On 5th June 1951 I was born at the hospital in Redruth – as so many were in those days, because this was the only maternity hospital for West Penwith. I had no brothers or sisters so I lived with my parents: my father Thomas Ralph and mother Iris Jane (née Andrew) at 37 Tolver Road, Penzance.  My father was in business as a gents’ hairdresser in the town (following his own father’s profession whose business had been situated in the Wherrytown area, near to the seafront).  My mother’s family lived in the Godolphin/Helston area of West Cornwall and were either farmers or miners.  I spent many happy days in my youth on their small farm upon the hill overlooking West Penwith and the sea beyond.  Father’s family were mainly fisher-folk, either boat owners and or fish traders/sellers, and some further back in our history were in the Royal Navy as our family tree shows; others were land-owners locally. My father died early, aged 63 years, while my mother passed away in 2005 aged 85.

I attended local schools (one of which, St. Pauls, was situated just across the street from where we lived!).  I later attended the College and Art School at Camborne/Redruth, and from there I worked for various local potters in studio settings.  After this (and with the need to earn a greater income) I found a career in the electrical industry, again working locally; this employment lasted for 33 years until I took early retirement at 55 years of age in 2006.

Throughout my life my own interests have been quite varied: art, photography, and local and family history, but the longest and most consuming has been philately!  This has kept me enthralled since I was a schoolboy and over the years I have put together several large and valuable collections and, of course, met many people and made long-lasting friendships.  I have also produced a number of booklets for reference for collectors containing information on various areas of collecting etc.

Sport was also an interest, with competitive cycling a real challenge, and of course walking and running around our lovely countryside here in West Penwith.

That’s me, done and dusted!  I love our little village of Newlyn and the old Newlyners are the salt of the earth – may it never change.

Alan R. Tregurtha

Alan Tregurtha (right) and Glyn Richards