Another 'how It Was'.

[JennyMorgan]

I don't know when this picture was taken but I would guess it's either side of WW2, most likely just after. Back then wearing a 'yotty' cap was taken quite seriously & I can remember my mother's humour regarding my dad's. The same could be said of white, wool roll necks which my mother was good at knitting, a number of dad's friends had them too. I would like to know the location of this one, if any one has any idea. Dad & his fellow 'lads' would start their season at the annual Coldham Hall Regatta before moving onto, amongst others, Wroxham, Oulton Broad, Beccles and Lowestoft Regattas. That was a time when the Broads had Royal patronage with Prince Phillip and his crew, Uffa Fox, also visiting various regattas. On one occasion, at Oulton Broad, Phillip & Uffa entered the annual 'ladies race', both wearing woolen mop heads as wigs. My involvement, as I was only a few years old, was to be Uffa's baby! Phillip had his own baby by way of Prince Charles. Of course it was seen as an absolute hoot, especially as Uffa was trounced by a real lady. Prince Phillip would often visit his god-son who back then lived beside Oulton Broad.

Back to the picture, five boats being towed astern of each other, one I recognise as a Waveney One Design, back then dad owned W6 (Orchis), the rig of one of the others suggests that it might be an Oulton Broad Rater. The crew are, now all departed, were local, well to do businessmen. I remember two of them plus dad. It was the life back then, fishing and sailing interrupted by the occasional regatta and work. Mind you, dad did work incredibly hard but then he played hard too.

The tow boat was, I believe, a rather tasty motor-yacht called Dympsil, I think I've spelled that correctly. My parents lived aboard her at Beccles during the worst of the East Coast bombing raids of WW2, Lowestoft being targeted almost daily at one time.

[JanetAnne]

You really do need to write those memoirs Peter.

[ChrisB]

Beautiful picture Peter. I really worry about passing such photographic history on to following generations. There are billions more photographs taken in this digital age, but how many ever get printed? How many will be lost when we go? Dad's old phone, chuck it! Old PC here take the hard drive out and hit it with a hammer and put it in the rubbish! I am sure that on a family level the box brownie will leave more to history than the billions of digital devices in use today.

[grendel]

my father has all his digital images catalogued and saved to disc

[JennyMorgan]

The gentleman in the foreground wearing a 'black top' was actually a 'pongo' during the war and apart from the occasional dalliance with his yotty cap at regatta time always wore his black army beret, even when at work at his Ford dealership.

[keifsmate]

Dare one say "Where the Army goes, the Pongos"?!!!

[Vaughan]

6 hours ago, keifsmate said:

Dare one say "Where the Army goes, the Pongos"?!!!

I was told that there is only one thing that will get lost quicker than an Army officer with a map, and that is two Army officers with a map.

[TheQ]

Black beret, Royal tank Regiment?

Grandad was RSM of 7th RTR during WW2.

 

I'd definately agree with JennyMorgan writing his memoirs..

[JennyMorgan]

2 hours ago, TheQ said:

Black beret, Royal tank Regiment?

 

I don't know although I do know that he was a fine mechanic/engineer who suffered acutely from seasickness yet he and my father regularly went sea-fishing during the winter.

[JennyMorgan]

9 hours ago, keifsmate said:

Dare one say "Where the Army goes, the Pongos"?!!!

Probably not, don't want to upset 'em!

[JennyMorgan]

Whilst I'm Broads born & bred I did have a few years down South as a sailing instructor, bosun and delivery skipper. I'd had two years working in London as an illustrator, a job I loved but I was never at home in London. Great place for the weekend but as a home for a single country boy it was not much fun. 

One incident, as I sailed along Bosam Deep at the end of the day, really brought it home as to where my home really was. Bosham Deep is the channel that runs from Chichester Harbour to the delightful village of Bosham. The channel also provides mooring to scores of big boats that need deeper water so they remain afloat at low water. I was tacking up the dyke with the tide under my keel, dodging in between the moored boats, cutting close under their sterns , knowing that both wind and tide would help me keep clear in the event of any problems. As I cut under the stern of a rather tasty yawl a very clear voice rung out from the coach house, 'we don't consider that to be good practice'. Not a royal 'we', just a general observation. I gybed round and held my position just off her quarter and responded by saying: 'From where I come from we consider it good practice. we neither waste wind nor space'. The lady laughed and said: 'Ah, a Broads sailor, come alongside'. So along side I went, I like the camaraderie of the sailing community. Turned out that the lady was just that, born a few doors away from my home at Oulton Broad, her father had been chairman of P&O Steamers, she'd learned to sail on a Broads One Design, as well-to-do City families did back then.  There I was, 150 or so miles from home and I almost bumped into another Broads sailor!

My wife to be used to drive down to Bosham for the occasional weekend and one evening we were sat chatting in the much preferred spit and sawdust of the local Anchor Bleu pub. From the other side of the stand-alone chimney breast that we were sat against a voice called out; 'One of you is from Lowestoft, the other is from Oulton Broad'. Lyn, my wife, is Lowie through & through but because I had picked up a fair dollop of the Sussex drawl most of my customers accused me of being from Canada which I really didn't understand, nor appreciate. Great, someone got it right! Turned out that he lived about half a mile from Oulton Broad. Lyn & I were amazed!

Another time I was well offshore, well out into the English Channel, sailing a Wayfarer Dinghy with one of the other instructors on our day off. We encountered a very nice motor sailer when a very, very Norfolk voice hollered out: 'Dew yew keepa throshin bor', it was Harry Last, then land-lord of the pub at Coldham Hall, what a small, small world!  Life was not going to let me forget my beloved Broads. 

 

[SwanR]

Wonderful writing, makes for a very interesting read.

[ChrisB]

Two views for Peter of and in Bosham.

Locking out of Chichester Yacht Basin Birdham Pool in the distance.

Early morning calm in the yacht basin.

 

Not exactly sure when or if I will return. Chichester Harbour has a few too many happy memories for me now I am alone. Maybe in time, who knows.

 

[ChrisB]

Two views for Peter of and in Bosham.

Locking out of Chichester Yacht Basin Birdham Pool in the distance.

Early morning calm in the yacht basin.

 

Not exactly sure when or if I will return. Chichester Harbour has a few too many happy memories for me now I am alone. Maybe in time, who knows.

 

[JennyMorgan]

Hello Chris, thank you for those pictures. Bosham was a joy for me and my wife to be. My wife and I always regarded Bosham as where we courted. It used to take me three and half to four hours on my BSA Bantam for the journey so we took it in turn as to who made the journey. We loved it dearly and for a number of years we did return but non of our old friends are there now. Mary & Barry in the Anchor Bleu for example, last time that we went there was no one who remembered them or the great friendships they provided. I used to ring the church bells down there, our Tower Captain, a lady who wore sensible shoes & Brylcream, who had been a wall of death rider in her past, has also gone. Our lock-ins at the Anchor Bleu with the Bishop of Chichester sat in our midst were legendary in their day, long forgotten to all but a few of us old 'uns. We spent many a happy hour across at Birdham in company with a young Branson aboard his houseboat. We both have such good memories of Bosham, we loved our time down there dearly. Maybe memories are best, maybe we won't be returning either, especially when one of us inevitably looses the other. 

[ChrisB]

Small world Peter. Bosham, Itchenor and Dell Quay was where we courted. I had a Triumph Herald convertible, followed by a Spitfire MKIII. My dad owned a caravan park near Pagham that was purchased as a land bank for his building company so we stayed in one of the mobile homes. Wonderful, carefree times. 

[JennyMorgan]

The world gets even smaller, my wife to be had a Triumph Herald albeit a hard-top. Itchenor wasn't a favoured watering hole for us but Emsworth, Langston and Dell Quay were high on our list of regular stop-offs. When I finished at Bosham I brought home a Bosham Scow sailing dinghy on the roof of the Herald, it looked like an enormous snail on wheels. We had her for several years until our second child was born. I largely rebuilt her before selling her back to Bosham where she really belonged, that was back in 1976. I often wonder if she's still about but she was old when I bought her.

[ChrisB]

I just looked at the photos again. Look at the photo out of the coffee shop window in full size and I spy a Drascombe Coaster. That must be a great boat for the harbour and overnighting out at East Head.

[JennyMorgan]

That Coaster belonged to a friend of mine, a fellow member of the Drascombe Association. His idea of heaven being to sail down to East Head for the weekend. He once set off for the Isle of Wight, was going past Hayling island and was as sick as a dog, he stayed in the harbour after that. In my time East Head was congested at weekends, more recent photographs, ooh dear, talk about rubbing shoulders. One of the boats that I had access to was a Fairy Falcon, same as the renowned Charles Stock's Shoal Waters, six or seven inches draft with the plate up, nowhere we couldn't or didn't go.