Published 15 February 2001

And, with good reason, because he knew and remembers many of them. Apart from that he had already made a list of his own and adds that there are no doubt quite a few more which will come to light.

“Regarding the nicknames of fishermen and fish workers, I have been interested in them since I was a school boy, seeing these sturdy men with their luggers leaving and entering harbour in all kinds of weather.

“Sailing smacks, steam trawlers, boats from Rye, Hastings, Ramsgate and Brighton - very often because of bad weather.

“Those were the days!

“My father and five brothers were fishermen and I have two nephews still fishing (from Folkestone now.

“My parents had a large family (no television those days,” he comments.) “Three daughters and seven sons, and my mother being a fisherman’s daughter.”

“My parents and us children, we all went to the same school, St Peter’s at the Durlocks - started at four years old and left at 14.

“I worked most of my time for local greengrocers, Stokes Bros. For years I worked at Chapman’s fruiterer, Sandgate Road, one of Stoke Bros’ shops,” said Horace.
And, he said, he completed five and a half years war service with the Royal Naval Patrol Service.

“I also did seven or eight years on Lord Radnor’s estate in Folkestone as a gardener and managed Stoke Bros shop in Tontine Street for 10 years before taking the East Cliff Tavern.

“And I have been licensee now 33 years. Now in my 86th year, I am the last of the family left,” he told me.

Horace sent me a hand-written list of nicknames and characters he has known and says “I remember these people and names back to my boyhood days.”

Knock Out!

His list includes the following:

Old Chummy, Old Pudney, Old Black’un, Old Red’un, Old Pouty, Hogamy Hall, Bully Hall, Old Slope, Knock Out and Old Ben Spicer, Parrot Hart, Mosh Cornish, Old Dick Cornish, Ussy Pegden, Tommy Dodd Kittens, Dasher Brice, Old Camo, Racker Jack, Knocker Brice, Old Tiddly Um, Skinny Harris, Old Nimble, Old Splosh, Old Spratter, Soldier Jack, Old Freddie Harris, Poke Ki Die, Old Cruchgie, Old Bonnie, Old Damson, Old Chunck May, Bruiser Mash,
: hollingsbee@bigfoot.com V

Memento
THE VETERAN licensee of the East Cliff Tavern, Folkestone, Horace Brickell, who will be 86 this year, was very interested in the recent Memories article about the unusual nicknames of Folkestone fishermen and Fish Market workers through the years.
I MUST apologise to Chris White, of Marden, for giving his telephone number incorrectly in Memories. Chris who is involved in organising a reunion for old gunners of the 75th (Cinque Ports) H.A.A. Regiment, in April, is on 01622 831222. Chris says that he is having difficulty contacting some of the survivors of the Folkestone, Hythe and Dover batteries who have lost touch with their comrades.

But he has high hopes of a successful reunion, the seventh, at the Assembly Hall of the Dover Working Men's Club, on Saturday, April 28, from noon until 4pm. The older gunners tend to be in the Hythe and Folkestone area and Chris hopes that old comrades will pass on details of the reunion to anyone who may not be in touch with organisers of the event.
A BRICKELL family memento Horace treasures is this snap of some of the old fishermen taken in a Kent hop garden during an outing to Hastings to meet some of the fishermen there. In the back row are Dave Spearpoint, Reg Brickell, 'Nobby' Taylor and Dick Spearpoint; front row: 'Jacko' Spearpoint, Dick Brickell, Edmond ('Lala')

Taylor and Alec Boorne.
Old Bridge, Old Pimp, Old Pin Carter, Slim Carter, Old Tussle Holloway, Old Captain, Old Stump, Old Tarpot, Johnny Soup, Old Chur, Old Squeaker, Dodger, Old Lobby, Spot Marshall, Curly Marshall, Old Kempy, Old Cottage, Old Fergie, Old Chelsea, Old Skin Daniel, Old Parby May, Old Moses, Doshie, Darkie, Old Rufus and Old China.

Then there’s Nobby Taylor, Old Charlie Buck, Old Lizzie, Blucher May, Old Parly
May, Old Grubb, Juki Spearpoint, Nuchey Harris, Old Bosham, Old Crap, Old Cod Baker, Old Branny, Daniel Cruch, Dibber Tanner, Old Jenner, John Bull, Lergie, Old Skim Daniel, Old Lot Waller, Old Tom Penny, Old Deafen Punnett, Old Jim Tiddy, Old Tom Tiddy, Old Jacko, Old Joey Hall, Old Dick Brice, Hambone, Elga Baker, Old Spider, Chossey Venner, Rufus Dalby, Jockey Standing and Monjo Milton.
 

Filthy roads letting down town - says the Herald H QA<| VISITORS wondered how a town Ji3U>L which prided itself on being ‘fashionable’could tolerate such an accumulation of filth as Folkestone had on its roads, said the Herald editor a century ago. And the Herald criticised members of the town council who, apart from the mayor, listened without protest as one of their number attacked the competence of the town's borough engineer, over the state of maintenance and cleanliness of the roads. The editor went further and declared the Highways Committee was at fault for “starving the roads of maintenance,” so much so, that they were giving a bad impression of the town. Writer Felix was marvelling at the achievement of photographer Arthur Burgess who had photographed the town’s celebrations marking the accession to the throne of King Edward VII. He said he had established a record in getting pictures of the event In his windows within two hours, no mean feat a century ago. Sgt-Major Wallis of the 1st King’s Dragoons’ reserve at Shorneliffe Camp had the honour of taking a memorial wreath from the regiment to the Kaiser, at Osborne, for Queen Victoria's funeral, for the Emperor was the Colonel of the Dragoons.

Strong Army garrison put pressure on sports fields >| Qrtp THE BIG military garrison was good for the aL«/«!iO economy of the district but there were problems of an unforeseen nature on the sports fields. The popularity of polo had grown so much among servicemen, there was pressure on Cheriton Road sports ground. The council heard that the 11th Hussars had begun with approval for matches on three days a week, paying £150 for the season. The length of the playing season had grown from six months to nine months and now the ground was needed for six days. This would prevent some local footballers using the ground, if it was approved. Hythe councillors were debating the thorny problem of a rat infestation in the town and It was stressed that they should keep their own house in order. One councillor spoke of visiting the council’s stables and seeing the rats running about; The council was In fact encouraging the rats which got fat on the unsecured bins of corn kept for the cart horses. And yet they were calling for a “Ratting Week” to be held to get people to help deal with the menace, he said. Hythe Council was also considering the offer of 750 sq ft of building land, from the Metropole Laundry, which was said to be quoting a reasonable price.

District reels again as winter storm strikes «f QE*f WEEKEND storms caused hundreds of pounds worth of damage to property in the Folkestone and Hythe districts, shop windows being blown in. tiles and slates torn from rooftops, brickwork damaged, timber buildings demolished or damaged, including part of Folkestone Football Club stand at Cheriton. Sea defences were undermined or damaged, and trees uprooted. Shipping and ferry services were also disrupted and at Sandgate a menacing crack, one inch wide, appeared in the road in front of Devonshire Terrace. At Seabrook Road, Hythe a family had a narrow escape when an uprooted pine tree, 60ft high crashed down across the lawn, a branch brushing against the house guttering but causing little damage. But for that branch the tree would have gone through the roof, said owner Mr G.E. Whythe. Also hit by a gale was the troopship Devonshire, carrying the Royal West Kents, who had been drafted from Shorncliffe, across the Bay of Biscay en route for Singapore. The main engine failed and the master sent out a distress call for tugs, but three hours later radioed that all was well. Local Festival of Britain attractions planned included a comic cricket match and a popular “Old Crocks” run - probably from Folkestone to Canterbury.

Local jobs situation worst since Second World War 'I Q7C IMPENDING closure of the long established JL*7 IO laundry of Foster's, employing 49 people, contributed to the gloom associated with unemployment in the district, which had risen to more than 1,400 men and nearly 400 women out of work. That compared with 910 men and 1S9 women at the same time in 1975. A spokesman for the local employment exchange said the jobs situation was the worst since the war, and possibly since long before that. Twelve years of planning went into a new £117,000 Methodist Church Centre which opened in Sandgate Road* Folkestone 25 years ago. It was all part of a plan to close churches at Canterbury Road, Grace Hill and Sandgate and build a new 'central' church, with all mod cons, including easy access for the disabled, while a coach was to be used to pick up members of the congregation from outlying areas. A DIV Miracle, that was the Martello Tower home of retired probation officer Ted Parker and his wife Delia, which was featured in the Herald 25 years ago. It took the former Royal Marine 12 years to turn the tower at East Cliff from a ruin into his own ‘castle.’ Ted, who joined up as a bugler, went on to become one of a party of Marines which helped hold the Hook of Holland as the Dutch royal family escaped the advancing German army in World War Two. He ended up a quartermaster sergeant instructor of naval gunnery at Chatham.