Ascension : Welcome back to bob & jan walker!
Submitted by The Islander (Islander Editors) 11.08.2011 (Article Archived on 25.08.2011)

It is always a joy to meet people who share some history with the Island and it was an absolute pleasure to meet up with Bob & Jan Walker who arrived here last Monday from the UK.

Welcome back to bob & jan walker!

It is always a joy to meet people who share some history with the Island and it was an absolute pleasure to meet up with Bob & Jan Walker who arrived here last Monday from the UK.

Bob and Jan left Ascension in 1978 with their two young children Robert (8 years) and Helen (7 years) after spending almost 2 years here. Bob worked as the senior technical officer with CSO and actually lived just two doors away from where their daughter Helen (Scott) lives in Two Boats now.

Jan worked part time in the Administrator’s Office. (then situated where the Police Office is now)  The Administrator at that time was Brigadier MacDonald who was very ill at the time and later medivaced out to the UK where shortly afterwards he sadly passed away.  Simon Gillett who worked for the Foreign & Commonwealth Office came here for about 9 months to fill in as Administrator; many of the Saints will remember Simon as he was later posted to  St Helena.  At that time the late Warburton (Warby) Maggott was in charge of the Administrators Office.  Jan only worked part time - in the mornings and during school hours so that she could be home with the children when they finished school.  The school only opened for half a day.  If an urgent letter needed to be done for the Administrator, then the Police Inspector would collect her children and take them up to the residency to be looked after by Flo the St Helenian housekeeper/cook until the urgent letter was typed.

They were very much involved with local activities.  Bob remembers being Father Christmas at the Two Boats Club party, when the Police Inspector accompanied him to the party.  

The family were members of the Historical Society and the Walking Walkers Society going on group Island walks on Sundays.  During one of their walks armed with machetes, they rediscovered “Palmers” which had lain hidden amongst the cactus for many years.

In 1977 the Heritage group along with the Administrator designed the Island stamps to commemorate the Queen’s Silver Jubilee.  The Queen’s Silver Jubilee was celebrated on Ascension with a Street party through town culminating in a huge fireworks display and bonfire on Long Beach which was organised by Bob and Ray Pennington.

Back then the only way to contact families overseas was to come into the Cable & Wireless Office in Georgetown to book calls.  They explained that there was no TV, just radio and one could really feel the isolation. 

For them it really was a case of “Stop the world and we got off …… at Ascension Island, but we absolutely loved it”.

There were many food and other shortages “but we managed”.  The mail went out via Antigua once a week and a Charter plane visited once in a while.  The crew which came from RAF Lyneham would whip round amongst themselves to buy a heist of fruit and vegetables to bring with them, whilst the wives of the crew collected magazines and comics for the wives and children back here.   Once the much longed for fruit and vegetables arrived it was divided equally amongst those families who were members of the Two Boats Club.  The fruit and vegetables were paid by cash and tuna ……. the more tuna, the less cash!! On the evening before the plane departed each of the families would host one or two of the plane crew for dinner.

The Wideawake airfield was literally just a strip with a little shed on it. There was no immigration or customs back then.  You just turned up at the side of the airstrip where your name was ticked off and you boarded the plane.

There were only two shops – the one in Georgetown and small one in Two Boats Village – both ran by NAAFI.  They remember well when the sheep were rounded up on a Wednesday, butchered on a Thursday and sold in the shop on a Friday.  You could have a leg or chops but never both! Sales were limited to ensure that every family could purchase some meat on a Friday.

It was during their tour here that the Union Castle stopped coming and there was a break of about 5 months before negotiations were completed and the first RMS St Helena commissioned.  The RMS St Helena arrived here on Boxing Day 1977 to great excitement.  At last mail, stores, fresh fruits and vegetables were being received from the UK, Cape Town and St Helena (remember this was pre-internet and email!)

During the times that foods were in short supply, dinners were supplemented by fish caught at the pier head.  Entertainment for the family included the children foraging on the military dump at Long Beach for old bottles and buttons (collected for the museum which was just starting off) whilst Bob joined the men in football matches further up the beach.   Movies were shown on either on an outside screen or in the hall at Two Boats Club – one of the local  favourites being  Smokey & the Bandit .

Five years ago Jan came across an advertisement for trips on board the RMS St Helena from Cape Town, St Helena, Ascension and then flying out to the UK.  Bob and Jan along with his brother and sister-in-law decided that they would make the trip thinking that it would be their last chance to visit Ascension.  They described the trip as “absolutely fabulous”.  They were overjoyed when the first person they saw in the lounge in Cape Town was Small Change, a Saint Helenian who used to work for Cable & Wireless during their tour here.

They spent 5 memorable days on St Helena which included a climb up the 699 steps of Jacobs Ladder.  They spent 5 days re-discovering Ascension again before flying out to Ascension.

Imagine their joy and amazement when their son-in-law Scott (Walter Scott) was successful earlier this year in securing the post of Crown Council for Ascension Island Government.

When asked what are the most obvious changes on the Island their unanimous response is the greenery – there were no other vegetation back then apart from a few trees in Two Boats.  Green Mountain really was the only green place on the island!  The other biggest change is Donkey Plain.  Back then Donkey Plain was just a dusty plain where the donkeys roamed.  Travellers Hill complex has since been constructed there.

Bob and Jan are on the Island for the next 3 – 4 weeks.  We all hope that you have a truly fantastic time here.  I am sure that everyone would love to hear your stories and see your wonderful collection of photos and seeing how everything looked then.