The Battle Of Sandbanks

Pictured. 'Red' Rob, 'Bespoke' Taylor, myself, Captain Lindsay.

Today marks the anniversary of the Battle of Sandbanks, when young and foolish we signed up at Bournemouth pier and set forth as members of the 23^rd Wallisdown Pedalo Partisan, the still notorious ‘Tea Shirts’. Not for us White Hawk’s green, nor most certainly Mosley’s black, we were proud and our knees were shiny, and we drank tea. Or I did. Mostly and my fellow Tea Shirts rather preferred coffee. But beverages notwithstanding and it was for us to pedal to Sandbanks and there like pirates storm ashore. So not like pirates at all, who notoriously would actually storm in quite the opposite direction.

Anyway.

Most of you won’t remember the politically charged days of the 30s. I being then so young could hardly have claimed to understand them myself. I just liked the cricket and the wizard that was the wheeze as then when singing and larking we grounded our corporation pedalos and rushed ashore, caught here atop Sandbank’s only dune. There we paused whilst not possibly knowing of Frank Herbert, we said ‘muad'dib’ in a variety of funny voices. Most of us anyway, but not Robert (who did not then nor does now, do voices). Indeed it was Red Rob that urged us on after only pausing for the best of the photographs, and a comparison amongst ourselves of our broom-handle mausers.

Before lunch we had taken Silvester Hall. Before tea we had been expelled. But not downhearted we laughed as pursued by an inaccurate Lewis gun we hastened back to Bournemouth, and the Gander On The Green where despite my powder-flecked face and revolutionary zeal people had to sneak me pints of cider as I was terribly, terribly underage.