January 2025
- Phil Hadley
- Jan 3
- 11 min read
I don’t know how 2024 treated you and whether you’ll look back on the year with fond memories or be glad that it has passed and look to the new year with renewed hope and expectation. However, most people, whatever the year they have had, usually mark it in some kind of way. For some that may be a party or social gathering, it may be a pub crawl in fancy dress round the streets of one of our Cornish harbour towns, it may be watching a firework display hoping the cloud base is high enough to see them and the wind doesn’t send them firing out horizontally, it may be a quiet toast at home with a loved one or attending a watchnight service. For others it may be just an early night!
Even in the dark days of World War Two most people would mark the turning of the year in some way or other. However bleak the news had been over the past 12 months, there was the hope that victory and peace would come in the new year. By the end of 1943 the tide had turned in all theatres of the war and so there was optimism in the air and this was often expressed in the hopes and prayers of both service personnel and the civilian population.
Let’s take a whistlestop tour around the county to see how they celebrated as 1943 turned into 1944.
In Bodmin the bells of St Petroc’s, the parish church, rang out across the town to mark the arrival of the New Year. At the Town Wall Methodist Church (which has reopened recently as an arts and entertainment centre after many years of looking forlorn and neglected) there was a Watchnight Service led by the Rev C.O. Stocker with the superintendant minister the Rev J.H. Angove giving the address. Mr C.G. Luscombe was the organist and there was a fairly good attendance.
In Breage, near Helston, the village school was taken over for a social and dance that saw two members of the Royal Navy ring in the New Year on a ship’s bell. Noel Snell had been the M.C. for the evening and the music was provided by the ‘Four R’s Dance Band’ from Helston. The evening raised £14 which went to provide black out for the Church of England school’s windows.
In Camborne the Boys’ & Girls’ Clubs held their fourth annual joint New Year’s Eve Dance for members and friends only. It was held in the Community Centre and admission was one shilling. Meanwhile over at the Drill Hall in North Roskear the RNLI held their New Year’s Eve Dance with music provided by The Red Georgians Dance Band with the New Year to be piped in by Mr A.M. Robertson. The adverts also stipulated “Ladies, as a compliment to the Forces – Evening Dress if possible!”
In Camelford the District Ambulance Brigade held a New Year’s Eve dance. Superintendant W.R. Treweeks was the M.C. with music supplied by the Banjoliers Dance Band. Refreshments were served by the Nursing Division under the watchful eye of Lady Superintendant Mrs D.P. Hayne. Male members of the Division acted as stewards.
In Delabole they were toasting their former resident and ex-Camelford Grammar School pupil George Knight as he received a knighthood in the New Year’s Honours list. Sir George had grown up in the village and become a key figure in the Wesleyan Methodist Church where he became known as a great reader and orator. He had moved to Bournemouth where he ran a drapery business and continued his work as a lay preacher in the Methodist Church. It was for services to Methodist that he was knighted and in 1945 he was to become the Vice-Chairman of the Methodist Conference.
One of the traditions in Falmouth was the Grand New Year’s Eve Ball hosted by the Operatic Society at the Princess Pavilions. However the flu epidemic striking both organisers and musicians the event had to be cancelled at short notice. The Pavilions cobbled together their own event and with one day’s notice were able to advertise a Ball from 8pm to midnight with music by the ‘Rascals’ Dance Band and repeated the event the following evening as The First Dance of the New Year! Influenza even put the town’s mayor, Councillor E.E. Howard, in bed for a fortnight and his usual round of Christmas and New Year engagements had to be undertaken by the deputy mayor, the padre of the Missions to Seamen, Rev T.H. Elkington, for whom it was already a very busy time!
The Institute in Gorran Haven was the venue for a New Year’s Eve social. The evening had started with a whist drive at the Café before supper at the Institute followed with a sumptuous spread of chicken, goose and tongue with the usual etceteras followed by trifles, mince pies and other seasonable fare. Thus more than 80 people bade farewell to the old year and welcomed the new. One would never have guessed this was a meal under rationing and wartime shortages!
At Grampound the dance was held in the Public Hall with Mr S.C. Honey as the M.C. and a dance band from the village supplied the music. Meanwhile up the hill at Grampound Road a dance was held in the Harvey Memorial Hall where the villagers entertained the black American troops stationed in the village. Music was provided by Mrs J Roberts on the piano and Sheila Miners and Alroy Searle on accordions. Mr Prym was the M.C. and the villagers supplied the refreshments.
In the village of Greensplatt (which has now disappeared under the expansion of the Dorothy and Wheal Martyn china clay pits) a New Year’s Eve “Effort” was held in the Methodist Church Sunday School. The room was “nicely decorated” along with a gift tree. The evening raised £11 10s towards the monthly task of sending gifts to locals away serving in the Forces.
A similar kind of event was held on New Year’s Day in Gunnislake at the Newbridge Hill Methodist Church. The afternoon event in the Sunday School room raised £17. This was followed by a faith tea and a D-I-Y concert which featured among others the Morwellham Male Quartette of Messrs F. Cloke, H. Youlton, F. Badcock and A. Penprase. This was then followed by a supper and a social. In total the day raised just over £25.
In Hayle a dance was hosted by the A.T.C. Flight with music by the Cremona Dance Band from Penzance. Flying Officer K. Uren, Commander Hayle Flight, was the M.C. At the close of the year Land of Hope & Glory was sung by Miss E. Murphy while the servicemen stood in single file according to seniority of service while the cornet player paraded and played in the New Year.
In Illogan a miner at East Pool and Agar Mine was awarded a British Empire Medal in the New Year’s Honours list. Mr John Curnow of Chariot Road, Illogan Highway, had worked at the mine since 1900 and was also a member of the Fire Guard at Illogan.
At Jacobstowe the Ministry of Information provided a film show in the Old Schoolroom on New Year’s Eve. This was then followed by a dance.
In Lanlivery the church bell ringers held their annual whist drive on New Year’s Eve. The vicar, Rev W.E. Wynne, was on hand to present the prizes while Mr W. Rouse was the M.C.
In Lanner the Wesley Church Schoolroom was the venue for a social and a watchnight service conducted by the Rev E.C.A. Nicholls for the Lanner Moor Christian Endeavour. The social included musical items, sketches by the young people and adult members and also some songs by Private R. Jones. Meanwhile across at the Drill Hall the Lanner Red Cross under Commandant Mrs A.G. Bear hosted a social for the Lanner Home Guard Choir and Civil Defence workers. This consisted of games and competitions as well as some musical items.
In Lostwithiel the bells of the parish church rang in the New Year but there were no watchnight services in any of the churches. On New Year’s Day the WI held a dance in the Drill Hall which was very well attended. The music was supplied by the Royal Artillery Broadcasting Band, the coup of the officers at the Cornwall HQ of Coastal Artillery which was in the nearby Lanwithan Manor.
A dance was scheduled for New Year’s Day at the Memorial Hall in Mawnan with “music by a military band” but this had to be postponed until 15th January. Although no details were permitted in the local press the reason for the short notice postponement was Exercise Duck, the first of the American rehearsals for D-Day which started on December 31st and saw lorry loads of American troops pass by the venue on their way to the embarkation hard at Polgwidden Cove (now known as Trebah). So while the usual New Year’s entertainment was lacking many of the locals spent hours watching the troops go by.
Mevagissey Youth Club saw a large crowd of young people at its social in the former Infants School on New Year’s Eve. Miss E. Hicks was the organiser of what was described as “an enjoyable evening”. In the schoolroom of the Fore Street Methodist Church over 100 attended a faith tea and social led by Rev W.R. Kerry.
Events got underway at 3pm in Nanpean where they started with a Sale of Work with Jumble, Pound & Gift stalls in the Methodist Sunday Schoolroom. This was followed by a faith tea before everyone assembled in the church for an evening concert performed by the church choir and featuring a number of soloists and also some recitations by Miss Rhoda Job of Treviscoe. The day netted a sum of £57 2s 3d which delighted the organisers.
At Ebenezer Methodist Church in North Petherwin a faith tea was followed by an evening meeting at which lantern slides of the life of Christ, the Holy Land and some for the children were shown. They also played gramophone records of solos by well known evangelist Gypsy Smith.
At Padstow Methodist Church there was a social followed by a watchnight service. At the conclusion of the service the congregation went carol singing through the streets.
New Year’s Eve in Par saw a large crowd at the Wellington Place Schoolroom for a concert organised by the St Mary’s Methodist Young People’s Guild. Miss Doreen Hodge presided over an evening of musical items including solos, violin duets, mouth organ duets and piano solos. The biggest round of applause in the evening went to Warrant Officer Boyer of the U.S. Army for his piano solo. He had been the musical director of the radio station W.I.S.H. in Indiana before the army called, but he often played either piano or organ at a number of church services in and around Par, usually with his unit’s chaplain, Rev James Copeland, preaching. After the concert there was a pasty supper. This was followed by the young people and the American servicemen present playing charades. Finally everyone joined in the watchnight service led by the Rev Basil Bowyer.
In Penzance New Year’s Day saw a party at the evacuees hostel Penmorvah in Alexandra Road. The event, for young evacuees evacuated with their mothers, started with a tea, to which the children had to sit down in relays due to the cramped space. This was followed by a concert in which the children performed dances and songs, often in costume, as well as songs sung by a couple of the mothers. At the conclusion of the concert every child was given a present.
In Probus the parish church bells rang in the New Year thanks to the efforts of bell captain Mr G. Dowrick and vice-captain Mr F. Williams managing to raise a team of ringers while many of their usual younger members were away in the Forces.
The Ambulance Hall in Redruth was the venue for a dance organised by the local Ambulance Division. It was deemed their most successful yet raising £63 for funds. Between 300 to 400 people attended, representing every branch of the Forces and the civil defence services, and as midnight approached they all joined hands and sang Auld Lang Syne as the town clock struck twelve. Music for the evening was by Les Hichens and his band.
A whist drive and dance for St Breward Nursing Association was held at the Church Rooms on New Year’s Eve. Mrs Coggin presented the prizes, refreshments were served and then the St Breward Dance Band provided the music. A profit of £17 5s 2d was made for Association funds.
At St Gennys there was a day of events on New Year’s Day at Tremayna Methodist Church. The Rev. Kitt led an afternoon service which was followed by a faith tea. Then the choir provided the evening entertainment before proceedings were rounded off with the prizegiving to the scholars of the Sunday School.
The Guildhall was the venue for the Red Cross New Year’s Eve Ball raising money for the Mayor’s Prisoner of War Parcels Fund. The evening raised £68. Music was by the Rhythm Arcadians with tickets costing five shillings for a single person 8/- 6d for a couple and 3/- 6d for members of the Forces. On New Year’s Day the Forces Welfare Committee organised a Commando Dance at the Guildhall featuring the Les Hichens Dance Band.
There was a New Year’s Eve social organised by the WI in St Kew and held in the parish hall. The evening consisted of a non-stop variety of games, competitions, a quiz, sketches, songs and carols, and a handbell performance. Ther music for the dancing was provided by Misses Vaughan and Beare playing their accordions.
At St Merryn there was a fundraising day on New Year’s Day which featured a gift scheme in place of a sale of work, a faith tea and an evening concert of various items including carols with help from Padstow Methodist Church. The net proceeds amounted to about £20.
In St Tudy the Methodists’ Young People’s guild held a social in the schoolroom. This was an evening of songs and games and was then followed by a watchnight service conducted by Mr W Dingle.
In Stithians Methodist Church the social in Pennmenor Schoolroom was to raise money for overseas missions. Various items were presented and sung and parlour games enjoyed. Light refreshments were served and the evening was rounded off by a watchnight service conducted by Pastor C. Buckley. On New Year’s Day the Wesley Band of Hope anniversary was held in the School Hall. Entertainments were given by the junior members and each child received a gift from the New Year Tree from Santa Claus impersonated by Mr A.J. Ford. After a free tea an evening concert followed with the adults taking their turn to perform.
In Tintagel the Methodist Crusaders held a social evening of games and competitions followed by refreshments. A watchnight service led by the Rev C.T. Day was then held in the church with a good number of villagers joining the Crusaders to pray in the New Year.
In Tregony the British Legion held a dance in the Church Hall on New Year’s Eve. The Arcadian Band provided the music and Mr A. Greet was M.C. The event raised £5.
In St Clement Church in Truro there was a midnight service of communion led by the Rev F.E. Coward. The well attended service also heard St Clement’s bells rung for New Year for the first time since the war began. The Toc H New Year’s Eve Dance was held in the Moresk Hall with music by the Imperial Dance Band under M.J. Heayn. Tremorvah Hall was the venue of a Gala Ball which featured music by ‘London’s brightest bandleader’ Joe Martin & his Band. The advert claimed Old Father Time and Little New Year would appear at 12 o’clock! The dance, which featured an open waltz contest with first prize of £1 1s, raised money for the Royal Cornwall Infirmary Linen Fund.
In Wadebridge the Town Hall saw a New Year’s Dance with music provided by Tug Wilson & his Band. Over the river the members of the Egloshayle Road Methodist Fellowship held a social evening of games and competitions under the direction of Mr W. Lobb. Proceedings concluded with a Watchnight Service conducted by the Rev M. Harvey.
In Withiel a social evening was organised by the knitting class and held in the Council School with games, singing and refreshments. At the close the whole party sang Auld Lang Syne while the bell ringers present proceeded across the road to the church tower and rang in the New Year.
So that’s a taste from across the county of how the New Year was celebrated 1943 into 1944. I conclude with a small piece that was printed then in the St Ives Times entitled a New Year’s Wish. It seems rather relevant as 2024 turns into 2025. May I wish you all a happy, peaceful and prosperous New Year.
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