Tag Archives: 1920s

Harbour: Jim Cooper 1920s – 1960s

Coming in to wooden stage at Sandhard to avoid toll

Jim Cooper coming in to wooden stage at Sandhard to avoid toll

It was a basic dinghy shape.  They called it a ‘lanch’ the old boys, so that differentiated it from a rowing boat.  It was bigger and it had a net board in the back.  In the transom, six inches below, there was a net board about two foot wide which we used to lay the net on when we were shooting nets out the back of the transom.  It was a very wide boat and the oars he used were about ten foot long, huge big ash oars, they weighed a ton, I couldn’t lift them.

In those days he made a little bit of a living on pout which these days is much maligned.  ‘Sweet little pout’; my mum still says now, ‘Why can’t you get me a sweet little pout?’
It’s like a mini cod, the same flesh, same family.  He used to catch those.

When we used to go out we used to row down to Fort Vic., go out in the tide. You remember those old iron wheelbarrow wheels with a spike in the middle? He used to have one of those, that was his anchor and a big bit of grass rope and he used to chuck that over and he used to have the oars ready. They’d get to where they wanted to go and drift back, and let a bit more rope out;  so they stopped and then they fished, and all they used was line, about three or four hooks on the bottom and garden worms.  They’d catch a few pout and then they’d run out, or they hadn’t caught one, then they’d trip the killock [small anchor]. Pull the anchor up a little bit, let it go, give it a shear with the oar now and again, and drift in the right direction to another bit of ground.  And they’d do that all the way to Bouldnor. There was about three or four places where they stopped.  And of course by the time you got to Bouldnor inshore, the ebb was down again, so you had the tide back the other way.  Alec Cokes b 1945

Palma Ault: Services, Gasworks, 1910s, 1920s

My grandfather used to come on a coal barge to the Gasworks and used to bring his daughter, my mother…. who met my father, Harry Holloway, who lived in Yarmouth, and so they were married.  Harry was in the Navy in the Med for 2 years and I was named ‘Palma’ after the Palma in Majorca. Palma Ault nee Holloway b 1927

Bridge opening for coal boat

Bridge opening for coal boat

Shops: The Square, Mills, 1920s, 1930s

Mills, it was a lovely shop! Inside there were counters all round with marble tops. They used to grind their own coffee, and we children used to stand and sniff the smell….umm it was good.

There were wires around the shop with a bag that they used to put the chit in for what you had to pay. That ran to the glass cashier’s cubicle. Ruby Meaning nee Mussell b 1915

Ruby Meaning nee Mussell: Shops, Mills Tea Rooms

On the corner in the Square was Mills Tea Rooms ( now ‘Blue’) where you could see all the lovely cakes and buns they baked. We used to press our nose against the glass to see which ones we’d choose. My favourite was the one with coconut on it. Ruby Meaning nee Mussel b 1915

Joan Cooper: Shops, the Square 1920s

When I first left school, I worked in the local post office, then moved to Kelsey’s confectioners.  Tobacco was sold there too and Lord Seely would come in to buy his Balkan Soubrani  – insisting on me serving him.  My aunt was Assistant Matron at Cheam School where Lord Seely had been a pupil, –  Prince Phillip went to Cheam School too.
Joan Cokes nee Cooper b 1918

Eileen Smith: Free Time, Brownies and Guides 1930s

Eileen Smitth , Effie Pitman:Brownies at Wootton 1929

Eileen Smitth , Effie Pitman:Brownies at Wootton 1929

My aunt was one of the original Girl Guides and I joined the Brownies. The year after I joined, we had a coach trip to Wootton to meet up with other Brownie groups. Effie was there too.
On Armistice Day and Empire Day at school, we were allowed to wear our uniform. There was a big British Legion then too, and they used to have an important Armistice Day ceremony. One year I was the flag bearer for the guides, I was so proud.

On summer evenings, we used to go down to Rofford’s Field, and cut out a turf and make a campfire to cook our supper. Oh it was lovely! We used to wade in the marsh, sometimes with the mud right over our wellingtons, and collect moorhen’s eggs to cook.  They were like pullets’ eggs, gorgeous. There weren’t coots, only moorhens. Eileen Smith

David Biles: Free time, Point-to-Point races at Tapnell

Biles family at 1930s Point to point at Tapnell Farm, Yarmouth.

Biles family at 1930s Point to Point at Tapnell Farm, Yarmouth.

In the 20s and 30s, the Isle of Wight Point-to-Point races, run under Jockey Club Rules were held at Tapnell Farm when Colonel Jennings farmed there. The course had to be over three and a half miles of hunting country, and the horses jumped broad lane as part of the race.

Jack Seely, Baron Mottistone’s, famous horse ‘Warrior,’ which survived active service throughout WWI, was winner in 1921 and 1922.

One year, Harold Biles won on Edamite, a horse he later sold in Southampton for £300 – an enormous price in its day. Edamite went on to take 3rd place in the Foxhunter Race at Cheltenham and was eventually sold for £2000!

Eileen Smith: Trips and Treats in the lifeboat

During Cowes Week the families of the lifeboat crew used to have a wonderful treat.
On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday during Cowes Week the Yarmouth lifeboat went to Cowes to take people out to see all the liners and naval boats visiting Cowes, anchored offshore, and all the grand yachts like the ‘Victoria and Albert’. The Bembridge boat did the other days. It raised money for the RNLI.
The families of the crew were allowed to travel in the lifeboat to Cowes, leaving Yarmouth at 9.30 and returning at 3.30. We used to have the first trip out to see all the grand boats. Then we children would paddle a bit and eat our sandwiches whilst sitting on the Green watching all the boats. Sometimes the sea was a bit choppy, but we didn’t mind. We loved our special week. Eileen Smith nee Lansdowne b 1921

Phil Kelsey: Free Time at Sandhard 1920s

Sandhard 1950s

Sandhard

One of our trips was to go to Sandhard with my mother and the rest of the family.  We used to get in the boat down by the Mill.

 Sometimes mother got in if it was reasonable but she didn’t often.  George and perhaps the rest of the kids rowed over to Sandhard, dumped them off, then rowed back to the bridge. There used to be a landing stage right in the corner there and we used to get Mother in there and take her across. We used to drop her off there because, probably by the time we were coming back, the tide would be gone out.  It was awkward to get out down the Mill so we used to drop her off there, and one or two of us used to come and scrabble up over the wall down the bottom. Phil Kelsey b 1920