Saltash History and Heritage
Life on the Waterside
Arthur's Story
George Arthur Penna (Arthur) was born in 1885, he left school at the age of 13 and started work as an apprentice blacksmith in the local engineering company of ‘Deacons Forge and Foundry’ which was at the bottom of Sand Quay Lane. Arthurs’ father paid 60 guineas to the company as indenture fees for Arthurs apprenticeship, this lasted 7 years finishing when he was 20. In the early 1900’s work in engineering got slack so Arthur got a job as a deck hand on a Tamar sailing barge.
He married Charlotte Keen in 1910 and they had three daughters.
On the outbreak of war in 1914 Arthur joined the ‘Devon and Cornwall Light Infantry’ and found himself fighting in the trenches in France. In 1916 he was badly wounded in the leg and after recovering was transferred to the Marine Section of the Royal Engineers operating steam tugs and barges on the rivers and canals of Europe carrying stores and ammunition to the front and returning with wounded soldiers.
After the war Arthur went back to work on Tamar barges but times were getting hard on the river with competition from the railways and road transport. Arthur looked for other work and considered himself lucky when he landed a job as an engineer on the Saltash Ferry with the subsidiary job of Honorary Piermaster, with this job came a tied cottage which was actually on the town pier itself, just past the stables of the old Passage House Inn (now the Boatman). One of Arthur’s jobs as Piermaster was to lime the steps and pier once a month to get rid of the green algae and also to fly the flag of the ‘Saltash & Three Towns Steamboat Company’ each day.
Arthur was lucky in that he and the rest of the ferry crew kept their jobs during the big depression of the 1930’s
In 1939 WWII started and the waterside became a hive of activity with naval and military movements. Fortunately, the bombing missed the ferry and the Royal Albert Bridge but Fore St was badly damaged by high explosive bombs with many incendiaries causing fire around the town. One bomb fell about 50 yards from where he lived killing that families two grandchildren.
Arthur officially retired in 1950 but was asked if he would like to carry on working which he did until 1957.
In 1960 the building of the Tamar Road Bridge was well under way along with the demolition of the old Waterside. In June that year Arthur’s cottage was demolished and he moved in with his daughter and her family.
In October 1961 Arthur had an official invite to the last crossing of the Saltash Ferry but didn’t go. Arthur passed away in 1964 age 79 years.
Charlotte’s story
Charlotte Keen was born in 1883 at Waterside Saltash. The Keen family had lived in the Waterside for generations coming originally from Calstock. Charlotte was lucky enough to go to school at the cost to her father of 1d (one penny) per week. On leaving school she worked in the fishing industry with her sister making crab pots, fish mawns (baskets) and repairing nets.
In 1902 Charlotte married Tom Ellis. Tom was a fisherman working on herring drifters out of Cornish ports, he was drowned in rough seas while fishing off the Lizzard (date unknown). Charlotte was a widow for a couple of years before marrying Arthur Penna in 1910.
In 1914 when Arthur went off to war times got hard for Charlotte, by this time she had three children to fend for with her only income being a small army allowance but Charlotte was resourceful. She made ends meet with a bit of wheeling and dealing (some of which was not strictly within the law).
Charlotte Keen age 17 or 18
After the war times got a little better with Arthur working on the ferry and the Piermasters job providing them with the cottage but Charlotte never gave up her sideline. Although Arthur never approved, he never stopped her.
The Passage House Inn with Pier Cottage at the left-hand end and the ferry slip in front
Charlotte Keen age 17 or 18
With HMS Defiance just down the river and several local men stationed on board, it was known that Charlotte was able to supply rum and ‘backy’ which she did for them on a regular basis. She never took money for this but traded it for tea, sugar, tinned meat and fruit. Her signal to the liberty boat to let them know it was safe to land their ‘rabbits’ was to hang out a tea cloth from the window. This could be seen by the sailors from well down the river. Charlotte continued until the navy stopped using the Saltash section of the river.
Charlotte was partial to a drop of spirit and when Arthur was on back shift he would always have cheese and biscuits for supper along with a quart of beer. Charlotte would go to the Union Inn and have few nips with her cronies and collect Arthur’s beer on the way home. They (Charlotte and mates) would have the odd mouthful out of the jug, when she got home, she would carefully measure what was left of the beer and top it up with water. Arthur knew what was happening but never said a word - he didn’t want to spoil her fun.
Charlotte Penna with her grandson Gerald Butler
Arthur Penna in his mid 70 with great Grandson Norman Butler
Arthur suffered with lumbago so Charlotte used to apply her ‘Grannies’ cure. This required Arthur to strip to the waist in his long johns and lean over the kitchen table, Charlotte would then place a sheet of brown paper on the small of his back and proceed to iron it with the heated flat iron straight off the kitchen range. This procedure came to a painful end when two grandsons, John and Nornan, started to squabble. Charlotte shouted to them and turning back putting her full weight on the iron on Arthurs back, he gave a shout and ran to get cold water cloths to put on his back. The incident was never mentioned again and Arthur never complained of lumbago again.
Charlotte died in 1954 after a short illness and with her passing another memory of the Waterside passed into history.