The Peoples War – Part One
The Peoples War – Part One
From: Merrill Clymo [m.clymo@virgin.net]
Sent: 26 August 2009 17:06
To: outlook@cambornechurch.org.uk
Subject: Choir Outing.
Dear Editor,
I read with interest the article St. Martin’s At War by David Thomas and I well remember the Choir Outing to Carbis Bay.
I was ten years old at the time and there was great excitement when we all gathered at the Station to catch the train to Carbis Bay. An assortment of bags contained sandwiches, cake, bottles of pop, bathing trunks and towels. At St. Erth there was a mad scramble to get over the bridge and onto the branch line train. The journey to Carbis Bay was beautiful, following the pool along Lelant and then opening up onto the Hayle River and finally you could see the whole of Hayle beach right across to Godrevy Lighthouse. Down below was the large expanse of Porth Kidney sands.
Round the next headland and there was Carbis Bay beach bathed in the early morning sun. When we reached the beach it was decided that we would all sit on the rocks on the St. Ives side of the beach. What a day that was, swimming, playing cricket, eating sandwiches and all the time the sun shone. Later in the afternoon we were told to move off the rocks onto the beach as the tide was fast coming in. Then it was time to get dressed for the journey home.
At that time, one of the boys found that he had left his trousers up on the rocks which by now were almost completely covered by the sea. One of the older boys who was a strong swimmer went out to the rocks and found the trousers and swam back to the beach with one hand holding the trousers aloft until just before reaching the beach he could go no further and had to use both hands so the trousers got severely drenched. That person had to come home on the train in his swimming trunks with his towel around his waist. Someone else who had lost a sock and decided that there was no point in going home with one sock buried it in the sand only later to find that he did have the other sock. By that time he could not remember where he had buried the other. It was a very tired bunch of lads who trundled up the hill to the station to catch the train home.
Just looking back at that beach with the tide full in as the train slowly pulled away towards St. Erth is something I shall never forget. Magical.
