Tag Archives: Jean Maitland nee Levey

Jean Maitland, Joy Lawry: WWII 1940s

Coastguard cottages 2013

Pump outside Coastguard Cottages 2013

George Warder was bending down filling his kettle from the pump in Coastguard Cottages pathway at 7 a.m. one morning when a German plane went over and shot him in his backside, much to the amusement of his friends. Luckily he wasn’t badly hurt.  It wasn’t so funny when planes went down off the pier. Jean Maitland nee Levey b1928

Most nights were disturbed by bombers on their way to bomb the cities, though we had some stray bombs around here, the Convoys being the attraction.  Our local milkman, survived a machine gun bullet from a passing German plane. The night Cowes was heavily bombed, a house at Bouldnor was hit and an elderly lady killed. Joy Lawry

Jean Maitland: Harbour breakwater construction, 1930s

Piling crew who rebuilt the pier and harbour

Piling crew who rebuilt the pier and harbour in 1930s: photo Jean Maitland

Bob Cook’s grandfather, Bob Buckett, and Jack Payne, Fred Wadham and my Dad, Bill Levey, they put in all the piles for the harbour breakwater by hand. You wouldn’t have had a pier or breakwater if it wasn’t for them. You can see their piling rig in the photo, the crab winch in the background was part of it. See the length of pipe in his hand?
They would push it on the winch brake handle so you could hold the brake on – the handles on them were never long enough. Winching that weight up time and time again, to knock the piles in, that was hard work wasn’t it eh? The times they went in the tide under the pier when they were rebuilding it! Look at the clothes they wore in those days, didn’t have overalls and if it rained they got wet. My Dad fell in, sea boots and all. Good job he was a good swimmer.

I can always remember how the old men used to get down the Spit and Lean on the Quay,  spinning yarns.  You know how these old boys like to yarn.
Jean Maitland nee Levey

Jean Maitland: Early Days playing at the Castle

Wheatsheaf Lane

Wheatsheaf Lane 1930s

My mother used to do the washing for the Simpsons at North House and I used to have to take the washing back down the steps to the big kitchen.

When I lived in the Square we used to play up the Castle and in Wheatsheaf Lane; that was our play area because there were no cars or anything like that. You could go up to the Castle anywhen you liked. We used to love going up there because you could frighten one another to death in the dungeons, and if anyone shut the door you could hear them scream right across the town.
Jean Maitland nee Levey b 1928