HERE we go with some more Milford memories, melodramas, fishing and feedback starting with this email from Jean Buckingham.
"Hi Jeff…good to see a picture of the old town hall team in the days of MHUDC, when we very successfully ran our own affairs.
“Horace Howarth, the town clerk, pushed for completion of the new town hall, and transferred into the new building just before war was declared in 1939. He was very worried that if it was not occupied, it would be requisitioned for the war effort.
“Our town hall was the finest in west Wales and very much envied.
“1939 MHUDC had already built the outdoor swimming pool, and the Rosebush Reservoir, supplying water to Milford, and allowing Haverfordwest to tee off and pay Milford for the water used. It was an amazingly advanced, and far-seeing council, responsible for all the social housing built after both wars, and also our provision for elderly people.
“Small is beautiful!!!!"
Thank you Jean, and you're right, my family, in 1948, moved into one of the new steel council houses in Vicary Crescent. And your comments have given me another golden opportunity (I don't need much of an excuse) to use another old pic of the Rath pool, an amenity, the loss of which, continues to rankle so many who remember it during its glory days.
I was also delighted to hear, once again, from Bryan Evans.
"Hi Jeff…just received the papers from my sister Doris, and was pleased to read the article about the exploits of Milford Haven Sea and Royal Marine Cadets. They looked so smart on parade, and took me back to my basic training when I joined the Royal Navy aged 17.
“I mentioned previously that I had been a founder member of Milford St John's Ambulance Cadets, and wondered if the cadets are still active.
“Are there any Army Cadets, Scouts, Air Cadets Units still in existence in Milford? I ask, because I have not seen any mention of them in the Mercury.
“During my time in the Cadets, we used to attach to the adult members when they attended local events, such as Scoveston point-to-point races, and Milford Carnival. We also went to an annual camp for a few days and also went to Swansea for competitions.
“As I was attached to the Hakin United football team, I was able to use the ground (and nets) when we played against the other local units.
“We also attended the Royal Investiture of Wales by the-then Duchess of Kent. We all paraded on County Square, Haverfordwest. A very rare event by all accounts. Surely if those Army Cadets, Scouts and St John Cadets are still active, it would be nice to read of their news from time-to-time.
“My time as a St John Cadet was the sole reason for me entering the medical and nursing branch of the Royal Navy.
“I would love to know what happened to them."
Cheers, Bryan, and if anyone would like to reply to Bryan's comments, please get in touch. Meanwhile, I thought I'd bung in a snap of a point-to-point meeting from the late 1940s, showing riders Mr D Richards and Mr R Meyrick.
Now it's time to bring back one of TRM's most popular features, our old Trawler Corner, and berthed this week is the steam trawler Fuschia M127.
Built in North Shields in 1896, 145 tons and 106' long, she landed at Milford from Oct 1896 to Dec 1911.
Fuschia had an eventful lifetime, and here are just some items to underline the fact.
From the Telegraph of September 16, 1903..."The hurricane which sprang upon us on Thursday, was one of the fiercest known in this district for many years...Not for many years has the haven experienced such a storm. The gale blew fiercely from the south-west…when it suddenly chopped around to the north-west. There was a heavy tide, and the effect of this sudden change was disastrous. Vessels which were riding securely through the gale at anchor, were suddenly thrown back upon their anchors, which parted, and they were at once adrift.
“Fuchsia (Messrs Sellick, Morley and Price) was on the fishing grounds at the Smalls, when suddenly she shipped a heavy sea, and the boatswain, William Holland, a native of Yarmouth, is believed to have been washed overboard.
“No-one saw the accident happen, but no other conclusion is possible. The crew were below at tea, and only the boatswain, and the man at the wheel, were on deck at the time. The steersman believed Holland was also at his tea…but instead of that, he seems to have been anxious, lest the heavy seas should get below the hatches, and swamp the boat.
“At any rate, he was seen to take a hammer and nails, and some pieces of wood, to batten down the bunker holes. While he must have been doing this, a heavy sea came aboard, and the vessel lurched, and when she was righted, the boatswain was not to be seen. He was a quiet, inoffensive man, well known and greatly liked in Milford. He was a widower with two sons.
“In September 1916 the Fuchsia was captured by U-45 whilst fishing in the North Sea. The trawler was sunk, and the crew taken as prisoners."
And here's a snap of her.
Teaser time. A family has a chicken coop in the garden containing one dozen egg-producing hens. One night a terrible storm came, and killed all but eight chickens. How many chickens did the family have in the morning?
And that, my friends, is just about that for this week. If you fancy getting in touch with something more or less TRM-ish, please do so, I'd love to hear from you. See you next week.
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