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'ARMADA OF ONE TO INVADE LONDON' So proclaimed the Sunday Graphic in the autumn of 1937. The story of the Rosebud caught the nation's imagination, and her voyage was the culmination of a battle to save the fishing village of Newlyn from wanton destruction Truran Books Published 2003 £ 7.99

This is the extraordinary story of how, shortly before the Second World War, the zeal of local authorities to improve housing standards led to a high-handed scheme to demolish the picturesque fishing villages of Newlyn and Mousehole and rebuild them as modern blocks of flats. This was resisted not only by the residents but also by the body of nationally famous artists who lived there. It led to a confrontation between the forces of bureaucracy and those of (what would come to be called) conservation. The protests culminated in an epic voyage by the fishing-boat "Rosebud" from Newlyn directly to the Houses of Parliament with a petition to save their village. This successfully captured the attention of the national media, and made the point, probably for the first time, that even working-class dwellings were worthy of being preserved. It is a fascinating narrative, full of sadness and humour, courage and despair, cutting a slice through pre-war society from the poorest fishermen to Ministers of State; an uplifting tale of bewildered communities trying to defend themselves from the march of officialdom. The parts of the villages which survived are now, as a final irony, protected as a Conservation Area by the same local authority which once condemned them as 'unfit for human habitation'. This book was awarded the Holyer An Gof prize of the Cornish Gorsedd in 2004.