Canoeing and Caving Richard Pinker December 2024
The first canoe launch (courtesy Richard Pinker)
The article on the scouts' canoe was of particular interest. I recall that the scout canoe was named "Le Becquet", by the vicar,
Rev Selwyn-Smith, after the campsite that we used on Guernsey in 1959 and 1960. I think Mike Betteridge and I were the first to crew it at its launching in the brook just above the weir (photo attached with Miike in front of me). Further in the article is a mention of the Devizes-Westminster canoe race. I have also found a picture I took in 1967 of the Box canoe in action.
Rev Selwyn-Smith, after the campsite that we used on Guernsey in 1959 and 1960. I think Mike Betteridge and I were the first to crew it at its launching in the brook just above the weir (photo attached with Miike in front of me). Further in the article is a mention of the Devizes-Westminster canoe race. I have also found a picture I took in 1967 of the Box canoe in action.
Lastly, I enjoyed the article about Box Hill and the quarries there. My father, Aubrey Pinker, would have been over the moon about the possibility of Box Hill being recognised. As you are aware he campaigned against the filling of the quarries in the early 1960s. You can read more about Aubrey's attempt to save the quarries for posterity at Recalling Box Quarries - Box People and Places.