Oral History collection: George Tucker (born 1894, Horton, builder) interviewed by J. Mansel Thomas about Gower life

Track 1. [00:00:47] Gower: Most local boys would not have ambition other than farming. [00:01:13] Gower: Left farming to learn trade with Jack Ace a country carpenter. [00:02:07] Gower: Making of field gates, ladders, repairing carts and producing mangers and stiles. [00:02:53] Gower: New houses being built and would require new wooden windows to be carpentered. [00:03:20] Gower: John Williams in Uplands was a Pitton man. [00:03:26] Gower: Edgar Evans went to the North Pole and was killed or drowned. John Williams sister was married to John Powell a Sawyer, Blacksmith, Farmer and Methodist. [00:03:59] Gower: Hand mortition machine. [00:04:22] Gower: The foreman of John Williams was a Port Eynon man and a friend of his fathers. [00:05:25] Gower: Some houses not built until after the war in 1930's. [00:06:02] Gower: Country carpenter when learning to become a carpenterwere more keen to work than the town boys were. [00:06:36] Gower: George said he felt very backward after just a church school education. [00:07:12] Gower: School master spoken of. [00:07:51] Gower: Dick Morgan of Penrice and george would read books at home to learn some more. [00:09:17] Gower: Town men and country men difference in work ethic. [00:09:46] Gower: Styles of houses decided by the builder not the estate. [00:11:53] Gower: He had a checkered career during the war and went to the labour exchange. [00:12:25] Gower: Sent to Cannock Chase in leicester with another Gower man. Sent to Pembroke Docks making huts for soldiers. [00:13:09] Gower: George started as a dilutee helping a shipwright at Pembroke Dock. [00:14:25] Gower: Worked on Submarines lining torpedoes putting in telecommunications. [00:14:45] Gower: Background of how George went to work in a carpentry shop. [00:15:13] Gower: Job offer to move from Shipwright to Carpenter. [00:16:04] Gower: Building of pantried on submarines. The Curacoa was a boat he worked on which was in an accident with the RMS Queen Mary in 1942 (see www. photoship. co. uk oldships - c p45 and http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/HMS_Curacoa_(D41)). [00:16:26] Gower: Staff levels at Pembroke Docks during the war. [00:17:19] Gower: Pembroke Dock closing and starting his own building trade. Will Williams, Sid Evans were where Jocelyn is. [00:17:58] Gower: Colin Ellis's father was an architect and Jocelyn was Chapels father-in-law. [00:18:26] Gower: Measurements used for brickwork lay outs. [00:20:00] Gower: Damp coursing. Will Wiliams and Sid Evans were good Masons. [00:22:10] Gower: Mr thomas (Interviewer) now lives in the house that once was built by George and lived in by Jocelyn. [00:23:20] Gower: Rafters sagging and loss of slates from rooves. [00:24:29] Gower: Old house that Mr Thomas lives in described and changes to the house discussed. [00:26:43] Gower: George always interested in carpentry from a young boy. Had a good eye for bricks/building. [00:27:37] Gower: Wood washed up ashore would be used for building houses. Wood washed in from Rayger pine and Pitch pine from Baltic and Russia. White pine from Canada. [00:28:33] Gower: best woods to use and where they came from Sam the Sawyer used to cut it up by Nancy's house. [00:29:04] Gower: A second Sam Bevan also used to cut the wood near where George Tucker lived. [00:29:12] Gower: Whip saws and where the sayings came from about being top sawyer. [00:30:23] Gower: Not much wood washing in over the past 50 years Track 2. [00:00:26] Gower: Deals that would come in by sea. [00:00:41] Gower: Not as much southern wind in the area to bring in timber as there used to be. [00:01:33] Gower: Hatches and what they were used for. [00:02:17] Gower: Curacoa boat build in Pembroke Dock accident with RMS Queen Mary 1942 described (see www. photoship. co. uk oldships - c p45 and http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/HMS_Curacoa_(D41)). [00:04:23] Gower: Decking of the sick bay on the Curacoa. [00:04:40] Gower: Found out about her accident several years later. [00:05:16] Gower: Further details of the accident that cut the Curacoa in half. Accident with the RMS Queen Maty 1942 (see www. photoship. co. uk oldships - c p45 and http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/HMS_Curacoa_(D41))