Boyhood Memories Of Lymington

A Memory of Lymington.

My parents, Edward (Jack) and Mavis Byard and myself and German Shepherd Dog Julie, moved from Poole, in Dorset, to live in a de-commissioned British Power Boat Motor Torpedo Boat, 451, in November 1947. My father worked for the company's No 2 yard during the war repairing action damaged MTBs and MGBs and at the war's end these Coastal Craft were rapidly de-commissioned and my parents purchased one. She was towed around to Lymington and, with some difficulty, got through the railway bridge supports to be moored near to the Lymington Slipway, where my Father had moved to as a result of being made redundant when BPB in Poole closed down in early 1947, becoming the Slipway's Chief Storekeeper. My parents converted the boat into a very warm and comfortable houseboat. She was repainted in white with four large new portholes for what became our Lounge and she lost her service number, instead becoming Linnette. They also purchased an 18 foot motor launch which was named Silvermere, and she was moored alongside Linnette.

I attended Lymington C of E School until sitting my 11 plus exam, which I failed, so I ended up attending Brockenhurst Secondary Modern School from 1950 until 27th May 1953 when my Parents and I sailed for Australia aboard the New Australia. During my time in Lymington I became a member of the Lymington Swimming Club, the Lymington Rowing Club - as a coxwain at 12 years of age, and The Tadpoles - a junior water polo team that used to play in the Lymington sea water baths. I had a 9 foot standing lug sailing dinghy, which was named Brat!, that my parents bought for me for my 12th Birthday and with it I explored every part of the Lymington River and all the little creeks that were part of the marshes along both sides of the river, I knew every part of the river as a result.

Another ex-service boat was moored in front of us, an ex RAF Air/Sea Rescue Launch, or High Speed Launch as they were known then. A family of three came to live aboard and there was a son, John, about 2 years older than me but an only child as I was. We became firm friends, two boys being thrown together and the only boys actually living ON the river! That friendship is still on-going, some 70 years later and, in many ways, we had parallel existances, we both ended up in Australia, both became employed in Passenger Shipping Companies in Melbourne though I spent most of my career in shipping whereas John became self employed and started his own printing business. He still lives in Melbourne with his wife Carole and his married children, I returned to England with my wife Anne where we had two children, Annaliese who is a practicing Archaeologist and, at the time of writing, is studying for her Doctorate, and Edward who has and runs his own company.

In 1950 the Borough of Lymington celebrated the 800th Anniversary of it becoming a Borough and the Lymington Slipway provided their motor launch for my Father to cruise up and down the area near the quay whilst I sprayed water from the on-board water pump, however it was a miserable day, and mostly raining so the celebrations were very muted. Also one of my Father's jobs, using the slipway launch as it was called, was to act as a tug when the big black privately owned trawler, named Manihine, needed to be turned around prior to sailing down river. She was owned by Major Hall, who owned London Brick Company, and was used as an expedition ship to collect marine specimens for the British Museum, especially from the Red Sea area. Lymington was her home port. So as a "migrant" to Lymington the town really stole my heart and, and the same thing happened to John, so now we refer to ouselves as Lymingtonians, and are very proud to do so.

---

---