CD1

(63 mins)
 

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BORN LYNMOUTH 1915 / FAMILY / MOTHER'S DEATH / FATHER BOATMAN / CAMPBELL'S SHIPPING AGENT / JOINING TA / VISITORS / SEAVIEW B&B / FAMILY BACKGROUND / AUNTIES

Tom Richards was born at Seaview Villa, 20^th March 1915. When he was 3 years old, his Mum died; doesn't remember anything about her. 2 aunties came to live in the house, 10 or 12 bedrooms. They looked after them. Dad was a fisherman and also coxswain of the Lynmouth lifeboat. 3 brothers and 2 sisters, TR was the fourth boy, 1 sister older and 1 younger, Lena and Grace.

Father was shipping agent for P & A Campbell's Steamship Company; paddle steamers covered the Bristol Channel. He was in charge of the landing and embarking of the passengers at Lynmouth. He had naval uniform, man of great experience.

Father was a boatman; his mate was a shipping agent prior to his death. Dad took on the job, ran it for many years. TR left school at 14, started with the company to learn the business and took over from his Dad when he packed up. Then war broke out. He joined the Territorial Army prior to that, only been married less than a year.

At Seaview Villa, his Dad took in bed and breakfast and catered for people. When his sister was 14, aunties left to go to their own homes and Lena took on the job of looking after them. TR carried visitors' luggage if they had a car and saw them safely into their bedrooms, acknowledged with a couple of pence.

His family was Welsh, traders in the Bristol Channel in 1640. One of them came ashore at Lynmouth, met a girl and came over to live with 2 or 3 other brothers. Built their own houses, Shelleys Cottage, Riverside, for instance. His mother was Irish. His Dad met her in Bristol. TR didn't know his grandparents. His aunties were his father's sisters, 1 was married, the other was single. They came with their family until Lena could look after them. [Back to top]
 

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STARTING TO TALK, AGED 7 / SCHOOL / HOLIDAYS AT ARK FARM, PARRACOMBE WITH AUNTIE GRACE / FARMER GRAHAM

TR went to Lynmouth School. He couldn't speak until he was about 7. Lost the introduction to education. His brother George sat him on the kitchen table and tried to get him to talk every night. Can see no reason why, could hear what they were saying and understood most of the things.

When he went to school, couldn't talk, but his auntie was a schoolmistress there and pushed him a lot. Eventually got talking and they couldn't stop him [laughs]. Rather backward with spelling and everything. TR remembers wanting to answer his brother, vocal cords wouldn't work. He cried when he was a child, made sounds.

To make his wishes known, TR used to tug them if he wanted to go to the toilet. 1 toilet in those days, out the back, for all 12 rooms. Eventually had everything, toilets, hot and cold water. Made friends before he could talk. When he went to school, played football before he could speak. Boys treated him normally. Family did not get cross with him. At breakfast time, sat next to his Dad, loved the brown skin of the herrings. Can't remember the first occasion he started to speak.

About 80 kids used to go to Lynmouth School, unbelievable as haven't got a school there now. Can remember his auntie pushing him quite a lot in the infants' school. Had about a year at the school before he could talk, doesn't think it worried him. He loved school and liked the holidays. Auntie Grace had Ark Farm in Parracombe; they used to go out there for all their holidays. Auntie let them run wild, gave them a good scrub up in the night. Drove the sheep or cows with uncle. Spent their money in the village shop on sweets. On the way back, Farmer Graham used to chase them with his horse just for fun, TR and his brothers and sisters and Billy Parker, his auntie's son. [Back to top]
 

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MUSHROOMS AND WHORTLEBERRIES / AUNTIE ALICE SCHOOLTEACHER / CANE / DAYDREAMING / GEOGRAPHY / GAMES / FOOTBALL / 'KICK HORSE' INITIATION / RAT-TAP GINGER

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The kids used to go out picking mushrooms or whortleberries. Auntie used to sell them in the market. 6 of them used to be picking, got fed up with eating them. Barnstaple market, caught the train from Parracombe. TR did not go but auntie always brought something back for them. Just the children went for the school holidays; rooms in Seaview were let, their bedrooms were used for visitors. Farming was unexciting really compared with seafaring; every day was the same. When boating, every hour changed.

Other brothers and sisters were at school with him, in higher classes bar his younger sister; she was in the same class. Auntie Alice,who was a teacher there, taught him, kept them in trim. They treated her the same as Mr Northcott, the headmaster, with respect. Very strict in those days. Mr Northcott, would cane them about the hands, hit them round the ear with his hand or under the arms when they put their hands on their heads, if they were misbehaving, talking to kids or weren't paying attention to their work. TR was a daydreamer; the woods were opposite the school and he would look over and think of playing cowboys and Indians. Auntie never touched them. Father never hit any of the kids but he shouted at them.

At school TR liked geography best. Imagined he was in boats going to the Mediterranean or Australia. Football was the main game with the boys. Kicked their shoes out. Dad used to repair them. When he could go out at 7 o'clock in the winter evenings, got initiated - friends put ropes round arms, tied to someone's door, 'kick out, kick out horse'. They would run off and leave you. Played rat-tap ginger, bang at doors in the evenings and run away and hide. Didn't invent many games, did skipping. Elder brothers were very good sports boys and he got moulded into their thinking. [Back to top]
 

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FATHER'S STORIES IN THE FIRELIGHT / OVERLAND LAUNCH OF LIFEBOAT

When he was young, didn't have electricity, used to have lamps. Big dining room upstairs, the parlour, lit the fire; kids had to get wood every day from the beach or the woods. Lamps were lit and kids used to lie on the floor. Dad would put his paper down and tell them a story. Wonderful stories, about the overland rescue. He was part of that, the second coxswain, in 1889. Father would sometimes tell stories of the fox and stags and hounds chasing, in the sparks of the fire, and his memories of the rescue.

Post Office had a telephone message from Porlock saying that there was a ship in distress, blowing a gale. Maroons set up to call the crew down to the lifeboat house. It was impossible to launch the lifeboat. Dad, Jack Crowcombe and Mr Petter went back to the PO to decide what to do. Decided to take the lifeboat over to Porlock. People had gathered outside the PO from curiosity; they thought it was foolish to launch from Porlock. A fellow was sent to Lynton for 18 horses, quite an industry up there, and they were tied up to the lifeboat. All the women and kids and men hauled the boat up Countisbury Hill; stopped for refreshments at the Blue Ball Pub at the top of the hill. Women were told to go home and the few men left carried on. Had to break down hedges to get the carriage through. Took 7 foot wide skids with them, pulled the lifeboat over the top of those. Terrible job getting down Porlock Hill. Took part of a woman's garden wall down; still dark but when she realised it was a lifeboat, she helped them down to Porlock Weir. There they launched the lifeboat. Towed the carriage back to Lynmouth. Went alongside the Forest Hall schooner. Got aboard and helped the crew and landed up in Barry for the night. Sailed back next day; a steamer leaving Barry harbour gave them a tow back to Lynmouth. No lives lost. Uncle Bill Richards was the youngest member, 15 years old. 13 in the crew. [Back to top]
 

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FATHER'S STORIES / BARTERING HERRINGS / FISHING / BOATS / RESPECTING THE SEA / BOAT TRIPS / FISHING / SHARK AND CONGER / CHANGES WITH WW2 / CALL UP

Father would tell all kinds of stories, about fishing, how to string out the herring nets and hauling them in. They used to catch a lot of herring and Dad took a lot up to the farmers. In return he could shoot a pigeon or have some turnips or cabbage, bartering really. He went fishing with TR's uncle and Bill Hawkins. He had his own boat called the Shamrock; he had the Donald later on when they got motors.

Campbell's relied on the agent to report the weather conditions.  Had to use discretion whether you landed passengers or let them go on to Ilfracombe.  People sent back by bus to Minehead to pick up the steamer if they got stranded at Lynmouth. Father never got into difficulties out at sea. He used to tell TR that the sea was the boss, to always respect it. Father had a 26 foot boat to carry 26 passengers; bigger ones later on. Campbell's had their own boat to carry anything up to 30 passengers. Motor boats towed the packet boats, they didn't have engines.

Touting; passers-by would be asked if they wanted to go for a boat trip round the bay. 6 or 7 other boats would be doing the same, owned by the people. The same boats were used for fishing, herring fishing in the winter and deep sea fishing in the summer for skate or shark, dogfish. Herrings were the main thing caught. Before the Rising Sun Hotel was built, they used to cure the herrings; storage for fish. Shark fishing was for sport. Used to catch hundreds of conger; cooked for 2 days with vinegar and bay leaves and then could eat bones and all.

Main fishing finished about the start of the second war. Most of the fellows got called up. TR got called up in September 1^st 1939. [Back to top]
 

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OLD LYNMOUTH / FILLING STATIONS / VISITORS / STEAMER TRADE / TAXIS / CLOTHING

Practically all Lynmouth would have revolved around the fishing industry. Only a skeleton now of Lynmouth. Old Lynmouth had a school, Little Ham[CHECK] (which got washed away) was just alongside the school, rows of houses got washed away in the flood of '52, 5 filling stations, 2 bakers, 2 cobblers, building and contractors, painters and decorators.  It was a fairly big place, but most of the houses got washed away. Had everything they wanted; even had seamstresses.

The visitors would go hiking over the moors or for day trips on the steamers. TR was the agent at the latter end of the steamer trade; would not travel himself. Lynmouth was very cut off but had lines of communication by sea. People of Lynmouth did not take advantage of that, stuck to Lynmouth, relied on visitors all the time. For special occasions, asked for a pass to go on the steamer for nothing,

When TR started with the firm, there were 13 steamers, 2 or 3 each day coming in, landed quite a number of passengers and embarked them. They would catch the horse and carriage or early buses and go up to Watersmeet, Lynton to do shopping and the Valley of Rocks. Some would come and stay; busy on Saturdays. If they came with their luggage, would take the cliff railway to Lynton or get a taxi. Several taxis in those days.

People would wear suits and summer dresses on the steamer. Sailors would help them down the ladder. When his father was doing it, they wore long dresses. [Back to top]
 

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LYNMOUTH FLOOD

Friday August 15^th 1952. TR was in his 40's, father in his 80's. TR was living at the Esplanade Cafe, he and Peg had got married and bought it; his father was in Seaview.

Pouring with rain in the morning. Friday never exceptionally good day from a cafe point of view. TR said to Peg to take the children, 2 girls about 5 and 7, to Barnstaple. They caught the cliff railway up and caught the bus. Steamers there and TR was Campbell's agent, so got the chaps to put extra ropes out; he thought a big river would be coming out.  There was no river coming down, coming out red but no force. East and West Lyn. He couldn't understand why it hadn't come out in flood.

About 7 or 8 o'clock in the evening, things began to get worse. Cars, buses, bedding, doors were getting washed away down the road. Afterwards, he realised why there was no flood; trees were across the bridges and the build up of flood behind. Later on in the evening, he told Peg and others to go back into the Pavilion; not safe to go back to the houses. They stopped there the night. TR went on rescue jobs during the evening. The crash and noise of the flood was terrible. Just frames of house next morning. It was heartbreaking and petrifying. With a flash of lightning the tower had gone. There was a heavy thunderstorm.  Instinct told him what to do. Told his family to climb up to Lynton if anything happened, though it wasn't necessary. [Back to top]