Biography of Malcolm Archbald SMITH
[Ref. S.1]
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Part A: Manor Road | |
The house | |
Holidays |
Part B : Eastworth Road, Verwood
Malcolm had been working in Nigeria and, upon his return, was advised by Brenda that she had seen Shaftesbury House as a suitable house for their move. Malcolm knew the place having watched it being built beforehand and did not like it but agreed to look to please Brenda. To his own surprise he found it suited their need and that he could not make any objection. The place had been built by Ruth & Jack Dibben who ran the Monmouth Ash pub in the village but they were retiring and moving away. Negotiations took place and Malcolm offered the absolute maximum that could be afforded but that was below the asking price so Malcolm withdrew. A week later he received a call to say the offer of £33,000 would be accepted. They moved in with their two sons at the beginning of July 1978 and were welcomed with a bouquet of flowers from their Dutch friends Hans & Ynskje.
The house was nicely situated in a quiet lane and overlooking woodland. It immediately provided space for the family and the boys each had a good size bedroom. Malcolm later divided up the master bedroom thus making a guest room. The garden was not as big as that in Manor Road but it was adequate, however, it was not laid out as Malcolm would have wished and it could not easily be altered to suit his preference. He did manage to create a small vegetable patch in the back garden to produce basic fruit and vegetable supplies.
Malcolm was working at Lesser Building Systems which was located just a quarter of a mile from the house so it was a mere couple of minutes to walk there also he could get home for lunch easily. Unfortunately, his job as a Contracts Manager required him to travel around the country several times a week, leaving home early and getting back late, so he did not therefore fully benefit from living close by. He travelled to all areas of the country and he used any free time to visit family or research his family history. He also persued his interest in photographing trains and post boxes.
Brenda continued with her hairdressing at home and had her equipment set up in the dining room. That room was originally an integral garage but the previous owners, being publicans, had converted it into a bar. Her mother lived a few minutes walk away and came over when Brenda was hairdressing to help with the work and look after the children.
It was soon apparent after moving into the house that there was a bees nest in the roof but it was left in place as it proved impossible to remove. Hornets also built a nest in the roof space a few years later and the local council sent a man to destroy it.
In September that year, Malcolm and Brenda took a week's holiday near Mevagissy in Cornwall whilst Brenda's mother looked after the children at home. In October they visited their friends in Holland for a few days, again leaving the children in the care of Brenda's mother. It snowed on the last day of December whilst Malcolm's friend and former colleague, Dave Johnson, was staying. As it turned out, the snow was so heavy that they were cut off for several days and Dave was unable to get home.
In February 1979, Malcolm was despatched to Nigeria by his company for the fourth and last time to act as a Technical Advisor for the erection of buildings for a construction camp near the Cameroon border. Later that year, Malcolm and Brenda joined their Dutch friends for a short camping holiday in Derbyshire, leaving their children at home again.
During the early years in Shaftesbury House, Malcolm and Brenda would walk the children around the lanes in Verwood at weekends, William being in his pram at first. Malcolm took the opportunity to take photographs as they walked but this developed into a project when he realised how quickly the place was changing. The village had been designated for major expansion so the fields and woods were being cleared for building and the lanes were being made into paved roads. Malcolm eventually compiled his photographs into a presentable form, indexed and laid out road by road, then later added new photographs of some places after development by way of comparison. He donated a copy to the local Historical Society and sunsequently created a website to make the pictures widely available.
In April 1981, Malcolm and Brenda went to visit their Dutch friends in Holland again. In August they took the children and Malcolm's mother to stay in a rented cottage in Millbrook, Cornwall. In October the family travelled to Whitburn in Northumberland to stay with the family of Brenda's brother.
The family went out on a number of weekend train trips, taking advantage of special offers from the train companies. On one of the trips, the driver invited James and William to sit in the cab and blow the horn when required. Malcolm had an interest in railways and built a shed in the garden to house his collection of memorabilia and model trains.
In April 1982 Malcolm & Brenda went to stay in the cottage in Millbrook again, this time taking their Dutch friends. In early August they met up with the Dutch couple again, this time staying in a cottage in Broome, Shropshire. Later the same month, Malcolm and Brenda took their children to stay in Padstow for a week. In October, Malcolm and Brenda took the children to London Zoo for a treat. On 29 December, Malcolm and his friend John who also was interested in railways, made a trip to North Devon to explore the old railway line. In the afternoon, they were inside a tunnel when Malcolm tripped and cracked his head. They went to the local hospital where Malcolm was patched up during which time John took a nap in the waiting room. John drove the car back, stopping in Dorchester for fish and chips. The girl serving kept looking at Malcolm's bandaged head at which John siad "Don't worry about him my dear, he's one of they Dorset Indians".
The children were attending the nearby Hillside Primary School. Brenda became involved as a helper from time to time and Malcolm as a member of the PTA, rising to become chairman.
In June 1983, Malcolm exhibited a model railway layout of Verwood station at a show put on by the Verwood Historical Society in the Memorial Hall. He was assisted by son James and railway friend John Homfray. In August that year, Dutch friends Hans and Ynskje came to stay. Later the same month the family rented a holiday chalet in Millendreath near Looe. It was a pretty delapidated place but the holiday was fun nonetheless. Brenda went with the children and her mother to visit family in Canada so Malcolm was left by himself for some weeks. He used the time to sort out the childrens toys then gave thehouse a spring-clean.
In January 1984, they went to stay with Malcolm's old friend Dave Johnson at the Horseshoe Inn in Shepton Mallet which he was running, and it turned out to be quite eventful. It was his wife Rae's birthday so he had arranged a strippergram for her in the saloon bar. To make things even there was also a policelady stripper in the public bar. At lunchtime the next day the chimney in the saloon bar caught fire. The Fire Brigade attended and made short work of quenching the fire, laying out a tarpaulin first to catch any sooty water then tidying up afterwards. It was amusing that one of the 'old boys' in the bar was a former fireman so he was giving directions throughout the operation. Whenit was over, Dave said to the Firemen "I suppose it's drinks all round then", and indeed it was.
Malcolm was a regular at the Albion Inn which was located next to the place he worked and just a couple of hundred yards from home. He enjoyed a game of cribbage and in May the landlady sponsored a competition in honour of her father. As it happened, there were only three entrants of which Malcolm was one. He had a 'bye' in the first round then went straight to the final to play the father whom he beat to win the trophy. In August the family took a holiday in a caravan in Haughton in Pembrokeshire. In October one of the many geophysical seismic oil surveys came past the house one morning which caught the interest of the children. Later that month Malcolm went on a rail enthusiasts trip to Kidderminster.
There was snow again in January 1985. Later that year Malcolm decided to have the windows replaced and arranged for his friend Ian Wichall to carry out the work. He also wanted the French doors to the dining room replaced with a window and he carried out this work by himself. The old windows were given to the children to build a den in the back garden.
In June Malcolm took James on an 18 hour train trip to Carlisle. In July the family took a weeks holiday in Hastings having been loaned a caravan and Alpha Romeo car to tow it by the next door neighbour. Malcolm had never towed a caravan before and it was a very wet and windy week. On the outward journey they had only done a few miles before they came upon a caravan on the motorway that had flipped up-side-down. Whilst in Hastings they met up with their Dutch friends Hans and Ynskje. In August the family took a further holiday in Cornwall. In October Malcolm took both boys on a train trip to a fun park near Neath that had a dry bobsled run they wanted to try. At Christmas that year members of the Verwood Band played some carols in the front garden, making use of the outside light to see what they were doing, there being no street lights in Eastworth Road.
March 1986 saw Malcolm on another railway trip, this time to Kent to ride on the Ronmey, Hythe and Dymchurch narrow gauge railway, taking son James with him. The family holiday in August was taken in a chalet near Trawsfynnyd in North Wales. They attempted to climb Snowdon but did not get very far. Unfortunately Brenda slipped whilst shopping and broke her ankle, spending most of the holiday in hospital. In November Malcolm took the boys on another outing on the train, reaching as far as Cambridge, all for £5 per ticket.
In August 1987 the family took a short camping holiday at Hatchet Pond near Beaulieu in the New Forest. Malcolm had to nip back home each day to feed the pet rabbit. Later that month they stayed at Barton Hall holiday camp near Paignton where the highlight was a dry skirun. In September Malcolm took James to a rail event at Woking then took William and friend Richard two days later. The latter trip was preceded by a visit to Battersea Park with the intention of going to the funfair. However, Malcolm was not aware that the funfair was no longer there and was cheated by the taxi driver who had dropped them off saying it was nearby. The family took a holiday in a cottage in Whitford, Devon in May 1988. In July they were back in Cornwall again, staying near Bude then in August they stayed in the very remote St.Gabriel's Cottage near Charmouth. A few days after Malcolm took his mother to Holland to stay with their friends Hans and Ynskje.
On 10 March 1989 Malcolm participated in Comic Relief Day at his office, being one of the few who braved fancy dress. He went as Wee Willy Winkie wearing his grandfather's nightshirt and long-johns. The family holiday in July was based at Penstowe Holiday Park near Kilkhampton in Cornwall giving access to a variety of interesting places for the children. The following month the family rented a terraced cottage in York for a week. The owner turned out to be a colleague of Malcolm's at the Midland Bank.
The family took an early holiday in April the following year, staying in a cottage annex on a farm in Bowerland near Olehampton, Devon. In May 1990 Malcolm was one of the parents to accompany some children from Hillside School on a short trip to France. In June he took his sons to an airshow at nearby Boscombe Down. Both boys were in the Fordingbridge Air Cadets so this show was of great interest. Parade was every Thursday so Brenda would drop them off and Malcolm would collect them on the way home, having visited his mother in Fordingbridge on the way. In November, Malcolm's colleague Colin put on a surprise 50th birthday party. It had been arranged to make it seem that he was being taken to dinner by his boss along with the other managers. When he arrived, Malcolm wondered why so many colleague happened to be in the restaurant at the same time but, when he saw his wife and younger son, he soon realised.
The family regularly went on outings at the weekend, often locally into the New Forest of to the Dorset coast. Looking for orchids in flower around Wareham was a favourite. In August that year the family returned to the cottage in Bowerland making the journey in the green Rover SDI he had bought that day. It quickly became evident that the car was a 'dog' but Malcolm persevered with it for a few years. In September Malcolm took the boys to the Farnborough Air Show by train.
In April 1991 the family rented a cottage in Clifford near Hay-on-Wye. This was near to where Malcolm's brother lived so the two families were able to meet. In July it was the Fairford Air Show to which Malcolm took the boys. The following month Brenda and Malcolm went over to Holland via the Harwich ferry to stay with their friends who now lived on a houseboat. Later that month was the Bournemouth Air Show to which Brenda came along as well. Leaving the show was a nightmare as the exit was very narrow and it took several hours to get out of the car park.
Boscombe Down Air Show was visited by Malcolm and his sons again in 1992. Brenda's mother passed away in July that year and Malcolm had taken quite a few days off work to attend on her and her daughters to the point that his manager was getting irritated at his absence. He then acted as executor for her Will.
In August 1993 the family rented a cottage in Docking, Norfolk. They had not been to that part of the country before and Malcolm saw it as an opportunity to do some family history research in in the area. In September Malcolm arranged a flight from Eastleigh for himself, son William and his friend with a colleague from work who had a pilot's licence. After that both sons joined the Air Cadets at Fordingbridge and, on Thursday evenings, Malcolm would collect them after parade having called in at his mothers house on the way home from work and had dinner whilst he waited.
In July 1994 the whole family went over to Holland to stay with their Dutch friends on their houseboat in Flevoland. The following year James left home to start at Portsmouth University. During the summer holiday the family stayed in an annex to Parton Vrane Farm in Portscatho on the Roseland peninsular in Cornwall.
In September 1996, Malcolm and Brenda attended a small ceremony in Guildford Town hall in connection with some memorabilia of Horace Shepherd Folker, a relative of his mother. Malcolm had done a great deal of research into that family and had been in touch with the local museum curator. October saw Brenda and Malcolm visiting Holland again. In April the following year, the Dutch freinds came to England and stayed in Jacobstowe in Devon, Malcolm and Brenda joining them for a few days. On 2 November, Malcolm and Brenda dined on a train on the Watercress Line as a celebration of their wedding anniversary.
The Dutch friends came over again in June 1998 and stayed together with Malcolm and Brenda in Glenelg in Western Scotland. In October, Brenda and Malcolm spent a few days in Shaldon near Teignmouth. In July, Malcolm and Brenda took their holiday in Porthowan in Cornwall.
Malcolm took the opportunity of early retirement in 1998 having accepted voluntary redundancy with which came a lump sum payment then an immediate pension.
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