Memoirs of William Orchard, Sub-Postmaster
Extracts from Will's memoirs of March 1952. Aged 80 he was looking back to late Victorian times at Freshwater Bay.
Freshwater Bay in late Victorian times
"the down came to the marsh & so did Afton Park" |
"Freshwater was a much prettier place when I first remember it than it is now - no houses on the down except Glenbrook, no Afton Road - the down came down to the marsh, & so did Afton Park. Where the waterworks house & pumping station is now was a very pretty little Dell - with some fir trees - there was a lovely spring of water - it was a very pretty spot."
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Freshwater Bay in 1872, the year Will was born.
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Telegrams from Queen Victoria
"Tennyson and Longfellow came into the shop together once" 
Letter to the Daily Express recalling the visit.
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"Many well known & noted people lived in or visited Freshwater in days gone by - some I remember - some I forget - and of course many were before my time - many of them have been in the Shop and Post Office - Tennyson and Longfellow came into the shop together once - probably the only time Tennyson ever did come in - he never went into shops or offices - I do remember him coming into the post office once, but only once - during a good number of years - he wanted to send a money order to Italy. When he came into the shop with Longfellow it was to order some clay pipes which we always got for him - my father took the order -. I remember receiving quite a number of telegrams over the wire from Queen Victoria to the poet - they were always signed by Minnie Cochrane, or one of the Gentlemen in waiting & usually they were to ask Tennyson to lunch or dine. Only one I remember was from the Queen herself direct - it was just after the rather sudden death of the Duke of Clarence and was as follows - 'Thank you for your beautiful lines on the death of my dear Grandson' - Victoria R.I."
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