George Riddles Well known Dartmouth boatman and Trinity House Pilot

Interviewed by Ray Freeman in the 1980’s

Track 1 Born in 1901 in Ireland he came to Dartmouth in 1901. Father posted to Compass

Coast Guard Station. Saw Titanic sail past 3 miles off on a test run

Father retired in 1912 and took over the Royal Oak PH in Lower Street.

Life as a Coast Guard in early 1900’s, previously known as Revenue Men, part of

the RN, no phones, patroled on foot from Compass to Froward Point Kingswear,

acted as lookouts, custons work – smuggling, licensed fishing boats.

C G’s boat house at Southtown used as a work shop for servicing their boats

Dartmouth’s Lifeboat & last coxswain.

Track 2 Life in the C G houses at Compass. Water pumped from deep well, no heatin or

lighting etc, 2 hour duty watch night & day, youngest C G emptied toilet buckets-

fertiliser, Monthly inspections

Schooling in Dartmouth – class sizes, hours

Information on the Southtown boathouse & workshop, main repair centre

Looking at old photographs. Lifeboat, Lidstones boat house, Watch house, Castle

house.

Started work on the ferry 8/6d weekly wage

Bell boy on a troop ship in 1917, details of troop ships and Atlantic Convoys.

Track 3 After WW II, work on a Tug, became a Trinity House Pilot in 1930, job description

and payment system.

Memories of the 1930 Depression in Dartmouth, shipyard paying off men, ships laid

up in the river, change from coail to oil fired ships.

Coles Court and pubs by the Lower Ferry slip.