Memories of Life at Clyne Castle by Eric Thomas

In 1930, the Admiral was High Sheriff of Glamorgan. Nowadays we have Crown Courts, but then there were Assizes held alternatively in Swansea and Cardiff, which he had to attend. It was quite a sight to see the Admiral in his dress uniform, the Curate of Clyne in his robes, the Footmen and Chauffeurs all dressed up and the Butler and the Daimler cars all lined up for Cardiff. The last car was the one which carried the food. On occasions, the Admiral would treat the Judges to a meal in a Hotel in Cardiff and it was at one of these times that he met Miss Beryl Stanley. She was 21 years of age and he was 61. He invited her to work in the estate office at Clyne. She lodged at West Cross and travelled to work on the Mumbles train. Two years later in 1932, they married. If anything like this happened in Gentleman’s service, everybody would we sacked and put out of their tied cottage. But Beryl, now the new Mrs Vivian, made it quite clear that nobody was to be sacked and that she was henceforth to be called Madam not Beryl.

To this day, I call every lady Madam and after 47 years, I still call my wife, Ann, Madam, which annoys her, but it had been made clear to me on that day that it was to be Madam not Beryl and the habit became ingrained. Mrs Vivian was very keen to make changes. Everything that belonged to the first Mrs Vivian had to go including the grand piano. Every room in the castle had to be decorated but she cleaned the oil paintings herself with a potato cut in half.

The men working on the estate received £2 a week with 2/- deducted for insurance and tax and 2/6d for rent. This left £1..15s..6d! One family who lived where the Mill Restaurant is today, brought up ten children on that! I left school at 14 and went to Clyne Castle to work as an apprentice carpenter and joiner under my father at 2/6d a week for 5 years. He made it quite clear to me on the first morning that an essential rule of working in Gentleman’ service demanded that the employee would at all times be struck deaf, dumb and selectively blind!

What was it like working for an Admiral? It was a different world altogether as he did not work to the minute but to the split second and expected everybody to do the same. He had some funny ways. For example, he always walked around his grounds wearing shorts just below the knees and always a cape, never an overcoat.

All apprentices had to attend Swansea Technical College on one day and three evenings a week and whether we liked it or not, we had to be there. The College reports went straight to the Admiral. We had to appear in his study three times a year while he studied them and we would be in trouble if we missed attending or had low marks.

He had flower-beds laid out in the form of battles in which he had fought. There would be the Battleship, behind came the Cruisers, then the Destroyers, Mine Layers and Mine Sweepers, then at the rear, the Submarine. He liked to explain to the Apprentices or anybody who was near that the ships were going into action. ‘I am in that ship,’ he would say. That ship was eventually sunk. We had heard the stories so many times that we could not stand listening to them again, so, if we saw him anywhere near those flower-beds, we ran in the opposite direction.

You had to salute the Admiral every time you met him and he always saluted you in return. It was quite a problem for the gardeners, who might be pushing a barrow when they encountered him. They had to put the wheelbarrow down, salute, pick it up again and disappear behind a rhododrendon only to meet him again on the other side, where the same procedure was repeated!

The Admiral had a weak chest and to protect it, he used to wear a large piece of chamois leather under his shirt, tied at the back with ribbon. He even wore it when he went out to dinners and functions dressed in his full naval uniform.

Shooting parties during the winter were very elaborate events with up to 18 guns—a nightmare for the gamekeepers. The Prince of Wales (later to be Duke of Windsor),

Churchill, Baldwin, Chamberlain, Admirals, Generals and Air Vice-Marshals would be on the guest list. The Admiral enjoyed Fire Practices and every three or four weeks, he would say to my father that it was time for another one. We had two canvas chutes, like the ones in aircraft—One from the Nursery and the other from the Servants’ Quarters. The Maids were not very keen but down they had to come from the third floor when all you could see were legs and underclothes! 

At the beginning of the Second World War, the Admiral tried to enlist and queued at the Recruiting Centre. By now, he was over 70 years of age and they told him that he was too old but that they would send for him if they were desperate! In 1945, I was home on leave from the Army, just after the War had finished, when I was summoned to appear in the Admiral’s study. For two hours, he fired questions at me about the African Campaign, the Italian Campaign and the Second Front. He had not changed at all during the five years I had been away!

1. 1926: Admiral Algernon Walker-Heneage-Vivian, of Clyne Gastle, Blackpill, Swansea, C.B., M.V.O