Telephone

The private telephone situation is rather better than in 1939 but many farmers had a long drawn out struggle to get it, often only achieving it by being on a “Party Line”. There are less than six private telephone in the two villages but a public telephone was erected at Duloe on 28^th February 1938 and Tredinnick on 19^th April 1951.

Postal Services

There has been some change in the Postal service, some outlying farms and houses are now being served by a Post Office van as at Polteans, near Sowden’s Bridge.

In 1948 Miss C. Broad retired after 45 years as post woman over a very scattered and rural round having walked 133,00 miles to outlying farms and cottages of Duloe parish and across the boundary of the West Looe river into the neighbouring parish of Pelynt. Since her retirement much of her round has been served by a post office van from Looe.

Duloe which has been a sorting office for many years still has two postmen and one postwoman who each have a morning round. One of the postmen does a second round during the afternoon to Duloe and Tredinnick villages.

Mr Cole (affectionately known as King Cole) and Sid Cole his son

Organisations

In connection with health legislation etc., in this district, two old peoples’ bungalows were built a few years ago in Duloe but the village could do with more. There is very little difficulty in the care of old people because if they are unable to look after themselves there is a hospital at Liskeard that will care for them. The mental health service has been needed very little.

Children

The under fives now have a centre where mothers can buy dried milk, orange juice and collect the free cod liver oil, this is run by a householder in the village.

During the last two years the School has been for the eleven year olds and under, the older ones go to Liskeard Grammar School or Looe Secondary Modern School. There have been a number of very good changes in the school during the last twenty years. The misfortunes of war brought evacuees but it also started a school canteen which has been improved on over the years and provides wholesome well balanced meals cooked at five shillings per week. (Pre 1939 the children brought pasties which were heated on the stove) Every child gets a bottle of milk free a day.

New flush toilets were added to the main building in 1958 and wash-basins with plenty of water – a great improvement from the days when in all weathers the children had to go to the end of the garden where there were primitive buckets and later Elsans.

The school car collects all children of eight years and under if they live more than two miles away from school.These children come mainly from Herodsfoot district – the school there having been closed.

The dentist calls for the inspection of teeth only but no treatment is given at the school as was done pre-National Health days but an ambulance collects and takes all children needing treatment to Liskeard. Injections against Diphtheria and Polio are given on the spot by the School Doctor.

The school has recently been decorated in the latest contemporary fashion.The present Headmaster has started an Open School and Prize giving day and this has proved very popular.

Duloe had it’s own Nurse paid for by the Nursing Association until 1941 who went on her rounds by bicycle and then until the National Health Scheme was sharing a nurse with Dobwalls because Duloe could not raise enough money to keep their own.The District Nurse with her cycle has been replaced by a Health Visitor and Duloe is now only a small part of her district. Now Duloe is served by a nurse from Dobwalls and Tredinnick by a nurse from Looe.

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