My Story of Cobnor Activities Centre by Geoffrey Goad – Part 1
January 2nd, 2011
We thought that we’d start 2011 with a salute to the past so here’s the first in a serialisation of Geoffrey Goad’s personal recollections of his time at Cobnor Activities Centre, 1966-1985. With kind permission of the Goad family, these memoirs have been edited by Katy Lassetter of Chichester Copywriter for the web. Happy New Year one and all and we hope you enjoy a look at the Centre you know and love through Geoffrey’s eyes…
Part 1
Way back in the summer of 1967 I had come to the conclusion that I must give up serious driving as a way of life. The restriction of vision was all very well when most roads were of the one carriage variety but now motorways and the like were in the offing, what could I turn my hand to? My hobbies were aeroplanes and sailing; fine as hobbies, especially sailing.
We had been members of Langstone Sailing Club since 1955; I was Rear Commodore and Bett had been House Secretary for quite a few years. In fact, we had both been in office of some sort or other for many years.
Amongst the jobs I did were mooring and berthing officer, very much under the guidance of Mr Graham Little whose family had lived and worked at Langstone since the days of smugglers way back in the last century. He could walk out over the mud in his pats (small wood squares that he used to strap to his Wellies). It was a joy to watch him and it was an even greater joy to dig, no cut is a better word, a hole in the form of a cross into which went a cross of scaffold planks with a very heavy chain through the middle. I learned my nautical accomplishments the hard way but under the guidance of a great expert, the like of whom have long since gone I’m afraid.
My connection with aeroplanes was now in the form of an Officer attached to the Havant Air Training Corps, which I really enjoyed and which I could easily work in with my job. However, all good things have to come to an end and it was one of my fellow officers who pointed out an advert in the local paper, which read: “Bosun required to run Cobnor Activities Centre and also the Barge Sailing Club.” This was a nautical youth club, all under the control of West Sussex County Council. Why not? I had plenty of experience of young people, although I must admit in an orderly service manner!
Boats, sailing, motor boats, boat building and mud larking admin had all been a fact of life for me ever since I had left full time service in 1946. In fact, I had learned to sail whilst serving with 59 Squadron at Thorney Island in 1942.
“Go for it!” they said so I did and that’s how I came to be sitting with five other anxious applicants in an annex waiting to be called in for interview. Years later I could afford to smile looking back at that interview. There I was sitting in the midst of a great horseshoe of very interesting interviewers – well over a dozen representing the County Council, The Youth Service, schools, The Cobnor Trust and, finally, the Barge Sailing Club adult committee – all for the position of bosun at Cobnor!
That side of it was fine but I couldn’t quite cotton on to the idea of non-service youth clubs and how they were expected to be run. Was I too old hand to change my ways? This “Do you mind? Do you think?” approach. However, everything else was splendid and I would have been a fool to turn it down.
Happily, it was the beginning of 19 years of complete involvement, many many friends and a great sense of personal achievement and at the end now, aged 65, a great send off to a happy retirement.
I remember Geoff Goad and the Barge Club at Cobnor with great affection and look forward to reading more of Geoff’s memoirs.