CD1

(64 mins)

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BORN WEST LYNCH, ALLERFORD, 1910 / FAMILY BACKGROUND

Born 15.6.1910, West Lynch, half a mile from Allerford. Lived next door to big house, where Dunns live, and can remember it being built in 1912. Two months premature[?he said 7, but meant 2], weighed 2˝lbs and not expected to live 24 hours so parson came from Selworthy and christened him at home.

Lost father when he was seven or eight. He worked in Tannery at Porlock and ran rusty nail in knee [had leg off, added later]. Died of consumption[?]. Stan was oldest, then had sister and brother, 1˝ - 2 years between them all, he thinks, he forgets all these things. Mother managed to cope, but it was a job, especially through First World War. [Back to top]
 

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MOVE TO BOSSINGTON / ALLERFORD SCHOOL / PICKING WHORTLEBERRIES

Went to Allerford school, walked mile from Bossington. Moved to Bossington when three years old. No compensation that he can remember from father's accident. Schooldays nice. Not many of his age left now. School very nice, two classes. School now a museum. When small teacher called Miss Gill, when in bigger class called Mrs Cox. 94 in school, about 7 or 8 when it gave up, ?several years ago. Fellow pupil Harold Reeves still living, will be 90 on last day of December, about only one he knows. Was friendly with all of them, friendly with Reg Tame, who lived at Bossington.

SH not much of a scholar, liked drawing best. In summer holidays, with Reg Staime and his mother, picked wimberries, worts, on hill - whortleberries or 'hurts' as they call them. Always prayed for rain so wouldn't have to go. Had to go to get enough money to buy boots for school. Used to sell them to woman at Horner, Mrs Courts, and to Harold Reeves' mother at West Luccombe, who would give them 5d a quart. They would send them away for dying as far as he knows.

He would have drawing lessons in classroom, drawing horses, rabbits. He didn't do any afterwards. [Back to top]
 

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FIRST JOB  /HAULING SHINGLE FROM BEACH

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He left school at 13 or 14 and worked for Jimmy Floyd, who had smallholding at Bossington. He would work two horses and go down on Bossington beach and land sand or shingle for Cooksley builders at Porlock. Not always sand there. Had to follow tides, has been on beach at four in the morning with two horses. Couldn't take a lot because heave and beach would keep giving away, only pebble. Would make track with dung plough to get down over, so horses could come up easiest way. Hard work for horses. He would haul it and tip it on grass verge the other side, then when tide was in would load it up and take it round to where they were building houses. Horses didn't often get stuck. If they did you had to tip sand out and let them walk up with empty butt.

After that, about three or four years later, he worked for another farmer, Ern Rawle, who lived at Bossington.

[In his first job] as well as getting sand from beach would have ploughed field. Jimmy Floyd used to grow roots, keep so many sheep and turn sheep on Bossington Hill (which you can see from the window, and the big house). There were no other people working for him. [Back to top]
 

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BOSSINGTON FARM / THATCHING RICKS / SELLING CORN

At Bossington Farm had to put up all ricks, all corn ricks, and thatch them in. Fairly high farm, used to grow corn and everything. Hay would be brought in from field loose and they would make a big rick and thatch it in to keep it dry, with wheat reeds, and put spars (wooden bits of stick turned down, like thatchers use in roofs) every so often to keep wind from blowing it away.

Corn ricks used to stay six or seven weeks to sweat. Then they had old fashioned threshing machine for threshing the corn. He would help carry corn in big two hundredweight sacks, two hundredweight, and he's never been over eight stone [laughs]. After that would take it to Minehead station with horse and cart, and take two tons, in sacks, and load it in trucks to send it off by rail. Breweries used to buy a lot of it for beer. Bossington Farm won championship of world with best barley, years ago.

He didn't do much horse work on Bossington Farm, only mangles and things. [Back to top]
 

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OUTBREAK OF WAR / CULBONE WOOD FORESTRY WORK / HOME GUARD

He left Bossington farm and in 1938, just before war, got job keepering on Holnicote estate, then lost it when war broke out. Holnicote estate used to belong to Acland family years ago. He didn't work on estate very much. Years ago Capt Bridges took shoot (Holnicote shoot part of estate. Before it became National Trust).

When war broke he went to Taunton for army medical but didn't pass, so came back and went on farm. He lost keepering job because shoot stopped in war, it didn't carry on until a few years after.

Then he took job at Ashley Combe, with Earl Lytton, thinning out and felling trees in Culbone wood 

Doesn't remember anything from the First World War years. 

In Second World War he joined the Home Guard, then joined Auxiliary Coast Guard, on life saving apparatus. Has got badge [indicates shelf] for doing 26 years in Auxiliary Coast Guard, life saving apparatus, off Bossington beach and anywhere. Done on dry land.

Was in Home Guard in Porlock area, would patrol different places, top of Porlock Hill. One night big plane went down in wood at Ashley Combe, killed pilot and everything, and they had to go and guard that one. It could have been an American plane. They would stop anyone coming all through the night until the government took the plane away. It looked horrible at the time. Marvellous how it missed the big house, it went just above, right through the trees. They said pilots were hanged up in the trees, but he didn't see it. Doesn't think there were any survivors.

He used to go on shooting range in Horner woods, big range up there where they'd learnt to shoot. It was real fun at the time. [Back to top]
 

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MOTHER / GROWING VEGETABLES / SALTING PIG / VEGETABLE PRIZES

Mother a nice person, looked after the three of them well, especially after his father died. She'd go out and do little jobs sometimes. They ate what they could get. He grew all his own vegetables and potatoes, had practically enough to keep himself through the winter. Farmers very good, would let him put in rack of potatoes out in field. Used to keep pig until about 15-16 score and kill in middle October. Had big wooden salter and salt it all in. One of the butchers would kill it. They would scrape it, the hairs on it, and boil water for scalding, when he was 16 or 17. They kept pig for several years until they - the government he supposes - stopped it. It seemed to stop all at once.

He was looking after the garden before he left school. Used to have lovely garden, one that he could show. Put in 17 entries once at Porlock flower show, got 14 prizes, and 7 of those were firsts [laughs]. For vegetables - onions, carrots, runner beans, lettuce, beetroot - everything you can mention. [Back to top]
 

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BOSSINGTON FARM / MARRIED 1950 / SLIPPED DISK / CULBONE WOOD / PIT PROPS

Was working at Bossington farm when in the Home Guard, where they won the Barley prize. He doesn't know where they sent the barley to win, but it was a world championship. Can't remember any celebrations. Was treated all right at farm, you got ups and downs, fell out sometimes if things didn't go right [laughs]. He lived with mother until he got married, in 1950. Working at Earl Lytton's, Culbone wood, at the time.

Then he slipped a disk and was home for six months in a plaster cast. Thinks he was pulling a stick (tree), trying to turn it over and it gave way and he twisted his back. Has had sciatica ever since, in his right leg.  He was cutting down fir trees in Culbone wood. Culbone wood very steep, on the coast (Porlock Hill), you had to be very careful what you were doing.

They used to sell the wood as pit props and would take pit props to Radstock for colliery and a place called Allontree [?] too, quite far (several miles) away. He would help take it, go and unload it, it would be a whole day's work.

He want to hospital in Minehead to have his corset coat, then had it cut off and had to wear corsets. Minehead hospital all right, very nice really. He had been there before for sinus operation, only about seven days, thinks it was before the National Health. [Back to top]
 

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SOCIAL LIFE / DANCES / WALKING TO EXFORD / HUNTING ON FOOT / NATIONAL TRUST

Used to go to dances for social life. Has even walked to Exford from Bossington for a dance, nine miles, and back again. No trouble at all, they were used to it. Has even walked to Watchet, about nine miles. He could see all right walking in the dark, never carried flashlight or anything. Now can't go out in the dark, can't see at all. Dances were old fashioned ones. They used to have good nights, different to today [laughs], would dance all night until two in the morning. In later years they had a bar so it was better still then [laughs].

Doesn't know what else they did for social life. All sorts of things. Walking, hunting, all sorts. He didn't hunt on horseback, always walked or got lift with someone. Who he went with depended. Walked if it was handy. Well, it used to be handy before National Trust gave up hunting on Exmoor. Has walked as many as 25 miles depending on where they met. [Back to top]
 

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FISHING ON BOSSINGTON BEACH

Used to do a lot of fishing on Bossington beach, catching whatever was in the sea. Used to put night line down on shore, Saturday lunch time. Saturday night, 12 or 12.30, you didn't know what you were going to catch. Had about 22 hooks. One night went down and had conger eel about 19lbs and three or four little dogfish and small ponting at bottom. So he didn't have bait to bait rest of line. Had two hooks, one in middle, one at far end, so cut ponting in half and used it for bait. Went down Sunday lunch time when tide was leaving, could see something big swirling about at end of line. Used to have stakes in for line to run through, so cut out line, took off his boots, pulled his trousers up and guided himself out on the line. When he got out, cut the loophole in the line and pulled fish inshore. Just as he got to the shore, about six feet away, the hook came out of the fish's mouth. It was a 22lb cod. A lovely fish. He cut it up and filleted it. He gave a lot of it away, couldn't eat it all at once. Didn't have fridges then.

Like herrings years ago, with the fish, used to salt them in. Called them bloaters, would take a couple out and fry them. [Back to top]
 

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TRAPPING RABBITS

It's surprising what they used to eat years ago. He used to catch rabbits and eat them, still does. Farmers always like to catch them because they'd eat the corn. A lot of people wouldn't eat them after myxomatosis, turned against them, but nothing wrong with them. He only had one a couple of days ago, he caught it out in the field where they were cutting the corn, machine must have wounded it, touched it, it came towards him and he patted it with his stick [laughs].

He used to trap rabbits years ago, with a friend. Would catch 500 over different nights, 600 or 700 probably in one night, if you put wires down. Used to send them to Derbyshire by train. They didn't give you very much, about 5d or 6d a rabbit. He gutted them as well. They had big hampers with stick through middle and they'd hang down. SH only helped catch them. He would paunch them and bury the guts. Ninety rabbits are heavy too. He's done all sorts of different things [laughs]. [Back to top]
 

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MET WIFE AT HOLNICOTE HOUSE / EVACUEES / MOVE TO HARE PARK / SLIPPED DISK / NATIONAL ASSISTANCE

Met his wife before he slipped disk [unclear whether this was before or after, but they were married when he slipped it]. They were living in Allerford then, moved in 50s. They met at Holnicote House. It was turned over in war for evacuees. His wife had come from near Yeovil to work. Council took it over for evacuees, like Ashley Combe, Dr Barnardos had Ashley Combe, the big house. Evacuees were about 10-12, his wife probably didn't see much of them because it was in big grounds. A lot of local people would have taken them in. They didn't because they didn't have the room to do it.

Moved to No 33 Hare Park, up the road. Have only been where they are 12-18 months, to leave bigger house for other people.

When he had his slipped disk, being off work wasn't really a problem. His uncle did the garden until he got better. They had National Assistance. Had no compensation from Lord Lytton for accident at work. [Back to top]
 

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KEEPERING AT HOLNICOTE / SYNDICATE / REARING PHEASANT

After that he became gamekeeper again, at Holnicote estate. There several years. That was a syndicate shoot. The Bakers from Taunton still have it now. Same shoot as before but different people. The Bakers have had Holnicote shoot about 36 years now and still have it. He still tries to walk around quietly when they're shooting.

A syndicate shoot is 6-12 people together. It doesn't affect local people, or it shouldn't do. A lot of people don't like shooting. All these pheasants now are reared, there aren't any old, what he calls wild, birds, like when he was keepering first. These are reared every years in incubators, bought in at a day old and let out at six weeks.

When he was keepering they used to pick up eggs from wild birds and set under bantam or broody hens if you could get them. Would have reared 600 that way. When you saw hen bird or cock bird, or two or three, you used to put corn in catchers and they'd go in and couldn't come out. Would take them back and put strap round wing so couldn't fly and would put them in six or four cages and they'd lay until they let them go again in June, out in woods. Thinks would have caught about 30 hens. They'd lay 40 eggs each, probably more, you wouldn't think it but they did. Pheasants could live to five or six years.

People still pick up hens now, but they're not wild like they used to be, they're like chicken now.

He started game keepering again about 40 years ago, he thinks - should have written all the things down years ago [laughs], that's where he loses count of everything. And his hearing hasn't improved it at all. [Back to top]