Ramblers
"In 1937 I joined the Ramblers..."
In 1936, I was a member of the YHA and working in the City of London. It was though this work that I met Ernest Welsman, a staff member of the Ramblers Association.
In 1937 I joined the Southern Pathfinders and the Ramblers Association – and still have my ‘RA’ badge! From 1939-1946 I was not able to walk in the UK. However I did have opportunities during a three-month stay in Cape Town, en route to India. I did plenty of walking in Assam and Ceylon (Sri Lanka) between June 1943 and March 1946, as well as a fortnight in Darjeeling in the Himalayas.
From 1947 to 1979 I was a Civil Servant and had overseas postings to various places, which gave me opportunities for walking, but not for using the facilities of the Ramblers Association.
I moved to Sidmouth in 1984 and have been doing footpath maintenance through my membership of the Sid Vale Association (founded in 1846). Through the Parish Paths Partnership (PPP) scheme, we do annual surveys and maintenance of more than 100 footpaths and bridleways in the area of Sidmouth Town Council. I used to walk with the local Ramblers branch but now that I am aged 90, I find that my responsibility for 20 paths on Salcombe Hill for the PPP, including a section of the South West Coast Path keeps me occupied!
