When the firemen allowed William Howard James to inspect the damage to his dairy on the morning of November 14, 1968, he could still feel the heat on the wall joining him to the Maggs, Son & Deeble ladies and gents outfitters store. Crowds had gathered on their way to work and school to see the attempts made to save the popular store, on the corner of Fore Street and Bay Tree Hill, from being completely demolished by fire.

William was only 11 when his father died, in April 1915, and his mother and his seven siblings left their farm in West Cornwall and arrived in Liskeard. Aged 17 William was working as an errand boy for Eastman the Butcher in Fore Street, his brother Thomas, at 16, was also an Errand Boy, for the Redruth Brewery, and youngest brother Phillip, at 15, was an Errand Boy for Lyne & Busbridge, the dentists in Trion House, Dean Street.

The 1939 War Register tells us that Thomas James was self-employed as a ‘Butcher and Shopkeeper’ at 21 Bay Tree Hill and lived above the shop with his wife Alfreda, who was responsible for ‘Unpaid Domestic Duties’. The youngest brother, Phillip James, was in business across the road in one half of number 2 Bay Tree Hill, where he sold sewing machine on hire purchase, and collected the weekly payments. Phillip’s wife, Dorothy, was also involved in the business, she gave her occupation in 1939 as ‘Sewing Machine Saleswoman’.

William Howard James, whose ‘Central Dairy’ can be seen in the photograph, occupied the other half of 2 Bay Tree Hill in 1939. On June 3, 1948 the Daily Mirror printed the headline ‘£50 Milk Fine’ followed by ‘William Howard James of Bay Tree Hill, Liskeard, was fined £50 at Liskeard yesterday for supplying excess milk. The prosecution said he had made an illegal profit of over £150’, but I’m sure he was just trying to help his customers while milk was still being rationed after the end of WWII. Today the premises are shared between a Barber and a Cobbler.

Brian Oldham, Liskeard Museum volunteer and Bard of the Gorsedh Kernow