CD2
 

(56 mins)

2/1

KEEPERING / HAROLD REEVES / GROUSE SHOOTING ON DUNKERY / REFRESHMENTS

He walked around when he was game keepering, walked as many as 25 miles a day. Hard work too. Different altogether today, they drive round in landrovers. There were other people game keepering with him. He worked with Harold Reeves (West Luccombe) once. HR took over gamekeeper's cottage at Holnicote when other fellow left, so worked with him for two or three years then he gave up. SH could have taken over house and been head gamekeeper, but he thought 'if anything happens I'll be out and wouldn't have anywhere to go', so kept under game keeper all the time.

They reared pheasants and partridges, but not many partridges. Used to go grouse shooting on Dunkery, used to be grouse moor years ago, hardly any at all up there now. Same syndicate would have gone grouse shooting. Good days that was, walking miles and miles round Dunkery. SH would have been beating, so many of them lined across the hill, 14 or 15. Beating starts at end of cover, guns one end spread out. They would beat with a stick, a rubber flag on a stick to make them go forward. Used to be more walking on Dunkery, and would have dogs to pick them up.

[INTERFERENCE - COUNCIL HEDGECUTTER IN BACKGROUND]

Syndicate people very nice, all pretty good. They used to bring their own food, would have place at Holnicote for lunch, beaters, seven or eight, in one place, them in another. Beaters would carry their own lunch. Syndicate people would drink at lunch time, whisky or something or other, but wouldn't drink much. Always brought flask, bottle of whisky or sherry.

One of shooters now lives near Minehead. If SH goes out and watches and he sees him he says 'Stan, here, have a drink' and takes out his flask, always cherry brandy. Always asks him to drink, has done for years, doesn't matter if he's only walking. [Back to top]
 

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GAME KEEPING AT HOLNICOTE / SHOOTING SYNDICATE / REARING PHEASANTS

He keepered for several years, must have been 10 or 12. After he finished, when he retired at 70, he worked for HF (Holiday Fellowship) at Holnicote House for several years in garden. HF is walking people, or touring. Holnicote House taken over by fellowship, must be ?40 years ago. Before that was lovely house, still is, it's a big place. Like big house at West Lynch (which he remembers being built) - some German people have bought it now and made it into flats he believes.

After he met his wife, Gwen, they walked around, went to dances and different things. Then had a family. Married in Williton Registry Office. Neither of them wanted church wedding and it cost them so much at the time, you had to look two ways at it [laughs]. That's why he moved from Bossington to Allerford, because there wasn't any sanitation at any of the houses in Bossington, you had to go out to the garden to go to the toilet. The Trust have had them done up now and bathroom and that put indoors. Before would boil water in old fashioned furnace and have a tin bath. Hard work that was. And then they moved to Allerford and what a difference, had bath, toilet and everything. They are now in council property, built on National Trust ground. [Back to top]
 

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SUNDAY SCHOOL / CHRISTMAS / CHAPEL / FAMILY / 90^TH BIRTHDAY

Had little Sunday school at Bossington, still have chapel there now, but only get four or five on a Sunday, not sure why they keep it up.

Christmas when young very quiet, not like today. Would have stocking and orange and tuppeny bar of chocolate, couldn't afford anymore. Now today they want a £5 note [laughs], what a difference. Same with farming, you don't want to touch anything because it's all done with implements, that's why there's no work for people.

He had a coronation cup when he was one year old, George VI. They had fete at Holnicote, that day, like they did everywhere, back over the years [interrupts himself to comment on hedge trimmer noise outside].

They were Wesleyans, used to go to chapel in Porlock a lot. The first wedding in Bossington chapel was when his daughter was married, never been a wedding there before. Thinks they had to have a special licence, not sure, wife could tell you [laughs]. Had all the christening down there. Still a chapel there, wife goes every Sunday, only about four or five. Like Bossington - fairly big, but hardly anybody goes now.

Own family - has four girls and two boys. Oldest [Esther?] lives at Porlock, looks after old people; other daughter, Wendy, lives in Minehead, works in hospital, Shirley in Taunton, Robina (Beenie they call her) at Old Cleeve. Andrew still running around, not married, and youngest son is up in the Lake District, a shepherd. They all met for Sunday before his 90^th birthday for celebration at Ealeys[?], where Esther works, in Porlock. About 30 of them, having food and drink and everything. And that was that. [Back to top]
 

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WINTERS OF 1947 AND 1963

He thinks winter of 1963 was worse than 47, though there was more snow in 47. All Porlock Hill, all the telephone lines were down. All the sheep ate every dry leaf in Culbone wood. There was nothing else to eat, they would eat everything. Lost a lot of sheep back then.

63 was when he was game keeping. All fields up on high ground, you could walk over the fences. Had so much frost with it. Frost killed everything, thousands of birds. Didn't kill pheasants, but small birds. You'd go round where the corn ricks were and see the birds dead, starlings, by the hundreds. That was 63. A lot of them got frozen to the ground.

Game keeping was hard work. Good job it did freeze because you were walking on snow and ice all the time. Otherwise. like 74, you'd be walking on snow all the time and sinking in.

That was a bad year. Even the Horner river was frozen. He walked from Bossington bridge to New bridge. They were shooting the covers opposite, and he walked all the way up to New bridge on ice, half a mile. Even the sea was frozen at Bossington beach (can see from here).

Not so much in the bird line killed in 47 but a lot of sheep lost, buried. But in 63 the frost killed the birds. Even sparrows died in it, as a rule they'll live through anything. But where there was a corn rick or hayrick you could see them frozen on the ground. It never picked up the same, not like it is now. [Back to top]
 

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ALLERFORD FLOOD, 1962

Not affected by weather at time of Lynmouth flood, but in 62 had big flood in Allerford, one Saturday, when he was keepering. He was in the paddocks the other side of the stream, the Aller, just below Holnicote House, and all at once flood water came raining torrents. As he tried to get across to come up to Holnicote House he nearly drowned [laughs]. He went across field that fast[?] and wished he'd stopped other side of stream because could have go home. He never got home till ten past eight that night and that was five o'clock, couldn't cross anywhere. Packhorse bridge at Allerford, it was right across road, about 4ft up house on corner, nearly to window and round back of packhorse bridge, and all the gardens. Dreadful mess. He couldn't get down to lower Allerford.

He went to Bossington to try to cross (Lynch, where he was born) and couldn't there. So got back to Brandish Street, before they put the new road (about half mile away), and who should come along but Tom Cook from Culbone church (smallest church in England [laughs]). He came along in landrover, his chimney was up. [tells story of how they got through flood]. Can't remember what time of year. He was a lucky fellow, hadn't got far to go, his house was the other side of the field.

Village OK once water dropped. Horse in horsebox at back of packhorse. It washed right down against packhorse[bridge]. [Back to top]
 

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STRUCK BY LIGHTNING

He used to look after fishing for Holnicote House. A man called Crotton Wood [?] had shooting in those days, before SH was keepering. SH used to look after Aller, the river from the sea to New bridge, looking after the fish. There was another thunderstorm. He went to Holnicote paddocks t turndown the fenders in big fish ponds (fenders were metal ones which you could wind down or up, which stopped the water). He was on his bicycle, good job had rubber boots on, as he got to bus shelter where used to be big elm tree, about 3ft across, there was thunder and lightening and as he passed al he can remember is that his bike folded in on itself, lightening came down the tree and struck the bicycle. He was on the ground on his back, doesn't know how long. Arthur Atkins, at the post office at the time, was going to big house at Lynch to take Sir Gonne Pilcher to Taunton station and he picked SH up. He was shaking, what an experience. Would have been dead if he'd had hobnail boots on. [Back to top]
 

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ALLERFORD CHANGES / BLACKSMITHS

Allerford hasn't altered since his childhood. There was post office and blacksmiths. Mr Kent used to do all shoeing, when he died Freddie Kent took it over, he died couple of years ago, went to school with SH.

When he went to school farmers would send horses to be shod and someone would come down and ask for him to ride horse home for farmer. He just had halter, no bridle, bareback, would ride down to Bossington farm [laughs].

Blacksmith made fireplaces and would fix sticks if you broke them, or sharpen pickaxe. Mostly welding today [interference from hedge-trimmer again, offers cup of tea]. He rode a lot of horses home. Rode one home one night, as far as Bossington bridge. They'd been haymaking and a bit of hay had come off and rolled up the road. He was galloping, horse stopped dead and threw him. Never hurt himself.

Post office and shop same as it is now, used to sell vegetables and things. [BREAK FOR TEA] [Back to top]
 

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HARBOURING / STAG HUNTING

SH helped harbour deer with Lionel Scott, who lived Porlock road, used to farm down Exe valley, next farm to Warner Robbins, near Coppleham Cross. Sometimes they would never harbour them. Left home at 4 o'clock in morning. Harboured one once [laughs as he tries to remember where], straight across from Great Ash farmyard. Would stand still with field glasses. Another time if you haven't found anything you'd take a walk and try to slot them, look for the big slots. Sometimes very successful, but not always. When the stags are boeving and you haven't harboured one you take a walk, through the bracken, and hear the bushes cracking, where the stags are horning the bushes, so you try to see what the stag is like. Then Lionel would go back and tell the Master where it was, leaving SH watching to see where it moved away. Sometimes they will. Then you tell him and they'll take tufters and lay on the last place he saw it.

Stag hunting is something he's always been used to, like shooting and game keeping.

He would follow hunt in landrover. Some days you'd get in the kill. Hasn't been hunting for two years, since National Trust stopped it on Dunkery Beacon. Thinks doing away with hunting will be the worst thing they've ever done - look at the unemployment they will have. Being in at kill is something you get used to. You get a crowd round waiting to have some liver of kidneys [laughs] or a slot. They open deer and get down into innards, give liver and kidney away to anybody nearest to where they are cutting it up. Generally give heart to people land belongs to, if they're there. [Back to top]
 

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COASTGUARD

He was a volunteer coastguard for 25 years. Used to fire rocket out in sea, which would reach boat, then would have breeches buoy on long rope and bring people in and save them. Only did it once, in the war. A barrage washed in, pulled its anchor on black rocks between there and Porlock Weir. Went down to save them, but doesn't know what happened after, or where they came from.

Then big tanker three miles off Porlock Weir blew up during war, could only stand and watch. Done with German mine he believes. No survivors, couldn't have been. A lot of planes going over high up, nothing he could do about it. Fire so fierce you could see it from Allerford. Burnt for two hours.

Didn't get called out very often. They would do practices down on beach. Put line and rocket out and have tree or something so they could pull breeches buoy out. Somebody would go down and jump in it and they'd haul it in. Doesn't know why he volunteered. Thinks there must have been eight or ten of them. Stopped after he had the medal, sent to him by Coastguard headquarters he thinks. Everybody had one who'd done 25 years service. He'd done 26 before he had his.

[END OF RECORDING] [Back to top]