N.B. All of Robert James Powditch's Memoirs, as he personally remembered them and
he typed up in the 1980s, have been completely removed from this website on 5 Jan 2005
- all as demanded by Carol E Powditch on 30 Dec 2004
The following words (on this page, but with the exclusion of the newspaper 'clipping')
are my own, but none of them would have existed without the wonderful
times Robert, myself and my family spent together, as well as through the
numerous telephone conversations we enjoyed.
Robert James Powditch was a fantastic guy, who had an excellent sense of humour, great interest
in the history of his family, and was thrilled with everything I had already undertaken
with Powditch research, and which I continued to discover and add to his
knowledge, before his most untimely death
Robert James Powditch was the second child, and only son of, Bernard Hirst Powditch Vine and Elenor Theodora Pila of Chile, South America.
I first came to hear about Robert James Powditch when James Robert Powditch of
London, contacted me one day around 1986 to ask whether I had seen an article in one of
the Sunday newspapers relating to a 'Bob Powditch' who was going to sail twice around the
world, living off dog-biscuits, and asking me whether I knew who this 'Bob Powditch' was.
To be honest, I didn't know who he was, nor anything else about him (despite at that time
my already having a substantial amount of information on the Powditch family).
Thanks to the newspaper article, and a little bit of 'digging', I was able to track down this
'Bob' and discover that his full name was actually Robert James Powditch, and that he had
been born in Chile, South America, as had his forbears.
Although born in Chile, Robert (or 'Rob' as I came to know him) was of British nationality,
his being born of British parents, and also being registered at birth with the British Consulate
in Chile.
Born on 21 February 1937 at Recoleta, (which was a suburb of Santiago, in the South
American Country of Chile), Rob turned out to have had a most fascinating life, some of
which he told me about during many interesting telephone conversations, some parts of
which he had already committed to a form of 'memoir', whilst other details, and aspects of
his life, appeared within his Curriculum Vitae, as well as within Newspaper reports etc.
For instance, during our first telephone conversation, I discovered that he was a direct
descendant of one of the members of the Northumberland (UK) branch of the Powditch
family who had sailed in the early 1820s from that County, to Chile.
Rob also told me that from that first Powditch settler in Chile, up to the present day,
members of the original family, and their descendants, had continued to live and work in
their adoptive Country, but under the protection of the British Consul.
Furthermore, Rob told me that he held much information (original documents, family
trees and other information) regarding the Chilean branch of the Powditch family, and that
he would let me have copies of the documents etc
Over a period of years, I visited Rob twice at his home in Stamford (Lincolnshire, UK),
spoke to him many, many times on the phone, and on two separate occasions he came here
to Swansea to visit us; the first time he came here it was with his son, Andrew and his wife,
whilst the second time, he came with his daughter, Caroline, and on each occasion
we had a wonderful get together with our families.
Rob was one of a kind. From our conversations I learnt much about him, and he was
really thrilled that someone was undertaking a real in-depth 'study' of the Powditch family,
and he really wanted to be a part of it all.
On the evening of Thursday 18 June 1987, Rob phoned to say that he had posted to
me some original documents relating to the Chilean branch of the family. Although my
records don't show the date on which I received the package, I do have a written memo re
another conversation we had on Saturday 4 July 1987, in which we discussed his history
and that of several of his, and Powditch in general, ancestors.
The bundle of documents that Rob so kindly sent to me, proved to be 'earth-shattering', in
Powditch Family History terms, for there amongst original letters, various Memoirs, extracts
from family Bibles, Family Trees, and other documents was the fascinating history of a
pioneer family and their descendants. The documents themselves needed little explanation,
for individuals wrote of their lives, their families, their work and all sorts of other experiences.
From the nineteeenth-century now-browned thin paper, spring the words of a Powditch
born in 1826, who 'played' a big part in Chile's early mining history, was part of the railway
development in that Country, and who, whilst over in the UK on business, witnessed the
funeral of the Duke of Wellington, in London. Other words, from subsequent other Powditch
memoirs, reveal details of family members who had to hide down a well when (Chilean)
'indians' were raiding their home; of individuals who 'disappeared', as well as many other
interesting aspects of their lives.
A couple of years after we first made contact, Rob kindly loaned me his computer and
printer (which later, he sold to me), in order for me to type up, the history of the Powditch
family I had then written. Thanks to his generosity, the 'first' Volume (i.e. Volume 3), of
Peerless Powditch's was typed and printed on that very computer and printer, and (in1989),
published.
Robert James Powditch was a very special man; a real friend, and someone who loved
(and spoke much about) his family. I was exceedingly saddened by his most untimely death
on 18 May 1993, and the world became a much poorer place through his passing.
Rob never got to achieve his ambition to sail non-stop twice around the world. Firstly
because his sponsors' (believed to have been "Happy Dog"® dog food) sloop was
impounded! and secondly because not long afterwards, his health began to deteriorate.
If it hadn't been for the kindness of and interest by James Robert Powditch of London,
and for his having sent me the following little newspaper cutting, I would probably not have
benefitted from the friendship of such a lovely person as Rob. To both of these wonderful
friends, I have much gratitiude.
Happy sailing, Rob, wherever you are.
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