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Somerset County Herald and Taunton Courier. Saturday 04 Jun 1938
Page 3 Column 1
FIFTY YEARS WITH G.W.R.
TAUNTON BRIDGE CHARGEMAN'S MEMORIES
'91 BLIZZARD AND OTHER EXPERIENCES
COLLEAGUES' TRIBUTES
Mr. William CHUDLEIGH, of 32, William-street, Taunton, who for the last 21 years has been a bridge chargeman, has just retired after 50 years with the Great Western Railway Company.
He was in a reminiscent mood when visited at his home by a Somerset County Herald representative this week, and recalled, among other things, experiences of the blizzard of 1891.
NINE MILES IN 14 HOURS.
During the blizzard he was one of a gang of men who worked from 4 p.m. to 5.45 a.m. on the following day in clearing snow from the railway cuttings between Dawlish and Newton Abbot. It took a train all that time – nearly 14 hours – to travel the nine miles between those two stations. A heavy snowfall on three successive days was accompanied by a high wind, and the drifts on the railway track were from five to six feet deep. On Dartmoor the snow was piled 17 feet high; snow ploughs were out everywhere in the district. The gale made it necessary to hold down with ropes the old goods shed at Dawlish.
SAVED STARCROSS PIER.
Mr. CHUDLEIGH added, “I think it was the only time all the boats were taken out of the Dawlish boat cove because the waves were so rough. The roof of the Coastguard long boathouse on the Dawlish sea wall was washed completely off. The waves were going right over to the hotels at Dawlish, 80 feet from the sea wall.
“A few years later, when the River Exe and the canal were frozen over, we were standing on the Starcross Pier pushing away the great ice flows that were coming down the river, and were threatening to carry away the pier.”
On another occasion the sea wall at Langstone, near Dawlish, was washed out for a distance of about 75 yards. The breach undermined the railway, and the line was temporarily closed.
NEVER SAW AN ACCIDENT.
Mr. CHUDLEIGH started his railway career at Newton Abbot, his birthplace, as an apprentice to the carpentry trade in June, 1888. After working there for ten years he served three years at Plymouth, and for the last 37 years he has been stationed at Taunton. He was married on June 28th, 1897 – the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria – and he received his instructions to come to Taunton on the day she died, January 22nd, 1901.
During the 21 years he was bridge chargeman in the Taunton Division. Mr. CHUDLEIGH served under three Bridge Inspectors – Mr. TOMES and Mr. B. OLLISS (both now retired) and Mr. B. Lloyd DAVIES. His area extended from Highbridge to Dartmouth and Totnes, throughout the Minehead and Barnstaple branch lines, the Yeovil – Weymouth branch line, and from Taunton to Witham. There are nearly 300 bridges in the area and hundreds of culverts. Mr. CHUDLEIGH has had charge of their maintenance and repair. He was an acting inspector during the last reconstruction scheme at Taunton, and during the construction of the concrete pier at Weymouth a few years ago.
Although he travelled many thousands of miles during his half-a-century's work, he never saw an accident on the railway.
AMBULANCE WORK.
Mr. CHUDLEIGH has been connected with the G.W.R. St. John Ambulance Association for 28 years. He holds the medal for 15 years' service, the gold bar for a further five years' work, and the gold medal, awarded in the Coronation year, to mark 25 years' service. On several occasions he has taken part, with the Taunton Division team, in the national railway ambulance competition in London. Although the team has never won the chief honours it has been placed second and third – a highly creditable achievement.
COLLEAGUES' PRESENTATION.
Mr. CHUDLEIGH received a Rolls safety razor set as a parting gift from his railway colleagues at a social gathering at the Cherrygrove Inn, Rowbarton, on Friday evening. The presentation was made by Inspector B. Lloyd DAVIES, who, with Mr. W. TOTEN (assistant bridge inspector), Mr. W. WILLIAMS (bridge foreman) and others, paid tributes to Mr. CHUDLEIGH's efficiency, punctuality on duty, and his general helpfulness to those with whom he worked. The speakers wished him many years of continued good health in which to enjoy his retirement. Good wishes were also expressed for the future happiness of Mrs. CHUDLEIGH and other members of the family. Mr. CHUDLEIGH suitably replied. The attendance numberer about 40.
A FAMILY RECORD.
Apropos of Mr. CHUDLEIGH's record with the G.W.R., it is interesting to note that his father, the late Mr. W. J. CHUDLEIGH, a coach builder, of Newton Abbott, worked in one shop for an even longer period, 51 years, for Messrs. Williams & Sons, Newton Abbott. He died about 15 years ago.
Mr. CHUDLEIGH's only son, Mr. R. CHUDLEIGH, of Taunton, is a railway driver, and his son-in-law, Mr. A. J. ROSEWARNE, of Taunton, a G.W.R. bridge repairer. Mr. ROSEWARNE is an ambulance instructor to the Boy Scouts' Association.
A WELL-TRAINED BUDGERIGAR.
Mr. and Mrs. ROSEWARNE, who live with Mr. and Mrs. CHUDLEIGH in William-street, own several budgerigars, one of which talks, has an occasional whiff of a cigarette, drinks from a cup of tea, and shows a liking for looking at cigarette cards. It is about a year old, and was bred by Mr. ROSEWARNE, who has trained it from its earliest days.
Many readers will be interested in these facts, seeing that quite recently a budgerigar was heard reciting nursery rhymes on the wireless in the “In Town To-night” programme on a Saturday evening.
“Peter loves a smoke, and will cough like an old man,” a member of the family told me, although the bird apparently declines to perform or even to speak in the presence of strangers.
Mr. CHUDLEIGH's son is a really good artist. Many of his paintings adorn the walls of his own and his parents' homes.