3/1

WARTIME IN DULVERTON / SHOP STAFF CALLED UP / EVACUEES

wartime in Dulverton / staff called up, except Harold Griffiths, the mainstay of the business / mother and daughter, Pat, evacuees in house / friendly with evacuee Jeff Evans, his sister Doreen married John Ridler (Ridlers garage), she was a natural runner / they just got on with it in wartime. [Back to top]
 

3/2

METROPOLITAN POLICE FORCE / RETURNING TO SHOP / MARRIAGE / WIFE JENNY'S FAMILY

left school in 1946, at 17 / servicemen returning to original employers (ie father's shop) post war, so he joined Metropolitan Police Force after national service, with friend Don Fenton from Tenby / resigned two years later when father had gastric ulcer / back to run shop, with mother and Fred Mitchell / other staff - Ron Paviour (family from Morebath, BW recently met his uncle in old folks home in Minehead) / father's op early 50s / BW worked there full time until he got married / meeting wife / wife's maiden name Oxenham, adopted / Granfer Oxenham ferried coal and coach and horses from Lynton to Porlock and Minehead. He died and Gran Oxenham married Jim Smith, whose wife had died very early. JS was on cliff railway for ?29 years. [Back to top]
 

3/3

TAKING OVER PARENTS-IN-LAW'S BUSINESS / RUNNING CAFÉ, GUEST HOUSE AND SHOP / UNIGATE / BUYING MEDWAYS BUTCHERS / CHILDREN / SELLING BUTCHERS / SUPERMARKETS

wife's parents' business / café, guest house and shop / was Priors Cottage, now ?Riverside cottage / taking over parents-in-laws' business / expanding retail outlet, open 7am to 10pm, 7 days a week in summer / sold 50 gals of icecream some days in season / also sold cooked meats and fruit and veg / agents for Unigate who had factory at Torrington, would handle clotted cream, double cream, cheese / catering trade / cream by post, spent £60-70 a week on stamps for cream, not allowed to do it now / sealing tins / comparison between new and old business / Fred Fouracre and Timmo Halsegrove gave up butchers shop so he bought buying Medways business / his sons not interested, Andrew and Stuart more mechanically minded / daughter Kath did some office work / sold butchers when he was 65 / demand for meat changed with advent of supermarkets / supermarket shopping. [Back to top]
 

3/4

WORKING TOGETHER / RUNNING BUSINESS / VAT TILLS / CHANGING VISITOR PATTERNS

Granfer Smith worked at shop for a while after they bought it from them / father also worked there / working with wife - BW did shop and retail side, wife café part / working round the clock / other staff, 4 helping Jenny and 2 in shop with BW / all locals, Sheila Halsgrove a brick / book work / separate tills for VAT / ordering / got dairy stuff from Torrington under contract / refrigerated vans / visitor patterns in the 60s, more foreign visitors now, then bookings for the year done in Feb / advanced bookings changes / a catering headache. [Back to top]
 

3/5

ADVERTISING / FAMILY REPEAT VISITS / LONG HOURS / CHANGE TO VISITOR STRUCTURE / COACH AND RAIL SERVICE FROM SOUTH WALES / COMPETITION FROM THE CONTINENT

advertising in local book / family repeat visits during year, passing info on - Shakespeare from Midlands, Mr Hughes from Lancashire / long hours then / how do people make a living now / change to visitor structure / coach and rail service from South Wales, 7 or 8 coaches at once coming down Countisbury Hill / difference then and now / holiday pattern has changed, competition from continent / VAT comparisons - 5% in France, 17.5% here. [Back to top]
 

3/6

SOCIAL LIFE / EXMOOR MOTOR CLUB / HUNTING / EXMOOR SOCIETY / LYN VALLEY BUS

too busy for social life / Exmoor Motor Club, stopped on marriage / hunting with Dick Rawle's horses / joining Exmoor Society 5 or 6 years ago, giving talk to Barnstaple group on 50 years of retailing / Lyn Valley Bus voluntary driver / mystery tour of Exmoor for visitors from May-Oct, usually finish at Boevy's, Simonsbath / Jenny did commentary, now him / scheduled runs every Tuesday morning to Minehead, registered runs get VAT back / lack of replacement drivers for ageing volunteers. [Back to top]
 

3/7

BARNSTAPLE MAGISTRATE / LICENSING COMMITTEE / FOXHOUNDS WHIST DRIVES

on bench in Barnstaple for 22 years from 1977 / ?becoming a magistrate, Ted Stanbury from the farm [Six Acre] also on bench / put on licensing committee for area for 16 years / running Foxhounds whist drives / applying for licence for 6 in Devon, 5 in Somerset in one year, £10 per application for up to 12 events in a year. [Back to top]
 

3/8

DIFFERENCES NORTH AND SOUTH OF SIMONSBATH / THE BARTON AND GRATTONS DRIVE / CHILDREN / CHILDREN'S SCHOOLING

transition Dulverton to Lynton / familiarity with Lynton, friends already there - Sammy Mellor, Lynton is still Exmoor / has friends living on both sides of the moor / differences, fewer changes over Winsford way to Lynton - Trish Clatworthy, Richmond and Lillian Harding, all part and parcel of the family - the Tuckers at Rock Farm / imaginary line through Simonsbath dividing line, North changes, South not so much / moving to the Barton, Hunters Inn 1982, large house and three acres for young family, stayed 18 years / Simon (son) now lives in Crossmead / moving to Grattons Drive / daughter Catherine and Pete bought house from Mrs Legge up there [16 Grattons Drive] / children's schooling, West Buckland, not impressed with Lynton / son Stuart. [Back to top]
 

3/9

HOLIDAYS / AUSTRALIAN COUSINS / HEAVY WINTER CONDITIONS MOST VIVID MEMORY

personally not bothered about holidays. Jenny's travelled, had holiday abroad with Ann Hobbs and her family / BW not used to holidays, honeymoon in 1960 was the first holiday he had / has 15 cousins in Australia and Jenny has Australian pen-friend, so she might visit / most vivid memory looking back would be the heavy winter conditions of the past, like the frozen ponies.

[RECORDING ENDS] [Back to top]