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John Luff

John Peter Luff
Martin Woodward | Geoff Brown
John Luff has spent his life at sea, first as a child fishing from Bembridge. He grew up alongside John Woodford, who he has known since the age of four.

John joined the Royal Navy, where he served until the 1970s, then becoming a professional fisherman. He had two fishing boats built by local boatbuilders and made his own lobster pots, which he still makes and sells to this day.

He is a mine of information about how fishing and life in Bembridge has changed over the years.

Family life

Born: 1937
Bembridge, Isle of Wight
Mother: Helen Margaret Smith
Father: Edwin Frank Luff

Working life

Royal Navy
Fisherman from 1970s

Full interview

Conducted: Lisa Kerley interviewed John Luff and John Woodford together in Bembridge on 12th September 2018.
https://archive.org/download/john-luff-and-john-woodford-interviewed-by-lisa-kerley-2018-memories-of-the-sea-/John%20Luff%20and%20John%20Woodford%20interviewed%20by%20Lisa%20Kerley%20-%202018%20-%20Memories%20of%20the%20Sea%20(for)%20Down%20to%20the%20Coast.mp3

Read the interview transcript

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John Luff and John Woodford on 12th September 2018 b...

John Luff's audio clips​

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Down to the Coast Logo in grayscale
John Luff and John Woodford on Wartime
Down to the Coast Logo in Sepia
John Luff and John Woodford on Wartime
Royal Spithead Hotel - early 1920s
John Luff and John Woodford on Village Life
Bembridge Harbour ferry
John Luff and John Woodford on Transport
PS 'Bembridge' leaving for Seaview
John Luff and John Woodford on Transport
The Toll Hut, Embankment Road
John Luff and John Woodford on Transport
Bembridge RNLI crew bringing tackle back to shore
John Woodford and John Luff on Saving Lives at Sea
Bembridge harbour regatta, August 17th 1908
John Luff and John Woodford on Regattas Village Life
Crab and Lobster Tap, Bembridge
John Luff and John Woodford on Pubs and Hotels
Fishermen - Alan, Charlie and Teddy Holbrook
John Luff and John Woodford on Fishing
Attrill Brothers (George in middle) & withy pot
John Luff and John Woodford on Fishing
Open boat returning to shore at Ventnor, fishermen unload lobster pots
John Luff and John Woodford on Fishing
Fishermen -Sam and Charlie Mursell
John Luff and John Woodford on Fishing
Bert Baker - 195's
John Luff and John Woodford on Fishing
Bert Baker mending the pots - 1950s
John Luff and John Woodford on Fishing
Herb Caws 'shoving' the fishing boat
John Luff and John Woodford on Fishing
Peter Smith and Alan Holbrooke 'shoving'
John Luff and John Woodford on Fishing
Bert Baker tarring the pots - 1950s
John Luff and John Woodford on Fishing
Fisherman with stingray
John Luff and John Woodford on Fishing
Bembridge Fisherman Bert Baker
John Luff and John Woodford on Fishing
Herb Caws with the pot boat
John Luff and John Woodford on Fishing
Fred Bartlett's fish van
John Luff and John Woodford on Fishing
Fishermen - around early 1900s
John Luff and John Woodford on Fishing
Conger eel, caught at Bembridge
John Luff and John Woodford on Fishing
Down to the Coast Logo in Sepia
John Luff and John Woodford on Boatbuilding
Portrait of John Luff by Julian Winslow

John Luff's photos

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