Eulogy: David James Ferrett

1938 – 2022

David was born in Boscastle in 1938, eldest son of Jim & Beth, brother to the late Jennifer, John and Richard, brother to Alan, Graham, Ann, Linda and Angela. They lived at Trevalver Cottage in Boscastle.

David attended Boscastle Primary School and then started an apprenticeship with Walter Force at Trevalga, whilst studying Carpentry and Building at St Austell Technical College. He had his workshop at Trevalga and made all the windows and doors for the estate, continuing to carry out the maintenance there for many years alongside his friend Walter Gard amongst others. He never had to go far for work and there are many examples of his craftsmanship around Boscastle. After he retired and right up until his passing, he was still in the habit of having “crib”, which usually consisted of cake and crisps!

He met Jean in 1956 at a weekly dance in Mrs Piper’s drill hall in Boscastle. They married in 1959, continuing to live in Boscastle, and went on to have 3 daughters – Jackie, Elaine & Joanne.

Along came 7 grandchildren Ross, Jodie, James, Daniel, Gary, Ben and Ryan who as babies won’t remember that Grandad had rocked every single one of them off to sleep at some point.

After this, 8 great-grandchildren – Oscar, Max, Orla, Zara, Tyson, Flynn and Mickey, with the newest great-grandson Jaxson Lee born 4 days after David passed away.

Celebrations such as their silver & golden wedding anniversaries were held in their home at Langfords Meadow, packed with their friends and family, with everyone spilling out into the garden. On every wedding anniversary for 63 years he had a replica of Jean’s bouquet delivered to her. He enjoyed making his own homebrew (40p a pint he said!) and on Sunday evenings his bar would be open in their conservatory.

For 27 years David was a member of the Boscastle Coastguard Team and would often do a night watch at the lookout on Willapark from midnight until 6am for extra money (about £1.50 in today’s terms). If anyone was ever required to be on the end of the cliff rescue rope, David was usually the one. On one call-out David and Malcolm Biddick put themselves in great danger to rescue a man who was repeatedly being thrown onto the rocks off Barras Nose at Tintagel. In 1978 they travelled to London with Jean and Lynn to be presented with a Royal Humane Society Award at Lancaster House for their bravery. David always chuckled as he remembered Malcolm holding his award up in the air to stop the traffic outside Buckingham Palace so they could cross the road. He couldn’t believe the price of beer in London either!

David enjoyed many sports and hobbies through the years: Golf with his Trago clubs which “hit as good as anybody’s”; shooting and beating with his friend Alan Darlison; fishing; short mat bowls; playing football for Boscastle (where he was manager for a time), playing into his 40’s which Jean didn’t always know about! Jackie once wanted a lift to a disco and when he wasn’t agreeable she said “I’ll tell Mum you’re playing football” – needless to say she got her lift. He very often dreamt about still playing, on one occasion ending up on the floor having swung his leg to take a penalty, throwing himself right out of bed; billiards and Snooker – played in the Boscastle Men’s Club, which was later demolished and rebuilt as a Community Centre. David was heavily involved in this Millennium-funded project from start to finish alongside Malcolm Biddick, Bill Bickle and Fred Gurton. He declared it open in 2001, serving on the Committee as Chairman until August of this year.

David served for many years on Boscastle Parish Council becoming Chairman for a period, before stepping down in October of this year. His wealth of local knowledge was invaluable to the village.

David spent a huge amount of time gathering, organizing and cataloguing a considerable collection of artefacts and old photographs recording the history of Boscastle. He set up this archive of treasured items in the Community Centre which was open to the public on Bank Holidays. He was part of the “fixtures and fittings” of Boscastle and nothing annoyed him more than newcomers coming in and trying to take over without being mindful of its rich history. He was definitely not a fan of the ugly lower bridge which was rebuilt after the 2004 flood and refused to ever walk across it!

He cherished his trips to New Zealand to visit his brother John and their family – this was the first time he had ever flown anywhere in his life. In 2005 he went with his late sister Jennifer who he lost in Singapore Airport because she had gone outside for a fag! In 2011 he went again with his brother Graham and along with John they hired a van and travelled down to the South Island. David always said they were like the characters from “Last of the Summer Wine” – Compo, Clegg & Foggy. They saw some beautiful places, his favourite being Queenstown, and very luckily left Christchurch the day before a huge earthquake hit. What a great time they had making memories.

Everyone will miss him dreadfully but the family are so grateful and proud of the life he had.