Tag Archives: Eileen Smith

Eileen Smith: Free Time at Love Shore 1950s

The only problem you had on the beach was the guns going off above you from the sailing.  The West Wight Scows were anchored off Love Shore and Dr Drummond’s, his was white with a red band round it, and was called Pillbox.  They used to race every Wednesday and Saturday afternoon and they had their gun in their little shed at the bottom of the Deacons’  garden. Sometimes they’d never fire the gun, they’d say:  Bang!
They didn’t like us down there because we were shouting and laughing and goodness knows what.  They couldn’t stop us because the lane going down to the shore was a public right of way. We used to walk right through to the next lane, along the stones from Fryer’s Lane right up to the Common. Eileen Smith nee Lansdowne b 1921

 

Eileen Smith: Free Time at Love Shore 1940s

Joy Cotton, Cynthia Lansdowne and Barbara Hayden at Love Shore

Joy Cotton, Cynthia Lansdowne and Barbara Hayden at Love Shore

 In the summer holidays there’d be maybe half a dozen mums with families, my mum, and Mrs Eames, she was the police constable’s wife at Yarmouth, and the Robinsons, down Love Shore, just down the road. We’d pack up picnics and spend all day there. The mums would be down there with their knitting and we’d be down there all the afternoon.  It was a safe beach because you had the jetties there. If you got swept down you went against the jetties. Eileen Smith nee Lansdowne b 1921

Eileen Smith: Free Time: swimming

Yarmouth School Mile Swimming Medal

Yarmouth School Mile Swimming Medal, other side engraved with name Eileen Lansdowne 1932

All of us children learnt to swim at Love Shore or Pier Shore, down the lane opposite Basketts Lane. The boys swam off Love Shore; the girls swam nearer the pier.
We went swimming twice a week in the summer, from the end of May, supervised by Mr. Stanway and Miss White ( who was later Mrs. H Hayles). According to tides, we went swimming at 11.30 in the morning or 3.30 in the afternoon. We used to nip back home to change and run down to Love Shore with a towel round us. No one taught us proper strokes, we just learnt to swim. In September we swam for our certificates – 20 yards, 40 yards, and 100 yards. In 1933 some of us swam a mile from Eastmore to the pier for which we received a medal – I’ve still got mine.
I only swam once in the competition against other schools. I hated it. The private schools had all been taught proper strokes –  crawl – and we’d just learnt to swim along.

Eileen Smith nee Lansdowne b 1921

Swimming Medal awarded for One Mile

Swimming Medal awarded for One Mile

Eileen Smith : St James Church 1920s

On Sundays we had to go to church 3 times, Matins, Sunday School and Evensong. My sister and I used to go up in the gallery, above where our Grandma sat wearing a hat with a wide brim. We’d take little pellets of paper  in our pockets  and flick them down into her hat brim.
Grandad was the verger and for a special treat he’d take us up the church tower. It was exciting going up, but I didn’t like going down. Eileen Smith nee Lansdowne b 1921

View from ChurchTower

View from ChurchTower

 

Eileen Smith: School dentist 1920s

We always knew when the school dentist had arrived – you saw his head bobbing up and down at the windows as he walked along, because he had a wooden leg.

You had a yellow form to take home. It cost 6d for treatment, no matter what you had done. I’ll never forget Mr Cartwright pumping away on his treadle, working the drill.
Eileen Smith nee Lansdowne b 1921

Eileen Smith: School days

Yarmouth School 1927

Yarmouth School 1927

My grandfather went to Yarmouth School, my mother and her two sisters, I did, and my three children.

The last year I was at Yarmouth C. of E. School, there were 126 pupils and 4 teachers; Mr. Stanway the headmaster, Miss Troman, Miss Ireland and Miss Chambers, with the Headmaster’s wife, Mrs Stanway, helping out sometimes.

We started school at 5 years, no matter what time of year, and left at 14. Some people went on to Newport if they passed the scholarship.

Miss Ella Chambers had the first class. She was lovely; everyone was fond of her. If you met her in the town years later she’d say ‘Hello Eileen, – one of my girls.’

Every day we had half an hour’s scripture, and prayers. We had to learn the hymns off by heart. Reverend Marshall came from Thorley once a year to test the senior students. He was a bit deaf and he mumbled so you couldn’t always understand his questions. When he gave the prize, I think he guessed who knew the most.

The boys had gardening and woodwork, the girls knitting and sewing and embroidery. There were cookery lessons at Ningwood Institute for the senior girls – we travelled there by bus. Someone came out from Newport to teach us. We had old oil stoves, with a hob and an oven. Every week there was a draw to see what chores you had to do. I always seemed to end up cleaning the stoves – they were filthy old things.
Eileen Smith b1921