How RAF Calshot Welcomed Tristan da Cunha Evacuees in 1962
The British Overseas Territory of Tristan da Cunha is the most remote inhabited island in the world. Its closest inhabited neighbour is the island of Saint Helena, which is more than 1,500 miles away. Due to the remoteness, the people of Tristan da Cunha have had to develop a self-sufficient lifestyle, growing their own food and maintaining an economy based on traditional subsistence farming and fishing.
However, this peaceful way of life was shattered on 10 October 1961, when a volcanic eruption rocked the island, forcing the evacuation of all 262 residents. Men, women, and children were picked up by lobster fishing boats before being transferred to a Dutch passenger ship bound for Cape Town, South Africa, a journey of 1,730 miles.
After a short stay in Cape Town, all the islanders were placed on the Stirling Castle ocean liner bound for England. They arrived in Southampton on 3 November, and were taken on buses to their next destination, initially an army camp in Surrey.
Did You Know? Incidentally, during the Second World War, the USAAF 50th Fighter Group also arrived in England on the RMMS Stirling Castle from New York in April 1944. They would then fly on D-Day operations from RAF Lymington, one of the New Forest airfields.
After a brief stay at Pendell Army Camp in Surrey, the evacuees were transferred to the former RAF Calshot on 23 January 1962. The base had closed just a few months earlier in April 1961 and so was an ideal place to house 262 people, particularly due to its seaside location, which was considered a positive point for the islanders.
Dubbed by the press as “the forgotten people from the loneliest island in the world,” the families were moved into sixty-four empty houses in the old married quarters. The former RAF accommodation block and road was renamed “Tristan Close” in their honour.
The women were given lectures on using electric cookers rather than paraffin or oil stoves and shown how to use washing machines and electric irons. The men were taught the basics of electrical work they might need to do around the house. Eighteen children were enrolled at Hardley Secondary School in Holbury, while twenty-two of the younger ones started at Blackfield Primary.
Many of the adults found work in the area, with employment at places such as the Beaulieu Motor Museum, a boat builder in Hythe, and a food-processing firm in Lymington. The islanders were welcomed with open arms by most of the local community, though there was one frightening incident in which an elderly islander was assaulted and robbed.
Their traditional way of life was now over, and it was a huge culture shock. Many of them also became sick due to the unusually harsh winter temperatures in January 1962 and exposure to flu infections they had not encountered at home.
Despite the inevitable challenges of settling into a foreign land, several of the younger women met their future husbands whilst on nights out in the Waterside and New Forest area.
The volcano on Tristan da Cunha was eventually deemed safe, and a ballot was held in Calshot in December 1962 on whether to return to the island. The community overwhelmingly voted in favour of returning, with just five votes against leaving Hampshire. A farewell service was held at St. George’s Chapel in Calshot, followed by a party arranged by the New Forest Women’s Voluntary Services (WVS). By November 1963, most of the world’s most isolated community had left Southampton and returned to their volcano-ravaged island, rejecting the lifestyle of England’s Swinging Sixties.
However, some did remain, and their descendants live in Hampshire to this day.
If you are interested in learning more about the Tristan da Cunha evacuee story, please purchase the book “Nothing Can Stop Us Now”. It can also be purchased in the Waterside Herald office in Hythe.
Credits: Some words would not have been possible without the help of Richard Grundy from the Tristan da Cunha Association.
