Through the gaps! - Newlyn Fishing News: De Gaulle's Free French Army- a wartime anniversar...

Found this fascinating article by Laurence Hartwell, shame I missed the actual event! Through the gaps! - Newlyn Fishing News: De Gaulle's Free French Army- a wartime anniversar...: "This summer will see the 70th Anniversary of the Free French - so named after General deGaulle's June 15th speech in 1940. Through the Gaps ..."

Rosemaries secret wartime history.

John Drinkwater remembers the Schleswig-Holstein, a German warship moored up at St Mawes on a 'friendly' visit in the years 1938 and 1939. This picture is from the German Federal Archive.

Having nearly completed the 40yrs of Houseboat history for the Falmouth built Rosemarie; 10 short extracts of which are available to view online at www.houseboat-tv.com, I am now researching the boats early story to make up the entire film which will be titled; ‘The many Romances with Rosemarie’, it will be the whole life story of the boat, as told by those who remember her fondly.

During this fascinating research it has come to light that the Rosemarie worked for the admiralty during and after the war up until 1948. Her duties were described by John Andrews and Douglas Sawle of St Mawes, who remembered the Rosemarie as an ‘Examination ship’ with a gun mounted on the deck, working around the Lizard peninsula while the boat herself was stationed at Penzance during the war. They also described how, on the troops return from Dunkirk; Rosemarie was the boat which checked over each vessel and took the names of all retuning soldiers for the official listings, as the troops disembarked at Falmouth harbour.

I have also found a record of the Rosemarie going over to Dunkirk on Friday the 31st of May; this would have been at the climax of the beach evacuations. It seems that Rosemarie, ‘Rose Marie’ as she is officially listed, was towed over, by the Dutch skoot ‘Hilda’ along with five other motorboats; Moss Rose, Lady Haig, Britannic, Gispy King , Golden Spray II, and two life-boats. The skoot Hilda from London, was captained by Lieutenant A. Gray of the Royal Navy, and her operations would have taken place on the Bray Beach at Dunkirk. I am still awaiting verification of my research from the Association of Dunkirk Little ships as I would ideally like to have the Rosemaries status as a Dunkirk Little Ship officially recognized.

Rosemarie is also remembered by John Drinkwater of St Mawes in the film ‘The many Romances with Rosemarie’, John verifies her duties as described by John Andrews and Douglas Sawle, but also describes her as working for ‘River Patrol’. In 1938, John Drinkwater was serving his apprenticeship working at Freshwater Boat-yard under the locally renowned boat-builder Frankie Peters. John recalls that Frankie ‘Skippered’ the Rosemarie on her River Patrol duties with the additional support of crew members; Fred Hamblin and Walter Hitchins. I would like to put out an appeal to any family members who may have photographs of; Frankie Peters, Walter Hitchins and Fred Hamblin, which they would be glad for me to include in the film. Please contact; shauna@medialproductions.co.uk

Peter Newman re-united with his fathers ferry the Freelance

This morning I received an e-mail from the current owner of the Freelance; Jeremy Mitchell, another boat-owner passionately tracing the history of his vessel. He had read about the Freelance in the Ferry-boat article on the Rosemarie published in last weeks West-Briton.

In my interview with Peter Newman last year, he remembered the Rosemarie working as a passenger launch around 1948, in competition to his father Rodney Newmans business running the Freelance, which had started a little earlier in 1946. The Freelance was built in the West Indies in the 1930's and was brought to Falmouth on the deck of a ship, sold off and converted into a passenger vessel.

Jeremy has now managed to fill in some of the gaps in the Freelances history, and Peter has been re-connected to his fathers boat, which I'm sure He is relieved to find in such capable hands.

Jeremy said "It is only due to your article in the West Briton that I have found out the missing history of the Freelance from the 1930's until the late 1960's. I Googled "Ferry Falmouth" and found details and pictures of all of Newmans Cruises ferry boats including the Freelance, back to the 1940's on www.simplonpc.co.uk. It was mentioned that the Freelance was sold by the Newmans in the late 1950's to Falmouth owners for use as a dive and salvage ship to a salvage company in Falmouth. My father bought the boat approximately 10years later from the salvage company."

Jeremy inherited the boat from his father who bought it around 1968 from a salvage company in Falmouth. The Freelance was then moored at Port Navas on the Helford river until approximately 1972 when it was moved to Camborne.

"The Freelance is 30ft. long by 9ft. wide and is build from teak which is why it has stood up so well to being stored for so long. It was a project that was never finished due to having parts that were missing from the engine and were no longer available from the manufacturer. I have spent 6 years looking for the missing parts on the Internet. All the parts that were missing have turned up on eBay."

A happy end indeed, and personally I am so grateful that Jeremy has contacted me and that I could pass on Peters contact to him! Peter gave me so much priceless information about the Rosemarie, and his time for the interview and the film where also given free, and from the goodness of his heart. So I am delighted that in a roundabout way he has had a universal return, in the form of something more valuable than cash, a link back to the past, his own father and re-awakened memories of that time when the Rosemarie and the Freelance graced the river Fal.

Interview with John Drinkwater 14/01/11

Had a fantastic interview today with another St Mawes old boy. John served his shipwrights apprenticeship at Freshwater yard in 1938 under Frankie Peters, before joining the Royal air force and going to war. He remembers the Rosemarie as a black boat which was painted grey during the war period, and with a gun mounted on her front deck.

Frankie Peters was a renound boat builder and made many of the St Mawes One-Design boats, which still race today. John remembers being left with dull jobs like bailing out the boats in the yard while Frankie took the Rosemarie out on River Patrol as her skipper, round the Lizard peninsula and often down as far as Penzance. Joining Frank as crew on the Rosemarie was Walter Hitchins and Mr Hamblin as Engineer, who lived in an interesting Houseboat; a 1st world war Motor-Launch moored in the river off Polvarth Yard.

As it had finally stopped rainning, I went down to Freshwater Yard after this inspirational interview, to see if I could film it as the working yard it is today. Unfortunately I was not greeted with a possitive response! Admitily it was a last minute thought to fire off an e-mail this morning before I left, explainning that I was going to be in the area and out-linning what it was I wanted to do, but I don't think that that could justify this curt reply e-mail awaiting me when I got home;

Shauna
As the boatyard has been completely modernised in the past 10 years there is nothing or no one here who could help you with your project. I am sorry but we cannot give you permission to film here at any time.

Regards
Sue

Seems some people have a generousity of spirit, which others can barely perceive, let alone value. I am proud to say that my film is brimming with fine people and their wonderful stories which they are only to glad to share, and that they have a genuine passion for the history of their village, which is not based soley on the value of bricks and mortar, but on the community (whats left of it). Who needs anything less than that? Some you win and some you lose!

Interview with the two oldest men in St Mawes

Interview with John Andrews and Douglas Sawle 9/01/11

These two old friends often enjoy reminiscing, and comparing their memories so it was a privilege for me to share their company. They compete with each other for the position of; Oldest resident, in the small costal village of St Mawes, Cornwall, with Douglas Sawle coming in for the cup at 91yrs young. Winning the race is something Douglas is used to, from his sailing days in the St Mawes ‘One-Design’ class.

Not much remains of the 1930s Cornwall, which existed when the Rosemarie was built, but both John and Douglas can remember the Henderson family living at Greystones, Tredenham Road, St Mawes. For me this second-hand account is a true treasure, for it is as near as I can possibly get to the man who first perceived and then facilitated the building of Rosemarie at R.S Burts & Sons, Little Falmouth; Mr Arthur Henry Henderson. I heard for the first time; a description of the boat in her original condition, apparently she was ‘Spotless’ in a Black finish with white trim. She was described as a luxury passenger boat, designed for private picnics and costal excursions, visiting the Helford and pleasure cruising up the coast as far as Looe and Fowey. She also had her own permanently employed deck-hand, who would have been dressed in the strict attire of that time, sporting a white-topped flat cap during the summer months and a black cap for the winter. During the winter months the Rosemarie was laid up on Polvarth beach where she would have been scrubbed annually and re-painted ready for the next season.

I happen to have a very fortunate photograph of Tredenham Road, from my Great Auntie Dees collection; I estimate it was taken in the late 1930s. The house in the centre of the picture with the flag-pole in the garden is ‘Greystones’ (the house where Henderson lived) and I guess my great-grandmothers house would have been one of the neighbouring buildings, as I know they also lived in Tredenham Road at this time, and why else would Dee have kept this post-card? Perhaps they knew one another; it’s quite a thought, and certainly a happy co-incidence.

I also learned some more about the Rosemaries wartime history from John and Douglas as they recall the Rosemarie at the return from Dunkirk, and the troops coming ashore in their masses. It seems she worked as an inspection ship, in Falmouth harbour before going down to Penzance for the duration, which was all news to me.

Rosemaries official registry was closed in 1948, and her last registered owner was Francis Bertram Sawle, first cousin to Douglas Sawle and married to a Clode. This makes further sense of the ferryboat or ‘Passenger’ boat history (as I stand corrected by the lads) which I already possess. It seems that Francis B. Sawle and Tommy Clode were in a business partnership, and ran ferries and then hire boats up to the late 1970s. The Rosemarie ran from St Mawes to the Prince of Wales Pier and was hired out for excursions until the mid 50s.

Press release 2 - Newfound Ferry

Found – River Fal ferryboat; The Rosemarie

Its time to add another ferryboat, to the Fal passenger ferries and pleasure cruisers, so well documented by notable local historian Alan Kittridge. My original research into the R.S Burts & Sons, Falmouth built, motor Launch; Rosemarie II. Reveals a post-war, St Mawes ferry service for the Rosemarie.

My break through came when I contacted the harbour commission, with the hope of tracing previous owners for the Rosemarie, by checking the Fal river, mooring registry. Unfortunately these records did not go back far enough to be of use to me, but I was put in contact with Peter Newman who remembered the Rosemarie as a working ferry.

In 1946 Rodney 'Pete' Newman (Peters father) operated the 30 passenger launch ‘Freelance’ from Falmouth to Tolverne Cottage, In the absence of The River Fal Steamship Company boats, which had been acquisitioned for the second world war. Peter remembers the Rosemarie running out of St Mawes, to the Prince of Wales Pier, Falmouth and up the Fal river in the early 1950’s. Rosemarie’s owner Tommy Clode was a business rival, who ran two boats at that time; the Rosemarie and the Esme (which was named after his wife).

John Green also remembered the Rosemarie as a Ferry. He kindly responded to my request for information about the Rosemarie, and wrote stating that his Uncle had worked as a deck-hand for Tommy Clode from 1948 onward. He remembers taking a ferry ride when He was about 12yrs old, up the river Fal to Malpas, onboard the Rosemarie.

I spoke with both Tommy Clodes son Douglas and his daughter Marina. They remember the Rosemarie being prepared for passenger service and having a board of trade inspection before starting work, but they can't remember who the boat was sold onto.

Any further information about the Rosemarie would be greatly appreciated, as I am compiling the complete life story of the boat, for the film ‘The many Romances with Rosemarie’ extracts of which are now screening as episodes on www.houseboat-tv.co.uk.

Unsung Signposts (Un-funded & Unfair)

Well I reckon I’ve reached the point in my un-funded filmmaking journey, where the road forks and I find myself forced to travel down the road which is signposted ‘Un-funded’ while trying to live with the knowledge of what could have, would have, and should have been included in the final production.

I have been blessed indeed by the generosity of the films contributors to date. I’ve some 17 fascinating interviewees, who have given freely of their time and tales. Many of whom have donated their personal photograph collections, and videos to my project and not to mention the high quality folk tunes and original music offered for use in the films sound-track. I’ve also had the practical support and skills of friends such as Jaeson Finn, Nick Duffy and Henry Davies at my disposal. Without all of these the Houseboat TV project would not have got this far.

My dilemma started while browsing You-tube, when I accidentally stumbled upon a pirate copy of a film which my father, David Osborne-Dowle shot on 35ml, while He was at The London Film School 1967-68. It is a truly psychedelic music video for the Song ‘Flowers in the rain’ by the Move. He also produced, Director Lesley Ann Fullers 'Room’ which won best film at the Czechoslovakian Film Festival in 1968.

I got to thinking, just how wonderful it would be, to be able to include extracts from this ‘Flowers in the rain’ music video in my documentary about the Rosemarie Houseboat, which we lived on as a family in 1972-73. This was of course, after my father had left his career prospects in London, and joined my mother in Cornwall to raise a family. However, I also have footage of my mother from about the same time. When she flirted with film, this time from the other side of the camera; as she played the leading lady in a black and white film by Director John Bartlett (Westward TV), called ‘Mayday Mayday’. It was a musical narrative which tells the story of an 18th Century sailor (played by Ralph Bates from the Poldark series) who is shipwrecked in 1960’s Cornwall. My mother, then Caroline Durnford, (from The Durnford Sisters folk duo), is pictured singing with the famous Cornish folk singers John the Fish and Brenda Wootton, at the scenic Minack Theatre. The film also contains music by Steelyspan and is a uniquely creative reflection of Cornwall at this time.

Making the film; ‘The Many Romances with Rosemarie’, has revealed a string of talented people inspired by the beauty and spirit of Cornwall, some lucky enough to have been nurtured by the Rosemarie. Several of these have been original musicians, such as the 3 Daft Monkeys, Thistletown the Rosemarie band and friends. Although I am happy with the ‘Houseboat TV’ episode, where I have portrayed my parents as the Artists that they are today, I am aware this earlier history is perhaps more relevant to the overall story, and reflects the choice which I have made to document it in film.

As ‘The Many Romances with Rosemarie’ is an un-funded production, I have been forced to make some difficult choices, such as the withdrawal of 1930’s Archive footage, showing J-class yachts racing at Falmouth, and some regrettable compromises have been made. This is the price which a no-budget producer has to pay, and it’s a high one! The costs of copyright clearances for these films are sadly just too much for me to carry at this time.

One more fear haunts me, one greater than that of not being able to include all my desired content, enabling me to fulfil my greater vision. This is a fear based upon my past experience and the ‘side-lining’ of some of my other unfunded productions. By this I mean that, not only did I formerly receive a lack of financial support in producing an initial project, but then, to add insult to injury, this was replicated in a lack of support for the promotion of that same project. It seems that it is desirable for a financially backed project to be well marketed and therefore to endorse the financial investors. Equally unfunded projects, particularly if they are interesting, could be seen to compromise the funded works of contemporaries, and as a result these are ‘side-lined’ in screenings where ‘funded’ projects have been heavily promoted despite having a poor content. I really hope this doesn’t happen to the wonderful story of Rosemarie, simply because it didn’t fit a broadcast schedule or funding criteria.