{"id":9485,"date":"2020-11-09T16:07:39","date_gmt":"2020-11-09T16:07:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.brentorpc.org.uk\/?page_id=9485"},"modified":"2020-11-09T16:07:39","modified_gmt":"2020-11-09T16:07:39","slug":"vic-cowlings-brentor","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.brentorpc.org.uk\/?page_id=9485","title":{"rendered":"Vic Cowling&#8217;s Brentor"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Vic Cowling was born in Brentor in 1941, the eldest of two brothers. He attended Brentor Primary School and secondary school in Tavistock.\u00a0 He left to join the RAF in 1961 and later that year his father died.\u00a0 Within a few years his mother moved to Tavistock and in doing so\u00a0 vacated the house built by Vic Cowling&#8217;s forebears 120 years earlier, breaking the family&#8217;s direct link with the village.<\/span><a id=\"Top\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Vic Cowling&#8217;s father was actively involved in a number of village organisations, often in a leading capacity.\u00a0 He had a central role in the transformation of the Reading Room into what is now the Village Hall,\u00a0 and was also involved in the consultation and negotiations regarding the status of the Playing Field.<\/p>\n<p>Vic Cowling has very kindly provided the following reminiscences of life in Brentor&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;.\u00a0 <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Click on the links below to see the story<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><a class=\"_ps2id\" href=\"#Mail\" data-ps2id-offset=\"\">Snail Mail Trail<\/a><\/span><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><a class=\"_ps2id\" href=\"#Sports\" data-ps2id-offset=\"\">Sports Days<\/a><\/span><\/strong><br \/>\n<a class=\"_ps2id\" href=\"#School\" data-ps2id-offset=\"\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Brentor Primary School \u00a01947-53<\/span><\/strong><\/a><br \/>\n<strong><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><a class=\"_ps2id\" href=\"#Football\" data-ps2id-offset=\"\">Brentor Football club 1945 \u2013 1949<\/a><\/span><\/strong><br \/>\n<a class=\"_ps2id\" href=\"#Spitfire\" data-ps2id-offset=\"\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">A Brentor Spitfire<\/span><\/strong><\/a><br \/>\n<strong><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><a id=\"Mail\"><\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Snail Mail Trail<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\nIt was 7 o\u2019clock on a fine morning almost 70 years ago. \u00a0Aged about 10\/11, I was eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Post Office van from Tavistock.\u00a0 But I was not expecting a delivery, and I was not alone. \u00a0I was in the company of Bert Batten, the village postman and our close West Blackdown neighbour.\u00a0\u00a0 And I was about to accompany him on his delivery.<\/p>\n<p>The regular driver was \u2018Taffy\u2019 Saunders and he gave us a lift up to Brentor\u00a0 post office. \u00a0There, under the auspices of Lena Eastcott, the postmistress, we sorted the mail into delivery order on the kitchen table.\u00a0 The only way I can now gauge the volume of mail is in my recall of the large number of properties at which we did not stop en route. \u00a0After being suitably fortified by hot drinks, we set out.<\/p>\n<p>From the post office the route took us down through the village until it branched up the lane to Lowertown, before crossing the path field to Shell Park and on to North Road.\u00a0 A quick about turn brought us back to the village centre and to houses around the chapel and Dark Lane. \u00a0Heading out of the village past the cemetery,\u00a0 the route crossed over another path field on the right, immediately past St Michael\u2019s, (are the stepping stones in the hedge still there?) which joined \u2018Big Road\u2019, close to \u2018Long Plantation\u2019. \u00a0 After serving the properties in the vicinity of Rowden Farm, we headed towards the Tor.<\/p>\n<p>Passing behind the Tor, the route carried us across the fields to Holyeat Farm and thence down through South Brentor. \u00a0At Cross Trees it passed through the farmyard and over the fields to Brinsabach. \u00a0 From here it descended through the woods to the fields alongside the railway, which it crossed at the bridges below Wortha Mill. \u00a0From there it was a straight walk along the Mary Tavy road to home.\u00a0 To the best of my recollection, the properties of West Blackdown and Station View did not form part of the delivery area.<\/p>\n<p>After Bert Batten retired a few short years later, his position was filled briefly by Russell Batten (only distantly related). \u00a0He had, at one time, been the driver for Rev H Edgar Owen Davies. \u00a0There was one further walking postman (Bill Foster?) before the delivery was eventually mechanised, probably in the mid 1950s.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><a class=\"_ps2id\" href=\"#Top\" data-ps2id-offset=\"\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Back to index<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong><a id=\"Sports\"><\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>Sports Days<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\nFor a youngster growing up in Brentor during the late 1940s and early 1950s, the punctuation of the year by a number of annual events provided welcome, if temporary, relief from the post-war austerity. Christmas and birthdays, Bonfire Night, Goose Fair, and, more locally, church or chapel outings to the seaside, harvest festivals and suppers, the village children\u2019s Christmas party and the annual Sports Day.<\/p>\n<p>Central to the Sports Day was a five-a-side football tournament for the Postlethwaite Cup, donated by the village doctor and quite possibly in memory of his two sons killed during the First World War. Teams came from around the area and I remember on one occasion a side styled as Lifton Argyle carried off the prize. In the event of a drawn game, the side having forced the most corners was declared the winner.\u00a0 No penalty shoot-outs in those days! \u00a0Brentor played in green shirts with white collars and sleeves.<\/p>\n<p>Simultaneously there were competitive sports, principally for children but also some for adults.\u00a0 In addition to standard flat races there were also novelty events such as a sack race, three legged race, wheelbarrow race and a slow bicycle race.\u00a0 One year there was an \u2018around the island \u2018 race. \u00a0I have no memory of the actual race itself, which I think must have been for adult cyclists.\u00a0 The route went down through the village and up to \u2018Gray&#8217;s\/Squires\u2019 corner where it joined the Tavistock\/Lydford road which it then followed \u00a0back to the Playing Field.<\/p>\n<p>The child\/youngster considered to have been the most successful overall was awarded the Tom Brown Cup. \u00a0Tom Brown was active in civic and social affairs in Tavistock. \u00a0What direct attachment he had to Brentor, if any, is uncertain but he was an auctioneer who worked for Ward and Chowen, and Frank Ward had donated the Playing Field to the village.<\/p>\n<p>Alongside the various sporting endeavours were a range of attractions and stalls.\u00a0 Walls ice cream van would be in attendance and there were pony rides. \u00a0My parents operated a hoopla stall, making use of large wooden curtain rings. \u00a0If memory serves me right, there was just the one prize for the highest score. \u00a0The stall that proved to be one of the most popular was \u2018Skittling for the pig\u2019 as the village&#8217;s manhood strove to demonstrate their prowess. \u00a0I never gave it a thought as a child, but in my maturity I now wonder what the winner did with the pig!<\/p>\n<p>Sports Day in 1953, Coronation Year, was, with the bonfire on the Tor, the main village activity to celebrate the event, and certificates were presented to all those who actively participated. \u00a0I was then in my final year at the village school and we had been rehearsed to perform some kind of display\/tableau but for some reason it did not take place.<\/p>\n<p>I think that that year must have been something of a swansong because it is my impression that very shortly afterwards the annual sports day was a thing of the past.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><a class=\"_ps2id\" href=\"#Top\" data-ps2id-offset=\"\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Back to index<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<a id=\"School\"><\/a>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Brentor Primary School \u00a01947-53<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\nStructurally Brentor Primary was \u00a0a single room, divided by a retractable partition, with a small entrance lobby and a kitchen annexe.\u00a0\u00a0The main play area extended across the frontage of the building with small areas at either end reserved exclusively for the girls and the boys respectively.\u00a0\u00a0The toilets were situated in these areas and to the boys this facility was always referred to as \u2018out round\u2019.\u00a0\u00a0A small stream flowed below the bench seat to carry away solids, including the belts of the careless.<\/p>\n<p>I imagine pupil numbers were probably around the mid 20s but by the time I left they were in decline.\u00a0\u00a0The only constant I recall amongst the teaching staff was \u2018Mizogan\u2019 \u2013 more formally known as Mrs Hogan.\u00a0\u00a0She took the \u2018Juniors\u2019 and was supported by a succession of assistants who supervised the \u2018Infants\u2019.\u00a0\u00a0These included Miss Brooksbank, Mr May, Mr Halfyard, Mrs Groves and Miss Stephens.\u00a0\u00a0Edie Cooke, commonly referred to by her maiden name (but not by the children) even though she was twice married with three children, helped serve the dinners and also acted, with her husband, in a caretaking capacity.<\/p>\n<p>Dinners were delivered by a green \u2018canteen van\u2019 in aluminium containers, presumably prepared at a central point in Tavistock.\u00a0\u00a0Milk was delivered in 1\/3 pint bottles before school started.\u00a0\u00a0On the coldest winter days it froze and was placed on the cast iron central heating pipes to thaw.\u00a0\u00a0I recall one particularly severe time when the canteen van could not get through and we were fed with \u2018hard tack\u2019 biscuits.<\/p>\n<p>I probably started school in 1947 but it is possible I joined in the autumn of 1946, shortly before my 5th birthday.\u00a0\u00a0One of my earliest memories is of a visit to Miss Bellringer at her home in Yelverton.\u00a0\u00a0She was Mrs Hogan&#8217;s predecessor as head teacher.\u00a0\u00a0Whether it was in the context of her retirement, birthday or a good will visit, I have no idea.\u00a0\u00a0It is probable that the two women had worked together.\u00a0\u00a0I recall seeing Mrs Hogan&#8217;s signature in her maiden name, Kathleen M Phillips, which suggests she may have been in post before her marriage in 1942.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to Mrs Hogan&#8217;s instruction, there were lessons on the \u2018wireless\u2019 broadcast by the BBC.\u00a0\u00a0One I remember in particular without much pleasure \u2013 \u2018Music and Movement\u2019 &#8211; not for its content (physical exercise) but the circumstances; harsh rush mats in a hard, cold playground.\u00a0\u00a0There were other lessons &#8211; singing, natural history \u2013 that we could \u2018enjoy\u2019 in the \u2018comfort\u2019 of the classroom.<\/p>\n<p>At some point a small(?) group of children, whom I believe were temporarily accommodated at Langstone Manor, and who I now imagine were in some category of disadvantage or vulnerability, joined the school for a short(?) while.\u00a0\u00a0Nora Gallup of Langstone is known to have been employed in some capacity within child welfare services.\u00a0\u00a0One boy in particular regularly displayed distress by moaning and rocking in his chair.\u00a0\u00a0I have found only one birth registered in his name in England in a five year period \u2013 in Worthing in 1940, followed by a later marriage in the same area.<\/p>\n<p>My impression is that all children normally walked to school which was of no great consequence for those living within the village confines, but presented something of a challenge to those from Burn Lane and, particularly, from South Brentor.\u00a0\u00a0David Glass, and later Billy Doidge, both from South Brentor, almost certainly came via \u2018Pathfields\u2019, past \u2018Green Pond\u2019, at least during the summer months.\u00a0\u00a0I do not know if alternative arrangements were made for inclement weather.\u00a0\u00a0In later years I travelled (unofficially) by coach.\u00a0\u00a0Secondary school children were conveyed to Tavistock by Percy Down\u2019s coach, which made a pick-up by the station close to where we lived and we, my brother and I, used to hitch a lift up to the \u2018Cross\u2019 \u2013 the War Memorial.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to performing a Nativity play in the church, there were other dramatic presentations in the school.\u00a0\u00a0A temporary stage was erected adjacent to the kitchen door which became the dressing room.\u00a0\u00a0In one production I was Humpty Dumpty, enshrouded in a badly stuffed sheet from neck to waist.\u00a0\u00a0For what was possibly my first speaking part, my parents later told me of my repeated rehearsal of my single line &#8211; \u2018Biddy Mentur\u2019, which they later discovered translated into \u2018Bid him enter\u2019.\u00a0\u00a0Another unrelated script contained the phrase (or something very similar), \u2018A slant eyed son of a Chinese sea cook\u2019.\u00a0\u00a0Things were much different in those days!<\/p>\n<p>One year a team was entered in the District Junior Schools Sports. In preparation a practice was held on the Playing Field.\u00a0\u00a0This undoubtedly doubled as the selection process, matching entrants to events.\u00a0\u00a0The meeting took place at Tavistock Grammar School and, if my memory is real and reliable, there were separate competitions for large and small schools.\u00a0\u00a0My participation in a flat race ended prematurely when, in my enthusiasm, I tripped over my own feet.<\/p>\n<p>It was probably in 1951, the year of the Festival of Britain, that John Brookes told a sceptical audience of having seen a wireless with a screen, enabling programmes to be watched.\u00a0\u00a0This was our first introduction to television.\u00a0\u00a0At a time when few private houses had a telephone installed, I recall a class discussion in which we fantasised about a future when it would be possible to speak to someone remotely and see them at the same time.\u00a0\u00a0It is possible our imagination had been stimulated by exposure to the \u2018Eagle\u2019 to which the school subscribed. This was a comic &#8211; \u2018Dan Dare, pilot of the future\u2019 &#8211; which included material with an educational content.\u00a0\u00a0It contained a number of factual articles and as a centre piece had a cut-away illustration of a machine or piece of equipment, showing how it was constructed or operated.<\/p>\n<p>One vivid memory I have that I can now date to 6th February 1952 is of Mrs Hogan emerging from the kitchen (did she have access to a wireless?) to announce the news of the death of King George VI.\u00a0\u00a0It was not the news so much but the obvious emotion displayed on Mrs Hogan&#8217;s flushed face that had the greater impact upon me.<\/p>\n<p>I was always of above average size.\u00a0\u00a0Towards the end of my time I had outgrown the furniture and had to be provided with a larger desk.\u00a0\u00a0Because of my physical dimensions, I attracted the nickname of Bighead\u2019.\u00a0\u00a0Perversely when I was in secondary school I became known as \u2018Bigfeet\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>The academic climax to my time at Brentor Primary was the \u201811+\u2019 exam. In the 1952\/3 school year, Brentor entered four candidates, two boys and two girls.\u00a0\u00a0Part One was held at the school, from which the boys emerged with success.\u00a0\u00a0Part Two took place at \u2018Dolvin\u2019 (Tavistock Secondary Modern School, Dolvin Road), and this resulted in the same 50% success rate.<\/p>\n<p>The last noteworthy event before my final departure from the school was a visit to the Carlton Cinema in Tavistock to watch a film of the \u00a0Coronation.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><a class=\"_ps2id\" href=\"#Top\" data-ps2id-offset=\"\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Back to index<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><a id=\"Football\"><\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Brentor Football club 1945 \u2013 1949<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\nThroughout his adult life my father had been closely involved with the affairs of the football club, initially as a player then later as a committee man, but it was not until the late 1940s that they encroached upon my awareness, by which time the club was into the final decade of its existence.<\/p>\n<p>I regularly accompanied my father to matches, both home and away, but it would seem that the experience did little to excite my interest or imagination as I have no memory, with two exceptions, of any related incidents.\u00a0 One (painful) memory was as a spectator at a match in Okehampton when I was hit full on in the face by the ball.\u00a0 The other memory is a repetitive one : of circulating amongst the spectators at home matches during half time with a collection box seeking donations, and then later counting the proceeds on the kitchen table at home.\u00a0 There was a period when we deposited the takings with Bill Howard of the Co-op shop who I assume was then acting club Treasurer.\u00a0 Fortunately the clubs financial accounts for that period still exist and they provide an interesting insight into the clubs affairs (but not the playing record!)<\/p>\n<p><strong>1945-1946<\/strong><br \/>\nWith fewer entries than in subsequent years , and the first reference to any on-the-field activity dated 12 January 1946,\u00a0 it is evident that the club was just starting to emerge from its enforced war time inactivity.<\/p>\n<p>Receipts &#8211; \u00a340.3s.2d.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Expenditure &#8211; \u00a325. 0s .6d<\/p>\n<p>The principal sources of income were: on the field collections \u00a315.2s.5d, spectators and players fares to away matches at Gunnislake, Lamerton, Stokeclimsland, Harrowbarrow and Okehampton \u00a316.12s.3d. and members subscriptions \u00a35.7s.6d. There was also a receipt, &#8216;Balance from Junior Club \u00a31.5s.11d&#8217; suggesting that the club may have continued to function in a modified form during the war.<\/p>\n<p>The main expenses were for goal nets, ropes, new ball and jerseys \u00a38.9s0d, and Percy Down for coach hire \u00a315.8s.0d.<\/p>\n<p>43 members were named, paying an annual subscription of 2\/6d.<\/p>\n<p><strong>1946 -1947<\/strong><br \/>\nFrom the evidence of the accounts, this was the season when normality was restored to the football life of the district with a full programme of both league and cup fixtures.\u00a0 Brentor was entered for both the Bedford Cup and the South Devon Cup<\/p>\n<p>Receipts. \u00a386.8s.8d, plus \u00a311.13s.1d carried over from 1938-39.\u00a0 Expenses. \u00a372.3s.6d.<\/p>\n<p>As previously the main sources of income were field collections of \u00a323.8s.0d from 15 home games and \u00a330.4s.3d from coach fares (2\/6d) to 14 away games.\u00a0 There were anonymous donations totalling \u00a39.6s.10d, and a donation of \u00a35.5s from Mrs Garlick.\u00a0 A concert raised \u00a35.1s.2d and members&#8217; subscriptions amounted to \u00a34.12s.6d.\u00a0 The sale of fixture cards produced \u00a31.2s.6d and the registration fees of eleven named players, at twopence each, added 1\/10d.<\/p>\n<p>Once again the principal creditor was Percy Down for coach hire: \u00a336.8s.\u00a0 Payments were made to W Tucker for car hire. (Bill Tucker of Yellands Farm operated a care hire\/ taxi service in the village).\u00a0 There were routine payments for general running costs and referee&#8217;s expenses, and for insurance and ambulance cover.\u00a0 A dozen jerseys (shirts) were purchased for \u00a31 and \u00a31.1s was donated to the family of a deceased Bere Alston player.<\/p>\n<p><strong>1947 \u2013 1948<\/strong><br \/>\nThe pattern and range of activity of the previous season appear to have been maintained with one notable exception.\u00a0 A reduced level of income failed to cover an increased level of expenditure.\u00a0 The team was entered for three cup competitions: the Bedford Cup, the Devon Junior Cup and the G P O Cup.<\/p>\n<p>Receipts:\u00a0 \u00a380.8s.5d\u00a0\u00a0 Expenditure: \u00a384.15s. 10d<\/p>\n<p>Income from field collections: \u00a325.9s.3d (17 home games). Bus fares to 11 away games: \u00a332.14s.6d.\u00a0 Whist drive- \u00a32.1s.9d.\u00a0 Subscriptions(32 members) \u00a34.\u00a0 &#8216;Match comp. (?)&#8217; \u00a310.<\/p>\n<p>The season\u2019s expenditure included: Percy Down, coach hire\u00a0 \u00a348.9s.6d. Car hire (various) \u00a32.6s.\u00a0 Sun Assurance \u00a36.10s.\u00a0 Playing Field \u00a35. 2 new balls \u00a35.3s.<\/p>\n<p>It is possible that the increase in coach hire costs could have been the consequence of having to travel greater distances to cup games which might not have been reflected in an adjustment of the fare, accounting for an under recovery of \u00a316.<\/p>\n<p><strong>1948 \u2013 1949<\/strong><br \/>\nIt is evident from the accounts that the committee recognised the need to take decisive action to reverse the financial trend of the previous season.\u00a0 The significant increase in fares received for travel to away games clearly indicates a revised pricing strategy, and membership subscriptions were increased from 2\/6d to 3\/6d.\u00a0 There were also fund raising initiatives.\u00a0 On the field, Brentor again entered the Bedford and Devon Junior cup competitions, and a team reached the semi-final of an &#8216;Under21&#8217; cup competition.\u00a0 A novelty &#8216;Married v Singles&#8217; match was held.<\/p>\n<p>Receipts: \u00a3126.7s.7d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Expenditure: \u00a3120.8s.9d<\/p>\n<p>Field collections at 17 home games: \u00a321.6s.4d. Fares to 17 away games: \u00a356.1s.3d.\u00a0 Donation- Mrs Garlick: \u00a37.7s.\u00a0 Sundry individual donations: \u00a33.17s.6d.\u00a0 &#8216;Follies&#8217; concert: \u00a319.11s.\u00a0 Draws(4): \u00a39.3s. Members subscriptions (29\u00d73\/6d) \u00a35.1s.6d, and, intriguingly, &#8216;Princetown fine:\u00a31&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>At \u00a368.3s.6d, Percy Down\u2019s bill for coach hire still exceeded the total of fares received.\u00a0 Other payments included: Sun Insurance: \u00a316.10s.\u00a0 Various entry\/affiliation fees: \u00a32.11s.\u00a0 3 new balls, nets and lime: 10.15s.6d.\u00a0 Soap: 1shilling.\u00a0 Payment to injured player (R Batten) \u00a35.<\/p>\n<p>At the end of the 1948\/9 season the club had a credit balance of \u00a342.17s.5d.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><a class=\"_ps2id\" href=\"#Top\" data-ps2id-offset=\"\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Back to index<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><a id=\"Spitfire\"><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">A Brentor Spitfire<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.brentorpc.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Spitfire-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-9487 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/www.brentorpc.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Spitfire-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"233\" height=\"136\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.brentorpc.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Spitfire-1.jpg 712w, https:\/\/www.brentorpc.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Spitfire-1-300x175.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 233px) 100vw, 233px\" \/><\/a>On 20 December 1940, the Western Morning News reported \u00a0that Commander Archibald and Mrs Garlick of Bonnaford, Brentor\u00a0 had sent a cheque for \u00a35000 to Lord Beaverbrook, the Minister of Aircraft Production, for the purchase of a Spitfire which was to bear the initials \u2018J G\u2019 in memory of the commander&#8217;s father.<\/p>\n<p>Archibald \u00a0McDairmid Garlick was born on 20 May 1890 \u00a0in Thorniebrae, Green Point, Cape Town, South Africa, the seventh of eight children of John Garlick and Ellen Miller. \u00a0John was born in Lincolnshire and his father died six weeks before his son&#8217;s tenth birthday. \u00a0He migrated to South Africa in 1872, aged 20, and three years later opened his first store. \u00a0He subsequently developed \u00a0extensive and successful business interests in retail, wholesale and manufacturing, ranging from clothing, office equipment and the motor trade. \u00a0He was also active and influential in both local and provincial politics.<\/p>\n<p>Archibald enlisted in the Royal Navy on 15 January 1906 and retired as a Commander in 1933, but returned \u00a0to active service for a period during the Second World War. \u00a0In 1911 he was a sub lieutenant stationed at H M S Excellent Gunnery School, Portsmouth. \u00a0A year later his marriage to Marguerite Irene May Slight (Rita) was registered in Fulham during the March quarter.<\/p>\n<p>The birth of Rita Slight, the daughter of William Edward James Slight, a Royal Marine, and Emily Mary Fitzwalter Hill was registered in Totnes between July-September 1883. \u00a0When she was three, her mother died and her father subsequently remarried. \u00a0In 1911 she was recorded as a lodger living in Marylebone, London, working as a dressmaker.<\/p>\n<p>By 1939 Archibald was back in uniform and stationed in Plymouth. \u00a0The 1939 Register gives their address as 5 Nelson Gardens, Stoke, Plymouth. Before Archibald appeared in court in January 1940 on a minor traffic offence, the couple had moved to Bonnaford. \u00a0It seems a plausible hypothesis that the move, at least in part, may have been motivated by the close attention that the city was receiving from the Luftwaffe. \u00a0Little is known of their life in Brentor, although Mrs Garlick&#8217;s name regularly appeared in newspaper reports in connection with her involvement in\u00a0 some local event or organisation. \u00a0She also advertised for domestic assistance on a number of occasions. \u00a0Archibald reverted to the Retired List in June 1941. \u00a0They had no children.<\/p>\n<p>On 5 January 1960 Archibald married Margaret Ellen Walker in Cape Town, and on 12 March 1961 Mrs Garlick was discovered dead close to her badly fire damaged bedroom. \u00a0According to press reports this was the third in a series of similar bedroom fires. \u00a0Some out-of-county newspapers described her as a recluse and Archibald as a South African property owner, commenting on the couple&#8217;s divorce eighteen months earlier. \u00a0She would then have been aged about 71 and been married for some 47 years. \u00a0Exceptionally the Daily Herald was much kinder, referring to her as the Lady Bountiful of \u00a0South West Devon and drawing attention to her generous support of some 20 associations in the area of which she was president.<\/p>\n<p>Probate of her will, in which she was described as a \u2018single woman\u2019, revealed that Mrs Garlick left an estate of \u00a36,690. \u00a0Archibald Garlick died on 17 March, 1968 in the Minehead area of Somerset. \u00a0Probate of his will was delayed until January 1970, possibly on account of the finalisation of South African assets. \u00a0His estate was valued at \u00a331,822.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">\u00a0 \u00a0 <a class=\"_ps2id\" style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"#Top\" data-ps2id-offset=\"\">Back to index<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Vic Cowling was born in Brentor in 1941, the eldest of two brothers. He attended Brentor Primary School and secondary school in Tavistock.\u00a0 He left to join the RAF in 1961 and later that year his father died.\u00a0 Within a few years his mother moved to Tavistock and in doing so\u00a0 vacated the house built [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":9997,"menu_order":91,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9485","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brentorpc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9485","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brentorpc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brentorpc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brentorpc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brentorpc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9485"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.brentorpc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9485\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13445,"href":"https:\/\/www.brentorpc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9485\/revisions\/13445"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brentorpc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9997"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brentorpc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9485"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brentorpc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9485"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brentorpc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9485"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}