By Carole Hawkins (niece)
In last months Sunbury Matters there was a photo from Wilson’s boatyard in 1941 (below).
In the photo is 17-year-old apprentice, Eric Robins, my uncle. He would go on to use the carpentry skills he learned at Wilsons to aid the war effort and, subsequently, in the construction of many local buildings. He typically wears his tie, affirming the common view of those who encountered him as, ‘Always smartly dressed and wore a tie’.
Eric now 96 and living in Walton, was brought up and lived in Sunbury for many decades, living in Manor Lane. He married Jocelyn in 1945, and they raised two sons.
His carpentry skills began with a boatbuilding apprenticeship at Hampton Launch Works (Thornycroft), during which he built invasion barg-es. However, he felt he was being held back, and so at 16 years, he moved to Wilsons Boatyard.
Eric punted people from Wilsons to the island, as well as continuing his carpentry apprenticeship, repairing the privately owned ‘Little Ships’, sailing vessels. He was involved in building lifeboats for ships on the ‘Pluto’ operation which laid the pipe-lines across the channel for the D day landings, to help the supply of oil for the tanks. He also worked on a particularly important project prior to the Normandy Landings:
‘We had to build a little twelve-foot-long speed-boat, which would nip into the Normandy beaches, to collect sand samples, and get out quickly. We fitted it with an American Lycoming engine. I went on the trials for the boat. It briefly lifted out of the water at times, it was so fast. It did the job. It was chased out by a German ‘U’ boat, but it got out.’
Eric completed his apprenticeship and joined Bentalls, making flower boxes. He then moved into the construction industry, working for Mowlem, where he became a Master Carpenter. One of his projects entailed the building of shutter-ing for the concrete forming the West Low Lift Pump House at Ashford Common, which was a sizeable project. He also did much of the carpentry in the building of the houses on Wolsey Road (Burgoyne Road end), which included making the roofs, staircases, skirting, architraves and more.
In the 1970’s he took a break from carpentry to work for British European Airways (now BA). He returned to carpentry in the 1980’s, joining United Racecourses and working at Kempton Park, Epsom and Sandown. Eric’s carpentry expertise was used in the building of Kempton Park’s Paddock Suite. At its opening, Eric was presented to the Queen Mother (see below).
Eric retired at the age of 70 but remained busy helping his family with home improvements. His mantra ‘measure twice, cut once’ was always his first tip.
A visit with Eric to the woodyard was an education. Eric would cast his perfectionist eye on the wood stocks, dismissing those pieces remotely ‘out of true’ (alignment), or with far too many notches, much to the ‘amused fear’ of the salesmen, who knew him from his racecourse purchases, but also knew a genuine smile or laugh would follow those rejections.
In later years, Eric, devoted himself to caring for his wife Jocelyn, seeing her through terminal ill-health. These days, he enjoys keeping up with news of his grand-children, current affairs and watching sport on TV. And, as you can see in the photo, he feels able to retire his tie!