1.PeterJohn EverardDavies, born June 30, 1928 in Croydon,Surrey,England. He was the son of 2. JohnDanielDavies and 3. WinifredEverard. He married (1) JenniferAnnBradshaw October 08, 1949 in Poole,Dorset,England. She was born June 18, 1931 in Hertford,Hertfordshire,England. She was the daughter of Ernest Louis Bradshaw and Dorothy Charlotte Dumsday. He met (2) DorothyAndraitis 1979 in Campbell River. She was born August 17, 1933 in Tillsonburg,Ontario.
Notes for Peter John Everard Davies:
Birth Certificate issued June 30th,1928 in the Reg. Deist. of Croy don, Subsist of West Croy don, Surrey. #BA-398191. Application No. PAJ24196/78/B/2
Marriage Certificate issued Oct.8th,1949 in the Reg. Deist. of Poole, Deist. of Poole, County of Dorset. Noda 553795.
Divorce-Judgement of Decree Absolute granted in the Supreme Court of B.C.
June 8th, 1979.
Spent the first year at my father's school in Kindergarten under the able hand of a Miss Blood. The school was then located at Silverfish; the second year was at 167 Bienstock Rd. Both locations were in Thornton Heath. It was from 167 that I witnessed the fire that destroyed the Crystal Palace. This was a very traumatic event in my early recollections.
Prior to relocating to Bournmouth on his retirement in the early 1937 my father gave to the Government over two hundred Boar War Carbines etc. This was equipment from the school's Junior Officers Training Corp.
Life was very strict under the "Old Man". Regular use of the slipper or cane when merited - which was often and the advent of each day was celebrated by cold water over the head from an outside hand pump. This procedure was supposed to clear the brain for the day's teaching input.
Pine Grange Guest House was to be our new home in Bournemouth which rapidly filled with old ailing relatives to which the burden of care was to be my mother's lot! Life in general must have been very hard for her as father was an invalid needing constant attention and poor mother had at least twenty people to feed but she somehow managed with a staff of two,plus Auntie Ger.
By this time discipline in the home was less strict partially due to my father's decline in health with rheumatic problems. This situation was short lived, I was enrolled in a Private school called "Mount Pleasant". It was owned by a father and son, the name being Dudley. A more sadistic pair of ghouls I have yet to meet! Punishment by cane was administered for the slightest infraction of failure which even included one's lack of prowess in the sports field. After two years of this I was ready to enter into the English Public School system.
The establishment chosen was Portsmouth Grammer - who's single purpose was to provide Officers for the Royal Navy College at Dartmouth. The school first came into being in 1732. Throughout the seventeenth century the town of Portsmouth had grown steadily as the Navy expanded in the days of Buckingham and Cromwell. The so-called :Second Hundred Year War" with France beginning under William 3rd in 1689, caused a rapid acceleration in the rate of growth. By 1717, ten thousand people lived within the walls of the ancient borough. Dr. William Smith had a very signicant roll in the schools early history. I attended this school until I gained my Cambridge School Certificate in June of 1944. Though harsh by todays standard of learning the process was not without it's fun filled moments. I was not considered an ideal ,,, student and told that I hung around with a "motley" crowd of companions. Of this I do agree!
From September 1944 to September 1945 was spent taking 1st year University at Bournemouth College, a division of Southampton University.
At seventeen and a bit I managed to get into the R.A.F. and graduated as a Fitter Mechanic [ engines]. I spent my remaining time in Coastal Command using Thorney Island as home base. I omitted to mention that after summer exams in 1945 I worked for Imperial Airways, later to be called B.O.A.C. In those few months I was Dispatch Rider, Chauffeur and Flight Steward. Their standards were not too high in those days! After de mob. I was reinstated in BO AC as an aircraft engine fitter, however the menial jobs that I was asked to perform after the responsibility I had in the Air force was too much. Three months was enough and then I told them to shove it!
Then followed a period of glorious unemployment when Bill and I spent nearly a year sailing the "Never Despair" around the south coast. She was a gaff rigged cutter of 33ft, able to handle very rough waters.
I was to return to Bournemouth College after de mob to take a one year Government sponsored course for a Cambridge National Diploma in Engineering, which was actually three years crammed into one. After two years of wild service and a sail boat as an added distraction my studies suffered accordingly. I was to fail in Applied Heat and Engineer Drawing. The experience was not without rewards as it was within the confines of the Art Department that I met Jennifer whom I married and was to share in my varied experiments at earning some type of a living. The next move was to obtain another grant which was received from the Hampshire Agriculture Committee and entailed a one year apprenticing in Dairy Management at a first class farm at Ampfield, near Romsey. The farm was owned by a Mr. Harris, a true "Gentleman" farmer who I believe was a successful practicing Barrister. The acreage including treed areas was about 200 in size.
There were a total of five of us on the work force. Ted Sivier was head dairyman, a large raw boned rustic who's sole purpose in life was the reproduction of both dairy stock and human offspring. His assistant was a young rake by the name of Ray who disappeared most nights in his MG sports car to taste the city delights of Southhampton. In charge of the arable land was a very likable character by the name of Ernie Beeton, who's hobby was also the production of a large family. Lastly there was Jack - a general laborer who lost his wife shortly after we arrived. He too was to die before we completed our one year stay at this farm. This was my first introduction to physical work and I must say it was a very enjoyable experience. Knowing now that my ancestors were farming types I realize why I took so naturally to this type of work.
After twelve months of practical experience as required by the County Agricultural Committee I took on a position as Herdsman tending and milking nearly sixty cows using the portable Bale System. This comprised of Milking Parlour on wheels that was moved to the pasture that the cattle were currently grazing. Apart from a scant roof overhead one was open to the elements twelve months a year often with mud nearly six inches deep! This was a single handed operation and I was expected to average forty cows per hour. The name of the farmer was W.C. Coakes and the farm was located at Milford-On-Sea in Haunts. His main concern was breeding and showing Shire horses of which he was extremely good.
The next position I took was of Assistant farm Manager at Fyfield Estates which is near Pewsey in Wiltshire .Lord and Lady Hudson were the owners. My prime responsibility here was to look after her ladyship's pedigree Jersey milking cows and also in the rearing of young Friesen Bulls for export to South America. At that time - one of the Friesen in the herd held the world record for yearly milk production. The young bulls were selling for an average of $6000.00 each, which in those days was considered big bucks! The world record for gallons produced by an individual cow annually was also achieved whilst I was there.
As you read this you may get the impression that I changed positions quite regularly but my objective was to gain as much experience as possible in all types of animal husbandry. After the war agriculture had become a very progressive industry with many new methods in place which tended to leave the simple minded yokel rather bewildered! I thought there was a place in the system for me. What I was forgetting is that capital was needed and in that department I lacked the funds. Well let's go on to the next three jobs.
From Fyfield it was a short trip to Eccinswell near Newbury. The position I took was that of poultryman in charge of rearing young turkeys from a day old to six weeks. The farm was a typical "Gentleman Farm" owned by the Gore Loyd's, owners of Senior Service Cigarettes, one of the more popular brands. The period at this farm was very short due to an unfortunate incident. Whilst walking through the stables I came upon one of the grooms fully mounted on top of the good lady of the Manor. To save her possible embarrassment The trumped up a story of theft and tried to implicate me! Rather than fight the issue I decided to leave on my own accord and was given excellent references.
The next position was with a Lady farmer at a village by the name of Cheriton Fitzpane in Devonshire. Here in that small community we were treated almost as foreigners. The local rustics had such a dialect that at times it was hard to carry on a conversation. The farm itself was a delightful place with rolling hills and rich red soil and could easily come out of the last century. I was in charge of the operation as the absent owner thought that her foreman was ripping her off! This I found was indeed the case. The herd was composed of Pedigree North Devons - noted for their rich cream and the ability to convert low protein roughage into both milk and beef. The size of these animals was staggering. The cows weighed about 2000 lbs. and the bulls went well over 3000 lbs. both standing 6ft tall or over.They were very gentle and Mervyn who was then about four would happily trundle his way between their legs at milking time. In these serene surroundings it would have been easy to forget ambition but youth will have it's way and I again looked for better pastures.
Next I was to take the position of livestock foreman at Treworra Barton at Davidstow in Cornwall. This farm of 160 acres belonged to a young couple by the names of Tim and Brigita Burgess who owned an accredited herd of milking
cows,a herd Wessex Saddleback hogs and about one hundred Cheviot sheep.
The experience gained here was invaluable as the owners unlike many British
farmers were very progressive in their attitudes and willing to try all the latest ideas in agriculture. My main task was to manage the dairy herd
which was soon to be amongst the top three commercial in herds in the County. The criteria for this Honour was based on average individual annual production and butter fat content.
Our accommodation was the original six-hundred farm house which still had the old grist mill attached. The walls were of stone and over 18" thick, the pintals over the inside doorways were of solid granite and weighed nearly
5 tons each. There was a priest hole inside the main chimney; a leftover from the early days of religious persecution. Local villagers had no wish to enter the building as it had a reputation as being haunted and I do admit that strange noises were to be heard. Jennifer and I attempted to solve the issue on several occasions but with little success.
Being located on the north coast of Cornwall we experienced at least half a dozen gales during winter when winds would exceed 100 mph but little damage was sustained due to the stone construction of buildings.
Our memories of this area were not all good as it was here that we lost Paul under circumstances which I lay part of the blame on the National Health Service but that's another story.
This was our last permanent address prior my leaving for Canada. We moved to Jennifer's parents home in Ewin Wood just outside of Herford where I obtained temporary employment at a nearby Hog Farm.
At this point I think I should indulge a little time to acquaint one with my long suffering in-laws who I am sure were not impressed with their son-in law. After all I was about to remove their daughter and grandson a distance of over 6000 miles to a ranch at Griscom near Prince George which at that time was truly in the "sticks".
I dont think that I was exactly what they had in mind for a son -in law as I lacked stability and had not worked off the bad habits of my stay in the GRAF or the crazy times associated with Bournemouth College.
My first meeting with Ernest father-in law was at the sedate local pub by the name of the Plume & Feathers.\
I turned up complete with leather jacket,long hair and souped-up motorcycle. Now to fully understand the situation
Ernest had come from a Quaker background,was a retired civil servant in the revenue department and lived in a very respectable rural neighborhood. On top of this his daughter appeared to have become pregnant in spite of our precautions!
All however appeared to be forgiven and we received very generous assistance in setting up home back in 1949
which was in the form of a 22 ft trailer which in those days seemed enormous. Summer routine at their home was quite predictable with weekend tennis parties that took at last a day or two preparation. The garden itself during the growing season was a full time job with vegetables getting priority with the aide of liberal doses of home produced manure from the chicken house. The chicken house was a monument to tidy ness with the drop board being scraped twice a day and liberally sprinkled with lime.
It was from Herford that I finalized all my documentation in preparation for my exit to Canada and was driven to Southampton where I embarked on the SAS Neptunian at the beginning of April 1956. Arrival in Montreal was on April 16th, being delayed for a few days in Quebec City while the pack ice broke up.
The trip over was a real rush! The ship had left Bremer haven so there was a good contingent of square heads and Dutchman aboard ; add to this a bunch of Limeys,Aussies and Kiwis and finally a small steamer load of Paddys embarked while we lay at anchor off the Port of Cork Here indeed we had all the ingredients for indulging in pugilistic activities. You must Remember that the War was still fresh in all our minds and living with our past enemy at so close quarters was bound to have repercussions.
Accommodation was very cramped with four guys squeezed into a 6ft by 8ft room using two double berths. Only one person could dress with any comparative ease at a time.
The weather in the North Atlantic that spring turned out to be the worst experienced in many years and at one time a Catholic Priest conducted special services for those who had little faith in modern transportation. The forward observation windows in the main lounge were stove in by huge seas and access to promenade decks was of course denied. I had by now teamed up with my Colonial friends from the southern hemisphere and we were exploiting the lost shipboard benefits of those suffering seasickness of which there were many! At mealtimes the dinning areas were nearly empty though complimentary wine was waiting at every place setting.
We could not bear to see such waste so each meal turned into one big party much to the consternation of the Head Purser who before the end of the trip threatened to have us put under lock and key. For most of us the food was out of this world with sumptuous dishes such as Maryland Duck being served for our evening meal. Red meat and poultry were still scarce and rather costly after the war.
We eventually arrived two days late at the entrance to the St Lawerence River only to spend an additional two days tied up at Quebec City waiting for the pack ice to be cleared. This gave the more venturesome of us time to explore our new country and try our Parisi en French on the locals, I might add without too much success. The town itself I found much like those I had left in England with few straight streets and many small hills. I also learnt that one does not address the locals as "froggies" which can incur physical retaliation!
Two days later the ice was sufficiently clear for us to proceed to Montreal where we were cleared by Customs and those of travelling west embarked on immigrant trains. These were very austere with wooden seats,no sleeping arrangements and a very simple cafeteria. Bread could be purchased by the loaf and block margarine by the package. Add to this slices of bologna or other unattractive cold meats and this was our fair for the next week.
The train eventually arrived in Prince George but not before I took a one night stop over in Jasper. I met up with a trapper who insisted that I experience the delights of a Canadian Beer Parlour. Well back to good old Prince; it was -30F when I alighted and I was wearing a sports jacket and pair of light cotton trousers!
It was then I knew there was truth in the saying that" it,s cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey". The CN Agent meet me an arranged for transport to be sent from the ranch which in turn delivered me to an equally cold bunkhouse.
I stayed in the bunkhouse and had my meals with the other single men at the main ranch house occupied by the manager an his wife; Jon & Anna Kliengibenk.
At this point I should mentioned all hands were Dutch with the exception of yours truly,Whitney Moutray and Brian Gooden all of us being English.
Henk Tap and myself milked up to two hundred Holsteins twice daily in a wishbone milking parlour. The days were up to 16 hours with a day off every two weeks but I found the work very fulfilling besides it kept my mind occupied from thinking of the family I had left in England. I had not long to wait before Jennifer and Mervyn arrived,about four months I believe.
Our married quarters was a rectangular shack with two partitions,the kitchen/living being in the Centre. Heat was in the form of a wood burning stove in the kitchen and the crapper in a shed behind the dwelling. The walls of the living quarters were insulated with sawdust. When winter came and the temperatures
went as low as -50F and ice formed on the floor under every piece of furniture.
The door would freeze in it's frame and Jennifer kept an axe inside so that she could let me in to feed my face!
Between milking Henk and I would tend to the calves or saddle up to check the dry stock on range. There was always something to do and never enough time but with ten of us in the Labor pool help was not too far away.
For us married types there was no rental charge and milk ,vegetables when available were free. From time to time the odd steer was butchered giving us buckshee meat. The wage was $150 per month which in those days was quite adequate when all the freebee's were considered.
As soon as Jennifer had settled in she got a job at the company store which was only a short distance across the valley. We bought a 1949 Pontiac 2door sedan and joined the ranks of the affluent!
It did not take us too long to discover that wonderful catalogue put out by Eatons
and we were soon buying all our household goodies at x-dollars per month. The major credit items were obtained by the kind loans offered to us immigrants by Household Finance.
We stayed at Giscome for twelve months; that was the time required by CNR who sponsored my immigration. Then it was off to the city of Prince George to seek our fortune in the real world. To start with I obtained a job at Northern Dairies as a plant worker processing dairy products and in the evenings Jennifer and I worked as janitors for Prince George Building Supplies. The builders were on the ground floor and a bunch of offices located above. We rented a small cabin on the Hart Highway a few miles north of town from Harold McInnis who was a most helpful type.
As our finances improved we acquired 160 acres for the princely sum of $2000 which had 50 acres cleared to the Winrow stage. Jennifer and I built our first two by four cabin and later a hip roof barn which in turn was followed 20 x80 flat roof hog building. We sowed an oat crop two years running and lost out both times. The first year we had a hard frost which caught the kernels in the milky stage and in the second year when the oats were nicely stoked the weatherman decided to dump 3ft of snow! Again we had plenty of straw.
All our drinking water had to be hauled daily from town in the pickup truck and during winter would freeze solid on the trip. Water for the nearly two hundred hogs came from a beaver pond.
Later we were to go into partnership with a Danish fellow by the name of Kai Christensen who had also worked with me both at Giscome Farms and Northern Dairies. There was not enough revenue for the two of us to make a profit and being married with family I could not contribute and equal sum to expand.
Time passed quickly as we were both involved with work from dawn to dusk seven days a week. Due to the extreme low temperatures in those days it was almost impossible to gain weight on fattening hogs during the winter months.
It was not uncommon to find a pig tail-less because the appendage had frozen to a crack in the wall overnight! We used straw in the walls and ceilings for insulation but it was not very effective. The quarter section in those days cost us only $2500 and when we had the opportunity to sell at double the price we accepted and after much letter writing I acquired a job with Palm Dairies. During the last year of our stay in Prince George I quit Northern Dairies and drove freight truck delivering groceries to out lying areas and picking up milk churns from farms on the return trip, Lifting the 140 lbs cans from the ground level to the 5ft high deck without spillage was no mean task,especially for a short arse like me! The roads were not paved and during the summer months one would return covered with a layer of fine dust from head to foot! Winters had their problems with snow,ice and severe temperatures so low that one had to leave the truck running overnight. Anyhow my worries on that score were now over and the balmy weather of Vancouver beckoned. We took little with us other than the two children and headed south with the promise of a job at the dairy.
When we arrived in Vancouver we rented a Motel for $60 per month which gave us time to explore the area before committing ourselves to more permanent housing. The Motel was not exactly close to the job and was only half a mile from the Blaine border crossing into the States but the price was right! On the Sunday before starting at the dairy in the downtown area we made a dry run so that I had some idea what I was doing in the rush hour traffic.
I was to find myself working in the ice cream division making novelties like drumsticks,popsicles and revels etc. You can imagine my delight to be confronted with all this good fare.
In the spring when we were more knowledgeable with the area we moved to the Italiano area where we had a second floor apartment one block from the beach. The rent was still only $60 per month provided I did the maintenance for the other three apartments. This included mowing the front Lawn.
It was only ten minutes to my place of work across Burgard Bridge and less to the marina beneath the bridge. I soon acquired a twenty foot daysailer complete with a small cabin for under a hundred bucks. The tenants above were three young Australian guys who were to provide an instant but somewhat unruly crew. Jennifer soon became tired of the lack of action at home and at some point in our stay in Vancoucer acquired the position as receptionist for Great West Life Insurance on Georgia Street. We were to move to two more apartments during our stay and both of them were in the Kits district. At that time our total possessions could easily be transported by the family car and it,s roof rack!
My job with Palm Diaries was going well and from the job in the production line I graduated to the shipping and driving department. In those days many small communities both on Vancouver Island and the interior received there ice cream and frozen goods in dry-iced insulated containers. These had to last up to three days for delivery was rather primitive. Gradually my commitments to deliveries lead me into the driver/salesman division full time.
Neither Jennifer or myself were really impressed with city life having spent all our married life in rural communities or living directly on farms so we decided to move out to Langley and commute daily to the city.
Our first home in Langley was a very mediocre new dwelling sitting on quite a large lot. It was the product of an aging carpenter who tried to tempt us into an option to purchase agreement. Though hydro was in the package the water supply was from a sand point that needed hammering further into the ground as summer progressed. Needless to say our stay there was of short duration.
Once again that magic figure of $60 came to our rescue in the form of a 40acre rental farm only a few short miles away. The house was small but adequate with a basement. The remainder of the property was perfect with large chicken house,dairy barn and granary. There was a Philibert orchard,fruit trees,Rasberry canes and large vegetable garden. In spite of us both with jobs in Vancouver which was 35 miles away we put all these amenities to good use.
We were able to talk the University of ABC Agricultural Dept. into selling us an entire litter from the supreme champion of the PNE;a Swedish Landrace. This gave us a real boost in the quality of our hogs and the excellent pork they produced. In a short time we had expanded the operation and run out of building space. Langley by-laws were not to favorable to those who wanted to farm hogs or mink and we did not have capital to buy a large enough property with the appropriate buildings. We decided to sell all our stock and move back into the interior. Why I took this risk when I had a good job and a family to support
I'll never understand but Jennifer must have agreed so we started looking in the adverts. We found a four hundred foot deeded lakefront property on Canim Lake
near 100 Mile House. The property belonged to a retired Vancouver bus driver who though he had offers from American buyers was determined it should be sold to a British Columbia resident. It became ours for five hundred down Payment and fifty dollars a month!
Well to cut a long story short we arrived in mid summer complete with a furniture van holding all our belongings. I had included on the van all sorts of extras,such as;used doors and windows,plus any other objects I thought useful in building a home on a tight budget. We cut poles from the bush and set about constructing a temporary shelter for both us and the furniture etc. The cover material was 10mil black plastic,good for rain but rather noisy in the brisk summer winds off the lake. We shared a humble abode with numerous pack rats and whiskey jacks!
My first task was to fell two large trees to form the base for the floor joists. Jennifer and I then had to winch them into their correct positions and adze the upper surface level. True dimension rough lumber came from a local sawmill and within a few days we were well under way with the building which was located on a bank six feet above the beach.
As I had made no arrangements as to how I was to support the family one of the first priorities was obtaining a job. My thoughts had been working on the green chain in a local sawmill but as it turned out there was a mine located thirty miles further down the road. I secured a position in the warehouse as a counterman and within seven years became Purchasing Agent for the company.
We completed the house before the cold winter months came and kept in good shape that first year. For water supply I dug a three foot trench starting under the house and going down the embankment to the lakeside. From there on it had to be dug under water! This was not a very enviable task especially when swinging a pick-axe when standing waist deep in the cool wet stuff. When in five foot of water I no longer buried the plastic hose weighing it to keep it on the bottom and finally installing a foot valve when the depth was at the eight foot level. The system worked fine even when covered with three feet of ice during the winter months.
In time we were to build a two story addition to the existing structure which gave our building skills a more severe test. The finished structure accommodated
all our needs at that time. By todays standards we would have been far from happy!
On the work scene it had not taken me long to find a job as warehouseman at a mine located a further thirty miles away and at an altitude of 5000 feet. It was a molly mine operated and owned by Noranda Mines Ltd. Within in a few years I was to become Purchasing Agent for the operation with frequent paid trips to Vancouver where our head office was located.
Eventually the market for Molly plummeted and it was decided to close the operation. All the employees were given assistance in relocation with the aide of IC and at that time plenty of mines operating in the province the task was accomplished without too much hardship. For those of us on staff the opportunities were much better. As Noranda was in the process of creating a new open pit copper mine a Babin Lake I joined the development group at the site.
I would spend three weeks at site that was nearly three hundred miles from my home at Canim Lake and then drive back for four days off. This was during the winter with temperatures down to fifty below zero and heavy snow conditions.
Come the Spring and the sale of our lakeside home we moved into a company home in Houston which was only an hours drive from the mine. Later in the summer I reviewed the company houses that were under construction at Topley and we decided to buy our own home in Smithers which was still only two hours from the site and offered better opportunities for the children.
It was an intresting experience to watch a mine be constructed in the back of nowhere! I was able to plan my warehouse and outside storage areas from scratch. The whole operation was to cost under fifty million dollars which by todays standards is pretty cheap.
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More About Peter John Everard Davies:
Actual Tribe: October 08, 1949, Narried at 66 Southbourne Rd,Bournemouth.
Christened: 1928, Croydon,Surrey,England.
Conscripted RAF: February 28, 1946, Padgate,Lancs
Employed BOAC: July 1945, Hurn Airport,Hants
Fact 5: April 16, 1956, Arrived at Quebec in Canada.
Fact 6: September 28, 1978, Petition of Divorce granted in Kitimat,B.C.
Fact 7: June 11, 1979, Decree Absolute Adjudged.
Fact 8: July 1989, Early retirement due to hypertension.
Fact 9: August 13, 1996, Cancer-section of colon removed.
Medical Information: First illness was colon cancer when a section was removed in 1996. Treatment followed the operation. Still alive in 99!
Occupation: July 1989, Purchasing Agent 1964/89
Notes for Jennifer Ann Bradshaw:
After completing school Jennifer and her sister Sally were sent to Bournemouth to join the Art Faculty at the College. I think the choice was influenced by the fact that they would be under the watchful eye of their aunt where they boarded.
Jennifer was highly motivated in sports specializing in the high jump. She had exceptional talents in this area and if circumstances had turned out differently she would have had a chance at the Olympic's.
