大象传媒

This story has been put on the website by 大象传媒 Radio Cornwall CSV Action Producer Nina Davey on behalf of the author, Courtenay Thatcher who understands the sites terms and conditions.

The Schooner Ada was built in Barrow in Furness. She was a two masted schooner, 98ft long by 23ft wide. She had two holds to carry cargo and went around the coast carrying coal. My father (Horatio Hodges) bought her in 1936/1937 and we lived on board her in the Gannel whilst Dad tried to find a house in Newquay for us to live in.

When the war started officials came down and saw we had 6 or 7 bedrooms. They said we had to take evacuees from London to live with us. Dad told the officials we didn鈥檛 have any water, sewerage or electric and that we had to row half a mile to a mine addit to get spring water. No evacuees were ever sent. I lived on the Ada for twenty four years. At the outbreak of war I woke up and thought we鈥檇 been invaded. Hundreds of men with helmets and rifles were in boats in the Gannel. We looked out the porthole and heard 鈥淕ee I wonder if anyone lives on this tub.鈥� The American GIs were based in Penpoll Creek and they camped in the woods. One day I went there and they said they鈥檇 give me some beer for my Dad so I took a milk can, they laughed when they saw it and gave me a bucketful instead. It took me ages to carry it home very carefully.

On board the Ada Father was starting a collection of items like a small museum and the GIs would come on board to take a look. Six of them would be shown at a time. I had a wonderful time with these GIs. They let me ride on a tank to pull lorries out of the sand when they became embedded up to their axles. A chain would be attached and the tank would pull them out so easily. It was brilliant. We used to get involved with the water cannon fights they used to have. The GIs were very kind and even after the war a parcel of sweets would arrive for me at Christmas.
One wartime experience I remember well was when the Germans bombed the Gannel. When we heard the drone of the aircraft we raced off the Ada and hid in the woods. The bombs fell at Trethellan Farm and blew three big craters. Later Lord Haw Haw (I believe it was him) said on the radio 鈥淎 heavenly (he couldn鈥檛 pronounce heavily) laden schooner had been hit鈥�. It hadn鈥檛 at all.

Hundreds of people would come on board the Ada to see Dad鈥檚 museum. Eventually the Ada became rotten and began to leak. We sold it to Charlie Force who later became my brother in law. Whilst Charlie was cutting the Ada up, his sister Heather used to bring him tea and I used to ferry her out to him, that was in 1959. To replace the Ada we bought an MTB (without torpedoes). It had been used to run across the North Sea with a load of ball bearings during the war.

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