Jolly Fisherman Embroidery Cloth

By Angela Gooch on October 4th, 2009

SHOWING the way for local people in the town’s 1974 “It’s a Knockout” effort was 77-year-old Mr Reginald Cooley, of 94 Hoylake Drive, Skegness.
For in March 1974, Mr Cooley handed over a table cloth which he had embroidered himself to “It’s a Knockout” chairman Mr Ronald Williams as his contribution to the effort.
Embroidering was Mr Cooley’s hobby and he usually gave his finished products away. He had read in the newpaper about the “It’s a Knockout” effort and he thought the cloth would make quite a lot of money for the committee.
The cloth was embroidered with a Jolly Fisherman and other designs representing the Skegness foreshore. He said he was working on it at nights for roughly three weeks.
He said when he was in hospital in France during the First World War he had seen men doing embroidery for the nuns who ran the hospital, in exchange for cigarettes. “I was sorry I didn’t take it up then,” he said.
But when he got married he began to do embroidery and it had become Reg’s hobby for 50 years.
He hoped the “It’s a Knockout” committee would be able to raise plenty of money through his work. “Mr Williams was delighted with it,” he said.

Picture: Mr Reginald Cooley (left) showing the chairman of the Skegness “It’s a Knockout” committee Mr Ronald Williams the embroidered table cloth he had donated to the committee.