100 Years Ago

Christmas Eve at the Front

An interesting letter has just been received by Mrs Packer, of Broadclyst, from her husband, Corpl Packer of A Company, 1st Battalion Devonshire Regiment, who is serving with the Expeditionary Force in Northern France. In the course of a letter he describes a remarkable incident which occurred on Christmas Eve between the British and German trenches.

100 Years Ago - June 1919

Local auctioneers are having a busy month, with a large number of estates and properties being offered for sale.

The Ecclesiastical Commissioners have approved the sale of part of the Glebe lands at Instow. This includes several farms as well as 11 pasture and arable fields situated opposite the Church on the Old Barnstaple Road. At Weare Giffard, Great Huxhill Farm is for sale together with 104 acres. The next door property, Gammaton Cottage, is also for sale; this has five bedrooms and 9.5 acres. In Bradworthy, Cleverdon Farm and its 104 acres is on the market, together with Cleverdon House (17 acres), Cleverdon Cottage (4 acres) and additional field lots.

John Smale Auctioneers was instructed to sell properties in order to close a Trust Estate. Southcott House, Weare Giffard received no offers; a house at Buckleigh, occupied by H S Rivington and used as a Junior College, was withdrawn before the auction.

A more unusual property to be offered for sale was the Public Hall in Irsha Street, Appledore. This was used as a cinema and could seat 400 people.

On a few occasions we know the prices which properties fetched. Rosedown Farm in Hartland, 28 acres, was sold to Mr Westlake for £1,200. Venn Farm at Newton St Petrock, 160 acres, was bought by Mr Heddon of Frithelstock for £3,475. Four cottages numbered 56-59 Meddon Street were sold to Mr Beer for £210, while a double fronted house and stables at 55 Meddon Street was bought by A R Adams for £610. As a comparison, a two bedroom house in Meddon Street would have been priced at £34,500 in 1998 and a four bedroom house cost £163,500 in 2016. The average house price in 1919 was £300, which in monetary terms is the equivalent of £15,360 today, whereas the average house price for the UK in 2019 is £226,000.

Does anyone know why so many agricultural properties were on the market at this time? It could be due to the fact that many men did not return from the War or returned with disabilities. The epidemic of Spanish Flu in 1918-19 caused over 200,000 deaths in the UK and the economic state of the country could mean that families needed to raise money.

In other news:

A resident of Bideford had a little brown dish. It was discovered to be a “Dope” dish made in 1688 and was sold for £512. Does anyone know what a “Dope” dish was?

A boy playing with friends on Cann’s Slip, Appledore, fell into the water and was carried out to sea by the receding tide. Leonard Carter, recently demobbed from HM Navy, was in Blackmore’s Yard and heard the cries for help. Without stopping to take off any of his clothes he dived into the water and swam out to the boy, who had sunk beneath the waves. Mr Carter dived and retrieved the boy and started to tow him back to shore against the tide. A passing boat came to help, taking the boy on board and towing Mr Carter to safety. The boy recovered quickly and Mr Carter is praised for his bravery and swift action.

Mrs Lucy Pennington of Ashridge was summoned by PC Davis for leaving her pony and trap unattended in Bideford High Street. PC Davis told the court that when he spoke to Mrs Pennington on her return she tried to drive the horse on top of him and he had to take hold of its head and push it back. He informed Mrs Pennington that he would report the incident. The lady did not appear in court but was fined six shillings.

100 Years Ago - May 1919

Echoes of the war are still evident in some areas of life.

R Blackmore & Sons Auctioneers, of New Road, Bideford, have been instructed to sell agricultural items which are surplus to the requirements of the North Devon Agricultural Committee. These range from tractors and threshing machines to straw trussers and binder twine. Readers are assured that these items are by the best makers and most of them are practically new.

By order of the local Food Committee, milk prices for May have been fixed at 6d per quart delivered, 5d sold at the retailer’s premises. Imported meat will be 2d per pound less than the price stated on the list exhibited in the shop.

Soldiers attached to the Agricultural Corps will not now be moved to join the Army of Occupation until after May 15th, as it was felt that their removal at such a busy time would harm food production.

Mr F A Searle, Honorary Treasurer of Bideford Town Council, has been thanked for his services in connection with the Belgian refugees. Some 200 refugees have been maintained by the town since their arrival in February 1915, the last having now been repatriated.

Germany was to lose 13 percent of its territory and 10 percent of its population. ... Pressured by the Allies and thrown into confusion by crisis within the Weimar government at home, the Germans gave in and accepted the terms at 5:40 p.m. on May 23. The Versailles Treaty was signed on June 28, 1919

In other news:

Mr W J Barnes, Clerk to Northam Council, has written to the police calling attention to the excessive speed and dangerous driving of motor cars and motor cycles on the Bideford to Northam Road. Pebbles are to be raked off the Westward Ho! Coastal path and notices erected prohibiting cycling. A field at Northam belonging to Mr Penhorwood and occupied by Mr Griffey has been acquired for allotments, as has the field at Westward Ho! opposite Springfield belonging to Mr W S Bourne and occupied by Mr H Braddick.

A hive of bees swarmed in Abbotsham Road on 19th May, believed to be the first of the summer season. The 17th century proverb supports this “a swarm in May is worth a load of hay; a swarm in June is worth a silver spoon; but a swarm in July is not worth a fly”. Mr Perkins, The Quay, Bideford, agent for the Combe Martin Jam & Preserve Company, will purchase any quantity of fruits, including strawberries, red currants, gooseberries and plums.

Finally:

Bideford Town Crier’s latest call on Friday was “Lost! Bideford Town Water Cart, last seen in the council yard. Anyone returning same to Mill Street in working order will be rewarded with thanks.” The Gazette reports that the much needed rain came on Saturday.

100 Years Ago - April 1919

After the busy few months following the end of the war when businesses were trying to re-establish themselves and returning soldiers came to terms with life in a changed world, it is interesting to compare the classified advertisements that appear each week with their commercial equivalents.

We have reproduced the Situations Vacant & Wanted column which seems to hark back to an earlier age before the War when the wealthier people in society employed chambermaids, housekeepers, cooks and parlourmaids as a matter of course. It is common to see words like “strong girl” or “willing girl” wanted in relation to childcare or heavy domestic duties and housework.

In contrast, on the opposite page, Walter H Chope, 13 & 14 High Street Bideford, have an advert for JB Side-Spring corsets, illustrated by line drawings as reproduced alongside. This advertisement appears in every edition in April and we believe it is the first time that illustrations of this nature have appeared in the paper.It will be several more years before photographs appear.