<strong>En</strong> <strong>Voyage</strong> GUERNSEY COPPERSMITH TREVOR ROGERS-DAVIS IMAGE ©CLAIRE LINCOLN MADE IN GUERNSEY When he began his apprenticeship 40 years ago, Trevor Rogers-Davis was one of 10 working coppersmiths in Guernsey. Now, he’s the only one left in the Channel Islands. In fact, he’s one of the few remaining coppersmiths in the British Isles. 38 <strong>En</strong> <strong>Voyage</strong> | Aurigny’s Magazine
‘I STILL DO IT IN THE ORIGINAL WAY. SOME OF THESE TOOLS ARE OVER 200 YEARS OLD; THEY’VE BEEN PASSED DOWN. SOME OF THESE HAMMERS BELONGED TO ARTHUR’S FATHER, WHO STARTED WORK IN 1887. YOU COULDN’T BUY THEM NEW ANYMORE, SO YOU’VE GOT TO TAKE CARE OF THEM.’ If coppersmithing is a dying craft, Trevor’s speciality is even more rare, making him possibly one of the only people in the world who has the skills and know-how to create traditional Guernsey milk cans. Proudly displayed in his workshop at Sausmarez Manor are the beautifully polished finished items, each one requiring hours of painstaking, intricate work, using tools dating back at least 200 years. Guernsey milk cans were once a common useful and ornamental centrepiece in many local homes. During the island’s tourism heyday, in the 1960s and 1970s, they were must-have souvenirs for holiday-makers. These days, however, demand has dwindled, but Trevor’s enthusiasm for the trade hasn’t, and his unique skills have allowed him to diversify into commissions, including pieces for Scottish whiskey distilleries. ‘It’s like making model airplanes all day, every day. It’s like doing your favourite hobby for a job. I get paid to do what I love,’ said the 56 year old, who started his apprenticeship the day after his 15th birthday, which coincided with the Queen’s Silver Jubilee. ‘My careers teacher said, “What do you want to do for a living?” And I said I liked metalwork classes. He told me to get a job as a welder. I didn’t want that. I wanted to make something and see the end product. The next week, I saw an apprenticeship come up at Martin’s Coppersmith in the Pollet. It was like fate.’ At his job interview, Trevor was asked if he was artistic, if he could lift a five-pound hammer and if he could find the circumference of a circle. His boss and mentor Arthur Russell offered him the position and said, 'When I teach you what I know, you’ll have something no one else has got: you’ll punch the air when you go to work.' Arthur was right – Trevor still gets a huge kick out of his work. When Trevor first started in the trade, island coppersmiths were each making around 750 milk cans a year. Now, he alone makes 200 a year in a range of 15 sizes. The fluctuating price of copper over the decades and the Channel Islands’ steep decline in tourism have contributed to the fall in demand. ‘When I started, Cobo Bay would look like Benidorm – people everywhere. There was no room on the sand. Seventy-five percent of people came on the boat and there were no luggage restrictions. Now most people arrive on the plane, and people don’t buy gifts and souvenirs like they did.’ The Guernsey milk can continues to be a symbol of the island’s heritage, despite many not knowing its rich history. When the first Guernsey cows were introduced to the island from Normandy, the milk can came over with them, some 980 years ago. Originally made from tin, these cans were used for storage and delivery well up until 1952, when the introduction of milk pasteurisation put an end to milk deliveries directly from the farm to consumer. ‘The cans used were never made from copper. They only started being made from copper in the 1800s, when people liked them as showpieces,’ said Trevor. ‘I still do it in the original way. Some of these tools are over 200 years old; they’ve been passed down. Some of these hammers belonged to Arthur’s father, who started work in 1887. You couldn’t buy them new anymore, so you’ve got to take care of them.’ By the time he was 24, Trevor started his own business, Guernsey Cans. By 1985, he could see that tourism was changing: ‘I knew I had to take my business directly to a tourist centre.’ He had a little stall at Le Friquet Butterfly Centre, then moved to the Tomato Centre, then the Strawberry Farm, before setting up shop at Sausmarez Manor, where he’s been for 15 years. The bulk of his work comes from polishing and commissions. He gets asked to create all kinds of weird and wonderful things, and whether it be lanterns and fish kettles or Japanese rain chains, Trevor is passionate in carrying on the traditional of coppersmithing. ‘I was the last apprentice coppersmith in Guernsey – there’s been nobody since me. You can make a living from making Guernsey milk cans, but not much more because it’s so labour intensive. But I love the history of the cans, and I love that side of my work. I enjoy keeping a little bit of history alive.’ 39
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