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Cowethas Kernewek Loundres

Deadline forthe WinterNewsletter

is

5th NovemberPlease send allcontributions toThe Editor at theaddress on the

back page

Family History DaySaturday, 17th October201510am - 4.30pm

Visit to theFoundling Museum

22nd November 20152.15 for 2.30pm

Further details ofthese events can befound on page 2

www.londoncornish.co.uk

Well, it is official: it is now autumn. The mildweather we have been having makes ithard to believe, but the recent crisper morn-ings and the hint of autumn colours on thetrees are convincing reminders. This is oneof my favourite seasons. I love watching thetrees change colour and especially enjoykicking the fallen leaves with my grand-daughter!When I started to prepare this newsletter, Iwas anxious that it would be a very lightissue as so little material had come in. Itwas with great relief therefore that emailsand snail mail started to trickle in late inAugust – I am really grateful to those whohave provided material. It is so important tohave a variety of authors as it makes for amuch more interesting newsletter.My gratitude to those who have sent initems is tinged with disappointment as youwill notice that sadly, we do not have anyreports for two recent LCA events – the visitto the London Metropolitan Archives andthe Midsummer Lunch. Neither have wehad any reports on this year’s Rosyer Lec-ture – an event usually attended by severalof our members. I am therefore putting outa plea for people who attend events toshare their experiences with others who forvarious reasons are unable to attend. Thismay be written by one person or be a col-

laborative project for a couple of you. Pic-tures would also be lovely! The LCAarranges some very interesting and variedevents and it is such a pity not to recordthem.We rely on you, our members, to supportthe Association and the events and activi-ties which your Officers arrange for you.Before we hibernate for the winter, we havetwo exciting events – a Family History Dayon 17th October and a visit to the FoundlingMuseum on 22nd November. We encour-age you to attend either or both of these.You can find out more about the speakersat the Family History Day on page 2 – andremember that a delicious pasty lunch andafternoon tea with spits is included in yourfee. Definitely worth coming for!The visit to the Foundling Museum at theend of November is a wonderful follow-onto the talk we heard at the Family HistoryDay in April. This is one of my favouritemuseums, with so much on offer includingregular talks and concerts. Those who havenot been there before might be pleased toknow that there is a small café which sellsdrinks and food – including simple meals –some of you might be interested in visitingbefore our tour.We look forward to seeing many of you atthese forthcoming events.

Congratulations to two LCA friends who were honoured at the2015 Open Gorsedh

We were delighted to hear that two peoplewho have, for many years, had close linkswith the LCA were honoured at the 2015Open Gorseth.The Pewas Map Trevethan Award for serv-ices to Cornwall by someone living outsideCornwall was given to Dickon Moon, theRedruth born Director of the London CornishRugby Football Club, for outstanding servic-es to Cornish Rugby. Dickon has had a longassociation with the LCA, writing rugby re-ports for the newsletter for many years.The London Cornish Association Shield wasawarded to Daphne Stone, President of theMidland Cornish Association, in recognitionof the many years she has worked for Cor-nish Associations.

Daphne Stone,President of theMidland CornishAssociation.

Dickon Moon,Director of theLondon Cornish RFC

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LONDON CORNISH ASSOCIATIONFAMILY HISTORY DAY

Saturday, 17th October 2015

Speakers:Dr Paul Blake

‘Manorial Records: the origins of the manor & the manorial system & records produced’Dr Paul Blake is a full-time researcher, lecturer and writer. He is joint author of several publications, writesregularly for Family History Monthly and other periodicals and acted as advisor to TV family historyprogrammes. His talk focuses upon the nature of the manor. For 500 years after the Conquest, the Englishmanor was the principal unit of local government. Its head was the lord of the manor who held his estate fromthe king. The power and authority of the manor began to wane from the sixteenth century but the records ofits inhabitants and their families continued to be kept in the court rolls, often until well into the twentiethcentury. These include details of property holding and transfer, those brought to the court for minor crimesand misdemeanours and the election of officials, from the constable to the ale-taster.

Dr Peter Stanier ‘Botallack & Levant: mine landscapes in West Penwith’

Dr Peter Stanier, from Liskeard, is a well known authority on mining and quarrying industries and is the authorof several books and papers on these and other Cornish subjects. As an industrial archaeologist, he isparticularly interested in the interpretation of our mining heritage in the landscape. His illustrated talkdescribes how to explore the remarkable ruins of the famous Botallack and Levant tin and copper mines onthe dramatic cliffs of West Penwith.

Venue:Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church

235 Shaftesbury AvenueLondon WC2H 8EP

(Nearest underground stations: Holborn or Tottenham Court Road,Please note that Central Line trains are not stopping

at TCR at present)Time:

10am to 4.30pm

Fee: £15 for members (including LCA-affiliated societies and Cornwall Family History Society). £20 for non-members.

This includes coffee, pasty & saffron cake lunch and cream tea.Vegetarian pasties can be provided if ordered in advance.

Contact:For booking or further information:

Gill Penny (g.n.penny@btinternet.com; Tel: 01908 316317) Carol Goodwin (carolgoodwin951@btinternet.com)

Visit to the Foundling Museum22nd November – 2.30pmThe Foundling Museum looks at the history of the Found-ling Hospital, the first children’s charity to be founded inthe UK. The hospital, which was founded by ThomasCoram in 1741, was established for the ‘education andmaintenance of exposed and deserted young children.’Among the early Governors of the Hospital were GeorgeFrederick Handel and William Hogarth.This visit is the perfect follow-on to the talk given at theApril Family History Day by Jane King. We are fortunatethat Jane will be leading our special tour of the museum.

Venue:The Foundling Museum, 40 Brunswick Square, LondonWC1N 1AZ

Getting there:Closest tube station is Russell Square (On the Piccadillyline). The Museum is a short walk from the station – turnright as you leave the station and walk to the park at theend of the road. Turn left and first right - The Museumfaces the park.Meet: At the entrance – or just inside the entrance if it iscold or wet at 2.15pmFee: £8 per personConvenor: Carol Goodwin -carolgoodwin951@btinternet.comTel: 020 83039054

To facilitate arrangements, please let Carol know ifyou are planning to attend

A warm welcome is extended to non-members who would like to attend any of theLondon Cornish Association events.

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London Cornish Association AGMThe LCA AGM 2015 was held on July 23rd (postponedfrom June 10th) 2015. at Bloomsbury Central BaptistChurch at 2 pm, preceded by a pasty lunch at 1.00 p.m.The meeting was chaired by Dr Francis Dunstan (LCAChairman) because of the absence, due to illness, of thePresident, Sir John Trelawny.The Chairman welcomed the 20 members present andmade brief biographical reference to each of those mem-bers who have died during the past year, namely:Percy Whitford JP, Edgar Hosking, Mrs Lorna Priddis,Brian Reed, Tom Sims, Michael Williams and Frank Isaac.The meeting stood in their memory. Apologies for absence: only 26 had been received.The meeting followed the usual pattern: The Minutes ofthe 2014 AGM were presented and approved, followed bythe Annual Reports. As these have already been printedin the [summer] newsletter, I will just make some briefcomments. The Chairman said that his holding the posi-tion of HGS as well as Chairman, and having no Vice-chairman was clearly unsatisfactory. No one had respond-ed to his written report. He expressed disappointmentabout the low attendance and the few apologies receivedfor this AGM.Membership update: membership stood at 226, but therewere a large number [30] of members who were apparent-ly in arrears. They would be written to as usual.Family History: Carol Goodwin gave details of the forth-coming October meeting, and gave the dates for 2016 -April 16 and October 15.

Membership Subscription will remain at £15.

The following Officers of the Association were elected enbloc:President: Sir John TrelawnyChairman: (for the 4th year) Dr Francis DunstanVice-Chairman: VacantHon Gen General Secretary: Vacant (Dr Francis Dunstan,acting)Treasurer: Ms Jacqueline TrembathNewsletter Editor: Mrs Elizabeth BroekmannMembership Secretary: Mr Graham PearceSecretary for Public Relations: Mr Graham Gendall NortonWebsite Administrator: Mrs Carol Goodwin.Two members were re-elected to Council: Mrs Kath Slat-ter and Mr Tony Wakeham…but nobody else!The usual appointments were made:Trustee: Mr Charles WilliamsHospital visiting Convener: Mrs Rosemary DeanHon Solicitor: Ms Claire Bowden-DanAuditor: To be appointedChaplain: Rev Michaela Youngson

Other business:· The Annual Service did not take place in 2014 .It

was suggested that it could be combined with anormal Sunday service at Westminster CentralHall, especially when it was the “turn” of the Meth-odist Chairman.

· The poor turn out for the AGM and The TrelawnyLecture was a cause for concern and discussion.It was suggested that the AGM might be com-bined with the Family History April meeting: Thisidea would be discussed in Council, and the Fam-ily History Group Committee.

The meeting closed at 3.05 p.m.

Members who attended the AGM and Trelawny Lecture

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Report on theTrelawny Lecture 2015Given by Mrs Ann Hicks, Chairman of the Cornwall FamilyHistory Society

The Cornwall War History ProjectThis report is based on Ann’s lecture, with some additionalpersonal comments from Francis Dunstan and contribu-tions from Lorna Leadbetter.

We were delighted to welcome the Chairman of CornwallFamily History Society to present the Trelawny Lecture2015. Ann had come up from Bodmin the day before to besure that she would be on time!

Ann has been in charge of the MI Project (recordingmonumental inscriptions on graves, memorials etc) formany years, and the War History project is an extensionof that. Anyone with a Cornish connection who has takenpart in any way in any conflict since 1914 (the two WorldWars, Palestine, Korea, Northern Ireland, Aden, the Falk-lands, Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq) are entitled to beincluded in the database which is being created.The CFHS database will be used by Truro Cathedral tomake a Book of Remembrance, and is also being usedeach day in the prayer life of the Cathedral. For example,Ann told us that on the 100th anniversary of each person’sdeath, the name is read out at Morning Prayers.My notes on Ann’s Lecture are not as complete as I wouldhave liked, so I have consulted the project website, and Iinvite you to do the same -www.cornwallswarhistory.co.uk/. Ann emphasised thatthe website is very much a ‘work in progress’ and is beingadded to almost daily. In fact, it is a project that she thinkswill never be completed!There is an incredible amount of data there which is ofgreat interest For me one of the earliest military gravestone records I remember was on the grave of BrianRichards (uncle to member Dick Richards) at EdgcumbeMethodist Church, which has the AF wings on it. TheChurch also has a War Memorial. Ann said that therewere no set criteria for the design of war memorials. Eachparish and town had its own. Launceston War memorial in1920 was mentioned.Edgcumbe Methodist Church has a fine granite crossrecording the fallen of two World Wars. It also has a Rollof Honour. Rolls of Honour sometimes included thenames of all those who were involved in a conflict, the

survivors as well as the fallen, so great care is taken withrecording these particularly in Methodist Churches.CFHS’s initial task was to record names of casualties andenter them in the database; they have now started on thesecond stage and are recording names of those involvedin a war who survived the experience. There are 299 Warmemorials and Rolls of Honour around Cornwall. My halfbrother appears on the Edgcumb Roll of Honour (hisforename spelled wrongly!). Geoffrey was wounded onmanoeuvres, losing his right ear and eye.Ann told the story of Sydney Pascoe. His name is notrecorded on the Edgcumb War Memorial. It is said that hisfather did not want his son’s name there, because hewould pass it six times a day on the way to and from work.It is, however, on the Parish Memorial at Wendron ParishChurchAnn showed us some letters and postcards from servingsoldiers to their families, including a postcard from a DCLIsoldier, aged 23, showing a pastyCaptain Edward Hain died at Sulva Bay Turkey, on 11 Nov1915 aged 28. His home was at Treloyhan, St Ives. He isremembered on four war memorials. He served with theRoyal Devon Yeomanry. St Ives Cottage Hospital wasbuilt and equipped in his memory.Not only military people are in the database. Many civil-ians feature too, for example on the 6 Aug 1942 TruroInfirmary was bombed (a 500 pounder), and among the 44killed was Nurse Rachel Joan Dorcas Appleby aged 20.She is commemorated in Penzance.Other civilians, like fire-fighters, are included on the web-site. In WW1 Henry Channon, (Helston) aged 46, servingin the Royal Defence Corps was killed in the London Blitz.German Airships made 51 bombing raids on London. Hedied of shock through injuries received and is buried inBrookwood Cemetery in Surrey.

There is one set of five brotherswho were killed and numeroussets of other relations.Ann mentioned the HMS Albion’srole in WW1.She was in the Dar-danelles campaign and recordedare those who died of injuries orillness at sea. The oldest servingsailor was aged 75 (I wonder if hewas Cornish?). Edwin Blewett(Paul, Penzance) died 9 Sep

1916, aged 38. His brother John Marrack Blewett fell tooand is commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial referredto below. John Edward Dove (Looe) aged 35 died in Malta23 May 1915. Josiah Harry (Paul Roll of Honour) died 28June 1915 and was buried at sea aged 48. Arthur ESBMonk from Flushing and his brother also fell. Henry Nan-carrow (Grampound) died in Greece 30 Oct 1915 aged 31and William Saxon Rowe from Gerrans died on 11 April1915 aged 39.

Grave of Henry Channon ofHelston

World War 1 and 2 Memorials on Tower Hill

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CondolencesIt was with sadness that we heard recently of the deaths several members of the LCA:

Rear Admiral James Armstrong, who was born in Fowey, died on December 31st. He had been a music scholar atKing’s School, Canterbury before he entered Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth in 1964. His illustrious careerincluded a stint as deputy supply officer of the Royal Yacht Britannia.

Frank Isaac who was a member of the LCA from the end of 1951 died on 11th June. In addition to his LCA involvement,he was a member of St John and was a military band enthusiast.

Raleigh Trevelyan, the renowned publisher and author, who died on 23rd October 2014.Mr D P Brokenshire, originally from St Austell and latterly living inLoughton.

Our thoughts are with the families and friends of these members.

We were also saddened to hear that Mr Geoffrey Holborow, husband of past Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall, MaryHolborow died at Ladock in August. Our thoughts are with his family and friends.

The many war memorials around the world are beingrecorded, and a number of CFHS members are helpingwith the project including the LCA’s Lorna Leadbetter. Aswell as checking the database and adding to it, wherepossible, for several years she has been visiting cemeter-ies and war memorials in London to take photos. Amongthe most significant of these are the Merchant Navy Me-morials on Tower Hill. Here in London on the south side ofTrinity Square Gardens are two memorials commemorat-ing men and women from the Merchant Navy and fishingfleets who died during both world wars and have ‘no gravebut the sea’ - WWI 12,000, WW2 24,000 British. About250 of these are Cornish and more may be found asresearch continues. In addition, on Tower Hill is the me-morial to Merchant Navy personnel who lost their lives inthe Falklands conflict. Among the 17 names is one Cor-nishman, David Hawkins, a steward on the Atlantic Con-veyor who is also commemorated on the NewquayMemorial.Ann mentioned the ‘Royal Edward’, a Canadianpassenger/mail vessel requisitioned as a troop carrier,which was torpedoed on 13 Aug 1915. She was also in theDardanelles Campaign. Of the 866 casualties, 55 wereCornish, (Another source reports that 1367 officers andmen were aboard, and 935 were lost so you may take yourpick)Ann concluded by mentioning the holders of some ofthose decorated with the higher medals: for example the

VC and DFC to Wing Commander Guy Penrose Gibson,(Porthleven has a commemorative plaque), the GC toStaff Sergeant Olaf Schmid in Afghanistan (commemora-tive plaque in Truro), and holders of the DSO, DSM, MC,MM.I hope we have given a flavour of Ann Hicks’ excellentpresentation, and hope there are not too many errors inour additional material. Do have a look at the projectwebsite! The amount of work already there is enormous.It includes photographs and biographical details.I’m sorry so few members attended this year, and wishedthat I had been able to record for you the many excellentillustrations that Ann presented.

Visit the Cornwall War History website:http://www.cornwallswarhistory.co.uk/

If you have information on Cornish men or women whohave served in any conflict, please send it to the CFHS forpossible inclusion in the database.

Tower Hill Memorial, London

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Two Member’s Stories Of CornishServicemen

A Soldier And A Sailor…The commemoration of the centenary of the start of thefirst world war last year and a visit to the site of all thoseceramic poppies [at the Tower] had re-awakened my fearsthat as the years go by there won’t be many left to keepalive the memory of those who died in the two world wars.However, Ann Hicks, Chairman of the Cornwall FamilyHistory Society and our speaker at the AGM showed thatCFHS members are certainly doing their bit for the Cor-nish. Ann gave a fascinating and very moving account ofhow they discover the identities of lost loved ones eg.finding mention of them on their parent’s graves etc.Incidentally, their efforts were not just because 2014marks the centenary World War 1, as they were already‘on the case’ before the centenary commemorations be-gan. Ann emphasised that it wasn’t all facts, statistics andnumbers (although the numbers in Cornwall were huge)but people, our Cornish people that were being recorded.If I had read my newsletter properly (I have since!) I wouldhave known it said that included in the database were‘those who arrived home to tell the tale’ Well, my Dad andhusband were able to do that. They both left Cornwall,Dad from Roche and Ted from Mousehole, to fight for theircountry but because Dad’s widower father died in 1917,he had no home to return to at the end of the war and sohe went to live with his sister in Plymouth.Both men were under age when they joined up. Dad was17 when he enlisted in the army in 1915 as a despatchmotor bike rider and spent his war service in France andBelgium. Ted only joined in 1944 at the tender age of 16as a navvy lad with the Royal Navy and served on minesweepers in the Far East. He was to stay in the navy foranother nine years but always spent his leave in Mouse-hole.My apologies that this is a somewhat personal story butjust imagine, if you can, that if my Dad and Ted had notmade it home to ‘tell the tale’, there would be no Yvonneor Jackie!!Yvonne Trembath (nee Rawle)[Mother of LCA TreasurerJackie]

Cornish airman identified after 18 yearsVictory Rundle Oats, grandson of the miner and Chairmanof De Beers, Francis Oats, served in the RAF in WorldWar 2. He was killed in Germany and is listed on theCornwall War History database. He was not, however,positively identified for 18 years and the story of how thishappened is a fascinating one.Wing Commander Oats took over command of 21 Squad-ron on 9th February 1945 at the age of 29 and, togetherwith his navigator Flight Sergeant FC Gubbings, flew anumber of night missions in the Munich and Cologneareas. On the night of 12/13 March 1945, the squadronwas sent to bomb road and rail communications east ofthe Ruhr. At the end of the mission, Oats and Gubbingsfailed to return and eyewitness reports said that the planehad been seen on fire and flying very low. They had tried

to gain altitude after they were hit so that the plane washigh enough for them to bale out but they didn’t suceedand the plane crashed with them still inside. The next day,they were found by local farmers and were buried by anold oak tree at Linner Mill. Later they were re-buried atHanover War Cemetery but their identities had not beenconfirmed.In the 1960s, the Doels family were farming in the areawhere the plane crashed and in 1963, when they werebringing in their potato harvest, a small watch was un-earthed by the plough. On the back was engraved ’VROats RAF – 15.4.36’ and it had stopped at 12.10. Mr Doelscontacted his priest who was a well known local historianand the priest tracked down the families of Oats andGubbings. In1969, the watch was given to Victor’s brother,Lt Col Giles Oats. Further excavations in the area in the1990s unearthed the plane’s engines.W/Cdr Oats and Fl/Sgt Gubbings are buried in a jointgrave in Hanover and there is a memorial to Oats in theparish church in St Just-in-Penwith

We welcome the following new member who hasrecently joined the LCA:

Ms Sue Isaacwho lives in Orpington ,Kent

Do you know anyone who has Cornish connections –whether by birth, descent or marriage? Why not encour-age them to join the LCA? They can obtain an applicationform from:The Membership Secretary17 Trellyn CloseBarmingMaidstoneME16 9EFor on the website: www.londoncornish.co.uk

The memorial to Victor Rundle Oats and two cousinswhich is in the parish church in St Just in Penwith.

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The Bleu Bridge near GulvalWhile in South Africa recently, a friend gave me a coupleof old photos of Cornwall which date back to the 1890s.This one shows the Blue/Bleu Bridge, a foot bridge whichcrosses the Ponsandane Stream near GulvalWhat makes this bridge particularly interesting is that atone end there is a monumental stone which is thought tobe about 1200 years old and is clearly visible in thephotograph. The stone bears an inscription which reads

Qvenatavci Ic Dinvi Filivs. This translates as (The stone)of Qvenataucus here, son of Dinvius.Until at least 1841, the stone formed part of the structureof the footbridge but in 1845, it was taken up and placedvertically at the end of the bridge. In the autumn of 1894(after this picture was taken), it fell into the stream duringan autumn storm and when it was raised, it was placedsome distance away, at the side of the pathway. This iswhere it can be seen today.

Our thanks to the Western Morning news for giving uspermission to reproduce the following article

Tuesday June 2 2015 Western Morning News

Mathematician-historian was a naturalstorytellerBy Simon Parker

Liz Hotten was an indomitable Cornish woman who, dur-ing her thirty-year career as a mathematician in London,always planned to return to her ancestral home of Ladock,writes Bernadette Braidley.Liz, who has died aged 80, knew a lot about her ancestors,having traced her family back to the thirteenth century.During our shared car journeys from London to Cornwall,she would relate entertaining anecdotes of second cous-ins once removed, and first cousins twice removed, until Iknew the difference.Born at Fentonladock Farm in 1934, Elizabeth AudreyHotten was the youngest of three sisters. Horses had notbeen replaced by tractors at that time, and she remem-bered her sister Joan working a team of four to cut barleywith a binder. During the Second World War build up to

D-Day, American soldiers camped in fields on the farm.Missing their own children at home, they would give heroranges and sweets, a rare treat at the time.Liz won prizes for maths at school and gained a place atSir John Cass College to study the subject. This was ahuge achievement during an era when only one per centof women went to university.After three years of study, she worked for EMI as amathematician. Although she had to endure the 1950sstyle two-thirds pay for the same work as men, Liz enjoyedsolving engineering problems using a calculator the sizeof a room. She carried out secret government work, de-signed an internal factory railway track for a Dagenhamcar plant, and had responsibility for a weather data buoymoored off the Outer Hebrides.During this pre-internet time Liz’s holidays would be spentin the County Archives at Truro, or in parish churches,finding records of hundreds of people and dates to even-tually put together detailed charts for the various branchesof the Hotten family tree, dating back to 1213. Her re-search can be found at hotten.net.After retiring to Truro, she carried out valuable work forCornwall Records Office, deciphering 16th century hand-writing. I have a copy of The Inventorye of all the goodsand chattles of William Hawten of the parish of St Nyott the

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first day of September Anno Domini 1598, of which oneitem is one yvell and one pack sadle.Liz joined Ladock and Truro Old Cornwall societies andpublished a trilogy of books on Bygone Days of Ladock .They include extracts from farm accounts of 1834, asnippet from 1902 saying the Great Western Railwaybetween Grampound Road and Truro had been complet-ed, and a 1961 piece from the Western Morning Newsrelating that ‘electricity has saved a Cornish farmer £5 aweek’. In 2008 Liz published Cornwall at War, containingextracts from Cornish parish magazines from the Boer,First and Second world wars.I loved listening to Liz’s stories of the ancestors. As wedrove towards the sun setting over the Tamar Bridge, Iwould be asked: ‘Do you know about your great grandfa-ther, Harry Christian Hotten? In the early 1900s he learntto drive by driving the one and a half miles from Brightoncrossroads to Fentonladock once, then drove the familyinto Truro. Stopping on a hill, he had no idea about hillstarts, so let the car drift back into the hedge, and startedfrom there. ‘Then there was her father, who was called up during theFirst World War, but was posted to the Isle of Wightinstead of France because he was the only soldier whoknew how to work the tractor-driven machine to crushoats for horse feed.But my favourite story was about the connection with SirEdmund Shaa (her 11-times-great grandfather), who be-came Lord Mayor of London in 1482. He was a mastergoldsmith and was asked to make four golden goblets forthe coronation of Richard III. The perk of this job was afterthe coronation the goldsmith was allowed to keep hishandiwork. The tale always finished with: ‘So, waiting tobe discovered in a dark corner of some distant cousin’sattic, there are four dusty golden goblets.’Goodbye, dear first cousin once removed.

Thanks to Sheila Henwood for sending in this item.

Cornish Woman Recognised inNew Zealand New Year’s Honours List.In the 2015 New Zealand New Year’s Honours List,Heather Mitchell-Gladstone was awarded a Queen’s Serv-ice Medal for services to music.  Heather is of Cornishdescent and was born in Port Isaac.  Along with herparents and older brother, Heather moved to New Zealandas a child but the family maintained their Cornish connec-tions, in particular through the Christchurch branch of theCornish Association of New Zealand of which she is a lifemember.Heather has for many years performed both nationally andinternationally as a soloist, as well as in bands, groups andorchestras.  She has led community choirs for both chil-dren and adults.  She has a great interest in folk music,Cornish music, and has also spent some time as a musicspecialist and as a touring musician in schools in theSouth West of England and in Finland.She is currently running her own music school teachingaccordion, singing, and piano.Heather was presented with her medal by His ExcellencyLieutenant General The Right Honourable Sir Jeremiah

‘Jerry’ Mateparae in a ceremony at Government House inMay.

Thank you to Lynette Hurley from New Zealand for sharingthis item with us.

New Publication

Gorsedh Kernow returns to Carwynnen

In June, the Gorsedh Kernow’s Awen Ceremony washeld at the site of the recently restored Carwynnen Quoitnear Camborne. The last time that Carwynnen was usedfor a Gorsedh ceremony was in 1948 when the GrandBard was Robert Morton Nance. This, therefore, was amost appropriate setting for the launch of a new bookleton the Bards who were initiated at that ceremony.The new booklet is the seventh in a series on the CornishBards of Gorsedh Kernow. The first six booklets focus onthe Bards from particular areas of Cornwall. What makesthis booklet different is that it concentrates on the livesand work of the nineteen Bards who were initiated atCarwynnen in 1948.The booklet provides photographs of many of the Bardsand summaries of their contribution to the rich history ofCornwall. They were a diverse group ranging from teach-ers to ministers and local historians to Cornish languageenthusiasts. One who will be of particular interest tomembers of the London Cornish Association is PeggyColes who joined the LCA at the age of 16 and becamethe first female Chairman in 1949-50.The booklet was researched and compiled by formerGrand Bard Ann Trevenen Jenkin. It provides a veryreadable account of the work of an important group ofCornish people and will be of particular interest to any-one who wants some background to this interestinggroup of people.The booklet costs £5 (plus £1.75 UK p&p. It can be ob-tained via the Gorsedh webite -http://www.gorsethkernow.org.uk/shop.html or from JerryRogers, Gorsedh Treasurer, 17 Chiltern Road,Sandhurst, Berkshire, GU47 8NB(jerryrogers@sgrconsultancy.co.uk)

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Cornish memories in KimberleyOn my recent visit to South Africa, I had the privilege ofspending a weekend in Kimberley. This is an area to whichmany Cornish miners came to escape the depressed tinmining conditions which existed in Cornwall in the late19th century. Their hard rock mining skills became in-creasingly valuable as the diamond diggings becamedeeper and my Great Grandfather Francis Oats, whocame from St Just, was employed by the Kimberley MiningBoard to help with their recruitment.Many Cornishmen came to the area and, although thistown is now clearly a very different place, there is stillevidence of their existence. For instance, there are sever-al attractive homes from the heyday of the town, some ofwhich were lived in by Cornish people and one of theboarding hostels at Kimberley Boys’ High School is called‘Francis OatsHouse’.

Perhaps the most recognisable ‘legacy’ is the world fa-mous Big Hole which was excavated by hand as miners(not all Cornish) worked their diggings between 1870 and1914. It is the largest hand-dug excavation in the worldand now forms part of a fantastic new museum complex.Although I saw the Big Hole as a child, knowing moreabout its history and its link to my ancestors made it evenmore impressive on this visit.

Another stop on my whirlwind tour was t the old De BeersCompany Head Office and Board Room. Unfortunately itwas not open at the time but I was still able to imagineFrancis Oats, who was Chairman of De Beers for manyyears, walking up the steps on his way to meetings.

The trip ended with a superb lunch at the Kimberley Club.This Club was founded by Cecil Rhodes and other keymen in the diamond industry and according to one earlyvisitor, ‘was stuffed with more millionaires to the squarefoot than any other place in the world’! During its earlyhistory, many historic decisions which affected not onlyKimberley, but also Southern and Central Africa and theinternational diamond industry were made here. Cornish-man Oats was Chairman of the Club in 1913-4. Today it isstill a popular venue for meals and entertaining and,because of its elegant architecture as well as good food,weddings.

Billy Bray Pulpit Acquired by the LiskeardOCSThe Liskeard Old Cornwall Society, has recently beengiven the famous three cornered Billy Bray Pulpit whichwas being used as a table at the Rose and Vale Hotel,Mithian, Nr St Agnes. At some point, work had been doneon it to convert it to a table with a plywood top.The pulpit has been accepted by Rev (Canon) Tony Ingle-by, Vicar of St Martin's Parish Church, Liskeard where itwill be incorporated in the Church’s furniture.The pulpit has an interesting story…When Billy Bray, an old Cornish miner, had built one of hischapels, he needed a pulpit to complete it. He believed theLord had a suitable item somewhere in the town and setoff to find it. His hunt led him to a local auction housewhere he found two large corner cabinets which werebeautifully carved and reminiscent of pulpits found inMethodist churches in those days. He thought he hadenough money to purchase one of them and joined thebidders at the sale of the first one. He was so sure hewould be able to afford one of these cupboards that hekept his money ready in his hand. The bidding on the firstcupboard soon passed his limit. Undaunted, he decided tobid on the second cupboard, but once again the price wastoo high.Disappointed, Billy followed the cart onto which the sec-ond cupboard had been placed. The new owner took hispurchase home but found it impossible to get it into hishouse. In a fit of pique, the man told his wife that he wouldchop it up for firewood. Overhearing this, Billy offered theman the money he had in his pocket. His offer was accept-ed and so he finally got the pulpit he needed for his chapel.Duncan Paul Matthews

The foundation stone on the boarding house at Kim-berley Boys’ High School

The ‘Big Hole’, the largest hand-dug excavation in theworld. Many Cornish miners were involved in its creation

The old De Beers Head Office and Board Room

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UNITED STATESThe Milwaukee Cornish Association recently celebratedits 30th anniversary with a pasty lunch. Art Angove offeredgrace in Cornish, and the lunch which followed includedbeef and pork, rutabaga and potato pasties and delicioussides.After lunch, Bard Jim Wearne sang some Cornish folkmusic. The meeting closed with Art Angove saying aprayer in Cornish and Jim Wearne leading One and All insinging ‘Trelawny.’In September, the Cornish Society Picnic took place inHomestead Hollow Park. The cook-out and picnic mealwere followed by some storytelling from Terry Woods who,when he isn’t telling stories, operates a small creameryand makes artisan cheese. One of his hobbies is hikingand he has walked the entire Cornwall Coastal Trail.The AGM of the Southwest Wisconsin Cornish Society inMay saw some changes on the Board. Janet Jackson wasappointed President for two years and her deputy for oneyear will be Stan Cutler who is standing in for CatherineWhitford.After the meeting, there was the usual sumptuous pot-luckmeal and then the young people from the Student Ex-change trip to Redruth in March talked of their experiencesand showed some of their pictures.

CANADAAt their July meeting, the Toronto Cornish Associationheard a talk by John White on the history of Cornishlifeboats, together with pictures of towering waves andbattered ships.Ann Crichton-Harris celebrated her birthday at this meet-ing and the refreshments included a birthday cake, com-plete with candles which was enjoyed by those attending.Their annual picnic was held in early August. A deliciousbarbecue was served and cooked, to perfection as usual,by Jim Cockcroft and Michael Gichard who were thankedfor their ‘wonderful culinary efforts’. Members contributeda variety of dishes which gave the finishing touches to agreat feast.The big event in the life of the TCA at present is the visitof the Trelawny Choir from Cornwall. The Association isresponsible for the organisation of a concert in Septem-ber. Impressively, by the end of August, all 450 tickets hadbeen sold.

AUSTRALIAWe were very pleased to hear that two members of theCornish Association of Victoria were initiated as Bards atthe recent Gorsedh Ceremony. They are Robyn Coatesand Lenice Stuchbury, both of whom were made Bards inrecognition of their ‘continuing work for Cornwall in Aus-tralia’. We congratulate them on these well-deservedappointments.In August, members of the Cornish Association of Victoriaheard Jill Beard, Liz Egan and Derek Trewarne, speak onvarious topics relating to World War 1. The speaker in

September will be Ted Curnow who will tell stories of theCornish settlers who went to Australia in the 1850s and1860s in his talk entitled Colonial Pioneers and Parsons.At their Senior’s Day event in October Ron Killeen willspeak about the Outer Circle Railway and in November,Max Beck will speak about his recently published book ‘ADifferent Earth’.Members of the Geelong Branch of the CAV participatedin the National Celtic Festival over the Queen’s Birthdaylong weekend. Their stall at this event was the largest theyhave ever had. While there, they had many interestingconversations with visitors.The Ballarat Branch of the CAV held its AGM in June. Atthis meeting, three Office Bearers retired, one being Len-ice Stuchbery who was given a Special Certificate ofAppreciation for the incredible 19 years that she served asSecretary.At the June meeting of the Branch, the President of theCAV, Beryl Curnow, gave a talk on the time she and herhusband spent in Cornwall while Ted was working as aMethodist Minister during 2003 to 2005.Ted was workingin the Hayle-St Ives Circuit of the Methodist Church andthey lived in both Hayle and St Ives. They enjoyed thebeauty of Cornwall – the rugged hills and dunes and theamazing farmland. Their August speaker was AlistairGeorge whose topic was The Last Smuggler in Cornwall.In October, Robyn Coates will share some of the informa-tion she has discovered on the 39th Battalion from theFirst World War, Ballarat’s adopted Batallion.In June, members of the Cornish Association of SouthAustralia had a ‘soup and pasty’ tea, followed by a Cornishsing-a-long and in July they had a tour of the City ofAdelaide clipper ship. Their AGM was held in August. Aplea for more help on the Committee was put out before-hand. A note in the newsletter declares: The currentcommittee has been largely unchanged for several yearsnow, and the committee members don’t want to have anyfeelings that you ‘wouldn’t fit in’ or that ‘new blood’ is notwelcome!It has been a busy time for the members of the SouthernSons of Cornwall. In March they braved inclement weatherto visit Mountain Ridge Winery at Coolangatta where theyenjoyed fine food, good wine and good company. Some ofthem also attended the Berry Celtic Festival andKernewek Lowender and they had the pleasure of a lei-surely Sunday lunch with the Grand Bard Maureen Fuller.In June, 16 members of the Cornish Association ofQueensland attended a picnic at a new venue. At first theythought they might have to abandon the picnic due toheavy showers but the sun did eventually come out anda good time was had. Some members brought deserts –a date cake, a lemon meringue pie and a caraway seedcake – which were shared with everyone, and whateverwasn’t eaten on the day was finished off at a committeemeeting!Arrangements for Foundation Day in September are inhand and will include entertainment by The Red HotMama’s. There will also be a raffle and a secret auction.The final meeting of the year will be a Christmas dinner atthe end of November.

News from other Cornish Associations

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Like many other associations, the CAQ has built up a faircollection of books on Cornwall. This has presented themwith a storage problem and it has now been agreed thatthe books will be sold, with any money raised going toCAQ.Members of the Cornish Association of New South Walesparticipated in the Australian Celtic Festival during the firstweekend in May, raising the flag for Cornwall on theSaturday when they marched up to the Standing Stonesfor the 19th Cornish Stone Ceremony. After the ceremony,they joined in a fine day of events.In July, eighteen members descended on Betty Bevin’shome where they enjoyed a get-together and wonderful‘proper’ Cornish pasties made by Betty and Ruth. They willhold their End of Year lunch in late November.A Library Open Day will be held in October, giving mem-bers a chance to look thought the 500+ books and videosin the collection and select some to borrow. There will alsobe a discussion about future options for the library.The Association’s End of Year Lunch will be held in lateNovember.

NEW ZEALANDForty two members attended the annual Pasty Lunch ofthe Christchurch Branch of the New Zealand CornishAssociation. The President, accompanied by Heather onher accordion led the singing of Hail to the Homelandfollowed by Trelawney and the traditional Oggy OggyOggy was called by Les. Something about a Pasty wassung and then the Grace was said in Kernewek. Thepasties at this year’s lunch were supplied by a man whooriginally came from Liskeard.After lunch, Jeanette gave a short talk in the first of aseries by members of the committee entitled My CornishConnections. This showed a family which moved aroundthe west of Cornwall before leaving for New Zealand insearch of a better life. As is usual with families, there wasthe odd black sheep and some skeletons in the cupboard.This was followed by some musical entertainment.At their July meeting, Dr Sue Bagshaw, who arrived inNew Zealand in 1981, talked about her work in a familyplanning clinic in Christchurch.In June, two members of the Taranaki Branch of the NZCAhelped spread the word about Cornwall when they gave atalk at the Heatherlea Rest Home in New Plymouth. Theyused the opportunity to fly a St Piran’s flag.

UNITED KINGDOMThe Thames Valley Cornish Association held a pub lunchin Windsor in July. This was a replacement for the annualpicnic which has traditionally been held on the banks ofthe Thames in Marlow but which, despite being in themiddle of summer, has often suffered at the hands of thegreat British weather in recent years!

Cornish food in the CapitalFirstly, an apology…A gremlin slipped into the last news-letter and we inadvertently gave the incorrect address andphone number for Clare’s Kitchen in Primrose Hill. Pleasenote that they should be:

Clare's Cornish Kitchen,41 Chalcot Road, Primrose Hill, London, NW1 8LSTel 0207 722 4161And further afield..:Piglet Cottage, Porky Lane, St Martin, Nr HelstonTR12 6BUTel: 01326 231 598They sell a range of food items, all from Cornwall. Theyalso do catering. Visit their website -www.clareskitchen.co.uk for more information on therange of goods and catering prices – and have a look atwho some of their customers are!

We have also heard about two other London restau-rants which serve Cornish food or food with a Cor-nish link.

Newman Arms23 Rathbone Street, London W1T 1NGTel: 020 3643 6285This pub, which is now under new ownership, offers ashort menu based mainly on what has been delivered thatday. They are affiliated to the Cornwall Project whichmeans that they get deliveries of high quality produce –meat, fish and vegetables from Cornwall each day, help-ing to ensure the ingredients they use to create theirdishes are at peak freshness and taste.The upstairs dining room is open for lunches on weekdaysbetween 12pm and 2.30pm and for dinner from 5.30pm to9.30pm. From early October they will start serving Sundayroasts between 12pm and 5pm. Sample menus can befound on their website - http://newmanarmspub.com/This pub was awarded 4 stars for its food by EveningStandard Reviewer Fay Maschler.

Cornish Tiger1 Battersea Rise, London SW11 1HGTel:020 7223 7719This restaurant, which is owned by a half white British/halfPunjabi Sikh couple, takes pride in sourcing as much oftheir food as possible from small artisan Cornish produc-ers and get it delivered daily. That way they can ensurethey use the best quality ingredients. Their menu changesmonthly and the dishes on offer depend on the season.Visit their website - http://www.cornishtiger.com/ to seetheir latest menu.This restaurant has received high ratings on Tripadvisor.

If you find a restaurant or shop with Cornish food, pleasedo let us know about them so that we can share the infor-mation with other members.

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Successful Cancer FundraiserFalmouth based Cancer Charity ‘Pants’ was one recipientof a testicular cancer fundraiser held at Cornish PiratesRFC’s ground at The Mennaye, Penzance on 8th Augustas Pirates supporter Ben Gilby raised money for twocancer charities.London Cornish Association member Ben Gilby, who isrecovering from Testicular Cancer, has recentlyundertaken some fundraising in aid of The Royal MarsdenCancer Hospital and the Falmouth based TesticularCancer Charity ‘Pants’.Ben, who is on the committee of the Cornish PiratesRugby Supporters Club, and also undertakes press officerduties for London Cornish RFC staged two fundraisingevents – one in London and one in Cornwall, due to hisdesire to give a bit back to the two charities that arecontinuing to give him great support.In mid July, there was a sponsored kicking at the postsevent at London Cornish RFC, which saw people line upJonny Wilkinson style to try and make as many successfulkicks as they could in one hour. This was followed at thebeginning of August with a second event at CornishPirates RFC’s ground at The Mennaye. It took place in

superb West Cornwall sunshine, as summer arrived(albeit for one day!) in Penzance. The afternoon sawCornish Pirates host a ten-a-side rugby union tournamentas part of their preparations for the new Greene King IPAChampionship season. The tournament involved twoPirates sides (‘Team Paver’ and ‘Team Cattle’), plusRedruth and Launceston. A brilliant afternoon of highpaced rugby was interspersed with a bucket collection for‘Pants’ which raised over £200. The rugby community andCornish businesses also donated some quite amazingauction lots, which, when all the proceeds come in, looksset to raise well over £1,500.Reflecting on the day, Ben Gilby said: ‘I can’t thankCornish Pirates enough for their support in my fundraising,they have been absolutely brilliant. The Pirates playerstook time out for photos on the day, and I would also liketo thank the supporters of Redruth and Launceston for alltheir donations as well. It was great that the Cornish rugbycommunity came together to support us on the day.’

We congratulate Ben, our rugby reporter, on this ‘properjob’ [Ed]

Ben Gilby with Jeannette Preston of Falmouth basedtesticular cancer charity ‘Pants’ raising money at Cornish

Pirates

Cornish Pirates players and mascot ‘Captain Benbow’helping to support Ben Gilby (fifth from the right) and‘Pants’ founder Jeannette Preston spread the word(photo: Brian Tempest)

Kresen KernowCornwall's new archive centreIn early August, it was announced that Kresen Kernow,Cornwall's new archive centre in Redruth, has been grant-ed £11.7 million in funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund.The centre will be one of the occupants in the plannedredevelopment of the old Redruth Brewery which fallswithin the UNESCO Cornish Mining World Heritage Site.This site has been has been derelict for several yearsfollowing a fire in 2011 and its re-development will help tosafeguard its future and contribute to the regeneration ofthe town centre.Kresen Kernow will provide a modern archive and libraryspace which will house the world’s largest collection ofmanuscripts, books and documents relating to Cornwall. Itwill bring together the collections of the Cornwall Record

Office, the Cornish Studies Library and the Cornwall andScilly Historic Environment Record and improve access tothese special resources. This will hopefully encouragemore people to share in and celebrate Cornwall’s rich anddistinct history.The new centre will have excellent digital facilities and willprovide a diverse range of events, exhibitions and activi-ties as well as providing some volunteering opportunities.Construction on the new site will begin in 2016 withphased closures of the current sites occurring towards theend of 2017. Kresen Kernow is due to open in 2018.To keep up-to-date with developments on this project, visitKresen Kernow on Facebook(www.facebook.com/kresenkernow) or subscribe the thequarterly newsletter by emailing cro@cornwall.gov.uk with‘Subscribe to e-newsletter’ in the subject line.

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Cornwall’s county rugby union team won the sport’s Coun-ty Championship for a fourth time at the end of May, afterbeating Lancashire 18-13 in the final at Twickenham Sta-dium in front of thousands of ecstatic Cornishmen andwomen who had travelled up in the small hours to cheeron their heroes in black and gold.The victory was sweet reward for Cornish rugby after theyhad lost to the same opponents in both the 2013 and 2014finals at the home of English rugby.However, Cornwall’s County Championship campaignactually started three weeks earlier up in the Forest ofDean, where they took on old rivals Gloucestershire atCinderford RFC. The home side, on paper were danger-ous opposition and contained more players who play at ahigher level of the sport than the Cornish side. Of course,if there is one thing that Cornwall is famous for, it is a‘never say die’ spirit and a determination to beat anycounty from the ‘wrong’ side of the Tamar border! Theyoung Cornish side produced a great performance, withRedruth’s teenage winger Robin Wedlake scoring twotries and the Launceston pair of Jake Murphy and MattShepherd grabbing one each. Shepherd kicked two con-versions and a penalty in Cornwall’s 27-8 success.The following week saw Trelawny’s Army hit the road ingood numbers, added to by a large contingent of Londonand South-East based Cornish exiles for the game againstKent at Gravesend RFC. The bar beforehand was thescene for a long, loud and proud spell of singing of songsfrom a traditional Cornish ‘shout’ – with the likes of ‘SloopJohn B’, ‘Grandfather’s Clock’, ‘South Australia’ and, ofcourse ‘Trelawny’ making sure that the Kentish hosts weremore than aware that they were significantly outnumberedby the travelling black and gold support! Kent were im-pressive oppostition, but outstanding Cornish defence,and an ability to take their chances when they came sawGraham Dawe’s men seal a 22-16 win. Launceston’s Matt

Shepherd scored all of the points courtesy of a try, aconversion and five penalties. This scoreline set up a‘winner-takes-all’ clash against Hertfordshire at Redruththe following week, where the winners would qualify forthe Twickenham final.

On 23rd May, The Recreation Ground at Redruth washeaving as a crowd of close on 4,000 spectators shoe-horned their way into this famous amphitheatre of rugby.Hellfire Corner was packed, and, as you would expect, infine voice. However, like the previous week, it was theopposition who started the better. Hertfordshire built an18-6 lead at half-time, and, in all honesty, that lead couldhave been a lot bigger. Yet, the dream was not over – acombination of stern words at half-time from coach Gra-ham Dawe, and the prospect of playing towards HellfireCorner in the second half, combined to produce a quitemagnificent comeback. Within a minute of the restart,captain Kyle Marriott got a try back, and things got evenbetter shortly afterwards when an outstanding run downthe left wing by Redruth winger Robin Wedlake reducedthe deficit to just two points. Launceston’s Matt Shepherdkicked a further three penalties to put the Cornish sevenpoints ahead. As you would expect, Hertfordshire mount-ed a furious late attempt to re-establish a lead, but Corn-wall’s defence was quite simply outstanding. The finalwhistle went to emotional scenes and the black and golds’were at Twickenham for the third year in a row. Surely, ithad to be a case of third time lucky?

On 31st May, the Cornish hordes arrived at Twickenhamearly, determined that this would be their year. From10:00am, ‘The Cabbage Patch’ pub in the town centre wasfull of Cornish voices, with singing of the traditional songsin full voice. Cornwall’s opponents for the third year in arow were Lancashire. The men from the North-West werein their seventh successive final, having won five of them,to add to their record tally of twenty-three titles. In contrast

Cornwall’s Rugby Heroes!

Champions!

14

to the events of the previous two matches, this time it wasCornwall who started the final on the front foot, with MattShepherd knocking an early penalty over for a 3-0 lead.This got even better, as the Duchy’s talisman for thecompetition, went on a sparkling run to score a try, whichhe then converted for a 10-0 lead. As expected, Lanca-shire hit back, helped by Cornwall conceding a number ofpenalties, which resulted in Launceston’s Ben Hilton beingsent to the sin-bin. This gave the visitors a boost, and athalf-time Cornwall’s lead was reduced to 10-6. Comeththe hour, cometh the man, and Matt Shepherd scored hissecond try of the game at the start of the second period toput the Cornish lead back out to 15-6. A long rangepenalty from Launceston teenager Billy Searle increasedCornwall’s lead to 18-6. The last ten minutes saw Lanca-shire push hard for a comeback, and they gained a lateconverted try, but Cornwall were determined that thiswould be their year as they lifted the trophy after a glorious18-13 success!

Cornwall Team For The Final: Searle (Launceston);Dawe (Launceston), Murphy (Launceston), Webber (Re-druth), Wedlake (Redruth); Webb (Taunton Titans), Shep-herd (Launceston); Freestone (Clifton), Salter(Launceston), Williams (Redruth), Whittle (Camborne),Hilton (Launceston), Fuca (Redruth), Jones (Penryn),Marriott (Redruth, capt).Replacements: Judge (Launceston), Cook (Redruth),Phillips (Redruth), Goldsworthy (Camborne), Mankee(Camborne), Parsons (Redruth), Chapman (Launceston).

Cornwall’s Route To The County Championship Win:9th May v Gloucestershire (at Cinderford RFC) Won 27-8(Tries: Wedlake 2, Murphy, Shepherd, Conversions:Shepherd 2, Penalty: Shepherd).16th May v Kent (at Gravesend RFC) Won 22-16 (Try:Shepherd, Conversion: Shepherd, Penalties: Shepherd 5).

23rd May v Hertfordshire (at Redruth RFC) Won 25-18(Tries: Marriott, Wedlake, Pens: Shepherd 5).31st May v Lancashire (at Twickenham Stadium) Won18-13 (Tries: Shepherd 2, Conversion: Shepherd, Penal-ties: Shepherd, Searle).

By Ben GilbyPress Officer: London Cornish RFC

___________________________________

Fixtures for Cornish teams playing inLondon during 2015/6

Monday 17th August 19.45 Sutton United fc vTruro City fcSaturday 19th September 15.00 Dartford fc vTruro City fcSaturday 26th September 15.00 EalingTrailfinders rfc v Cornish Pirates rfcSaturday 10th October 15.00 Old Elthamians rfc(Sidcup) v Launceston rfcSaturday 5th December 14.00 London Welsh rfc vCornish Pirates rfc.Saturday 12th December 14.30 Barnes rfc vRedruth rfc.Saturday 6th February 14.30 Barnes rfc vLaunceston rfcSaturday 6th February 15.00 Wealdstone fc vTruro fcSaturday 13th February 15.00 London Scottish rfc vCornish Pirates rfcSaturday 9th April 15.00 Old Elthamians rfc (Sid-cup) v Redruth rfc

Thanks to Jonathan Henwood for sending these tous.

Stop right there! Cornwall halt a Lancashire attack

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Once again thank you to all those who have paid theirsubs. on time - and, to those who have generously includ-ed a donation to the Association, a special thank you. Asusual there are still a number of members who haveforgotten to pay and they were sent a final reminder inAugust. Those on email will also have received a remind-er. This is the last copy of the Newsletter which thosemembers will receive. Could I please ask you all to checkthat you have paid your subs? And, could I also please askyou to make a note in your diaries that LCA subs are dueannually on 1st April. If you have any queries, don’t hesi-tate to contact me. My address and telephone number areat the end of these Meanderings. I don’t like having towrite members off for non payment particularly when I donot know why this has happened.Sadly, member Frank Isaac died in June. He was a verykeen and enthusiastic Cornishman and a long servingmember of The London Cornish Association having joinedin December 1951 He was also a member of the WestKent Cornish Association. Our sympathies go to his fami-ly. I am glad to report that his daughter, Ms Sue Isaac, wholives in Orpington, Kent, has now joined as a new memberand I am very pleased to welcome her.I have recently been notified about two other memberswho have died: Raleigh Trevelyan who died in October2014 and Rear Admiral Armstrong who died at the end ofDecember 2014.There have been four resignations.As you can see, our membership has again decreasedand I can report that it now stands at 219. As I always say,not all of them are living in the London area. In fact, 100live farther afield, in Cornwall and beyond.As I regularly ask, if you know anybody of Cornish decentor who has an interest in Cornwall, please tell them aboutthe Association and try to encourage them to become amember. This would be greatly appreciated.I am constantly looking for more snippets about Cornwall,from newspapers and various books. Again I try not to looktoo deeply into the past and have found the following itemsin recent newspapers: One of the latest is about sea gullsand their appetite for Cornish pasties and ice cream!Recently I saw a photo in a newspaper showing a gullgrabbing a bite from an ice cream cone that a lady washolding at St, Ives. I must admit the lady was not lookingat all happy! They also reported that gulls had swooped ona pet tortoise in Liskeard and flipped it over as if he was acrab. Also a Yorkshire terrier was pecked to death in aNewquay garden. The question has been asked, ‘shouldsea gulls be culled?’ It appears that they particularly likeCornish food and consider it a ‘proper job’. For many yearsI have heard that sea gulls enjoy picnic food, particularlyCornish picnic food, and we are warned not to hold it up orleave it unguarded when at the seaside. As is said ‘what’snew’? I also discovered that sea gulls are a protected birdand if you poison or shoot them you can be fined up to£2,000 and/or serve a six month prison sentence.The childhood home of author Virginia Woolf was atSt.Ives and the view from her window (may have been herbedroom) was across St.Ives Bay to the Godrevy Light-house. This home was where she spent her childhood

holidays and the view later inspired her to write her fa-mous novel ‘To The Lighthouse’. Now it appears that adeveloper wants to build six apartments opposite thehouse. Sadly, this would block the historic view of GodrevyLighthouse.Thinking of Godrevy and St. Ives Bay, do you remembermy tale about people caught by the incoming tide on Haylebeach because the rising water made the area where theywere sitting into a small island? Amusingly, I was recentlytold by someone who had been down to Cornwall for aholiday of their experience of having to hastily escape,through waist high water, from ‘the island’ on Hayle beachbecause of the incoming tide - and that was without havingever read my Meanderings. This shows how true somestories can be!In the newspaper recently it said that the best place for along retirement was the South West. Sadly they put Devonas first choice. Obviously they didn’t know what they weretalking about! We all know that Cornwall is the top of anylist as the best place for holidays and retirement. The onlything that would deter people from moving down to Corn-wall would be family connections. In my case, because ofmy working career being based in London, my wife and I(who are both Cornish and proud of it) had to live in Kent.Now, our three sons are all married and of course thereare grandchildren. They all live in the London area and thisposes a problem for us: do we desert them by movingback to Cornwall? The obvious answer is ‘no’. We likeCornwall and they like Cornwall and we agree that Corn-wall is a lovely place to live in or to go to for a holiday. Ourmembers living there agree, as do those of us who visitour home County. But, should we allow ‘developments’ toobliterate Cornwall’s past and history?In my last Meanderings I said if you are abroad you maysee some Cornish names and I was sure that the Cornishinfluence is spread around the World more than that of anyother county. I understand that our Editor has heard fromsomeone in the southern hemisphere regarding Cornishnames abroad. I do not know who, what or where. Hope-fully it is somewhere in this ‘Newsletter’. [This was in anemail from Florence Mainwaring who lives in New Zea-land. Her email can be found on p11 of the Summer 2015newsletter – Ed.]That is nearly all for now. I hope you have found theseMeanderings to be of interest and hopefully, they havebrought back memories and provided yet more ‘food forthought’.Finally, hope you are still enjoying our good summer and,of course, a good holiday. I realise some people take theirholidays early and some later. Whatever you do, I hopeyou had, are having, or will have a good holiday.Kernow bys vyken

Graham Pearce, ‘Pengwyth’, 17 Trellyn Close, Barming,MAIDSTONE, Kent, ME16 9EFTelephone (01622) 727167

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Crowdy CrawnEnjoy good music, great pasties, greatcompany? Look no further…The Cornish-Mexican Music and Pasty Festival will takeplace in Mexico in October 2016 and the three day Festi-val, which celebrates the area’s Cornish mining heritage,promises to be a most enjoyable event.The 2016 Festival will be a very special one as it willcommemorate the 100th anniversary of the death of aMexican-born Cornish soldier. John Vial, who was born inMexico of Cornish parents, served in a mortar battery andwas killed on September 5th 1915. The attached photoshows the memorial erected by his parents in the Cornishcemetery in Rio Del Monte.As the note from the Cornish Mexican Cultural Societysays, What better place to hold an extended family reun-ion? Good music, great pasties, great company. Needanother reason to go…..not really.

‘Brighter Cornwall’ - Support for CornishStudentsWe have been notified of a service which may be ofinterest to young Cornish people who are studying fortheir first degree.The Brighter Cornwall project places undergraduatesfrom Cornwall into paid short-term placements and highquality career experiences when they are back in Corn-wall.Students can be studying anywhere and as long as theyare from Cornwall or lived there for three years prior tobeginning their studies they can be eligible to take part inthe programme.Brighter Cornwall is also able to offer information onscholarships for first year students. .For more information, visit their website -http://www.brightercornwall.org.uk/

St Piran’s Day celebrations on the cards?Members Ray and Mary Timmins attended an EnglishWine Tasting at the end of June. The event was run bysomeone who works at the Food Hall of John Lewis inOxford Street. In the course of conversation, this gentle-man said that they regularly celebrate St. George’s Dayand St. David’s Day and he has been suggesting for some

time that they also celebrate St. Piran’s Day on 5th March.At last, they have listened to him and he said that nextyear they are hoping to mark this important Cornish day.We will let you know if we get more information.

The Great Cream Robbery

Eliza Jane Rodda started making clotted cream in 1890which means that this year, Roddas, the world-renownedmanufacturer of clotted cream celebrates its 125th anni-versary.To mark this event, the company has commissioned anillustrated children’s book. Called 'The Great CreamRobbery', Written by James Medd and illustrated byVictoria Sawdon, it tells the story of Merryn the criminalcat who will go to any lengths to get a taste of goldencrusted clotted cream!Copies of the book are available on Rodda’s website -https://shop.roddas.co.uk/product/the-great-cream-robbery-book It costs £7.99 + postage

The deadline for the next issue of theLCA Newsletter is

5th November

Please send all contributions to:The Editor55 Brownell PlaceLondonW7 3AZOr email to lca@londoncornish.co.uk

https://www.facebook.com/RoddasClottedCream/photos/