Martin Woodward on Fishing

But when I came to Bembridge, it was paradise because I lived 150 yards or metres if you want to use the modern terms, from the Lifeboat Pier and of course I was straight down there, I got myself a dingy and I use to go out and make lobster pots.

Peter Smith, the Coxswain at that time took me under his wing and I was slave labour cleaning the brass on the Lifeboat, the old ‘Jesse Lumb’ which now we’ve got it back in Cowes funny enough. It was in the Imperial War Museum for years, but the old ‘Jesse Lumb’ still had a funnel then, you know the old Lifeboat.

It was here from 1939 to 1970, a 46 foot boat and it was just wonderful to me because I could spend all my time in dinghies, fishing, catching lobsters, you know, all then old characters like … you’ve spoken to some of them, John Luff and the Holbrooks, the Attrills, the old boys that used to actually used to row in the old rowing Lifeboats.

My neighbours up the road, in fact we moved into one of the Attrills’ brother’s houses, his brother lived next door and they actually rowed in the old Victorian Lifeboat that we’ve got now, the ‘Queen Victoria’.

So you imagine as a boy, that was fantastic. You had moved to somewhere where it’s just paradise to you really and you’re in the environment that you know, in your blood, that you know you want to be in.

It was great place to grow up. You could go snorkelling around the Ledges, spear fishing. I remember all sorts of stories about catching lobsters and that was probably why I got in to diving because I spent al my time in the water in that time, so you can imagine it was a good place to grow up.