Eddie Matthews
Interviewed at Lizard Lighthouse, Cornwall, 2005. Eddie, with fellow former-keeper Dave, now runs the lighthouse museum and gift shop.
Could you introduce yourself, Eddie?
Yes, my name is Eddie Matthew - known as Eddie - that's not my real name, my real name is Michael - and I’ve been a lighthouse keeper for 48 years
17 and a half, I was. 17 years and an half when I started. Came straight from grammar school, into this. They stuck me on the Wolf Rock. I was mad about football, they thought I'd never last. …They put me on the lighthouse, an what with making me own food - gotta remember, I was only 17 an a half - to make my own food and everything, it was a terrifying experience. But I did a fortnight - I enjoyed it so much, I stayed.
What’s the Wolf Rock? How to describe the Wolf Rock? Its noted as the most notorious rock in the whole job. At times, sea goes straight over the top - its like living in a submarine… … there was no shielding rocks around that Wolf Rock. The actual sea hit the.... you take the Bishop for example - the big 6th spray goes over the lighthouse, but there's rocks. But out at the wolf it's the lighthouse it hits directly, there’s no rocks to shield it, its actually on a pinnacle.
But there again, where [else] could you have a job where the boss couldn't get hold of you; when you weren't on watch, you could do fishing, painting, reading watching television - you could do whatever you liked. As long as you were doing your job, even when you were doing your job, you could do whatever you liked. There was artists… if you were a bit of a loner, I suppose it was an ideal job. Terrific job.
You must have felt quite isolated?
You couldn't go out anywhere, you were stuck - that was one of the drawbacks of the job. But that was part of the job. And I think to be a lighthouse keeper - it was all in the head - and I don't mean brains, I mean temperament. You had to have the temperament to be a lighthouse keeper. If you could live with yourself, you could do this job.
And live with the two other men…
…I s’pose you know the story about the Smalls lighthouse? Two men on the lighthouse, no communication in those days - gale comes up, one man dies - so now the other man can’t get rid of the body, otherwise he'd be accused of murder. So he tied the body to the railings, and waited for the boat to come closer and signal for help. And from that day onwards there had to be three lighthouse keepers on the lighthouse. That's how it came about.
Tell us more about what it was like during those storms. Did the waves really go over the lighthouse?
Oh yeah! Come to my earlier point, about living in a submarine. You've got the big shutters, closing down the window, and everything closed down. Just like I said - like living in a submarine in big storms. And it really rattled the place, because the whole lighthouse shook. I’ve seen cups being shook off the table. Got hit by such big waves. But there again, if you go up the lantern and look at it, it was pretty dramatic. Terrific sight. Photographers would give their left arm to get some of that. T’riffic.
Could you go outside in good weather?
Oh, you had your good weather where you could go sunbathing on the top. Fishing… …Course, if you liked fish you was laughing. Like on the Eddystone, it was bass - the Wolf was mainly for pollock. You couldn't get much off the Bishop ‘cos there was too many seals. Round island the same, Royal Sovereign - the place in the English channel - good fishing.
But then of course there was the forces of nature. There’s the birds and all things like that. It was fabulous, you could literally do anything really. T’riffic.
What were the rules for getting along on a lighthouse?
Well basic rules I s’pose - eating, and cleanliness - that was the main thing. I mean we’ve all gotta eat and you gotta keep clean on a little space like that. But normally if you become a lighthouse keeper, you do all those things anyway. Otherwise you don't make it. You don't last. So you get on well together. Otherwise it’s all finished.
How about conversation – did you ever talk politics, religion?
…Not really no. Politics and religion were out. Out of the window, no way. In a little space like that, not likely, no, no. That was very rare.
You must have done a lot of reading!
I mean, I came from a grammar school, where nothing much stuck. [On the lighthouses] I had the chance to read. And in the end the world opened to me. I had the chance to read and I’d do it.
The point is, I’m a bit of a loner myself - and you could do what you wanted to do. You had nobody bossin’ you all the time. It was a great life.
But you missed life ashore?
Oh yeah. …You learn to appreciate your home and your village, whenever you think about life on the mainland you begin to appreciate it a bit. It didn't seem so – what’s the word? - humdrum. You looked forward to it. Specially when you did the 2 month trip, an’ a month ashore. But of course, when helicopters were introduced, and you did a month and month about, it was like you never went away.
So helicopters made a huge difference to the lives of lighthouse keepers…
Oh, helicopters, yeah. ‘Cause when you think of it, my first trip was to the Wolf Rock, or to the Eddystone. How I work out my life in Trinity House [the lighthouse keeping authority] - very simple. Travel. First you were taken out in the tug to the Eddystone, and rowed into the buoy and hauled up. Then they put a motor in the motorboat, which made it easier to get to the buoy. And then of course - it was helicopters.
Then another way of looking at it - food. Take meat for example - take it out. 3 days, ya pickled it, an’ it lasted the rest of the month. Then they brought in paraffin fridges. So the meat lasted a week. Then of course they brought in modern freezers. And it lasted forever like. An’ that's like all these changes, over the years.
So did lighthouse keepers change as the job got easier?
No, no no no. Like I’m trying to get through is the fact - you were either a lighthouse keeper or you weren't, that's what I’m trying to say - if I had the right words I could tell ya. No, that didn't change. You were either a lighthouse keeper or you weren't - it was as simple as that.
So what qualities were required to be a lighthouse keeper?
The main qualities you needed to be a lighthouse keeper? To like the loneliness. To be able to get on with other people. And mind your own business, generally.
Can you tell us about the automation process?
Owh, saddest day of my life. Saddest time of my life. I mean – I’m from the old school. I mean, some of the youngsters took to it like a duck in water. Could say it was one of the saddest things I ever saw in my life. I mean, for example, I was stationed at St Anne’s Head. And you could see Scocum and the Smalls, and we had computers up there. Whereas the light would come on automatically on Scocum, the young crew would just tap the button and carry on with what they was doing. Myself, I tapped the button - but I had to look up at Scocum to see if the light came in, you know what I’m trying to say… I just couldn't... that took a long time that did. It was a hell of a change in my life.
How do you think the public see lighthouse keepers?
I think... what do people think of us? Some think we're heroes, some think we're bloody fools - I think the only way of describing it - we was different from other people, because we were loners really. An’ I think that's the only way you can sum it up. An I find it a lot now, when I’m serving in a place like this, and I see the public every day – it’s a different kettle of fish.
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