I've spent the last few weeks going through the information that I've discovered, writing the story up to the turn of the century and filling in the gaps in my knowledge. Along the way I found Charles Reginald Clemo's name on the Naval Memorial in Plymouth (it was there all along), and traced the Clemo side of the family back to John Clemo, a mason who lived in Newquay in 1841. I doubt if I'll go back earlier than that.
Over Christmas I learned that my uncle Peter had been diagnosed with cancer of the throat. He was the last link with the past and I contacted my cousin to ask various questions so that I could piece together the various fragments of knowledge with some certainty.
Last weekend I resolved to go and see him. I'd heard that he'd lost some weight but was in good spirits. My son Chris drove me down to Cornwall and we stayed at the White Hart Hotel in Hayle, which was my father's local back in the 1950s. We visited and photographed many sites that are central to my story and we were lucky to spend a couple of hours with my uncle on the Saturday. The following day I visited St Erth and took some pictures before spending some time searching for a grave in Phillack churchyard.
Having found what I was looking for, I decided to call in to see my uncle before the long drive home. We called in and spent a few minutes looking at the photos I'd taken.
We were just about to say goodbye when he collapsed. My son and I performed CPR on him while the ambulance and a motor cycle medic made their way to the house. They spent some time trying to revive him but to no avail. He was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.
My son was very shaken by the experience and it was a long drive home for us both.
No comments:
Post a Comment