Pensioner's book recalls wartime life in village

Bob Acheson has spent two years compiling the autobiography of his early years, packed with his vivid recollections of growing up in Freshwater on the Isle of Wight.

Bob, now 92, was born in the village in 1931 and lived there until 1965, when he and his wife Jean moved with their young family to Portsmouth.

‘Writing the book has been a great thrill’ said Bob. ‘I’ve been blessed with a good memory and so can recall the many characters who lived in Freshwater in the 1930s and 40s.

‘There was the village policeman Mr Batley – we lads had to stand to attention when he walked past! And Mr Richards, the headmaster of All Saints School, was another who struck fear into our hearts, for if any teacher referred you to him, he would use a special cane reserved for bigger boys!’

Bob also describes the ‘pirate gang’ consisting of four elderly villagers who he and his friends were convinced were secretly up to no good, and devotes a chapter to his strict but loving aunty, Rose Saunders, who raised him from the age of five.

He tells of how village life was affected by the declaration of war in 1939, and how he and his pals were involved in various escapades as they lived in constant expectation that the Germans were about to invade. And he describes the actual ‘invasion’ of Freshwater by evacuee children from Portsmouth – head nits and all coming with them!

Bob was the eldest son of seven children born to Bill and Win Acheson, who lived in Clayton Road and later at Arnhem Road in Freshwater. Two of his sisters – Margaret and Audrey – still live in the village.

The book, titled Bob Tales, traces his Island roots back to his great-grandfather, a smuggler named William Saunders, who made his living by single-handedly rowing contraband ashore in often-perilous seas around The Needles despite being a non-swimmer. William and his wife Ann raised ten daughters and a son at their home in Rockstone Cottage, Colwell.

Over 110 pages, Bob charts his early life from his birth at his Aunty Rose’s home in Beacon View (now Sunset Close) in Freshwater, through his school days at All Saints in Freshwater and at Newport Secondary Grammar School, to his career as a county planner with the Isle of Wight County Council. A chapter is devoted to his time as a National Serviceman, having joined the Royal Artillery as 22352629 Gunner Acheson R.H. in 1950.

He describes meeting his wife-to-be, Jean Gubbins from Newbridge, on a fairground ride at Yarmouth Carnival, and tells of their wedding at the Wesley Chapel in Freshwater in 1955.

The couple raised four children – Mark, Joy, Gay, and Tim – in Freshwater and their third son, Stephen, was born seven years after the family moved to the mainland in 1965 when Bob got a job in the Portsmouth City Council planning department.

Bob, who had been a Methodist local preacher on the Island, resigned from his post in the early 1970s so that he and Jean could concentrate on Christian work across the city. They were among a group of Christians who founded a church at Milton, buying, moving and converting a workmen’s temporary headquarters that had been used during the construction of the M275 in Portsmouth. Bob served the rest of his working life as pastor of the Langstone Christian Fellowship, now called Christ Central (Stride Avenue).

He and Jean (88) now live in a retirement complex, Summerson Lodge, in Alverstone Road, Milton – just a short distance from the church they helped to build.

Bob follows his wife Jean as an author – her autobiographical Memories of my Childhood was self-published in 2020.

‘Jean and I have lived long and blessed lives during which we have met so many people and enjoyed so many wonderful times’ said Bob. ‘It has been wonderful to recount my early life in Bob Tales. And the story isn’t finished yet – I’m planning to write another book about my life in Portsmouth over the past 60 or so years.’

Bob’s book can be obtained by searching Bob Tales at lulu.com – the digital version is free to download and the hardback book retails at a cost price of £13.13 plus shipping.

A free ebook of Jean’s Memories of my Childhood is also available at lulu.com