Pupils from Y3 worked with leading tenor Ben Vonberg-Clark to learn the song Van Dieman’s Land, collected in East Horndon, Essex on 22 April 1904. The original singer was Mr Broomfield.

Head teacher of Woodside Academy is also folk and classical musician Ed Caines who has a particular passion for the works of Ralph Vaughan Williams and as a supporter of EATMT he showed a keen interest to be involved with his school as the ideas of this project formed back in early 2022.

Every day on his journey to school Ed passes through Ingrave in Essex, the small village that Vaughan Williams officially started his folk song collecting from (‘Bushes & Briars’ being the first song which he collected from Mr Charles Potiphar) and his pupils are no strangers to folk song thanks to Ed’s passion for passing on musical traditions. Growing up in nearby Brentwood, classically trained tenor and choir conductor Ben Vonberg Clark was very keen to get involved with Ed and his school. For Ben, the knowledge of many of these tunes comes from his musical upbringing via the English Hymnal that Vaughan Williams edited in 1906.

We are grateful to Sue Cubbin for permission to use her publication “That Precious Legacy” as well as to Philip Heath Coleman and David Occomore for giving us full use of their publication of all Essex collected folk songs as notated by Vaughan Williams.

Full Score (B. Vonberg Clarke/E.Caines)

Audio (Ben Vonberg Clark)

Lyrics:

Come all you gallant poachers that ramble free from care
That walk out of a moonlight night with your dog, your gun and snare
Where the lofty hare and pheasant you have at your command
Not thinking that your last career is on Van Diemen’s Land

There was poor Tom Brown from Nottingham Jack Williams and poor Joe
Were three as daring poachers as the country well does know
Till one night we were captured all by the keeper’s hand
And for fourteen years transported were unto Van Diemen’s Land

Oh when that we were landed upon that fatal bay
The planters they came flocking round full twenty score or more
They ranked us up like horses and sold us out of hand
They yoked us up to the plough my boys to plough Van Diemen’s Land

They chain us two by two, and whip and lash along,
They cut off our provisions if we do the least thing wrong,
They march us in the burning sun, until our feet are sore,
So hard’s our lot now we are got upon Van Diemen’s shore.

We labour hard from morn to night, until our bones do ache.
Then every one, they must obey, their mouldy beds must make ;
We often wish, when we lay down, we ne’er may rise no more.
To meet our savage masters upon Van Diemen’s shore.

The Year 3 performance:

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