大象传媒

My father鈥檚 name was Charles Frank Liver Goodship 鈥� born on 3rd November 1881 in the borough of Holloway in London. He was rather short 鈥� only 5 feet 3 inches in height 鈥� rather slim 鈥� always working or moving about, a very busy person and fit and well until the last 2 or 3 years of his life, although he never had any serious illnesses, he was just worn out.

Although my father did not talk very much about his early life I know he had a very hard youth. He was orphaned at the age of 8 whilst his father was in the Scots Guard Regiment. Just how his parents died I do not know, despite making extensive enquiries to find out, however, following their deaths he was adopted by and lived with an aunt and uncle who lived in the town of Calne, about seven miles from Devizes and was brought up by them until he was old enough to make his own way in life. He was not physically fit enough to serve in the armed forces during the first world war 鈥� 1914-1918 鈥� but he used to talk during that war of 鈥渨orking in the land producing food on Salisbury plain鈥�.

My first memories of him were in the late 1920鈥檚 and 1930鈥檚 during the depression when it seemed that half of the population of the country were out of work. He could not get work for several years and I recall that he would cycle form our home in the Rank at Holt to Bradford on Avon, a distance of about 3 miles each way, to draw his meagre unemployment benefit or 鈥渄ole money鈥� as it was called in those days. He worked originally as a leather 鈥渢anner鈥� at J &T Beavens, a local leather factory situated in the Midlands, Holt 鈥� the building s still stand 鈥� but he was laid off with most of the workforce during the recession. When I was 10 years old he obtained the job I mentioned earlier at the garden nursery near Holt railway station, growing mainly tomatoes, but that closed down and he returned to work at the leather factory which continued until his retirement at the age of 65. He enjoyed quite good health but became very frail towards the end of his life and he died in January 1955 at the age of 74 years. Despite his hard life he was always very cheerful. He is buried with my mother in the old part of the cemetery in Holt village. I knew very little about my grandfather despite making enquiries, his name was Charles Goodship and I believe he was born in the village of Enford near Upavon in Wiltshire but this was something I have never been able to prove. I suppose it is possible that his wife, Martha, nee Vaughan, also came from that village but I just do not know.

My mother was born Agnes Louisa Fell on 31st August in Devizes. I think her parents lived in New Park Street but I have never been able to prove it as most of the older properties at the end of the street were demolished many years ago. For some years her mother 鈥淕ranny Fell鈥� kept a small sweet shop in that street, which may have been the house in which she lived. My mother, was very attractive in her younger days, about 5 feet 3 inches tall with brown hair, and was quite slim. Throughout most of her life she, like my father had to struggle to survive. Most of her time was spent bringing up three children, making their clothes, sewing, knitting, cooking and doing their washing. There was never very much time for leisure and in any case they could not afford to go very far. Her cooking was excellent despite the primitive facilities of using the oven of an open hearth, coal burning fire.

Before her marriage she worked in the laundry of Roundway Hospital in Green Lane Devizes and presumably left when she was married. Why, after their marriage, they left to live in Holt I do not know, neither do I know when they moved to live in the village except that the move took place before my brother frank was born in 1913. Probably they moved to obtain work.

With Frank and Marion being older than myself 鈥� Frank was 10 years and Marion 3 years 鈥� we did not spend much time together at play, mainly because of our age difference and also our interests were very different. I was far more active than they both were and my teenage years and early twenties were severely interrupted by the outbreak of the war in 1939 when Frank joined the Army. By the time the war had finished in 1946 they were both married and had left the village 鈥� Marion moving to Axminister in Devon and Frank after several moves eventually settled in Avoncliffe near Bradford on Avon.

Although this is my life story I have not mentioned were Grandma Betty鈥檚 parents originated from. Her father Arthur John Bodman came from Keevil 鈥� a village near Trowbridge 鈥� and they are many Bodman鈥檚 in that area. Her parents married and lived in the village of Martins Lane until 1939 when the thatched cottage in which they lived was destroyed by fire following which they moved to a cottage at Forewoods Common near Staverton. Her mother Mary Jane, maiden name Haines, lived in the town of Melksham until their marriage.

Conditions have changed dramatically since my youth and I believe that nowadays people are less satisfied with life and with travel becoming so much easier and quicker with people having the opportunity to visit other countries people say 鈥淚 wish I could live in such and such a country鈥� I have never felt that way and am quite satisfied with England. It may not be perfect, but I consider that we are far better off than many other countries. I suppose I have been very fortunate with holidays and have visited many countries. My first holiday abroad was to Majorca in 1965, but o retiring from the Brigade in 1979 I started to revisit some of the cities and countries that I had visited during the war, mainly to shoe Grandma Betty some of the places I had been to. We would travel abroad at least once and more often twice a year to such places as France, Germany, Spain, Gibraltar, Austria, Madeira, Italy, Sicily, Yugoslavia, Turkey, Greece, Greek Islands (several times) Cyprus, Malta, Bulgaria and Russia. I cannot select just one favourite to visit as I have three due to my war time experiences and they are: Taormina in Sicily, Malta and Athens in Greece, however I always find travel interesting but in later life I do not seek now to visit very hot climates.

Upon my retirement in 1979 I wanted to do something entirely different but not as a full time occupation so I took a part time job with the Wilts County Council teaching Road Safety in schools which lasted until I reached the age of 65 and then I decided to retire completely.

I cannot remember being given any really good advice and I probably would not have taken very much notice of it if I had! I tend to think logically and think things through for myself; I think that is the best way. I have always been wary of making friends too easily and do not accept anyone as a real friend until I really know them. I have very few friends, many acquaintances, but do not include these in the same category as friends. In many respect I must admit to being a 鈥渓oner鈥� and have enjoyed my own company. O also find that these days especially, so many people are dissatisfied with their work, and I suppose I was in my early days, but only because promotion was not coming as quickly as I would have liked. But now in retirement, if I could chose an occupation for just one day I would like to go back to the Fire Service to see how much the job has changed. I know I would like it now as I would compare it with the conditions I experienced when I was serving and the service has advanced so dramatically. I always found the Fire Brigade so challenging and interesting with each emergency incident providing a different problem which required an immediate decision with usually no second chance, but that does not mean that o made the correct decision every time.

By far the biggest setback I had in life was the death of Grandma Betty in 1996 as until her illness over the last few years of her life she enjoyed extremely good health and was hardly ever ill, but on the loss of a lifetime partner you are face with one of two choices, either avoid people and become a misery to everyone or just get on with life. It so happened that at the time of Betty鈥檚 death a life long friend whom I had known form my boyhood days 鈥� Philip Crudge 鈥� whom I had also known for many years.

We decided we both had the same problem and needed company and now spend our time together. We find we have very similar interests so I am getting on with life.

When I look back over my life, although things have not always turned out as I had planned or hoped for, o consider that I have been more fortunate than most other people, and while I have not become a millionaire yet, I think that life is what you make it!

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