Continuing John Mathews' travel diary.........
THE DIARY - Cardiff to Torquay
Friday, May 20th 1955
Cardiff
We awoke feeling very tired but after a wash and a delicious breakfast we felt better.
Mr. Lloyd took us into Overseas House in his car. We arrived on time and after a wait around the whole contingent walked to the Museum of Wales, just across the road. It was an imposing building but rather simple in style, and I liked it very much.
I was very disappointed when we were told we were only allowed 20 minutes in there because Mr. Lloyd had told me that there were some works of El Greco and Daumier in the Circular Gallery housing the Gwenethlyn Davis bequest. I asked a guide and I was taken up to the Gallery.
The paintings there were very good and quite a few of them were from the French School. There were about 10 or 12 of Daumier's works there and I spent most of my time looking at them. When the time was almost up I went into the little side gallery. Two of the paintings there looked like El Greco work but close inspection revealed a subtle difference in the colour tonings to those of El Greco I had seen in the National Gallery. The labels had them as from the school or studio of El Greco only.
Outside once more we formed up and moved across a little way to the Welsh Temple of Peace and Health. Out the front of it was a First World War monument. The Temple was the idea and gift of Lord Davis of Dinam who through his contact with fighting in the First World War developed a great desire for peace, and with his concern over the health of his fellow countrymen conceived the idea of building the place for the benefit of both causes. The modern T-shaped building houses the staff of the Welsh Regional Hospital Board in the left wing and the Welsh National Council of the U.N. Association in the right wing.
The building was designed and supervised by Sir Percy Thomas and it won for him the medal for the best building in Britain for the decade 1925-1935. The main hall is constructed of marble from many parts of Europe and the beautiful columns are square and fluted instead of round.
The ceiling has a design in green, gold, and grey in a pattern similar to those used by the Romans. Heating is internally through the marble walls. The large vertical windows flood the beautiful hall with soft light and make it a place very fitting for its purpose.
After a short talk in the main hall we went down into the crypt, where Ern Tuck turned the page for the day in the Welsh Book of Remembrance. The crypt is of Bath stone and refreshingly simple in design. Round the walls are shields of the Welsh counties, joined by a very simple frieze of the emblems of England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland - the rose, thistle, leek, and shamrock.
Then we went up to the council room where Mr. Arnold very eloquently, in his Welsh sing-song accent, told us of the history and ideals of the building. The room is done out in Australian walnut. When we left we were all given a souvenir of the Peace Broadcast to the Children of the World from Wales.
Our next port of call (after we had had our photograph taken) was the City Hall to say "hello" to My Lord Mayor. The City Hall was erected in 1904 and it was designed in the Renaissance styles of England and France. Our chests swelled with pride when we saw our Australian flag flying in front of the City Hall and we decided the Mayor must be a pretty decent bloke.
Inside we passed into a large hall, up some stairs, past some beautiful statues of Welsh heroes in snow white marble, into the Marble hall. This beautiful place contains some monolithic columns of Sienna marble, and although it seemed a bit overdone to me, it was very beautiful and I liked it.
We went into the Council Chamber and hung our coats up before going in to meet the Lord Mayor. We all shook hands with him and he made a brief speech of welcome. Mr. Hutchinson replied, and then we went and had buns and coffee. We soon left and walked through the main street of Cardiff to the Cory Youth Club. Here we had our dinner. It was delicious, and of course there were the usual speeches of welcome and their replies.
By about 2.30 we were in our buses and we set off for St. Athan R.A.F. Station. We passed Cardiff Castle of course on the way and were soon out into the country. Our buses took us to the wrong entrance to the Station and we wasted so much time there that by the time we eventually did arrive at the right place we were over one hour late.
We went off in our bus groups to tour the Station - after being told by our guides to leave all our cameras in the buses. Our group went first through the drill hall to the gymnasium where physical training instructors were being trained. Courts for squash, basketball, netball, and other games were marked out. Through a small doorway, and we saw the modern Station swimming pool, where all men passing through the training course are taught to swim. We were most surprised to see the up-to-date camp cinema with a Cinemascope screen.
The R.A.F. N.C.O. I was talking to said that no operational planes were based on the airfield. The only planes flown in at all were those that were completely overhauled in the Station's work-sheds. The main function of the Station is the training of R.A.F. mechanics and fitters. Many of the personnel we saw were National Service trainees. As many as 20,000 men were stationed at St. Athan during the dark days of World War II, but of course its present population is only a fraction of that.
Because of our late arrival we were rushed around a lot and we were soon in the hangar where quite a bit of the instruction is carried our. We saw large propellers, cut-away engines, and many other interesting gadgets. Of particular interest was the ejector seat, which has saved the life of many a pilot in jet aircraft. There was also a Canberra hydraulic system set out on a board, and we saw it in operation. Three obsolete Vampires were in the hangar, and we had a climb around them before we had to go to tea in the Y.M.C.A. hall.
After our tea the buses took us back to Cardiff. It started to rain on the way so when we arrived back at the Youth Club we went straight inside to await the start of the social. I used part of the time to write my diary and then I watched the boys who were playing billiards.
The evening got off to a rather late start and it was not extra good at first because there were too many of us and not enough girls. I came third in the heat of a push-bottle race, but I forgot to go in the final.
After the supper things began to warm up a bit. They started dancing. After a queer one of snake, follow my leader, swing leg etc., for about ten minutes all about the building and out into the street, everyone was feeling hot. A dark young Welsh lady sang us some songs in a very beautiful voice. In a succession of dances I tried with a girl to master them but it was not until a waltz came along that I managed to get around in a semblance of the correct way.
We sang Song of Australia in reply to one of the Welsh songs and then we all sang Auld Lang Syne and left. At the Overseas Club we waited for Mr. Lloyd outside when he was inside. We were very tired when we went to bed.
Saturday, May 21st 1955
Cardiff - 76 Station Road, Llanishen
With many yawns we managed to be at breakfast soon after Mr. Lloyd called us, and we left for town soon after 9.00 a.m. Mr. Lloyd dropped us, and Trevor and I walked the main street looking for a shop where I could buy a pair of gloves. I finally got a pair for 13/11.
Soon after we arrived at Overseas House we were put into our buses - in numerical order to stop the rowdiness of the previous day. We had a little Welsh guide in our bus who was sitting in front of Trevor and myself.
On our route out of the city we passed the Cardiff Castle, and later on the Cardiff Sports Arena, before coming into the country. One of the first things we saw was Castle Coch, a small building perched on a hillside and said to be connected by an underground tunnel to Cardiff Castle.
Soon we came to the River Taff, which we were to follow up the valley for quite a way. Then the first of the collieries. Reputed to be the most modern in the world, Nantgarw Colliery has part of its works beneath the soil of Monmouthshire. Cost of nine million pounds.
Along the side of the road were the gigantic hills of waste from the mines, which can be dangerous in wet weather.
John was not to know that on 21st October, 1966, eleven years after our tour through the Welsh coal mining districts, and after a period of heavy rain, one of the seven spoil heaps alongside the village of Aberfan turned to slurry and slipped, consuming the village school and 116 children and 28 adults.
These heaps are inescapably connected with all mining country, and for miles they marred the green hills. Pontypridd was a typical miners' town with its small drab stone cottages. Although the miners have much better wages and conditions than previously they soon seem to blow their money.
We passed beside a stone footbridge crossing the Taff, which is said to be the oldest in Wales. Abercarn Colliery is the deepest in Great Britain and descends for 4 1/2 miles. There was a terrible disaster there when one explosion killed 250 men.
The colliery explosion and fire of 11th September 1883 killed 268 men and boys, possibly more. Rescue attempts were thwarted because the rescue equipment could reach only a few hundred yards into the mine. After a few hours the authorities, fearing further explosions, closed the mine. 90 colliers were saved, twelve bodies were recovered - and more than 250 souls were abandoned. The mine was sealed and flooded.
As we were passing a Hoover factory our guide explained that many miners were leaving the mines for easier jobs such as those in that factory.
Soon we were approaching the town of Merthyr. In the distance we saw snow upon the mountains and there was great excitement among us. Merthyr was a mining town spread out over a mile or so with the typical stone cottages, hills of waste, and sheep wandering about. In the town was a steel bridge over 600 years old spanning the Taff. What craftsmen they must have been to construct such lasting monuments to their own skill.
While John's admiration was not misplaced, the Pont-y-Cafnau (Bridge of Troughs), dating from 1793, was at the time a mere 162 years old, not 600. It carried both an aqueduct and a tramway to the nearby ironworks. It survives to this day, although has been de-commissioned. It is the world's oldest surviving iron railway (tramway) bridge.
Once we were through Merthyr we had left the mining districts behind and were speeding along roads between hedges and farms. On the left of the road we passed a series of reservoirs as we climbed. Some of the boys said they saw trout jumping in them.
Gradually we climbed into the Brecon Beacons. Snow was seen not far away and we were all very excited. At last the buses pulled up near a drift lying near the road and in a trice we were over the fence and into it. Snowballs began to fly and fingers began to freeze, and I was glad I had bought my gloves.
Graeme Wallis with his broken ankle was hobbling about but could not bend down, so I rolled up a large ball for him and dumped it on the stone wall where he could reach it.
At last we had to leave. After a run of a few more minutes we pulled up at a spot with a beautiful view down the valley, for our lunch. Puffing and eating at the same time some of us climbed up the mountain for about half a mile to another drift of snow. When it started to snow up there we came down and it soon turned to sleet. I remembered I had left the remainder of my lunch half way up the mountain. Bad luck!
We hopped into the buses after an assembly in which we were told off, and sped onwards, gradually descending all the way. The town of Brecon housed Brecon College and was also the HQ of the Welsh Brigades.
The run from Brecon to Abergavenny was very beautiful and a pleasant river flowed along by the road for some time. The patchwork of hedged-in fields contained sprouting crops of wheat barley or corn, or long-tailed or black-faced sheep. Abergavenny illustrated the difference between the Welsh mining and agricultural towns. Abergavenny is a centre for farming districts about, and the homes there were much more spacious and much more pleasant than their counterparts in say Pontypridd.
I almost dozed off then and when we arrived at Monmouth I was very reluctant to get out of the bus. I did, however, and was very glad afterwards. The River Wye flowed by peacefully and had two white swans on it. Even the Woolworths store could not take away the feeling of peace and tranquility which covered the town. In Agincourt Square there is a plaque announcing that King Henry V was born in Monmouth, as well as a statue of Rolls-Royce, who was killed in an aeroplane crash I think.
Not quite, John. The statue is of Charles Rolls who, in conjunction with Henry Royce, developed the first Rolls-Royce car in 1904. He was a balloonist and aviator, and when he died at age 32 in 1910 he was the first Briton to be killed in the crash of a powered aircraft. Henry Royce died in 1933 at age 70, replete with fame and fortune.
I eventually found my way to the Monmouth Museum (and Nelson Collection) and was stung 1/- to get in. Although it was a very good collection and supposed to contain the best relics of Nelson, I felt it was a bit corny. There were snuff boxes, swords, and bits of the Victory, and many other odds and ends.
Back in the bus we were taken off to Symonds Yat where, nestling down beside the River Wye, was the place we were to have our tea. We were 3/4 hour before the time of 4.30 so we went off for a walk down the river. It was lovely and, except for the different species of tree, it reminded me of the Yarra at home near Heidelberg.
Down near a pub I talked to a friendly chap who told me about a lookout on a nearby hill from which you could see seven counties. He also said that technically speaking we were back in England.
Over the tea table a very interesting discussion arose between Val Noone, Bill Moore, Mike Norman and myself about the rights and wrongs of Communism. As I was not in their bus I could not continue the talk with them.
In Monmouth again we were soon driving along the Wye Valley with the graceful trees - beeches, firs, planes, and many others - forming a chequered green background to a very lovely scene. I was excited when we pulled up beside the ruins of Tintern Abbey for a short time. The Abbey was begun in 1131 but most of the ruins are later than that. It is a very good example of Decorated Gothic, and since it was despoiled by Henry VIII in 1535 it has been allowed to fall to ruin.
I took some photos and on paying sixpence admission I went inside the ruin. Even without its roof and with many of the piers broken down it still possessed me with a feeling of admiration of its grandeur and dignity.
When we left the Abbey we had a marvellous view across the Wye and, on the other side of a rocky cliff, the River Severn. By a racecourse which looked like a scenic railway we came to the Chepstow turn-off. We did not take it but went straight on to Newport. Another half hour and we were back in Cardiff and at Overseas House.
John reported in the Young Sun on the day spent in the Welsh countryside:
Summer snow in the hills of Wales gave the Sun Youth Travel contingent one of its big thrills.
All the boys from West Australia, and quite a few from Victoria and South Australia, had never seen snow before.
As we approached the white-flecked tops of the Brecon Beacons (2900 ft.), excitement rose.
At last the buses stopped near a drift and out we jumped. In seconds the snowballs were flying.
Until bare hands began to get numb, we had a tremendous time, and then did not grumble when we had to get back into the buses.
The incident occurred during a day-tour of the mountains and valleys of South Wales.
Soon after we left Cardiff we passed the first of the coal mines, upon which Wales depends for so much of her wealth - and which mar some of her scenery.
The towns of Pontypridd and Merthyr are composed of small stone cottages let to miners.
The miners, of course, get much better wages than they did years ago, and TV aerials sprout from many roofs. But most of the little homes still lack bathrooms.
Through the agricultural districts, near Abergavenny, we sped on our way. We admired the beautiful colouring of the peaceful fields. Then into Monmouth, whose many historical associations include a museum of Nelson relics.
Our way home was down the beautiful Wye Valley.
At the ruins of Tintern Abbey, built in the 11th century, and one of Britain's finest examples of Decorated Gothic architecture, we found beauty of another kind.
The ruins are carefully tended by the Ministry of Works. We were told that hundreds of people make the pilgrimage from Cardiff on the night each October when the Hunter's moon shines through the round window of the Abbey on to the old altar stone.
Trevor collected the food parcel which was to be for our hosts, and we went up into the television room to await the arrival of Mr. Lloyd. I used the time to write an aerogramme home. When we went down to the car we heard Billy Graham on the B.B.C. What a great speaker he is! When we reached our hosts' home we spent almost two hours writing up our diaries before tumbling into bed.
Billy Graham was a Southern Baptist clergyman, active from 1947 to 2005. He died in 2018 at age 99. He undertook a three-month evangelical crusade in Australia in 1959, during which he preached to ever-larger crowds - including a Melbourne Cricket Ground congregation so large that the overflow was permitted to sit on the turf. It was estimated that the aggregate attendance at Graham's crusades in Australia exceeded three million people. Clearly, John knew of Billy Graham some years prior to that visit.
Sunday, May 22nd 1955
Cardiff
I received a terrible shock when I woke up and saw that the time was 9.50 a.m. Trevor and I hurried down to breakfast. Mr. Lloyd said that he had thought it best for us to have a sleep-in, and he told us that we had better spend the morning writing up our diaries.
We made very good use of the time and we caught right up to date. Then for a few moments Trevor and I played cricket with Brian and Jonathan, Mr. Lloyd's sons, and Phillip, a little boy from up the street.
Mr. Lloyd then took us into Cardiff. We went to the grounds of the Castle and had a bit of a walk about there. A few minutes' drive in the car took us to Mr. Lloyd's office and we went up while he collected his typewriter. On the way back home we passed the Museum and saw the time when it was open.
Back home I started to type out a report on "The Welsh National Temple of Peace and Health". Trevor and I really enjoyed a delicious roast dinner prepared by Mrs. Lloyd. We had decided to go into the Cardiff Castle and the Museum but Trevor decided not to come with us.
Taking Jonathan with us, we went to Cardiff Castle first. When Mr. Lloyd went off to park the car we met Kingsley Purdie and Harvey Arnold. We walked around and looked over the battlements and at the empty shell of the Norman Keep. Then we joined a party which was going round.
We went into the Tower first and saw The Winter Smoking Room, The Bachelor's Bedroom, and The Summer Smoking Room. All these rooms were beautifully but extravagantly decorated in the Medieval fashion. Then we went to The Arabian Room, The Banqueting Hall, and the Chapel.
We were very interested when the guide told us that no gilt was used in the decorations, but genuine 22 carat gold.
Then we went into the Library. It was all very queer because there were no books at all in the shelves. The wall was covered in a beautiful red canvas with a gold design on it. In the entrance hall we saw an enormous table made from just one piece of wood from a tree cut in the forests of Glamorgan.
We left the Castle and went to the Cardiff Museum. First we had to run through the National History, and Welsh Art Galleries. Then I went up to the Circular Gallery and spent almost an hour looking at the Davies Bequest. Before this we had a look at the quaint Welsh rooms. Large wooden spoons and other queer utensils were in the kitchen.
When we got home I finished one report and did another. After a brief viewing of television and a bath we went to bed.
Monday, May 23rd 1955
Cardiff, Cheltenham
When we got dressed we went down to a leisurely breakfast. After that we went up and put the finishing touches to our packing. Our farewell to Mrs. Lloyd, Jonathan and Brian (Peter was asleep) took only a few moments, and we were off with Mr. Lloyd to Overseas House.
We said good-bye to Mr. Lloyd and, after a fall-in, we hopped into the buses. The buses started late, but I didn't mind because I had a letter from Dad which kept me about 1/4-hour deciphering it.
Soon after we left, Val Noone, Bill Moore, Michael Norman and myself had a friendly discussion on the merits and otherwise of the Longchamp Museum in Marseilles, and the Welsh Temple of Peace and Health. It continued through Newport and Chepstowe, and finally petered out inconclusively before we reached Gloucester.
The country was very pretty and I had difficulty concentrating on the Art book I was trying to read. By about 11.45 we had reached Cheltenham and Mr. Hutchinson went to a bank and we were all paid 15/-. Then the buses completed their journey by taking us to Vittoria House, the HQ of the Overseas League. We had our photo taken and then we were introduced to our hosts and hostesses.
Once more I was with Trevor Mathers and we found that our host was Mr. Gardner. Of course we were very excited when he took us out to his car - a Jaguar!
He drove us slowly through the streets and we were most impressed by the shady avenues with substantial houses and many beautiful gardens. We went past Cheltenham College, which had some very old buildings. The Chapel had Perpendicular Gothic windows.
The Jaguar purred its way along Sandy Lane, and Mr. Gardner explained to us that they were on the land but that it was only a sideline. He turned through gates marked "Southfield Manor" and up to some nice red brick buildings. Mr. Gardner introduced us to his wife and when we went inside we soon met his son Cecil, who was sporting a terrific black beard.
Over lunch we had an interesting talk and then we went with Mr. Gardner Junior to the Mayor Making Ceremony in the Cheltenham Town Hall. Mr. Gardner was invited in his capacity as County Councillor.
The Ceremony was interesting but tedious because of all the speeches. The candidate was proposed, seconded, and then elected. He was a retired colonel (the first for nearly 50 years) and made a speech of thanks. Then the previous mayor was thanked etc. and finally it was all over.
Our host's son, who was invalided out of the R.N. after the War, was waiting for us and we went back to the manor. We met Mrs. Harris and her daughter Judith. They were going to the U.S.A. soon. We played table tennis with Judith for a fair while. She had a tremendous serve and it was not until about the sixth game that either Trevor or myself were able to beat her.
We watched TV and were very interested in a special inquiry into "The Business of Beauty". Of course we had a good laugh at it, and I went off before it finished.
When we got into bed Trevor and I found it a bit crowded. Trevor said he woke up and found me trying to push him out of bed. When we went to sleep we really slept like logs.
Tuesday, May 24th 1955
Cheltenham, Southfield Manor
Of course we were late waking up.
After breakfast Mr. Gardner took us into Overseas League H.Q. at Vittoria House. We boarded the buses which were to take us to Prinknash Abbey. After a late start we were on our way; we climbed out of Cheltenham into the hills, which form part of the famous Cotswolds. The view as we drove along was terrific. We saw parts of Cheltenham stretched out before us, and then Gloucester.
In a beautiful valley we saw the buildings of Prinknash Abbey perched on the hill. The buses turned down a lovely track between woods of beeches and oaks. When we arrived down at the Abbey we were met by one of the monks.
The Abbey is really an old hunting lodge converted by the Benedictine monks when they moved there in 1928 from an island off the coast of Wales. Our monkish guide wore a white habit, which he said was typical of the clothing of the common people when the Order was founded about 1500 years ago.
The monks brought their bells with them from Wales and they are hung in a frame at the front of the buildings. These buildings are built of Cotswold stone and date back to the 16th Century. Henry VIII is said to have stayed there, and one of the paths is called Henry VIII's Walk.
Our guide told us that all the monks do seven hours praying each day. He said that they are only allowed to talk for half an hour daily.
First we went into the chapel. Here we saw the beautiful vestments, and some examples of their printing. In the chapel one of the brothers was building an electric organ entirely by hand. This would save the Abbey about three thousand pounds.
Then we went to the dining hall, where the monks eat in silence and only use the one plate for their meal. The three tables were each about 30' long and were all made from the same tree.
Outside we saw the part where the monks are extending the chapel with their own labour, and stone which is from the same limestone as that from which Gloucester Cathedral is made.
Piling into the buses we went off towards the potteries. First we looked at the foundations of the new Abbey, which will eventually stand on top of a hill overlooking Gloucester. Only 100 out of 450 foundations have been built - at a cost of 20,000 pounds.
The pottery works were very interesting. After kilns of coke and coal, the brothers now use electricity. Their weekly electricity bill is 70 pounds. We saw the processes which the clay passes through before it is used by the potters at their wheels. Apprentices are employed by the brothers to learn the trade for four or five years. They are very skilful with the clay, and with simple things turn out about one per minute on their wheels.
After being dried the articles are fired in the kilns for 24 hours. The centre of the kiln is at a temperature of about 1,200 degrees C. After being dipped in the glazing solution they are again in the kiln for 24 hours. All sorts of colours eventuate from white and grey glazing solutions.
When we went outside we were able to buy things rather cheaply. I bought a tiny vase for ninepence, and between Trevor and myself bought a nice one for Mrs. Gardner.
Then we went to the vestments section. We saw the white cloth for the habits being woven, by a layman on a big loom with a flying shuttle, from wool from the monks' own sheep. In the other part we saw beautiful patterns on lovely silks, with only linocuts as patterns.
At last it was time to leave, and after a scramble at the store back near the Abbey, we were off back home. We went through Birdlip and the country was simply beautiful. Woods on both sides of the road had us saying how amazed we were at the great amount of beautiful country we had seen.
We were late back to Vittoria House and there was a mix-up with Mr. Gardner, but we eventually got back to the Manor for lunch.
Mr. Gardner took Trevor and myself out in the Jaguar in the afternoon. We went to his two caravan factories. Then we went to Broadway and saw all the beautiful houses of Cotswold stone. We had tea at the Lygon Arms and were very interested in its historic features. On the way back we came through Evesham, the market-gardening town. On the Ladies' Mile he buzzed up the Jaguar to about 97 m.p.h.
Trevor and I played table tennis and then went to bed.
Wednesday, May 25th 1955
Cheltenham - Torquay
Trevor and I woke up and hurriedly dressed. I wrote a brief letter of thanks to my hosts at Cardiff and then we rushed down to breakfast. I didn't eat much, but ran upstairs to pack my case. We spent about five minutes playing table tennis before we said good-bye to Mrs. Gardner and went out to put our cases in the Jaguar. We left, and reached Vittoria House, and after giving him our food parcel we said good-bye to Mr. Gardner.
Our buses left soon after 9.00 a.m., and at first we went the same way as the previous morning, past Prinknash Abbey. We went via Stroud and as we passed along the beautiful roads we passed into Somerset. When we passed through Bath we were not able to see the famous Roman Baths.
At Bridgewater we stopped for our lunch at the Royal Clarence Hotel. After lunch I went for a walk and at a bookstall I bought a copy of "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare". About four or five boys also bought it. We left Bridgewater and passed through Wells and Glastonbury. We just saw the tower of Glastonbury Abbey as we went past. Just outside the village of Wellington we saw a large monument like a lighthouse, which is to the Battle of Waterloo.
We arrived at Exeter about 3.20 and Mr. Hutchinson said we could have until 4.00 p.m. to have a walk around. Of course some of us headed straight for the Cathedral - which is the best example of Decorated Gothic architecture in England.
Outside, the beautiful carving which decorates the front was marred by scaffolding, which was being used for the restoration of the building. Inside, I was struck by the beautiful piers of columns and the lovely windows, which are all different in design. We had a look at the 700-years old clock in one of the Norman towers, but had to leave in a hurry as it was almost 4.00.
Back in the buses we were soon on our way, and by way of Taunton and Newton Abbot we arrived at Torquay about 5.10. In the car-park we received mail and were introduced to our hosts. Bill Moore and I were with Miss Shepherd and her nephew Ron.
We were taken out along Torquay Road in Miss Shepherd's Lanchester to her lovely little home. Just before tea Ron's mother and father, Mr. and Mrs. Stemp, came home. Mr. Stemp is partially blind. We had a beautiful tea.
After our meal Bill and myself went with Ron and his mother into the town by 12 bus to see the sights. Down by the sea we saw the beautiful inner harbour and parks. We went up Rock Walk. Back home at last we were very glad to go to bed.
Thursday, May 26th 1955
Torquay - "Harewood", Torquay Road, Kingskerswell
By the time we had risen and breakfasted I had decided to do my washing. I finished just before we left in Miss Shepherd's car to go to the bus park. We arrived just before 10.00 a.m. and were soon in our buses.
Colonel Paton was in our bus to tell us about all the sights we passed. Cutting across the back of the centre of town the two buses passed the long stone wall behind which was Torre Abbey.
Along Torbay Road we went, admiring the lovely curtain of fog which cut off our view of the water. Past the clock-tower, and soon we passed the Torquay Natural History Museum.
Along Babbacombe Road we saw some very beautiful homes, which have in recent years been converted into flats.
Round a sharp corner and we were in a tiny peaceful gully with orchards and pretty houses. We were soon roaring along beside Meadfoot Beach, with great Thatcher Rock standing out in the water. Of course we could hardly see a thing with the mist!
We eventually came back into Babbacombe Road and went along it until we came to the top of Oddicombe Beach. A sheer cliff falls away down to the sand, and a cliff railway goes down to it for the benefit of bathers.
Our buses worked through Saint Marychurch, and into Torre, and we saw the modern headquarters of the Devonshire Constabulary, as well as the Technical College. We were told that the normal population of about 50,000 is swelled to about 150,000 in the summer.
Torquay was originally founded when, during the Napoleonic Wars, the fleet was stationed in Tor Bay, and many of the officers' wives came to live there.
The buses stopped, and we all walked down a lovely shady lane to the old-world village of Cockington with its curious houses with thatched roofs. The whole business has of course been totally commercialised, and thousands of different kinds of souvenirs were on sale.
I went into a house and bought a set of views of the place. Then we all had to go and spend about half an hour to let some fussy woman arrange us to take our photos.
Then I went off to have a look about. In one place were some really beautiful hand-woven woollen goods, but of course the state of the Exchequer would not allow any purchases.
Through a small gateway into a park with a beautiful avenue of 39 trees to commemorate the G.A.T.T. Conference held in Torquay in 1951, and down a shady path, I walked to see the lakes. They were simply gorgeous. Strange exotic bushes with lovely flowers in reds and mauves, still water disturbed by the ripple as a tiny duckling swam over it - everything was so peaceful. But we had to hurry on.
I went to the Cockington Church, which was built in the 11th Century. It was refreshingly simple after some of the places I had seen.
Back in the village we saw the blacksmith in his forge making small "lucky" horseshoes. Some of the boys were writing their names and pinning them on the ancient beams of the forge. Then we had to leave, and after puffing up the hill to our buses we went to the bus park before walking through the main part of the township en route to Callard's Cafe for lunch.
After the traditional meal of steak and kidney pie and the speeches, Bill and myself went with Ron and George and some others of the contingent down to the putting greens near the Abbey Gardens. We had tremendous fun. I went round in 66, Bill in 56, and Graeme Wallis took 99.
Then Ron, Bill and myself caught a bus to Kents Cavern. It was 1/6 to go in, and we just cottoned on to the end of a party with their guide. The caves are very interesting but not very extensive. Their colouring was unique - pinks, greens, browns, reds. We also saw ossified bones of cave bears, hyenas, and the sabre tooth of a tiger about 8" long. Originally a river course, the caves are millions of years old. The stalagmites and tites grow at 1' every 10,000 years.
We then left and hurried home for tea, after which we went to the Regal Cinema to see A Star is Born, starring Judy Garland and James Mason. It was well acted but a bit of a sob story.
The day was general election day and we saw the booths, but there did not seem to be much excitement. When we reached home Ron turned on the television and we saw some of the early results. We wrote up our diaries and then went to sleep.
Illustrations:
# "National Museum of Wales An Illustrated Guide" booklet 1953
# Wayside snow fight in the Brecon Beacons
# Tintern Abbey
# John Mathews' drawing "Our Journey in South Wales"
# Cheltenham "Photobook"
# "Prinknash Abbey" booklet
# Prinknash Abbey postcard of W. Heath Robinson cartoon
# "Guide to The Cathedral Church of St. Peter in Exeter" booklet
# Torquay postcard
# Torquay Harbour postcard
# The Youth Travel Contingent at Cockington Village, Torquay
# "The Parish Church of S. George & S. Mary Cockington" brochure
To be continued...........
