5th October 2005 - Peter Smith
"Light Houses and Light House Keeping"
If we start this report in reverse direction, in that the vote of thanks to Peter Smith (left) was given by Harry Smith, no relation! but chosen because as a Chartered Electrical Engineer he had worked on equipment used in numerous light houses. Harry reminded us that a few years back we had had a presentation on the design, building, location etc of light houses in the UK. Whilst today we had had an equally informative and interesting talk on a much more personal level, as the son and indeed the grandson of a light house keeper and indeed the membership showed their appreciation with warm and spontaneous applause.
Peter introduced himself with a poem about life in a Lighthouse as the son of the keeper and as indicated above was in a long line of Smith keepers, but sadly or wisely he did not follow in his fathers footsteps. With the course of time his change of career has been justified, as he told us today only two lighthouses are manned and these two control all the others which have been automated and computer controlled. Even more drastic measure were mentioned by Peter that with the advent of satellite navigation all lighthouses are likely to become redundant. Indeed already most of the old keepers cottages and houses are rented out as holiday homes.
Peter gave us interesting aspects of family life when they lived with father on land based establishments, many light houses were mentioned and if readers wish to follow all then the website below gives precise details. But Peter included many details and insights into life in the "House", some amusing such as his fathers best desire when returning from a stint at sea, was the delighted of sleeping straight (Eddyston above and left)as opposed to the curved bunks as found in the light house proper. Or the sad story of sun bathing keepers on the lower outside platforms being washed away from the wash of a cruise ship or a bulk carrier, his father only being spared because he had gone to make the tea.
The picture left of Wolf Rock lighthouse shows the power and ferocity of the sea, an environment faced by the keepers of the lights and indeed their families, to this end we as a Probus Club were appreciative of the talk and we showed our appreciation in the normal manner. Thanks Peter.
Supplementary to Peter's talk the following website of the periodical Service Lists are produced in the order of seniority of the keepers. They showed name, date of birth and date of entry into the Lighthouse Service of each serving keeper, and details of the stations on which he had served. The Keepers table often maps the whole of a keeper's career, and may give an indication of where he met his wife and where their children were born - elusive details where a man spent much of his life outside his home county. Movement was limited during the early part of the period, but, with the coming of the railways and other improvements in the means of transport, keepers began to be moved around more frequently.
Please visit the website Association of Lighthouse Keepers http://www.alk.org.uk/ for much more information.
