The Mount Edgcumbe Training Ship

The Mount Edgcumbe Industrial Training ship was for homeless and destitute boys. The ship was re-commissioned as a training ship in 1877. It was moored off Saltash Passage but when cables were laid to the North of the Royal Albert Bridge in 1913, it was moved to the Saltash side. Goshawk, a sea going training vessel, was moored nearby. At the time, a Herbert Price Knevitt was the Superintendent Captain. He was retired from the Navy and lived on board with his wife, Isabella and their three daughters, Nellie, Nora and Ella. He was 47 at the time and his wife was 35.They also had a servant, Louise Chapman, who was 26, who cooked and kept their quarters tidy. There were also three instructors, the oldest being 62 and the youngest being 34, and a school master, James Sale Gitsham, who was 27. Everyone else on board was referred to as ‘inmates’ and were all aged between 12 and 16. Some came from Plymouth but they also came from other parts of the country, from London to the Isle of Wight. It wasn’t difficult for the boys to find themselves on a training ship. A law in 1884 said that the qualifications for being on the boat were: Anyone found begging or receiving alms, anyone found wandering who doesn’t have a proper home, proper guardianship of means to support themselves; anyone found destitute or who is an orphan or who has a surviving parent who is in prison: anyone who frequents the company of thieves or any child that a parent feels is uncontrollable. However, no boys who had been in prison were allowed on the ship. The payment required for residence was eight shillings per week. In 1910, a Captain H Wesley Harkcom took over the ship and changed the way it had been run for many years. He stopped using the birch on the boys, he moved his family on board and he bought many of the provisions needed from local dealers including food from the Saltash Co-op and coal from Ware’s of Saltash Passage. Harkcom was an expert in rowing and encouraged the boys to take up this pastime. The ship also had a brass band and they gave concerts on the green at St Budeaux and in the nearby parish church. There was said to be anything up to 250 boys on the ship at one time and many went on to see service in the Navy. On 4 December 1920, the training ship was closed down and was sold on the 18th April, 1921 and broken up at the Queen Anne Battery.

The Folly at Mount Edgcumbe

The Folly was built in 1747 and replaced an Obelisk which had stood on the site previously. It was built by using medieval stone from the churches of St George and St Lawrence which once stood in Stonehouse. The same stone was used to build the Picklecombe Seat further along the coast. Part of the seat features a Medieval doorway. The church of St Lawrence was removed to make way for the Royal William Victualling Yard. The Folly was known as 'The Ruins' for many years. Parts of the old Stonehouse Barrier Gates were also said to have been used. As Stonehouse was never a walled town, it is thought that these came from the Abbey or Manor House. The Pall Mall Magazine, published in 1897, said: 'The ruin was constructed from the remains of a fallen obelisk and some old granite-work.' This would suggest that the obelisk had collapsed sometime before the building of the folly in 1747. If parts were used within the construction of the folly then the obelisk erected on Obelisk Hill at Cremyll can't be the complete obelisk that stood where the folly now stands. An artist painting the scene at the end of the 1800's wrote that the Earl of Edgcumbe had his workers build one folly, had it blown up, didn't like the result and had it built and blown up again to get the result we see today. The Folly couldn't have pleased everyone and within the pages of A Guide to the Coast of Devon and Cornwall, published in 1859, it says: ‘The grounds still are very attractive, but disfigured by silly artificial ruins.’ Also, in Black's Guide to Devonshire, published in 1864, it states: ‘Of the mimic ruins scattered through the grounds it is best to take no heed. They are but sorry accessories to a scene which nature has so bounteously enriched.’

The Derek Tait Picture Library

This week I launched the Derek Tait Picture Library on Flickr. At the moment, there are hundreds of old photos of Plymouth and its surrounding areas at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/derektaitoldphotos

Over the coming weeks and months, the collection will grow online to include thousands of images, not just of old Plymouth but also of other places in the country and will include subjects such as transport, people, entertainment, events, celebrations, the Second World War and many local photos that aren't available anywhere else.

I think the library will prove a great reference source to anyone interested in local history. If you have any photos that you think could be included, please send them to me and I'll add them to the collection.

Benny Hill

Benny Hill appeared at the Palace Theatre on Monday 17th March 1955. Benny was billed as the 'BBC's latest star comedian.' He was born Alfred Hawthorne Hill, in Southampton, on the 21st January 1924. Before becoming a comedian, his jobs had included being a milkman, a bridge operator, a driver and a drummer. He became an assistant stage manager and took to the stage inspired by the stars of the old music hall. He changed his name to Benny after the American comedian, Jack Benny. He started slowly touring working men's clubs, small theatres and night clubs. After the war, he worked as a radio performer. His first tv role was in 1949 in a programme called, 'Hi there!' His career took off in 1955 when the BBC gave him his own show, 'The Benny Hill Show.' The show ran with the BBC until 1968. During that time, Benny also did work for ATV. In 1969, the Benny Hill show moved to Thames Television until 1989 when, due to political correctness and the distain of so-called comedians such as Ben Elton, the show was cancelled. Benny had been a huge star and had a number one hit, 'Ernie' in 1971. When the show was cancelled, Benny was forgotten by the tv channels and his health deteriorated. He needed a triple heart bypass which he declined. He died on 19th April 1992 at his home in Teddington. He was 68.

More Laurel and Hardy

After their British tour, and after their visit to Plymouth where Ollie was taken ill, Laurel and Hardy travelled back to America on the 3rd June 1954 on the Danish ship, 'Manchuria'.

This photo shows a recovered Ollie on the left with Stan on the right. They're dining at the Captain's table.

Unfortunately, Ollie died three years later on the 7th August 1957. He was 65 years old.

Stan wrote about their journey back home, in a letter;

'We sailed from Hull, England on June 3rd on a Danish Cargo ship. The voyage took 23 days, stopped in at St. Thomas (the Virgin Islands), Curaco Christobal and through the Panama Canal. It was very interesting, especially the Canal. The accommodations were very nice - good food and calm sea all the way, I really prefer travelling this way as you don't have to dress up for meals etc. as you do on the big passenger ships. There were only 10 passengers on this trip (12 is the limit they carry) so its practically like being on a private yacht.'

Stan died on the 23rd February 1965 at his home in Santa Monica. He was 74.

Westward Television

Westward Television was launched on the 29th April, 1961. The chairman of the company was Peter Cadbury who had previously been on the board of Tyne Tees Television. He named the company after a course in Westward Ho! where he played golf.

The station was based at Derry's Cross within purpose-built studios.

Well-known and much loved presenters included Kenneth MacLeod (pictured), Stuart Hutchison, John Doyle, Lawrie Quayle, Roger Shaw, Graham Danton as well as many others.

Westward's flagship programme was Westward Diary which went out at 6pm on Monday to Friday. The three original presenters were Reginald Bosanquet, Barry Westwood and Kenneth MacLeod. Many people may have forgotten that Reginald Bosanquet worked for Westward before becoming an ITN newsreader. Kenneth MacLeod later became the sole anchor man for the show which featured local news in the first half followed by items such as 'Pick of the Post' and 'Picture Puzzle' where people at home had to guess a mystery location to win a prize. In a time when there weren't so many cars, the picture puzzle was harder than it would appear today because many people hadn't been to the places shown. Other popular Westward shows included 'Treasure Hunt' with Keith Fordyce and 'A Date with Danton' with Graham Danton.

Shows, being live, regularly broke down and I can recall one show where nothing would work. Lawrie Quayle had just come back from a holiday in Spain and, as they had no news or anything else to show the public, Kenneth MacLeod chatted to him for half an hour about his holiday!

Another favourite on Westward Television was Gus Honeybun who became a favourite with children.There are still Gus Honeybun trains on Plymouth Hoe though none of today's children will have any knowledge of him!

When Westward was taken over by TSW in 1982, I think the people of the Westcountry expected something better but instead they lost something that had been very special to many people. The channel and its presenters are still fondly remembered.

Unfortunately, many of the presenters including Ken MacLeod, John Doyle and Stuart Hutchinson are no longer around although Gus Honeybun is apparently living happily on Dartmoor somewhere!

The Bounty

The story of the Mutiny on the Bounty is well known and documented. There is a link with Fletcher Christian and Plymouth but how accurate it is, no-one will ever know.

William Bligh (pictured) will always be remembered for the mutiny which took place on the Bounty in 1789. William Bligh owned a boathouse near to the Saltash Ferry and probably, at one time, lived there. Bligh was born at Tinten Manor at St Tudy on 9th September, 1754. Amazingly, his first sea voyage was on HMS Monmouth when he was just aged 7, as a servant to the Captain. By 1787, he had sailed with Captain Cook and had become Captain of the Bounty.

The Bounty's mission was to collect breadfruit plants from Tahiti and transport them to the West Indies where they were to be grown to provide a cheap food source for slaves.

Once Fletcher Christian and the crew of the Bounty had experienced the paradise of Tahiti for five months, collecting and preparing breadfruit plants, they were understandably, not happy about the prospect of their return to England when the time came to leave.

Tension overflowed once on board and Fletcher Christian took control of the ship.

Bligh's diary entry for 28th April, 1789, the day of the mutiny, reads: 'Just before sunrise, Mr Christian and the Master at Arms came into my cabin while I was fast asleep, and seizing me, tied my hands with a cord and threatened instant death if I made the least noise. I however called sufficiently loud to alarm the Officers, who found themselves equally secured by sentinels at their doors. Mr Christian had a cutlass and the others were armed with muskets and bayonets. I was now carried on deck in my shirt in torture with a severe bandage round my wrists behind my back, where I found no man to rescue me.'

Fletcher Christian took control of the Bounty and Bligh, and those faithful to him, were set adrift in a small boat. Bligh, being an excellent navigator and seaman, guided the 23 ft boat to Tofua and then on to Timor, which was in the hands of the Dutch. He travelled a total of 3,618 nautical miles with just a sextant, a pocket watch but with no maps. He made it back to England in March 1790 where he faced a court martial but was honourably acquitted.

Christian and his crew settled on the island of Pitcairn. Some were later captured but acquited at trial, some were hanged and some died at sea. Others died of natural causes.

There were various stories telling how Fletcher Christian met his death on Pitcairn. Some said that he had been murdered while others said that he had died of natural causes, committed suicide or gone insane.Rumours went around that he had faked his own death and returned to England. Midshipman Peter Heywood, who had sailed on The Bounty, reportedly saw Fletcher Chrisitan in Plymouth after the mutiny.