|
 | |  | |
It was decided to transfer me from Sark to the above station in June 1980, and I quite looked forward to going there, wrote retired lighthouse keeper Harold Taylor. I understood that the P.K. I was replacing, Mike O'Sullivan had developed heart trouble. This subsequently proved not to be the case, but can be explained by the actions of one of the keepers who thought it a huge joke, when in fact he apparently knew that he was really poisoning the fellow with carbon monoxide fumes. This I will explain later.
The relief was now carried out locally by a fisherman called Ginger Mutton at Plymouth, who lived down near the Barbican. It was suggested I sent my food order to him, which I did until, I felt my way around. Of course it transpired that his wife ran a grocery shop. I drove down and found I could park on the quay and Ginger would keep an eye on the vehicle.
It had previously been arranged that I would lodge at a certain place, although when I got there I found that the lady was not at all accommodating. I told her what time I wished to be away to meet the boat in the morning, but she insisted that she would ring Ginger and confirm the time. When the morning came, I got no call and I could not find anyone. I believe I found the ingredients to make a cup of tea and left to find Ginger waiting to leave.
I think during the transition of me from one station to another, another change had come about and the split reliefs operated again. I went off with Mike Hall, a very capable and cheerful companion. On station was Ted Townsend. The relief was a fairly precarious affair.
From the fishing boat we boarded a rubber inflatable and motored into the set off. No ropes were in use, but two keepers kept a wary eye on the incoming waves to give the boat handler the go ahead for him to head for the steps, where one person would make a leap for the dog steps, as the launch backed off to, allow the next wave to pass before bringing in the second keeper.
A similar set of antics took place for the shore going keepers to leave. When it came to getting the provisions aboard the rubber duck held off a little way and accepted a rope to attach the bags and boxes.
When I got aboard I found that there were workmen involved in making preparations for the fixing of a helicopter platform. A ridiculous situation then ensued. Trinity Workshops did the flattening of the dome and had their scaffold in position, however a private concern who manufactured the Helipad were contracted to erect it. Therefore Workshops dismantled their scaffolding, which took them a week and Ginger Mullet took it ashore.
We had to do all the winch work to facilitate this. Once the scaffolding was ashore, contractors engaged by the construction company then had their scaffolding delivered, again by Ginger, for which again we did all the humping. They expected to have the replacement scaffold erected in three days, as against 14 by Blackwall.
Their hopes were dashed however because a vital part malfunctioned. They had a small petrol or diesel power winch with which they intended to haul all their gear from the winch room to the gallery. Their motor did not work. They sent back to their nearest depot which I think was Bristol for a mechanic to tinker with the machine. He arrived the next morning and by mid day decided that a component was missing. They therefore had to send for a new hoist.
This arrived the next day which was our relief day. So our relief was delayed till all their stuff was aboard and tested. This made a late start home for me.
During the month we had been doing a bit of scavenging about the tower. This came about because Mike had been given some items of brass by the dismantling crew. The workshops crowd had also hoped to make a pretty penny out of the scrap copper as well. Their greed got the better of them.
They had laid all the half inch thick copper sheets they had removed from the roof on the 'set off' for taking to the scrap yard. They could have sent it ashore piece meal with Ginger, but they were frightened that he might cheat them. It was all piled high until they were ready to go themselves, but the sea got up and washed it all away.
During my first month there were always diving groups off the tower. They found the copper and brought a lot of it to the surface with air bags and took it ashore, before Ginger under his scheme could get organised to do a similar thing. As the result of this, at low tides I would go around in the shallow water retrieving small oddments of copper and brass, bundling them together to take to the scrap dealer myself.
Ginger must have been jealous of this because he was very awkward about handling it when we got to Mill Bay Docks. Because of this circumstance, I had to get my car from the Barbican myself to load up.
The day was not very good, drizzly rain all the time and I had a rough drive home in more ways than one.
I had to have the lights on for the whole drive, and I suppose with the radio on and the wipers going all the time I was slowly taking out more from the battery than I was putting in. The battery being low from its long standing without a charge. At Bridport when I stopped for tea, I did think that the wipers were going slow for a while, but I did not realise why.
When I got on the road between Poole and Bournemouth I got out of the car to ring home and tell Monica I was on my way. When I got back into the car I could not start it. Neither would the wipers work. When I looked at the lamps it was difficult to see if they were on. I had to call the breakdown services, who came out from Poole.
He could not find anything particularly wrong that a good battery would not cure. He did have a suspicion that perhaps the charger was not doings it job, but with jump leads he got me going and was of the opinion I would make it the next 70 miles home if I used dipped head lights. I have forgotten what the time was, but it was late. I got on my way again and it was dusk.
Unfortunately outside Swaythling there had been an accident in which the police were attending. For about half an hour I was stood without much charge going in so when I got under way again I was very apprehensive. I think it was around Eastleigh that the rot set in on the dual carriageway.
The wipers stopped, I could smell battery acid. When I pulled off the road I could barely see my lights were on. Fortunately there were roadside telephones and I called the motor way control who got me through to the chap at Poole again. He arrived after midnight with a new battery which he installed and I made a cheque out for. I got on my way once more arriving home at one thirty.
At this time and for a period when I was on Sark my wife had not been well with back trouble. The hospital had given up but she was resolute enough to try chiropractors. These gave her some hope and lived up to their conviction. I communicated this to the Superintendent who suggested I look at a shore station.
We went to Dungeness, but it was such a diabolical outlook I think Monica decided she would sooner suffer than live in such bleak surroundings so we did nothing further about looking for a shore establishment. However we knew that Gibraltar was coming up. We discussed this and took into consideration the climate as to whether it might benefit her condition. In the circumstances I applied. There had been controversy in the past on these appointments so a rule had been set up that in future the senior man to apply would get the posting.
I do not recall the sequence of these next few reliefs, but I know I did one by train and I think it may have been the next, but on the way home I was on the station at Plymouth when I got in conversation with a fellow who belonged to a Salcombe diving club and I learnt that it was their group that had recovered the copper from around the Eddystone for which they received £600.
This may have been the same relief that the first Helicopter flight was made. Ginger took all our gear to Plymouth Airport from where we flew. He took me up there in his car. During the trip he told me that I was going to Gibraltar, I replied that I did not know. To which he went on to say that he had had the Superintendent out to the Eddystone the previous day and he had told him. I was quite cheered by this.
When I got aboard the tower and the relief was completed the remaining crew also told me I was going. When I telephoned the depot to report the relief completed the District Clerk Bill Goodley congratulated me on my successful application for Gibraltar. He told me that the Superintendent. had just told him.
I was therefore full of anticipation that instead of doing the full month I would go ashore at the half relief because the requirement had been for the successful keeper to take up his appointment on a certain date. When the relief date arrived I was not down to go ashore, so I asked to speak to Bill. He told me that it had been decided to send Mike Benner who was junior to me as I had dependent relatives.
Another reason why I was surprised was because at one time not long before Mike was alleged to have been reported upon for being incompetent, and retarded in seniority.
There was nothing I could do about it then, but later I learned other things that decided me to write in a complaint. I am not certain if it was that time ashore or another, but I had arranged to use one of the Amenity Houses at Sennen. During that stay I had visited Pendine Lighthouse and met Andy Bluer, who was P.K. there. He had just a few weeks more service than me.
It had not been my intention to visit, but we had stopped on spare ground to have a cup of coffee. Looking over the wall I recognised a keeper I did not know was on that station. Going into the yard, Andy came out and invited me into his house which was having a refit by the DLF. He told me the strangest story.
He stated that it was rumoured that I was going to Gibraltar, but Peter Edwards wanted his brother in-law, Mike Benner to go. He told me that he had a call from the House after the closing date for applications. He said it was from Capt. Cloke, but I could not really believe it was from him direct, maybe on his behalf.
However, he stated that he was asked to put in for the posting. Andy alleged that he told them he did not wish to go, and could not because of a handicapped child which would debar him. He stated that he was told to apply anyway, this he did. He stated that he was informed that he was rejected on the grounds of having dependent relatives.
He says I was rejected on the same grounds although I had informed them that my youngest was 22 and at University and about to be married. Having excluded the most senior applicant they were able to offer it to anyone.
They chose Mike, who by coincidence was brother-in-law to Edwards the Welfare Officer. Who again by coincidence took his Annual Holiday to Tunisia, via Gibraltar where he was able to get Trinity to pay his fare, as he combined it with a Welfare visit to Europa Point Lighthouse. He also liked to visit Spain as part of that holiday, but the frontier was now closed.
I therefore lodged a complaint but got no where with it. Edwards was set to investigate it. Something like setting Saddam Hussein to investigate the Iraq War. I did not disclose that I had received my information from Bill Goodley and Ginger. When interviewed, Andy is reported as not recalling the conversation. I had previously made another complaint when I was on Sark . The circumstances of that was over the interest free loan I have mentioned about earlier.
As I mentioned before, I had talked to Mr Henry, Principle of the Lights Dept., who had advised me to make an application, which did not get past the Superintendent I learned when I was on the Needles that Geoff Gurden on Sark had got a grant advised to him by that same Superintendent, despite none of the circumstances being appropriate. Edwards was also the investigator on this occasion. He told me that when he interviewed Henry; who was then retired, and asked him about the facts, he replied, ' Oh in those circumstances you tell them anything to keep them quiet.'
Getting back to Sark reminds me how stupid some of these people in authority can be. I had only just gone to the station when a directive came from the Superintendent,. Uncle Tom. There was obviously an economy drive.
East Cowes Depot
19th September,1975.
para.4. It is difficult to fix a minimum annual issue of most items, but one that comes to mind immediately is toilet rolls. Allowing a daily requirement of 5 sheets per keeper per day, a roll containing 215 sheet should last 43 days. It is therefore proposed to restrict the issue of these items to 3 dozen per annum for 3 handed Rock stations and 4 dozen per annum for 4 handed stations. This allows 25% above requirements for additional personnel on Station. These limitations will apply from your last issue.
Of course such comments as that deserve a reply. I sent a lengthy one to Flash which did not see the light of day, however some other enterprising individual supplied it to the national press who made fair comment. I of course made my own addition, to the effect that any contravention of this instruction would be reported upon in triplicate using the appropriate paper.
Harold Taylor's memoirs continue in part 2.
| |  | |  |
To add a comment you must first login or join for free, up in the top left corner.
|
|
