In his latest nostalgia column in the Western Telegraph, JEFF DUNN discusses old times:

"I'm calling this week's TRM... TRAINS, BOATS, PLANES and AUTOMOBILES...and will start with some flying machines feedback from Eddie Stapleton.

"Hi Jeff...your piece about the Sunderland Flying Boat on the 25th Jan brought back some happy memories of that great airplane that may be of interest.

In January 1952 I began my two years' National Service in the RAF, and after eight weeks' basic training in Staffordshire I was posted to RAF St Athan and started a twelve week course to become an Airframe Mechanic on flying boats.

Apart from all that stuff about watertight riveting and repairing corrosion damage, we had a day trip to Pembroke Dock to see what a Sunderland looked like. We were taken out to the moorings and allowed to explore one of the aircraft inside and out, we stood on the wings and wondered at the size of it.

A few weeks later I was happy to be sent on a five day flight across the world to the flying boat base at Seletar in Singapore, where we worked in shorts and a sun hat, and enjoyed the delights of the Far East, and where I spent the rest of my Service time.

It was by pure coincidence that I found Tenby. I met my wife Barbara at a Ballroom Dancing class studio in Brixton ! Of all places. She told me that her dad, "Billy Marsh," was a Tenby man who had come to London when he was nineteen. We married in 1957 just when Billy decided to come out of exile and was allocated a house in the newly- built Knowling Mead estate. We made a visit at Xmas time and I was hooked . We moved down and our first son Nick was born the following year.

After three years things were not going well, we moved back to London, but in 1965 we decided to come back, and have made Tenby our home since then. After many years I achieved my ambition of having a boat in the harbour, and I have spent many happy years singing with my many friends in the Tenby Male Choir.

So there it is Jeff, I hope this will be of interest. You may find some more notalgia and photos that you could use in my book.."In Passing" (Amazon Books.)

Thanks Eddie, I enjoyed that.

Our "Boats" category...is TRM Trawler Corner ..with the Welsh Princess M137: A steel sided trawler built in Newport in 1963.

308 tons: 120' long. Owned by Welsh Fisheries Ltd, Hamilton Terrace, Milford Haven. She was not a long-term Milford boat, just from May 1963 to August 1964. Skippers: Alfred Beckett; William Reynolds ; Robert Victor Dingle.

In 1967 her name was changed to Rowanlea, and interestingly, in 1991/2 the French film director Jean Gaumy made a four minute film about her, called " On the Rowanlea

Trawler."

Here's a pic of her when she was still the Welsh Prince.

That takes us to the train part of this TRM quadrangle.

The next photo is from 1898 and shows the "special" train that had hastily sped from London Paddington, carrying about 40 elite passengers down to Milford to avail themselves of the Canadian Steamship "Gaspesia" which had been heralded as the first of the Transatlantic liners that would lead to many more and a glorious future for the port. Regular TRM readers may recall that I outlined the collapse of that particular pipe dream in an earlier column.

Finally to automobiles, and a picture which will forever stir up memories of my very first job.

It was in 1961, I'd just turned 17 years of age and, so that I could contribute to the family coffers.m I'd left my well worn desk in Milford Grammar School, armed with a handful of GCE O Levels and

no idea of life as it was in the work lane. And it was with a lunch box of corned beef and tomato sandwiches and a banana that I started work as a grey suited, clean shaven Accounts Clerk with Evans Motors Ltd, (previously Parry Motors) a garage in Dew Street , Haverfordwest.

It was a horrendous first 3 months..not only getting to grips with the Kalamazoo accounting and book-keeping system, and a cantankerous old Office Manager, but it also turned out I had to operate a two-line external/ internal switchboard. It was panic stations as we didn't have a home phone, and I had no telephone experience at all !

Those early office days were filled with countless callers being cut off..and more crossed lines than a station master's moggy at Waterloo....it was like a Carry On Operator film ! Thankfully the horror eventually evaporated, and during my time there I learned much about myself, much about work ethics, and also made many new friends.

Last week I included a TRM Teaser (If 9=4; 21=9; 24=10; 8=5; 7=5; 99=10; 100=7; what does 16= ?). The answer was 7 ( the number of letters in each number) and those who got in touch with the correct answer were Margaret Jones, Margaret Jenkins, Val Morris, Peter Walters, Jets and Anne Llewellyn.

Many thanks to all who've told me how much they enjoy these TRM's...

That's all from me...except for this week's words of wisdom which come from Mark Schofield: "You know you're getting old when you and your partner wear matching sweaters."