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TOM
RICHARDS
Born:
Lynmouth, Devon,
1915
Lived: Lynmouth
Recording made: 2001
Length of recording:
2 hrs 45 mins
To read a summary of the contents of the oral history recordings click CD1, CD2 or CD3.
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Tom Richards is a modest man. He didn't speak until he was seven. His mother died when he was three. His father was a Lynmouth boatman and shipping agent for P & A Campbell, who ran paddle steamers. Of an evening the children would lie on the floor, imagining pictures in the firelight, while he told them stories about the overland launch of the lifeboat, when he'd been second coxswain. In the daytime they'd tout for custom among the visitors to fill the guest houses, their father's among them.
When he was 14 he joined his father, eventually taking over as agent. He spent the night of the flood with other boatmen, helping people get to safety, until it got so bad they couldn't do any more. He was married to Peg by then and they had bought the Esplanade Cafe, which survived. She was the highlight of his life, he says. He has been a freemason for over 50 years.