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Memories of Miriam Alma Moyle
(nee Martin) 1909 - 2000
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I was born on 12 March 1909, the only child of
John and Mary Ethel Martin (nee Nicholls), at
Tregoning Manor, St.Keverne and was given the
two Christian names of Miriam Alma. The latter
was one of the names of my Grandmother Martin -
each of her grand daughters took one of her
forenames, Ada Alma Augusta. We lived at
Tregoning with my grandparents, William and Ada
Martin. Tregoning was a lovely house and, in
history, had strong connections with St.Keverne
Church and the monastery which once stood in
one of our fields. There is a tunnel which the
monks used to use going from the church down
Well Lane to the yard at Tregoning, although
today the river makes further progress
impossible
My father was one of three children born to
William and Ada Martin. He had a sister, Edith
Mary, who married Henry Pascoe in 1898 and a
younger brother, William, who emigrated to the
United States of America in 1907 at the age of
19. On my father's side, I had three first
cousins - Aunt Edie had two daughters, Ada and
Irene and Uncle Willie had one son, Anson. I
never met or knew anything about Anson because
our families lost contact in the 1920s. Ada
married Dinnis Medland in 1924 and lived in
Bude for most of her life until she died in
1993. Irene married Melville Nicholls of Trelan
in 1929 and is still living at Trelan . I was a
bridesmaid at both of their weddings.
My mother's family lived in St.Keverne
village in a thatched house in Trelyn Lane, now
called Coombe Cottage but in those days called
Begonia Cottage. My mother was the next
youngest child of William John and Mary Jane
Nicholls (nee Tripcony). There were eight
children altogether but I only knew her sister,
Auntie Gladys, and her brother, Uncle Richard.
Four of her brothers died before I was born and
her sister, Auntie Lylie, lived at Voguebeloth
in Illogan with Uncle John Downing but she died
in 1918 at the age of 41. My grandmother
Nicholls died in January 1917 and I remember
her funeral. Grandma Martin took me up into one
of Tregoning fields from which we had a good
view of the churchyard; she was buried in the
Nicholls family grave
On my mother's side, I had four first
cousins, the children of Uncle Richard - Ruby,
who died aged 13 in 1919 following heart
trouble as a result of rheumatic fever, and
three boys, Rex, Dickie and Hannibal. Rex died
in 1976 and Dickie in 1975 but Hannibal is
living at Newtown, St.Martin.
The Martin family lived at Tregoning until
1924. It was a lovely farm house with five
bedrooms, a huge landing and two staircases.
The back stairs came down into the kitchen and
was canvas covered but the front stairs came
down into the sitting room and was carpeted and
only used by visiting friends. In the big
kitchen was a Cornish range or slab which had
to be black leaded and the brass polished every
week. The oven had to be taken out about once a
month for cleaning out. This was a large
contraption, covered in soot, soot flying
everywhere. Then a "wad" of straw
would be put into the pit left by the removal
of the oven and a match put to it. Up she'd
go with sparks flying up the chimney and smoke
billowing everywhere outside. After this
marathon event, all the ornaments on the
mantelpiece had to be washed.
We had, in addition to the kitchen, a sitting
room, a parlour ! and a music room. In this
room my father, who was the bandmaster at
St.Keverne, would hold practice for the young
members of the band , so on a couple of night
in the week I would go to bed with a musical
accompaniment. Every Sunday evening Auntie Edie
came down and, while the grown ups chatted,
Irene and I would play around the house. One
favourite game involved the leather sofa with
its head piece. I would sit on this and Irene
would pull me by my legs and I would shoot off
the end of the sofa. Then we would change
places and this fun continued until we got too
rowdy, when Grandpa Martin would tell us off in
no uncertain terms. "Stop that noise you
two".
I always had plenty to entertain me at
Tregoning. My father put a see - saw in the
mowhay and a swing in a tree in the Long field.
There was a large pond at the bottom of the
lane where the village boys came to sail their
boats or to catch eels. I would join them and
all went well until one of them said or did
something to annoy me. Then I would order them
off my property and they would scarper up Well
Lane. Bossy in those days !!!
One of the highlights at Tregoning was
threshing time. The evening before threshing
day, the engine would be pulled by four horses
into the mowhay and slowly manoeuvred into
place. Irene and I would stand on the hedge to
watch this event. On threshing day itself, I
was allowed a day off school - perhaps this is
why I remember it so well.
After school, other village children would rush
down the lane and come to Tregoning. On one
occasion, Edgar Norrish, the local
policeman's son, was by some means or
another cheeky to me but I was the boss on
threshing day. I was not taking any cheek,
policeman's son or not, so I grabbed him by
the scruff of the neck and shoved his head in
the barrel of oily water which was kept for use
with the engine. Edgar went up Well Lane
screeching all the way. See, bossy again !!!
Around my bedroom window was a pear tree and,
each night in the pear season when I went to
bed, I could pick a pear. The William pears
were stored for the winter when we would have
them stewed. There was a very big orchard, full
of apple trees, with a lovely river at the
bottom which flowed into the pond.
Mentioning the river and the pond reminds me of
a story when I was at St.Keverne school. My
school friends were Enid Matthews who lived at
Chenale, Marjorie Wearne whose parents kept the
Three Tuns and Queenie Coad who lived at
Treleague House, just above Tregoning fields.
I usually walked home with Queenie after school
and, sometimes, we would beg a cigarette from
either Donald Uren, Edward Rogers or Willie
Renfree. We would smoke these on the way down
Well Lane and then wash our mouths out in the
river to get rid of the smell on our breath.
This continued until someone told us that Maria
Sawyer, who lived at Laddenvean, used to empty
her slop bucket in the river. This finished the
smoking escapade!!
Many of the days in the summer holidays were
spent at Chenale with Enid. We would walk to
the beach at Godrevy across the three fields
from the farm and, sometimes, I would stay
overnight. It was wonderful to sleep in a four
poster bed with all the drapes attached. I
cannot remember the year but there was a wreck
at Godrevy and Enid and I decided that we would
like to go aboard and have a good look around.
This we duly did but never for one moment did
we think that anyone would see us. However, we
forgot that Mr.Tettemburn would be on the look
out from his bungalow high up on the cliff top
at Manacle Point. He had seen movement on board
the vessel and assumed that someone was up to
no good. We were caught and got a strong
telling off. Enid and I shared digs together
when we went to Helston Grammar School but more
of those days later.
I can recall having been told by my mother of
an incident which happened when I was about two
or three years old. It was at the time of the
two day chapel Christmas Bazaar with which
Grandma Martin was heavily involved. It was
decided that, rather than taking me home to
Tregoning, I should stay overnight with Auntie
Gladys and Grandmother Nicholls at Begonia
Cottage. All went well to start off with - I
went to bed, good as gold, at the appropriate
time, for I was " a good child, could put
her anywhere". At about 3 a.m. I woke up
quite refreshed from several hours of sleep and
demanded to be taken to "Doning".
Everything available was put into action to
pacify me and induce further sleep but I would
have none of it. I wanted "Doning".
Auntie Gladys pushed me in the pram to
Tregoning where my mother was not happy to be
rudely awakened at such an hour. I don't
think that my father complained though -
throughout my life, I could not do any wrong in
his opinion. Many was the time that he caught
me doing something that I should not be doing
and I'd say " I suppose that you will
tell Mummie". To which he would reply,
"I shall the next time" but the next
time never came.
I remember very clearly my days at school,
first at St.Keverne and then in Helston. On my
very first day in the Infant class, Carina
Rickard, who now lives at Ponsongath, took me
to school. Looking back, some of my days in the
Infants were not always happy memories. I
remember the day that my father was called to
Bodmin for a medical examination to see if he
were fit enough to be called up into the
British army. I spent most of the day in class
with my head on my hands, crying, because I did
not want my dad going off to war. When asked by
Miss Boaden the reason for this crying, I
replied that I had got earache. Although he
passed A1, my father was not called up because
of his farm duties and because of Grandpa
Martin's age.
On another occasion I wanted to go to the
toilet, so, following the usual procedure, I
raised my hand but Miss Boaden took no notice
whatsoever. By this time I was getting
desperate so, in addition to the raised hand, I
started to make "sssss" noises to
attract her attention. Only to hear her say
"Will the person makimg the traction
engine noises please sit down ?", which
was the last thing I wanted to do.
Our teacher in the middle school was Lewis
Hayden from Porthallow and, sometimes, on his
journey to school through the fields, including
Tregoning Long field, our paths would cross. If
caught, I would be nabbed to carry his lunch
basket into Mrs.Kelly's house in the
village; she was his cousin and he ate his
lunch there. I tried to avoid him at all
costs!! Mr.Hayden was best remembered for his
pointer, a six inch long stick with a pointed
end, and he had a terrible habit of digging you
in the ribs with it. While in his class, on one
occasion, I was reading my Sunbeam comic in the
private reading lesson when Willie Renfree
snatched Sunbeam from my hand and in doing so
tore a piece out. Quick as a flash I grabbed
his hand and bit it but ,just as quickly, Lew
Tink's pointer came into operation.
When we reached standard six, our teacher was
the Headmaster, Mr. Tom Whale. We had a great
deal of respect for him but he told me, many
times, that his life was made all the harder by
his three terrors - Marjorie Wearne, Enid
Matthews and Miriam Martin. We would get into
trouble for talking to or listening to the boys
in the row behind us ( Donald Uren, Edward
Rogers and Willie Renfree usually) and Mr.Whale
would shout and throw the chalky duster at us.
More often than not, this flying object would
hit my glasses and I would get the full benefit
of the chalk.
Before I relate some of the many stories about
school days in Helston, there are two tales
about my early days which I remember
particularly, one very sad and one exciting.
After school, I would regularly walk home with
Queenie Coad and we often went to each
other's house to play. Her home, Treleague
House, was at the top of the hill going out of
Laddenvean towards Porthallow and we could get
there across the fields from Tregoning. Her
mother, Annie Coad, was a cousin of my
mother's. However, things changed at
Treleague in January 1921 for Queenie's
father, Dick Coad, who was suffering from
depression, murdered her mother and then
drowned himself in the water tank by the
garage. After that episode, I felt uneasy when
Queenie suggested that we go and play in the
garage because I could always visualise Dick
Coad in the tank. This incident really upset my
father because the Coad's were our friends
and nearest neighbours. Sadly, too, Queenie was
later killed in a car accident while crossing
Goss Moor on the A30 in 1939.
The other story involves Grandma Martin .
Although the rest of the family went to
St.Keverne Parish church where my father and
grandfather were bellringers, Grandma always
went to the Methodist chapel and was one of the
convenors for the bazaar tea. She did this job
for years, along with Mrs.Ellen Semmens from
Tregellast. The chapel bazaar was a two day
event - Boxing day and the day after - and
money needed to be collected to go towards the
cost of the tea. This usually took place in
early November and had to be done in the
evenings when the farm work was completed. This
was exciting for I would go with Grandma on her
round of visiting. We would set off with a
candle lantern and on the first evening would
go to Porthoustock and Rosenithon, followed by
the outlying farms on the second evening.
Sunday was a very busy day in our house. I
always spent my Sundays with Grandfather
Nicholls and Auntie Gladys and in the
afternoon, after Sunday School, read the Sunday
Companion and the Christian Herald. I went to
morning and afternoon Sunday School and to two
church services, morning and evening. Auntie
Gladys played the church organ and both my
parents and I sang in the church choir, as did
Uncle Richard from Laddenvean. Mum and I were
sopranos and my father a tenor. We were members
of the Parish Church until 1922 and then, after
a disagreement with Parson Norris, together
with three other families (including the Moyle
- Exelby clan) left the church and changed over
to the Methodist chapel. Daddy and I were soon
invited to join the choir by Mr.Stuart Rule and
I now look back over a 74 year connection with
the chapel.
At the Methodist Sunday School my teachers were
Mrs.Mabel Rule and Miss Katie Giles while
Mrs.Bessie Sowell was responsible for
organising the annual prize giving concerts.
She was a lovely lady and loved by all the
youngsters. We practised in the "Ark"
for such things as "The Mistletoe Bough
" and "Jack and the Beanstalk";
I was one of the soloists and Irene the
accompanist. In the chapel choir my father
regularly sang the tenor solos while I sang the
soprano ones. The choir was strong in those
days and sang all the well known cantatas such
as Stainer's "Crucifixion ",
"Olivet to Calvary" and "Manger
to Cross" as well as excerpts from the
Messiah. As years went by, I became Deputy
organist and , in 1963 when the Rule family
left St.Keverne for Salisbury, took over as
organist. I played the chapel organ for two
services every Sunday up until 1992 and since
then have continued to play for the evening
service.
I became involved in all the chapel events,
including the Christmas Bazaar where I started
off at the lower end by being in charge of the
Lucky Dip. I was then promoted a degree higher
to the choir stall and ended up organising the
cake stall which I continued to do until we
stopped having a bazaar in the late 1980s. The
two day bazaar which I mentioned earlier always
ended with evening entertainment, consisting of
half hour concerts. These were held in the
Infants Room and my dad was the door keeper and
we each paid six pence to go in. These concerts
attracted a lot of local talent and on several
occasions Peter Sandry, the well known comedian
from Helston, came and did a turn. My cousin
Ada, home on holiday from College, would play
the piano for the soloists; she was an
accomplished pianist and could sight read any
piece of music. After her marriage in 1924 and
departure for Bude, I took over from her and
became the official accompanist.
In 1924 I was ordered to bed by our local
doctor, Dr.Spry, with a heart murmur and from
January until March had to have complete bed
rest. I was never lonely as my friends and
relatives each had their visiting days. Auntie
Gladys came every evening and Uncle Richard
every Sunday morning, while Misses Katie and
Thirza Giles, Aunt Edie, the Moyle boys (Hugo,
Charlie, Percy and Billie) and Mr.Sidney
Retallack were regular callers, while Irene
spent every weekend with me. Talking of Sidney
reminds me of when I was quite a young girl .
Sidney was quite a heavy drinker and would go
home to Laddenvean via Tregoning. Many was the
time that I escorted Sidney up the lane to the
main gate as he rambled from side to side but
he was a lovely man.
But to get back to my story. When I was able to
get out of bed and start getting back to
normal, I remember one incident very clearly
because of its sad consequences. On the first
Sunday that I was well enough to attend chapel,
my parents and I had reached the top of Well
Lane when John Thomas went by at a terrific
speed on his motor bike. My father made a
remark that he would get himself killed if he
continued driving that fast. By the time we had
reached the shop opposite the Manse, we met the
horse and trap bringing Mr.and Mrs. Walford
Lambrick to chapel. Sadly, on Laddenvean bridge
John Thomas had been going so fast that he had
collided with the Lambricks and died instantly.
This was in May 1924.
In 1921 I went to Helston Grammar School. In
those days we had to take an entrance exam
which I failed but I went as a fee paying
pupil. Enid went at the same time and we lodged
from Monday to Friday with Mrs.Thomas at 10,
Meneage Road. She was a very kind lady but I
think that we led her a dance because of the
things that we got up to. For example, on one
occasion she said that in the coming Easter
holidays she was going to transfer us to her
front bedroom where there would be more room
for us. So, on one of her prayer meeting
evenings, Enid and I decided that we did not
want to wait until Easter for the move. No time
like the present!! So we started the transfer.
All Mrs.Thomas's clothes were put in our
back bedroom wardrobe and ours put in hers in
the front. When she came back from the prayer
meeting, all had been organised and was under
control. She was very keen to take us to these
meetings but we always made the excuse that we
had too much homework. I think she decided that
we were past redeeming.
At one time a hypnotist came to Helston and he
hypnotised a man from the town _ I think his
name was Littlewood. Anyway, we were told at
school not to visit the Godolphin Hall because
that was where Littlewood was lying in his
hypnotic state. Of course, what did a crowd of
us do ? We visited the Godolphin Hall to see
Littlewood - he looked very pale but peaceful
!!! That night, Enid and I were sitting in the
front room doing our homework and Mrs. Thomas
had gone to her prayer meeting. This evening it
was Enid's turn to go into the back kitchen
to clean the shoes. She was well into this
chore when I shouted " Littlewood is
coming" She shot in exceeding any speed
limit and kicked over the ink bottle which was
on the floor (no biros in those days). The ink
spattered on the painted skirting and over the
lino. Thank goodness that it wasn't carpet.
Then we had the cleaning up to do before
Mrs.Thomas returned from the prayer meeting, a
really marathon task but we coped and by the
time she arrived home everything was okay - she
never knew!
We went to school on Monday mornings in John
Williams' bus - an elderly man, Joe
Southey, who travelled to Helston market every
Monday always shouted when the bus stopped for
us to get off "Change for school". On
Monday when our money was flush we visited a
small shop in Wendron Street to buy pieces of
broken chocolate and in the evening go to the
cinema. Then while funds lasted and after we
had done our homework, we would go to
Lawrence's fish and chip shop, perhaps two
or three times during the week. Chips only, I
hasten to say - funds would not rise to fish as
well. There we would meet two school boys,
Arthur Pollard and Sidney James; they were good
fun to be with.
While at Helston school, I danced in the first
ever children's' 10 o'clock dance
on Flora day and my musical debut was made in
the Godolphin Hall one speech day concert. I
had a strong soprano voice and was given the
part of the "King" in a play written
by the same author who wrote Pride and
Prejudice (I remembered the name of the writer
yesterday but at the moment its gone). However,
I remember a few words which I bellowed across
the hall " Then the brow of the King
flushed crimson, with a flash of angry scorn.
Well have ye spoken my daughter ?"
I've forgotten the rest.
There was no bus to bring us home on Fridays,
so my dad, Enid's dad and Dennis
Hosking's dad (Dennis lived on a farm near
Tregoning) came to meet us. We would start
walking out from Helston until we met one or
the other , whosever turn it was to come for
us. Sometimes we would have a lift with someone
going our way. On one occasion Mr.Edward Rowe
from Porthallow picked us up. Now he was very
posh, well educated and was the headmaster of
Porthallow school. He drove a pony and jingle.
Well, anyway, rather in awe of riding with such
a person we couldn't think of anything to
say. Eventually, I said "Foggy, isn't
it?" Enid hooted with laughter as the fog
was as thick as a bag.
In school we had a lovely shiny banister and at
every opportunity I would slide down this and,
as sure as you're born, there would be a
prefect or a teacher at the bottom when I
landed. We had one teacher, a real lady, called
Miss Wright who had been educated at Girton
College. She would never open a door and, after
a lesson, would wait for one of the boys to do
this for her. Out of sheer devilment they would
make her wait.
I stayed in school for dinners. These were
supervised by Fanny - when my cousin Ada was at
school, she was the headmistress, Fanny
Baldwin. She married the headmaster,
Rev.Hayden, and they lived in a lovely house on
Church Hill. Irene was at school at the same
time as I was but she lodged with a Mrs.White
and her daughter, May. Enid and I kept up our
piano practice by going to a Mrs.Pascoe's
in Meneage Street. I had several years of music
with a Mrs. Woodcock and then a Miss Rothwell
who later married Bentley Tripp.
I was friendly with May White and she used to
come out to St.Keverne to spend the weekend
with me for our Harvest Festival and I would
stay in Helston for hers. This we did until
1930 when she married the Rev. Cyrus Burge. I
went to her wedding. Over the years May and I
lost contact but in May of this year (1996) we
saw her ninetieth birthday in the Methodist
Recorder. She lives in a residential home in
Wales but I contacted the home and now we have
chats over the phone. May was the one who
brought another person into my life by
introducing me to a Methodist minister, Rev.
Billie Gilbert, who was stationed in Helston.
We became friends and eventually got engaged.
The engagement lasted for three years but then,
in today's jargon, we decided that we were
incompatible and broke up.
I have been jumping ahead of myself but I must
come back to my younger and teenage years. When
my cousin Rex and I were eleven we went to
Redruth to stay with a cousin, Ada Johns. She
had a large guest house overlooking the market.
This house had long passages and dark corners
and Rex delighted in hiding and then jumping
out at me, frightening me. We used to go from
Redruth by wagonnette to the beach at either
Portreath or Porthtowan. The following year I
went to Ada's on my own and had a holiday
with her niece Gwen who was staying there at
the same time.
I have just remembered another story to do with
my days at Tregoning. During the harvest time,
Bert Rogers always came up from Rosenithon to
help my dad with the carrying of the corn. To
get to one of our fields was a very rough cart
track. When the wagon was empty, Irene and I
together with any other children from the
village, would ride out with Bert to this
field. He would whip up the horses and drive
like fury over this rough road. Wee would be
bumping up and down but the best part was when
we were allowed to ride on the top of the last
load in.
We also had fields near Manacle View and, when
the horses were required to work in one of
these, I was allowed to ride on a horse through
the village. It was only a cart horse but I
felt very superior looking down on my school
pals. In 1924 my grandparents retired and went
to live with Aunt Edie at Alexandra Villa and
we moved from Tregoning to Trelyn. I was 15 and
another set of memories come flooding back.
Dr.Spry at this time was running Thursday
evening dance classes and, once a month,
"long night dances" from 8
o'clock until 2 a.m. On Thursdays we also
had chapel choir practice, so Mr.Frank Rule and
I used to rush to the dance class straight from
practice. When it was the long night dance I
used to sleep at Alexandra Villa with Irene
and, even after she married in 1929, I
continued to sleep there on a Thursday. I was
also friendly with Doff Furkin who lodged with
Aunt Edie and who was a dispenser at the
surgery.
In my dance days I had a boy friend called
Dunstan Mitchell. I think that I only chose him
because he was a good dancer. Also his mother
gave super Christmas parties to which I got
invited. At one time I was keen on Bob Richards
- he was a bus conductor and I would always
make a point of being in the village when the
nine o'clock bus came in. Bob would then
walk me home to Trelyn. One evening, when we
were at the end of the lane leading into Trelyn
farm, my daddy came on the scene and said that
he thought that it was time I was in. I replied
with the usual phrase "Now, I suppose that
you will tell Mummy". But he never did.
Little did he know that that same evening, as I
was sleeping at Aunt Edie's because of our
summer visitors at Trelyn, that I met Bob at
the top field gate !!!
We took summer visitors at Trelyn for many
years and I still keep in touch with some of
them. The Robinson family came on several
occasions and I still write to their daughter,
Joyce. One visitor, Jessie Hayes,actually had
her baby with us while staying at Trelyn and I
still write to that "baby" Patrick
Hayes who is now in his sixties and living in
Australia with his family.
At about the same time my Mum was taken ill and
was diagnosed as having pernicious anaemia.
Glenys Caddy came to help out with the visitors
and after several years she was followed by
Lorna Evans. Our local doctor, Dr.Spry, was a
very kind man; for several evenings when my
mother was poorly he would walk down across the
fields to chat with her and, as she improved,
he came during the day and often played a game
of bagatelle. Don't get this consideration
these days. In my teenage years my circle of
friends grew. There were still Enid, Queenie
and Margery but, in addition, I became friendly
with Winnie Rogers from Treglohan, Winnie Lory,
Edna Moore and May Cogar. May lived at
Porthoustock and every evening after Rule's
shop closed Winnie (Lory) and I would walk part
of the way back home with May. Then we would
come back and I would go in with Winnie; she
had four brothers, Bill, Dick, Edgar and Henry
and every Friday evening I washed the three
younger boy's hair. One summer, when we had
visitors at Trelyn, I slept at Winnie's
house.
Some time later, May Cogar moved to Helston to
work and Edna Moore came into Rule's shop
in her place. Edna lived at Lanarth as her
father was the chauffeur to P.D.Williams, the
squire of the parish. So then we would cycle
home with Edna. I spent nearly every Sunday
with Edna at her home - her mother was a lovely
lady. We'd go there every Christmas, my
parents and I, and the Moores would come back
to Trelyn early in the New Year.
Winnie Rogers and I were close friends. I was
Matron of Honour at her wedding at St.Keverne
chapel in 1936. This friendship continued even
after she moved to Christchurch to start her
married life. We have had many holidays with
her in Christchurch and we still, after sixty
years, correspond on a weekly basis.
In the late 1920s Gwen Keast came to
St.Keverne as her step father, Percy Job, was
appointed the village policeman. We became
friends, especially when we left Trelyn in 1940
and came to the village to live. Gwen ( by now
Gwen Foreman) lived in the next cottage to us
down Well Lane and we remained friends until
her death in 1988. What of my other friends?
Enid married a naval officer but, sadly, died
in childbirth in 1941. Queenie was killed in a
car accident in 1939 and Marjorie died of T.B.
in 1949. Winnie Lory died in 1995 and Edna
earlier this year. May Cogar died a few years
back in Helston.
Having reminisced about friends and relations,
we now come to the crux of my story - Billie
Moyle - the young boy who, with his
aforementioned brothers, Hugo, Charlie and
Percy, used to visit me during my illness at
Tregoning. He joined my Dad' s band and so
came to Tregoning and then to Trelyn for band
practice. Then he used to visit in the evenings
to play euchre and gradually wormed his way
into my affections. We were married on 3
October 1935 at Helston Wesley by Rev. James
Lewis and went to Torquay and Bude for our
honeymoon.
At this time Billie worked at Porthoustock
quarry in charge of loading stone. I remember a
story, not long after we were married, which
has nothing to do with his work, except
indirectly. Harold Uren, who lived at the top
of the hill in Treskewes Road, always walked
across the fields to Trelyn to meet Billie for
a lift in the car down to Porthoustock. One
Sunday morning Harold arrived and I said "
Why are you here today? " To which he
replied "We are going badger
hunting". If there had been a roof
available, I think that I would have hit it !!
" No husband of mine is going badger
hunting on a Sunday, Harold Uren". And
that was final!!! For ever after that, Harold
always good humouredly called me "goo goo
badger".
There was always plenty to do in St.Keverne
throughout my life. I have already mentioned
activities to do with the chapel, the choir and
the dance classes. I should also mention the
chapel tennis club which flourished in the
1920s. The members included Stuart and Frank
Rule, Irene and Auntie Gladys, Ella Bunster,
Sidney and Janie Roberts, Doff Furkin ,
Florence Birkbeck (the minister's daughter)
and Katie Giles. Our courts were first in a
field at Treglohan and, later, at Trelyn.
St.Keverne Agricultural Show (Show Fair) was
one of the highlights of the calendar. It
started at 10 a.m. when the village band led
the procession to a field near Treskewes farm,
to be followed by the judging of the cattle
and, in the afternoon the horses and the show
jumping. We always had tea on this occasion
with Auntie Edie at Alexandra Villa when it was
"open house" and everyone was welcome
to come along. We also had a village sports
day; we had some very good athletes in those
days , especially Percy Eustice and, later, his
nieces Muriel and Mavis Retallack. I think it
is a pity that these two events have died out.
Some time later I started the village youth
club which I went on to run for seventeen
years. At one time we had over forty teenage
members. I remember that during the War when
there was rationing I was granted extra
supplies and every Tuesday I would make
meringues and a huge sponge for club that
evening. I would often meet some of the members
around the village and they would say
"What about the meringues,
Mrs.Moyle?" We visited other clubs in the
area and on one occasion attended a youth rally
at Porthleven. We held dances in the parish
room and local personnel from the local army
and naval camps attended. In later years I had
the help of Bill Lee, the headmaster of
St.Keverne school. On my retirement I received
a very nice letter from the County Education
officer thanking me for my hard work over such
a long time.
In 1944 the St.Keverne Male Voice Choir was
formed and I was appointed the accompanist with
Billie as the choir secretary. We were very
successful in our early years at competing at
Cornwall Music Festivals and were the only
choir to win the Bolitho Shield three years in
succession.
We toured Cornwall and Devon giving concerts
and, in later years, travelled as far afield as
South Wales. Some of our choir members sang on
two occasions at the Albert Hall in London at
Cornish Concerts. I had 51 marvellous years
with the choir and until my illness in 1992 had
never missed a choir concert engagement. Until
Billie retired from Culdrose in 1975 and we
started to take annual holidays of some length,
I never missed a choir practice. When we both
retired from the choir in 1995 we were
presented with a painting.For over 70 years I
have been involved with the musical life of
St.Keverne but I played an active part in other
village activities as well. I remember the
Silver Jubilee celebrations for King George V
and Queen Mary in 1935 when we had our first ox
roast and the coronations of King George VI in
1937 and of our present Queen in 1953.
In September 1942 when I was pregnant I had to
go into Helston hospital for treatment for too
much albumen in the blood and this necessitated
a diet until Terry was born in December 1942.
After he was born, he was too lazy to feed and
Matron said to me that she hoped his father had
a good job as she could never see this baby
earning his living. How wrong she was!! I was
very fortunate that having a baby did not deter
me from my other activities for Terry was quite
happy staying with my mother whom he called
"Ugga". This was the first word he
ever spoke,
I have forgotten to mention earlier that in
1940 we left Trelyn and moved into a cottage on
the corner of Well Lane. I hated to see our
farm animals go under the auctioneer's
hammer but my Dad's health was not good.
!947 was not a good year for us as a family -
Billie's mother died in January, my Dad
died at the end of March, Auntie Gladys died
two weeks later and in November we lost Auntie
Susie from Laddenvean (Uncle Richard's
wife).
However, I do not want to finish off on a sad
note because Billie and I have celebrated two
very special anniversaries in recent years. In
October 1985 we celebrated our Golden Wedding
when, with thirty relatives and friends, we had
a dinner at the Bay Hotel, Coverack. The actual
anniversary date, 3 October, coincided with the
Harvest Supper at the chapel and the members
put on a special "do". The room was
decorated and a poem was written making
reference to our life together and all the
activities with which we were connected in the
village. Billie's cousins, Merle and Ted
Barnes, even came over from Australia to join
in the celebrations.
In October of last year we went ten years
better and celebrated our Diamond Wedding
Anniversary with an "Open House" on
the actual date and a "get together"
in the Methodist Hall on the Saturday following
when about 150 friends and relations attended.
We invited all the Moyle, Nicholls and Martin
relatives to make it a real get - together and
I am pleased to say that many of them were able
to attend. Billie's sister Edna, aged 91,
came with her family as did his brother
Charlie, aged 90, with his. Our sister in law,
Valerie, Percy's widow who lives next door
and our nephews and nieces from Mabe,St.Columb
and St.Austell, the children of Billie's
brother Percy and sister Ethel, were there. My
family is much smaller but Brian and Mary,
Irene's son and daughter from Trelan, and
my Nicholls cousins, Hannibal and Vera from
St.Martin, Mary and Basil Mitchell from the
village, Russell and Susie Hocking from
Laddenvean and Edna James (nee Moore)
represented my side.
Talking of Hannibal and Russell reminds me of
another story from the past. When Hannibal and
his brothers Rex and Dickie lived at home with
their parents, my Uncle Richard and Auntie Mary
Nicholls at Laddenvean, they had a gramophone.
This was not an old "His Master's
Voice" type with a huge horn but a very
posh square table top model. After chapel on a
Sunday evening, my parents and I would be
invited to Laddenvean to hear, or so they would
say, one of their new records, a sacred one
recorded by a famous singer of the day such as
Paul Robeson. Auntie Mary's mother, Granny
Pentecost, would enter and say "Good
evening Mr. And Mrs. Martin, good evening
Miriam". She would then sit down, bolt
upright, something in the style of the manner
in which Queen Mary used to sit. The boys would
put the record on - not in the remotest way
sacred - but the loudest, jazziest record you
could imagine. Granny would scream "
Sacrilege ! Shameful ! I won't listen to
it". Then the boys would hoot with
laughter. It was a shame as she was a dear old
soul.
As I sit and think back over the years, I
remember so many people that I have known. I
can recall the names of the choir members at
the chapel when Daddy , Billie and I joined in
1922. As time went on some moved away but
others came in to replace them. The names that
come to mind are the two Jimmie Rogers's,
Frank Rule (senior), Sidney Roberts, Bill
Hodge, Bert Rogers, Lewis Morrish, Arthur
Skewes, Johnnie Eustice, John Pearce (grocer),
Sidney Retallack and William James (shoemaker
from Laddenvean) . The women included Nellie
Evans, Annie Retallack, Margaret, Susie and
Gwen Eustice, Winnie Rogers, Winnie Lory, Lily
Rogers, Janie, Annie and Nora Hocking, Ethel
Hodge, Janie Rothwell, Renie Rogers, Gertie
James, Emily Eddy and Susie and Effie Gilbert (
from Trembraze).
When I was first in the chapel choir, we had a
Minister's wife called Mrs.Peet and she
caught the young members of the choir talking
and giggling during prayer time. This dear lady
called around to have a serious chat with us
and to remind us of the need to close our eyes
and be quiet during prayer time. Well, we had
had a little committee meeting beforehand and
had decided on our line of defence. It went
along these lines. "Well, Mrs.Peet, if you
had your eyes closed you would not have been
able to see what we were doing". Case
closed for the defence!!
After evening service we all loved the short
prayer meeting which was good for a laugh
especially if Mr.Willey from Chywoon was asked
to pray. He would start and go like an express
train getting faster and faster. Then suddenly,
like a deflated balloon, he would fade away and
sit down.
Now at the age of 86 with memories covering
much of the Twentieth Century, I have decided
to put my recollections down on paper . Billie
and I are one of the few couples left that were
born and bred in St.Keverne village and,
together, we can recount many tales of village
life from an age which has long gone. We have
seen many changes but have spent happy lives,
including 61 as husband and wife.
The following are a few after-thoughts
When I was about ten years of age, my mother,
Auntie Gladys and I set off for Helston in the
pony and jingle. When we got to what is now the
Community Hospital, a farm implement passed by
making a loud noise at which the pony took
fright and bolted. She galloped, kicking in the
front of the jingle quite beyond control, all
along Meneage Road and into the centre of
Meneage Street, when (and I can still see him)
a sailor threw off his cap, made a dash and
grabbed the pony. He held on for several yards
before bringing her to a halt. We were all
badly shaken and Mummy had dislocated her
shoulder in her attempt to help control the
pony. We went into a little shop kept by a
Mrs.Tresise.
While living at Tregoning, every Saturday
morning I had to take a jug of milk to Bessie
Lory who was our landlady and lived at the end
of the lane. I always had a biscuit and a glass
of fizzy drink of some kind. My mother always
went out to her and they iced their Christmas
cakes together. Her pantry always smelt of
pickled onions although I never saw any.
The stories above and those to follow happened
in the days before my fifteenth birthday. It is
quite a tale as to how I came to have my piano.
Two men lived at Laddenvean in the house by the
bridge, Mr. Penfold and Mr.Loman, and they went
to London and purchased a piano but when it
arrived at Laddenvean they could not get it
into either room as the doorways were too
small. So they offered it to Daddy for
£40. He accepted and went to Helston to
draw out the cash, all the money, every penny
that they had. A lot of money in those days.
Hence my piano.
Now to my days in the Parish Church. Every
Easter the church was beautifully decorated
and, prior to the Sunday, generally the day
before Good Friday, a few of us were allocated
to go and pick primroses. On our return from
this tedious task, we would go into Auntie
Gladys', bunch the flowers and be rewarded
with a smashing tea consisting of her Easter
buns. Now may I add, no one has ever made buns
like hers. They were flat, round, the size of a
tea plate and glazed on the top. I think that
she put beer in her glazing and plenty of
saffron !
I wasn't ever allowed to go out to
Laddenvean to play with the children. I have
never known why, for on my own sometimes could
be very lonely. This was compensated sometimes
by a trip there to William James' shoe
makers shop, either with a pair of shoes for
repair or with a message. I loved listening to
his stories. He would hold all the sprigs in
his mouth and then spit them out one by one on
to the lathe. He'd make boots and shoes of
the finest leather - a grand old man.
Irene and I loved going to Porthoustock to see
Miss Jessie Hill, a step sister to Annie Old
who was a Titanic survivor and a friend of my
mothers, Miss Hill had a lovely garden behind
her cottage where we would play. She would
bring out our tea. This was usually a weekly
event in the holidays.
Transport ! Bill's bus - a very posh affair
with red velvet cushions and Peggy, Bill's
sister, riding on the step. She wore a boater,
like a man's, only it was black and I
don't think that she ever combed her hair;
it was all matted. There was rivalry between
Bill's and Pentecost's, whose bus could
set off first and who had the most passengers.
Bill's horses were never as young or robust
as the oppositions which meant that when we got
to Rosevear Hill all senior passengers had to
get out and walk. On coming back into the bus
Peggy would shout "All aboard, Bill".
Behind what is now Monastery Close was a large
shed belonging to Andrew Williams - this was
utilised on a Saturday evening as a fish and
chip shop run by Kathleen Eddy (Auntie Kath)
and her sister Emily. No fish and chips tasted
as good. This business was later taken over by
Mr. And Mrs. Ernie Sowell in Trelyn Lane; they
also kept a grocery shop where the Jacksons now
live.
Now I'm well into my teens and living at
Trelyn. Every Wednesday I went to Helston for
singing lessons with a Mrs. Courtney Hocking.
She was a very tall, plain lady but had a
lovely voice. On many of these days I was
accompanied by Mrs. Penna, our local
butcher's wife who loved an auction sale.
We would go to the sale, then I would go to my
lesson, and we would link up afterwards and
catch the 4 o'clock bus home.
In 1930 I went to London to stay with Minnie.
Coming down her stairs I slipped and hurt my
back. The following evening we all went to a
service at the City Temple - on getting up to
sing one of the hymns, the pain in my back was
so bad that I fainted and had to be carried
out. End of service!!
In 1968 we had "Songs of Praise" from
our chapel. I wrote the script for Dudley
savage who was the compere and I played the
organ.
In the 1970s Billy and I had three very happy
events - Terry married Margaret in 1971 and
Victoria and Tristan were born (1973 and 1976).
Two events which I hated when we lived on the
farm were the pig killing and the geese
picking. A butcher from Helston would order a
number of pigs. This was a day's event but
oh! The poor things screeching and then
gurgling when their throats were being cut was
awful. Aunt Edie would put her hands over my
ears.
Then at Christmas, Grandma Martin who had a
yearly standing order from the big wigs at
Helston for a Christmas Goose (no turkeys in
those days) would light a huge furnace and boil
water into which the geese were plunged. The
stench of the wet feathers was most revolting -
I can smell it now !!!
Terry
Moyle
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