Harvesting Endeavour by Myfanwy Cook
WHAT do the arrival of the US army 29th division in Tavistock in 1943, the Tamar Valley AONB, Market gardening, the Cordiale project for Managing landscape Change and the Mining Heritage project have in common? The answer is the voices of the people, and their ancestors who lived through these events and who witnessed at first hand the changes that took place as a consequence of them.
‘Harvesting Time,’* which is a short film featuring the voices and stories of people such as Natalie Allen author of a series of books about the Tamar Valley (Full Circle, Natalie Allen, 2000, N.R. Allen, Saltash) who talks about daffodils, cherry picking and community life. Alec Scoble describes salmon fishing, Stan Ayers and Phil Hutt share their stories about working in the Woodlands, ‘Pop’ Curtis recalls his life as a miner and Mrs Jope and the Preston brothers provide insights into market gardening. Their voices are accompanied by photographs, which have been collected along with the oral history recordings.
However, these ‘voices’ only highlight a few of the rich collection of memories that have been collected over the years. The themes of the projects also gathered information about social, as well as landscape change, in the form of recordings and related ephemera.
One of the watersheds of social change, within living memory, in the Valley came with the outbreak of the Second World War and the ‘billeting’ of refugees in the area, and also with arrival of the US army 29th division.
In 1941 Mrs G.M Cook who’d been blitzed out of London moved to Tavistock to be near her ‘in-laws’ and became a ‘Public Service Vehicle Conductor HH 11499’ and from October, 1941 the secretary of the Western National Social Club Tavistock, the committee of which arranged dances in the Town Hall to raise money for numerous causes like the Red Cross ‘Aid to Russia Fund’. The committee members included many local names such as Sleeman, Jago, Pearce, Penny, Luscombe and Bridgwater. The minutes of their
4 The most recent project resulted in
meetings are a revelation, and show that even in the face of a common enemy life often went on as ‘normal’:
21.6.42
“We agreed to accept both dates (this refers to booking dance dates for Tavistock Town Hall) and run the first for the Hospital, the second for our own British P.O. Fund... Mr Jordan suggested that as everyone moaned about the washing up couldn’t we pay someone to do
it...It was also agreed that we employ a woman for the ladies cloakroom in view of the fact that so much was being stolen at other dances...”
However, other changes were taking place as local families came into contact with people from other parts the World and befriended them. The faces of these people may remain on faded photographs and in
fond memories of those who knew them, but what happened to people like Peter (no surname) the Polish doctor who worked at Plastersdown camp befriended by a local family, or to Sybil Hart the little girl (aged c.7) who was evacuated from Norwood in London to stay with the Paddon family in Gunnislake remains a mystery.
An interview with Mrs Enid Rhys (Née - Paddon) illustrates the willingness to befriend and to adapt to change. Enid’s parents were involved in all aspects of
Gunnislake as Mr Paddon was the head postman. It was the connection between the post office and the chapel that resulted in their
life in
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32