THE LIFE STORY OF ANNIE SARGENT

Chapter 2 – Clarence (Tim) Sargent

Tim Sargent left this life in 1975. His early years had been difficult ones, as they were for many children of his age. Tim Sargent was born before Queen Victoria died; christened Clarence by his father and a mother who would die in childbirth before he formed his own memories of her. Tim was the name that he chose to carry forward through life. As was common in those days, the death of a mother left many children to be looked after, specifically seven boys and two girls. Tim’s father was an Engineer at the Water Works in England at a time when industry and mechanisation changed the world, and the framework of the Victorian era is the basis of water and wastewater treatment today. A busy man in a brave new world he was unable to care for his large family himself. His solution, albeit a common one, was to remarry; a widow with a family of her own. Blended families are difficult things and children of the early 20 th century had

very different expectations to today. Children made their own way in the world as soon as they were able, so one by one they left home to set about establishing themselves in life through hard work. The death of his younger brother from pneumonia left Tim at home as the sole remaining sibling; and in the absence of affection between he and his step mother he determined to run away from home. These attempts were unsuccessful and his father recognising his unhappiness placed him on a ship; training for a life at sea at the age of twelve years old. The crew of a sailing ship work hard and it is a life of strict discipline, founding Tim’s self-reliance. In 1910, discipline and punishment were harshly carried out and Tim’s days were filled with scrubbing the decks, learning to climb the mast in all types of weather, tying knots, rigging sails and keeping watch in the crow’s nest for four hourly watches. The conditions were rigorous as the weather could be freezing cold and the work had to be done regardless of the season or your inclination. Sea sickness earned you a beating and there was little in the way of softness or comfort to be found aboard a sailing ship. The boys lined up every Saturday for a hated spoonful of Sulphur and Treacle to purify the blood. Young Tim travelled to distant places including Newfoundland, Canada and America; and crisscrossed the North Sea. None of these places were known for their pleasant climate; and the boys would become cold and often frost bitten. The ship could become caught in ice floes, surrounded by a landscape of icebergs that would hold a ship fast, creaking and groaning. Occasionally they would be witness to the spectacle of ice avalanches. His time on the training ship came to an end and Tim started to work on cargo boats, continuing his travels. Showing no small amount of courage and determination Tim jumped ship upon reaching New