1904

Muriel King and May Stinton were on the train, en route to Redruth in Cornwall for the Trethisick Festival, held each year in Camborne on the 26th of April, and this year it was on a Thursday, so the girls were to arrive on Wednesday and stay through the weekend.

They had risen early, and caught the train from Worcester at Foregate Street to Birmingham at 8.53 arriving in Birmingham, Snow Hill station at 10.15. They then had a quick walk to another platform for the departure of the Birmingham Penzance Express which left Birmingham at 10.35, getting to Plymouth at 3.50 and then with another change, they were due to get into Redruth at 6.16. Truly a full day of travelling.

Muriel and May had gone travelling before, but most of those occasions they were accompanied by their other good friends Dot Duncan and Charlotte Walker. However this time, Dot have moved away to live with her brother and Charlotte couldn’t leave home as her father was now senile, and she needed to care for both him and her oldest sister, Mary, who couldn’t have coped on her own.

May was engaged to John Duncan Day, who was now aged 23. Muriel’s intended (but nothing official yet) was his younger brother Harold, aged 21, and in his last year as a student at Camborne School of Mining.

Muriel had to smile when she thought how lucky she was that it was May who was now marrying John Day, and not her, as she had originally intended. She still liked John but she loved Harold, who was much more in tune with her way of thinking. John would soon come down after his four year theology course at Oxford, and he was in the process of being made a priest of the Anglican Church. He managed to secure a very good job straight away and in September he would be starting as Senior English Master at Warwick School. May was looking forward to the move to Warwickshire, and their wedding was scheduled for the spring of 1906.

The girls had often talked about having a double wedding, but Muriel wasn’t as yet officially engaged. Harold was very anxious to get married, but he also wanted as soon as he was married to work abroad – perhaps in Malaya or South Africa so he was busy applying with that in mind. Muriel had let it be known that she did not intend to rush into marriage and a new country immediately afterwards.

Muriel was very devoted to her parents, and especially her father. Not that she didn’t love Harold, she did. But she only saw him on short visits in the week when he had holiday usually around Christmas. So their courtship was largely conducted through letters, which they both enjoyed writing. They had developed a sort of code whereby they each found an appropriate quotation to add to their letters.

Harold was about to complete his formal education at the Camborne School of Mining and he was anticipating receiving 1st class honours. He would have no trouble getting a position in Cornwall, and Muriel encouraged him to do so, but he was determined that he would go abroad, and he had made an application to go to a mine in the Federated States of Malaya.

Muriel knew all about his work, as most of his letters were spent in detailing it in every way, including its history. Most recently he had been working at South Crofty Mine as an assistant to the manager. Earlier, his practice work was done at King Edward Mine. In 1897, the School took over the abandoned eastern part of the South Condurrow Mine around Engine Shaft and in 1901 it was renamed after the new King. This offered the students the opportunity to work both William's Lode and the Great Flat Lode down to 400 feet from surface. The mine was operated semi-commercially and produced tin on a regular basis, employing some 10-20 men in additional to the college teaching staff. Much of the production work was carried out by students.

The girls were met at the station by Harold, and they both kissed him and told him how wonderful it was to see him. Then Harold escorted the girls to the 300 year old Plough Inn, on College Street. Because they were very tired from their journey, they decided to just have a quick meal at the Inn with Harold where they could update him on the latest Worcester gossip and then meet up with them early the next morning for the day’s festivities.

The next dawn dawned glorious and the streets were full of revellers from very early on.

The main streets were closed to traffic for the day, and the group checked the programme.

• 11 a.m. Bal Maidens & Miners Dance - led by miniature steam engines and Camborne Town Band, with school children dressed in traditional costumes of miners and bal-maidens
• 2 p.m.  Trevithick's Dance - adults processional dance, led by Camborne Town Band. Dancers dressed in gold and black, Cornish colours.
(both dances follow a route that takes them through the central streets of the town)
• Indoor exhibitions – all day long - i.e. schools competition entries, Church Flower Festival, display on the life of Trevithick, model exhibition (trains, steam vehicles etc.)
• Static Displays - of steam vehicles, fair organs, stationery engines, vintage vehicles, etc.
• Free Street Entertainment - e.g. from locally based performers choirs, Camborne Town Band,  buskers, musicians, jugglers, and  theatre groups etc.
• The Annual Steam parade - The engines will steam along Church Street, down Wellington Road and Trelawney Road, then up (Camborne Hill) Tehidy Road and back to Basset Road.

They decided to start with looking at the outdoor displays, as the weather was so fine, and if it came on to rain later, they could always take shelter and look at the indoor exhibitions at the same time. It was very entertaining and the girls were enthralled by each and every aspect and although Harold had twice before experienced the day’s events, he too enjoyed it very much.

The girls were interested in knowing the history of the day, so although Harold was very familiar with it, they spent time going over it all and reading from the placards.
The girls and Harold had a wonderfully full day, and were very tired when they finally decided to stop. Harold of course had to be up early for work on Friday morning, but the girls said they would walk around the countryside, and see him in the evening for a meal. Then on the weekend, they would all take in some of the local sights.

Saturday, they took a bus to see the town of  Falmouth. Harold had showed them leaflets telling about it:

The port of Falmouth - south west Cornwall's premier resort and home to Cornwall's maritime heritage. Washed by the ocean and warmed by the Gulf stream, the town basks on the shoreline of the world's third largest natural harbour - the gateway to a beautiful network of rivers and creeks. Famous for its beaches and castle and infamous for its smugglers and pirates - Falmouth has protected the deep water anchorage of the Carrick Roads since Tudor times.

They went on the beach at Maenporth and the girls enjoying having the sand between their toes as they strolled along watching the ebb and flow of the Atlantic.

On Sunday after church they went on a visit to the Trelissick Gardens. May read aloud from the brochure:

In about 1750 a modest two-storey villa was built at Trelissick on the foundations of an earlier building. This house at Trelissick was built in 1750, on the foundations of a much earlier building. The Gilbert family acquired Trelissick around  1844  and made many improvements throughout the grounds including the ornamental woodlands, huge oaks and conifers.

They very much enjoyed their walk around the gardens, but the girls had very sore feet from all their walking over the last few days.

Because Harold had to be up at the crack of dawn, and the girls train journey didn’t start until 11.29, they said their goodbyes on Sunday night. It would not be for long this time, however as Harold’s course would be finishing at the end of July and he would be back in Worcester soon after that.

But he also told Muriel that he had applied to work in Malaya and if he was accepted, he would be leaving in September for at least a two year contract. Muriel has always known that he intended to do this, so it didn’t come as a big surprise, but she did feel that she hardly knew him, and he was already slipping away from her.

The train left on time and stopped at Plymouth departing from there at 1.48. They reached Birmingham Snow Hill at 7, and they knew if they were early or the train was late, they could catch the 7.05 which took them back into the Foregate Station by 8.08, but if not there was a train at 7.15 which would get them to Scrub Hill Station by 9.05. In the end they managed just to catch the earlier one and they walked home.

Harold finished his course with first class honours, and came home in late July. He had heard that his application to go to Perak in the Federated Malay States had been accepted, and he could hardly contain his joy. He got all sorts of books from the library about what it would be like to live in that part of the world. Muriel tried to enter into his enthusiasm but she felt like he was so wrapped up in his career and plans that he had no time for her.

So it was a bit of a shock, when after a particular nice dinner at a restaurant one evening, Harold (having first checked with Mr. King) went down on one knee and proposed to Muriel. He presented her with a very pretty ring of sapphire and diamond chips. She was overwhelmed, and accepted him and they kissed and hugged for some time.

‘We will need to check with the Rector about having the banns read soon,’ said Harold, ‘as we don’t have much time to get ready for the wedding and leaving.’

‘Oh,’ said Muriel, ‘so soon. I don’t want a rushed wedding. I don’t want people thinking that I am with child and we have to get married in a hurry. I think we should postpone it until you come home on leave, and then we can plan it properly. Why don’t we plan on having a double wedding with John and May a year from April. That would give you the chance to see how you like living in Malaya and if you don’t like it, you can get a job around here again.’

Harold was of course very disappointed, as he thought Muriel had shared his excitement for this new life. But he said he would be prepared to wait for her, and that was the way it was left.

There were many engagement celebrations planned for the couple, and going away parties for Harold, so the rest of the summer proved a busy time. But before long the time came for Harold to pack up his kit and go off to South Hampton, to board the ship to take him to the other side of the world.

It was a tearful goodbye from Muriel, who at times felt that she might have made the wrong decision not to go with him, but in her more sensible moments, she felt she had made the right choice. She was secretly hoping that his wanderlust would wear out before she saw him next and she wouldn’t have to leave the country and family she so much loved.