General

Robert Purvis was born in about 1794, the son of a weaver, Thomas, from Angerton.   Although his father taught him to weave, he never took to it. He tried other trades, but decided to settle on smuggling as his chosen career.

In 1828 he was met on Longhorsley Moor by an exciseman named Williamson from Morpeth. The casks that Purvis was carrying were captured, but he himself managed to escape. Purvis realised that his personal freedom was now in peril; he bought a horse from the money he had made and hid at his brother’s house. Occasionally he would return to Angerton to visit his father, and one time excisemen were there waiting. He managed to escape through a window, wearing only his shirt and drawers, hiding in a pond until they disappeared.

In 1829 he attended a fox hunt at Thornton Moor.  Again, the excisemen tried to capture him, but “putting spurs to his mare” he quickly escaped, leaving his would-be captors far behind. Purvis now decided it would be best to leave; he sold his horse and prepared to emigrate to America.

He was on his way to Shields with a friend when Williamson again caught up with him, this time in Bedlington. He hid in a nearby cottage, but the mistress of the house gave away his presence and he managed to escape through a window, again. Purvis and his friend swapped their clothing and when the excisemen were in view, his friend made a run for it and was captured. 

Purvis managed to get to Shields, and boarded a boat. In America he settled, married and became successful in agriculture. He died in about 1840. Sadly we do not know the outcome of the loyal friend who was captured.

Below is a more recent shot, as you can see the paddling pool has been removed and replaced with a splash park.  In the summer months there are sprinklers and water fountains for children to play with which proves very popular.

Below is how it is today, in total contrast to the photo above due to the current Coronavirus situation. No families or children playing, just deserted.

You will notice in the background of picture 2, the bandstand. Many military and colliery bands played here on a Sunday afternoon and evening. Performances were advertised in the local papers.   Unfortunately in 1967 this was removed and later replaced by a rose garden. The rose garden was constructed with financial help from members of the Blyth Round Table and was opened by the mayor in 1970.

Below is the Park House as it is today. It hasn’t changed very much at all apart from the noticeable solar panels on the roof. My good friend Amanda lived here as her father was the park keeper – Mr Short.

8 May 2020 saw us celebrate the 75^th anniversary of VE Day.  However, we mustn’t forget the dark days of May and June 1940, eighty years ago.  The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) were fighting a rearguard action to save the backbone of the British army, which was making its way into a small pocket surrounding the port of Dunkirk. 

Churchill described it as a colossal military disaster and hailed the rescue as a miracle of deliverance. Wars are not won by evacuations. The evacuation began on 26 May when 7,669 allied soldiers were evacuated. It was thought that at least 45,000 men could be brought home before the Germans reached the port. By 4 June 1940, the last day of the evacuations, the total number of allied forces taking from the beaches and harbour during ‘Operation Dynamo’, as it was called, was a colossal 338,226, including 123,000 French soldiers.  What is often forgotten is that there were still large numbers of the BEF in France, cut off to the south of the Somme by the German “race to the sea”. 

At the end of May, further British troops had  been sent to France with the hope of establishing a second BEF. The majority of the 51st (Highland) Division were forced to surrender on 12 June. By then, almost 192,000 allied personnel – 144,000 of them British – were evacuated through various French ports between 15 and 25 June under the codename ‘Operation Ariel’. The Germans marched into Paris on 14 June and France surrendered eight days later.

Not many people know that 100,000 French troops evacuated from Dunkirk were temporarily billeted in camps around south-western England, before being repatriated home.  British ships ferried these French troops to ports in Normandy and Brittany. For many French soldiers, the Dunkirk evacuation represented only a few weeks’ delay before being killed or captured by the German army after their return to France.

Of the 863 ships, big and small, that helped save the British Army, 243 were sunk. From 10 May, up to the surrender of France in June, 68,000 members of the British Expeditionary Force were lost, along with 445 tanks, 20,000 motorcycles, and 65,000 other vehicles. Tons of stores and ammunition were left behind. In the same period, the Royal Air Force lost 959 aircraft.  Despite what many troops thought, the RAF were actively trying to halt the German onslaught.

It is said that for every seven men evacuated, one was left behind to become a prisoner of war.