my Grandparents when very little and my Grandfather was always up in his room, not very well, and gave me a wagon wheel.  He died (heart attack) in 1956 and so my grandmother was on her own running the pub.
I understand that Frank and Gwen went over there to help, and then my parents relinquished The Barley Sheaf and moved over to The Sportsman's to help.  They had made some money on their tenancy and ploughed that into the new pub as the new pub was struggling.
I can remember my mother making lots of pasties every day to sell (the pepper made her sneeze and she often had a dab of flour on the end of her nose) about 70, with help!

I was put to bed whilst the pub was open and remember the reassuring murmur of voices down below. My mother would come up during the evening to check on me, I used to look out for her red cigarette end coming towards me in the dark when she came up to say good-night (and probably to rest her legs, as she used to lie on the floor and put her feet on the side of the bed).  What was difficult was going to sleep when it was fully light and I can remember standing up on the window seat one night and watching a flaming sunset.

In 1956 we went up to Barnstaple to collect the newest member of our family: Sooty!

As you can see he was a great friend and very gentle. (Just behind where we're sitting I slipped one day and cut my eyebrow on the corner of a beer crate and the scar's still there.)  One of his passions was carrying around a big piece of wood and if there wasn't one, then he'd pull one up - even tried a huge tree stump! Many's the time we saw him carrying his piece of wood along the road and no cars could pass as the chunk of wood was so wide. People didn't mind waiting in those days.

The Sportsman's Arms had four garages ranged along the back of the Car Park. I used to play in one of them, and at the bottom of the car park was an old wall which had belonged to the Police House many years ago.  I loved to walk along the top of the wall, it was quite sturdy and probably held together by the ivy which grew all over it as one day I was showing one of the residents my new skill - and fell off, cut my head open and we had to rush to the doctor's to get me stitched up.  No more walking along that wall was allowed.

A lovely long walk to school, well it seemed a long way at the time but I measured it recently and it's about two and a half miles, along lanes with high hedges covered in wild plants and flowers and we often found tiny strawberries to eat.  Very little traffic so safe.

The infants part of the school was near the school field at other end of village from main part of school, we had lunch in the school Hall down there too.

Junior, three classes, first Mr Osborne? Nature table , cupboard etc written on them to help us to learn.
Play was in the triangle outside the Church, which now has a low retaining wall.  It often seemed to be wet play but I don't remember much snow, but lots of rain.

Friends Ruth Stevens, Ann Gilbard and Jill Gilbard (relation?) and another girl, can't remember her name.
Often played at Lower Clicker Farm, where Ruth, lived with her parents and older brother, Dennis.  Used to play in the hay in the barn and one day tried cow cake, not too bad.

One summer's day Ruth, Jill and I had just walked under the railway bridge on our way to school when we were attacked by a nest of wasps which had just been infuriated by some boys poking a stick into the hive.  The wasps all came for us.  Luckily Charles Babbage then came along on his bike and went back to fetch my mother.  She ran down to us and frantically tried to pull the wasps off. I can even remember now how it felt to have her grabbing them out of my hair - and they probably stung her too, although she's never mentioned it.  Being nearest to the hedge most of them went for me, with my head being covered in wasps and a few stung elsewhere, Jill had about 12 stings and Ruth about 4.

My father was quite good at bowling and one time won Bert the pig.  We kept him in the garden and fed him scraps and when the time came Dad took him along to John Stevens at Lower Clicker Farm to be slaughtered.  The meat was then preserved (no freezers in those days).  This was quite a success, so the next pig was Sam.  Many people had been encouraged to keep pigs during the War years and so still had the skills.

Every morning I was sent outside to play, as were all children in those days, something to do with fresh air and to enable mothers to get on with their chores.  Anyway, often Bunty would give me half an orange to suck on as a snack - or an Oxo cube, which would never be encouraged these days because of all that salt.

It was quite a big garden to play in, including visiting the pig and playing with the cat (all Bunty's cats were called Pooh) - and Sooty - and watching the trains.  Every time one went by we (Judith was sometimes there, also Rob and John) waved but I can only ever remember one lot of people waving back, they were servicemen on their way to Plymouth.  People often used to wave at planes in those days as they were a comparatively rare sight.

Judith and me playing on the garden swing with the railway bridge over the valley in the background.

On the road towards Menheniot Village, just on the right past the tunnel under the railway line, was a narrow, very steep field. we loved to wander down through the wild flowers which were nearly as high as me, right to the bottom where there was a stream.  It was like a wonderland.

Photo of the entrance to that magical place - taken 2011.

Dorothy - clothes

walk with rob and john, rob fell in cow pat so Rob wore my knickers and cardi and I kept my dress....

Quarry, explosions regularly. Men came in for a drink after work.

Norman (Horman to Judith!) the Foreman  next door in detached house, then row of Council Houses, then Lower Clicker Farm on the end.

Station and quarry opposite.

So lots to look at.

lower juniors 3, middle 43 pupils (two years 4/5), top 6 Mr Rundle.  Favourite teacher Mr Osborne (met his granddaughters years later when I was helping with Guides at Honicknowle).  Middle teacher (woman) shouted, to keep 43 children in order? I found it frightening.  Noisy class with so many children.

things labelled in lower - cupboard, nature table etc.

walked to school, pretty, quiet. Strawberries in hedge - tiny, wild.

new sign for pub - Sportsmans Arms - man with gun aimed, painted.

Went to Scarborough by car 1956 - Suez Crisis - petrol stations all run out of petrol, raining.

Clothes from Judith, hand-me-downs from her father (America?) - esp favourite - grey gingham with side pleat of borderie anglais with red ribbons - b/o, ribbons collar.  Grey shoes to match, with bar and holes stamped out of front.

Also another one (see picture) with built-in cape.

I couldn't sing so was set to listen to younger ones reading, there were about six of us.  Ironic as many years later I was in both choirs at school.

Bullied, esp on last day at that school, boy hands round my neck.

then off to Hessenford and boarding school - but that's for another day ...