Stories of Truck

Image: Ida Mount-Stephens by Megan Russell

By Megan Russell

The August edition of the Probus News awakened interesting memories for a former resident of the village.

Ida Mount-Stephens grew up in Truck before moving to Tregony when she married in 1956. She read about Mrs Bette’s account of the former railway station and was happy to share her memories of the village. I was lucky enough to sit with her for a couple of hours while she told me what life was like for her during and after the Second World War.

Ida fondly remembers Mrs Bette, who she described as being tiny and loved by everyone who knew her. She recalled the many hours she spent with friends, exploring the area surrounding the railway line. At the age of around ten, she would spend the days picking strawberries. Her father was a market gardener, and so she would make some pocket money collecting and selling snowdrops. She would walk down from Truck to where the Mercedes Garage is now situated, picking flowers to sell for 6d a bunch.

It is pretty remarkable to me - as a member of a much younger generation - to think that a child was free to explore the area around the railway line, but it is wonderful to hear how happy the memories were for Ida during this time.

Ida was young during the war, but she recalled a particularly vivid memory of American soldiers occupying the fields surrounding Probus. There was no transport route for her father to deliver milk from his cows and so he placed it outside their house at Truck with mugs for the soldiers to drink. It was Ida’s birthday and the soldiers sang her Happy Birthday through a loudspeaker. She also recalls that there was always a steady supply of chewing gum around during the soldiers’ occupation.

Finally, and most interestingly, Ida told me of her memories of observing elephants drinking from the river, running from Truck towards Tresillian. Ida was ten when her mother called her to look at the extraordinary sight from the window. For more than 40 years after the incident, Ida convinced herself that she must have imagined the sight. It wasn’t until fairly recently, when Ida shared the memory with friends, that the story was confirmed and the link was made between the travelling elephants and the circus that performed in Truro during this period.

Truck then and now

Old Truck

The photo above, shared by Ida Mount-Stephens, is undated. The lower one was taken last month but is shown in B&W for effect. The hill is hidden by trees, but the three buildings are clearly recognisable. Even the metal fencing in the foreground looks original. Was this the original route of the Ladock Road that joined at the bottom of Truck Hill? If this stirs memories, or any stories about Truck, please let us know. editorprobusnews@gmail.com

Truck in September 2019

Image credit: John Denyer