St Ives Archive

St Ives Archive: A Life of Service

In 1959, a well-travelled and enterprising Dutch lady came to live in St Ives, in a new house at the bottom of Steeple Lane, which she had mostly designed herself. Her name was Florence Nankivell, and she was to live in the town for the next 22 years.

Born Florence Muysken in 1901 in Amsterdam, where her father was the managing director of a steel works, she came to Britain in 1921 to study social work. On her return to Amsterdam, she worked for an organisation which helped girls arriving from other European countries looking for domestic service work to avoid falling into the clutches of pimps. In 1930, while on holiday in Trinidad, she met a Cornishman, Howard Nankivell, a civil servant, and they married two years later.

Florence threw herself energetically into Trinidadian life. An accomplished pianist, she gave concerts to raise funds for good causes, and became involved in social work among the families of the employees of the oil and sugar companies, who endured poor housing and low wages. In 1937, the Butler Riots broke out among the workers, and Howard was demoted and sent to Cyprus because he had sided with them.

Before joining him in Cyprus, Florence and their two children went to Britain for a short stay, but due to whooping cough, the children had to be quarantined. Never one to be idle, Florence became involved in a Quaker organisation working to rescue Jewish children from Nazi Germany. Being a fluent German speaker, she travelled – at considerable personal risk – to Berlin to arrange their evacuation to Britain. On 2nd December 1938, a group of children arrived at Harwich after a rail journey to the Hook of Holland and by boat across the North Sea. This was the first Kindertransport.

A couple of weeks later, Florence’s husband was killed by a mysterious fall from a train in France. In 1940, she and the children moved to Oxford, where she worked as a volunteer at the Admiralty – then based in the Bodleian Library – and as a temporary member of the Land Army, picking potatoes. After the war, she was asked by several social work and women’s societies to address them on her work in Trinidad and the West Indies.

Having married a Cornishman, Florence wanted to live somewhere where she felt she belonged – and people could pronounce her surname – and the family moved to Polzeath in 1947. She joined local clubs and societies, including the Cornwall History Society and the Old Cornwall Society, and gave lectures on the Netherlands, dressed in traditional Dutch costume. In 1954, a chance meeting with archaeologist Dorothy Dudley resulted in Florence joining the West Cornwall Field Club. She was the prime mover in opening up the club to become the Cornwall Archaeological Society in 1961, and in 13 years as secretary, she organised digs at sites throughout the county, including Castilly Henge, the Rumps Cliff Castle, and Carn Brea hillfort. In recognition of her services to archaeology in Cornwall, Florence was made a Bard in 1962, taking the name Scryvynas an Gledhyoryon – Excavator’s Secretary.

After moving to St Ives, she joined the Arts Club, attended pottery classes in Penzance and helped with the resurrection of the Zennor Wayside Museum. Throughout her life, wherever she went, Florence contributed her considerable talents to the service of the community.

Dr John Sell

St Ives Archive is based at Wesley Methodist Church, St Ives Road, Carbis Bay, St Ives, TR26 2SF. For information about current opening hours, phone 01736 796408, email admin@stivesarchive.org, or visit www.stivesarchive.org. The Archive opened in 1996 and is staffed by volunteers. We are always looking for people to join our enthusiastic team – there are opportunities to learn new skills, carry out research, assist visitors and take part in fundraising events. We offer a valuable service for anyone wishing to obtain historic information about the town, free of charge. The Archive holds over 35,000 photographs and numerous documents covering fascinating subjects such as art, maritime heritage, tourism and traditional customs, and we also have extensive resources relating to the history of St Ives families. Why not come and visit us?

Registered charity number 1136882