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Henry
(Bobo) George of Mullion
When
I was in Mullion a few years ago I was speaking to Stanley Tonkin who
was in his 90's. He told me the story of Henry aka Bobo George born 1820
died 1898 and his wife Pricilla nee Munday. This story was passed on by
his family. Henry was aware of some contraband he had in his house, one
day the revenue men came in, Pricilla was sitting on the barrel of
brandy feeding her son Samuel, her crinoline dress was hiding the
barrel. They searched the house and left after finding no contraband.
Henry George I have seen in many publications was reported to be
the last smuggler in Cornwall. I have a photo of him and this photo was
I believe used to create the cast of a Cornish smuggler that was sold in
the "Heads" series , there were many other characters you
could get to hang on the walls.
My
wife who is the President of the Queensland Cornish Society wrote a poem
on the event I described and I have attached it as a doc, please feel
free to use the poem if you wish. Alistair
George of Queensland Australia.
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HENRY
“BOBO” GEORGE
(1820 – 1898)
In
a quaint little village called Mullion
On
the beautiful Cornish coast
In
1820 Henry George was born
He
was a rascal, but loved by most
Now
Henry was known as Bobo
And
as a fisherman faired well
But
it was of his other secret life
There
were many stories to tell
You
see Bobo was also a smuggler
Known
only by a special few
Who
liked to share in his booty
As
that’s what smugglers do
Some
nights when people were asleep
Bobo
would sail out to sea
To
ply his trade with the passing ships
As
he knew where they would be
Ships
had sailed from France with their cargo
Which
they then lowered over the side
He
never missed the rendezvous
As
he’d go out on the midnight tide
He
would sail back in with his bounty
Roll
the barrels of brandy out of sight
Hopefully
no moon was shining
He
preferred a very dark night
Back
in his small cottage he would safely hide
His
very precious brandy stack
And
then carry on daily with his fishing
‘Til
he knew the French ships were back
One
day Bobo had a terrible fright
The
Revenue men were at hand
Checking
on any smuggled goods
Then
confiscating the contraband
Bobo
had a large barrel of brandy
In
fact it was his latest prize
Now
he needed to hide it quickly
From
those beady, prying eyes
He
quickly called to his wife Priscilla
Feeding
baby Samuel at her breast
To
come and sit down on the barrel
And
to cover it with her long dress
So,
Priscilla obeyed her dear husband
And
when the Revenue men did arrive
They
saw a mother nursing her little son
And
all seemed peaceful there inside
Little
did they know that beneath her full skirt
Was
hidden a barrel of brandy so rare
And
they went on their way quite satisfied
That
indeed there was no contraband there!
Now,
this little tale of our smuggler Bobo
May
seem quiet funny but it’s true
He
was the last Cornish smuggler to be known
And
he belongs to our George family too!
By
Trish
George
August
2004
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