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Retired lighthouse keeper Harold Taylor continues his memoirs:-
I cannot recall a lot about my first visit to the Nab. Soon after I arrived; as I have said, Naffer was transferred to Lowestoft. I am not sure now who replaced him. I think it was Ken Monk. I suppose someone's innate humour, replacing a Nun with a Monk. Dave Mapp was promoted P.K. and moved to the Wolf Rock.
I am not sure who the rest of the crew were, but I remember Bob Heriot being about, but whether as a regular part of the crew I am not sure. On one occasion a fellow Ralph Humhreys was sent, because it was a Radio Beacon station, the Superintendent, Tom Catesby would not have two S.A.K's on station. This must have been during the transfers. Not that Ralph, was any use. In fact the day he arrived on station I saw this fellow in some funny sort of rig wandering about not taking part in the relief, or landing stores etc.
I believed him to be a ships officer. It was not till the boat left and he was left behind that I discovered him to be part of my crew. His attitude was that he had no wish to be here and did not intend to do anything. I believe he was temporary on loan from St. Catherine's or the Needles.
In fact one could probably say that he was a disruptive element, in as much as he would switch off batteries when on charge, and put them on, when he thought he would do so. Often change over engines for no apparent reason, and just do something out of boredom, but not conform to any sort of routine established.
Just before I arrived on the Nab there had been a re-wiring of the whole establishment. The dockyard had provided the material and Trinity the labour. A disaster for anyone. I again came into contact with Alan Frazier; whilst I was In-Charge, because the dockyard were complaining about over charging, and The Electrical Superintendent had been sent to find out where prices could be cut and the bill re-assessed.
One of the lower floors was littered with un-used material, and I showed this to Alan, he was overjoyed as it would more than make up for the complaints being laid. On top of which I showed him an un-used drum of armoured cable of a different calibre to the one installed.
To show his gratitude I was told to take what fittings I wished and to box up the rest and send it ashore. I said that the fittings were not much use without the cable, so I was told to take as much of that as was useful too. Alan also took what he had a need for. The material enabled me to run a power cable from my house to the distant garage where I installed a lighting and power circuit.
Trinity was exceedingly slack about their stores and equipment where the mechanical or electrical side were concerned, yet it we needed anything it was like getting blood from a stone. Stations were full of discarded material, which keepers felt obliged to keep, but which in fact only got in the way and cluttered up the place.
An interesting thing about that last remark came about at the end of the year, when again I was In-Charge. Annually there is a stock taking, and a return sent to the depot, what happens to it after that is anyone's guess. In the Inventory in theory there was a replacement clock for the lights.
However I had two large crates, so I decided to open them to see what I had. The first was a clock, but what was in the second? When I opened this up I found some form of charging equipment, but was not sure what. An invoice suggested that the equipment arrived 12 years before in 1954, before I joined.
Later, early the following year, Jock Jess the electrician came on station for some reason and I showed this equipment to him. He told me that this was a Carbon Pile generator which had been proclaimed at one time to be the answer to all battery charging units, but by now had been either superseded or found to be less than useful. They were being replaced, but there was a use for the parts of the equipment, to help maintain those that were still in use. He was going to pass back to the workshops the information. It either was never done, or ignored, for when I returned to the station three years later it was still there and still recorded as being a clock.
This had an interesting connotation, for before I joined I had heard of a member of Blackwall staff engaged in the supply and control of equipment ,who had been sacked because something like £2,000,000 worth of stock was unaccounted for.
Another member of Blackwall staff I met at the Nab was Mac, I do not know his first name, McCarthy, or however you spell it, he was a character, not very industrious; but was Blackwall ever, but a good mate. He had come to sort out our Radio Beacon which would often 'play up'. It was a very old model still using large 1/2 K.W. glass valves, and some of the insulation was breaking down as well. It was while he was there that I caught my first cod.
We were having dinner one day, when Mac came in and said he thought he saw my rod move. I replied to the effect that it was probably only the tide as I did not think I had any bait left on the hook. I did not intend at first to check, but I did not wish to seem ungrateful for his information so went along.
I was convinced at first there was nothing there, but as I wound in there was something on the end that seemed to be going through tumbling motions as opposed to the usual jerk and tug. I continued reeling in until I saw this monster fish just below the surface, and began to wonder how I would be able to land it.
I called Ken to hold my rod with the fish just on the surface, whilst I went down the staircase with my new acquisition, a landing net. Fortunately the tide was not full and I was able to get on to the landing and reach out to get my net under the fish although it was longer than the width of the net.
As I tried to lift the fish out of the water, the net broke from the handle and the fish just wallowed around in the water inside the net. At the same time as the net broke, so the movement had unhooked the fish from the line.
I suppose the fish was partially drowned for it did not dive and I was just able to reach the hoop of the net by lying on the wet landing. I gently eased the hoop round until the whole fish was encased in the net before lifting it out of the water.
When we later weighed it, it was found to be 17lbs 8 oz. I also caught my first skate by rod and line here and that went 13 and a half pounds.
Another strange incident to do with people occurred here. I had just joined the station one turn when there was a radio message for Dave. It had come through from his lodgings which were I think at Appledore.
The husband of the house where he lived had died and Dave was listed as the next of kin, so the Depot had been notified. Of course there was no filial relationship, and although he would have liked to go ashore he felt he should not go.
He had come to me for my advice. After his transfer to the Wolf he did in fact marry the widow. He also resigned. He felt that he had been badly treated by Trinity, in as much that he had been on the Wolf before coming to the Nab, and then to be sent back to the Wolf as his first appointment as P.K. was a bit much, to him. On the other hand one knew in those days that after two years at the Wolf; including leaves you were entitled to a posting.
Checking details I now think that it was not Ken Monk who replaced Naffer, but Tom Whiston. I think that now I have changed the subject will be a good time to insert a few things I have overlooked.
Another incident, I have two different pairs of keepers to whom it was attributed, perhaps they both were involved in different scrapes that been wound into one.
Continued in part 3.
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