Fishermens Museum
Biddy the Tubman
Biddy the Tubman
Born in Hastings in 1879, Alfred Mills (Biddy) Stonham had a restless spirit. In 1892, at the age of 13, he persuaded the captain of a German ship, driven ashore at Hastings, to take him to Hamburg. He lived there for four years until he returned to Hastings to work as a fisherman.
He became a member of the Hastings lifeboat crew and in 1904 was awarded the RNLI silver medal for bravery by King Edward VII at Buckingham Palace. During his time as a lifeboatman, he helped save 46 lives and became a hard-working member of the Old Town Winkle Club.
Although too old to fight in the Second World War, he played his part when he used his boat, RX301 The Unity, to help evacuate troops from Dunkirk. His contribution earned him the Dunkirk Plaque. Biddy stopped using The Unity in the mid 1950s but his 'alternative' career continued well into his eighties.
Biddy was a seaside entertainer. Dressed in a blue fisherman's jumper and short trousers, he paddled a tub out to sea and performed an amazing variety of tricks for crowds on the beach. With incredible agility and strength, he would stand on the rim of the tub with his toes gripping the edge while spinning himself round with the paddle. Sometimes he would stand on his hands and waggle his legs frantically in the air.
The act always ended with Biddy spinning the tub at an ever increasing speed, yelling at the top of his voice, until the momentum caused his inevitable plunge into the sea, much to the delight of onlookers (especially children!).
Biddy the Tubman Slideshow
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