Left to Right: Timothy Gould,
John Groth, Michael Childs, John Godden, Michael Swann, Barry Barnes,
Nicholas Holloway, Rev. Royds-Jones, Peter Tucker, Gavin Hebron, Malcolm
Heyd-Smith
Dear Michael
Thank you very much for your prompt reply. I learnt about the book only the
other day when I was talking to my aunt who lives in Fareham and she
mentioned she had read a short history about Funtley Parish Church where there
was a quote about my father from the book.
I
am surprised that my father didn't have a copy - if he did it certainly wasn't
there when he died.
As a child my life at home revolved around Price's School and St Peter and St
Pauls. My father used to spend a lot of time in the school holidays at Price's
school devising new experiments to illustrate something for the boys the
following term. I used to spend my time playing in the school grounds. When I
was about 10 (ie about 1950) my father decided to build me a canoe from his
own design. It was a wooden one, robust and although sea worthy - not the
fastest canoe on the water. This he built at Prices in the school holidays.
When it was finished he decided to take it for a trial on the water. He
started from Fareham Creek first thing in the morning. My mother had a phone
call from him at lunch time to inform her that the canoe was sea worthy and
that he was on The Isle of Wight and expect him back for supper!
The other thing I vividly remember is Geoge Ashton's laugh - it was deep and
rather frightening to a young child.
My father had three children. My brother Paul is a civil engineer and spent
most of his working career abroad - mainly in Hongkong. He is 55 and has
retired and lives Warsash. He has his father's passion for sailing and so has
three boats of various sizes which he sails off the Hamble. I hated sailing as
a child. My father didn't start sailing himself until my brother was about 12
years old (and he was 60). He then bought a dinghy and sailed from Fareham
Boat Club. My father was very competitive and very demanding when having to
crew for him. He and my brother learnt to sail together and my brother was
three years older than I. When my brother wasn't avaialable I had to crew. I
wasn't heavy enough and old enough and when in a race I certainly knew about
it.
I, myself am a General Practitioner in Sussex having been here for 25yrs. I
would also like to retire but can't afford it.
I
have a sister who lives in New Milton and is a JP.
All in all my father has six grand-children to carry on his idiosyncratic
ways.
Jonathan Royds-Jones