100 Years Ago

Railway News - October 1923

Torrington-Halwill Railway

News in October 1923

At a conference of Local Employment Committees of Plymouth, Exeter, Barnstaple, and Torquay, held at Plymouth, the conditions pertaining on the construction of the Halwill-Torrington Railway came under discussion. It was alleged that the conditions arranged for many of the workmen were ‘appallingly bad’ and in consequence men were returning from the work, No proper lodging accommodation could be found in the neighbouring villages for many of the men, and the contractors, it was alleged, had insufficient hutting accommodation, although they had promised to remedy this. Government officials had visited the work, but no result had been seen.

The Devon County Council’s action in lodging an objection to the Ministry of Transport against a proposal to extend for five years the time for the completion of the Halwill Junction-Torrington Light Railway scheme, was supported by the Okehampton Rural Council. The County Authority saw no justification for the proposed Order, but would raise no objection to a twelve month’s extension. No reason, was given said the Clerk, by the applicants for the action.

Torrington Rural Council at its last meeting decided to enter formal protest against an extension of time for the completion of Torrington Halwill Railway. The Clerk, Mr G M Doe, reporting on the financial position, pointed out the company had made a demand for £3,000 being 50 per cent, on £6,000 debenture stock. They had paid two sums of £600, and now they were asking for £1,800, which would make the £3,000. He had communicated with the County Council, who did not seem to have paid it, and the question was whether they should pay it or not.

Torrington Rural Council received a letter from the North Devon and Cornwall Junction Railway stating that they noted the Council’s objection to their request to the Ministry of Transport for an extension of the time lime for completing the work.

Years Ago - August

August 1923

Births – at Roysdon, Chanter’s Road, on August 26th to Mr and Mrs Frank Day, a daughter; August 22nd at 4 Victoria Terrace, to Mr and Mrs J Burnett, a son (nee Ruth Jewell).

Deaths – Sanguine – August 2nd, at New End Hospital, Hampstead, Arthur Henry Sanguine; Clarke – August 11th at Taff Embankment, Cardiff, W H Clarke; Leverton – August 9th at Westcombe, Bideford, John D Leverton; Morrish – August 8th at the residence of his father-in-law, H Steer, Munition Works, Charles Morrish, aged 36; Ellis – August 16th at 47 Mill Street, Edmund Ellis; Andrews – August 1st at Rugby, Eliza Andrews, late of Northam; Eastman – August 23rd at Haycraft Cottages, Maria Eastman.

Marriages – Titley-Payne, August 1st at Hartland Parish Church, Francis Clamford to Eleanor Winnifred; Stanbury-Wright, August 7th at St Mary’s Church, Appledore, William Francis, only son of Mr and Mrs W J Stanbury, of Northam, to Lillian Selina, second daughter of Mr and Mrs W Wright, of Appledore; Glover-Short, August 18th – Stanley Francis to Edith Lucy; John J Heal to Bessie Jane Elliott

In news from further afield, the death is briefly reported of the 29th President of the United States of America, Warren Gameliel Harding. He was automatically succeeded by the Vice President, Calvin Coolidge.

Torrington Rural Council, Mr W H Briffin presiding, received a letter from the clerk to Devon County Council, stating that the form of application for debenture stock in the North Devon and Cornwall Junction (Torrington-Halwill) Light Railway Company had not yet been completed by the County Council nor had the first instalment been paid.

Prospect of better train facilities.

A parcel wrapped in brown paper and unaddressed was left at Bideford Railway Station. After a few days it was unwrapped by a porter and discovered to contain a chemically preserved severed head, supposed by its appearance to be that of a Malay States native. The paper expresses the hope that someone will sone come along and claim it!

Hampitt and Smytham in Alverdiscott are for sale at public auction on instructions from the executors of the late Mr W G Lee.

At Appledore Church Sunday School in the presence of a large staff of teachers under Mr A Hutchings, the Superintendent and nearly 300 scholars, the Vicar, Rev Hugh C A S Muller presented Miss Lilian Selina Wright, daughter of Mr Wright, retired police constable, and Mrs Wright, of Richmond Terrace, which a beautiful and large silver-plated epergne table centre on her approaching marriage to Mr Stanbury of Northam. On presenting the beautiful present, the Vicar said he had known Miss Wright as a child, had seen her grown up, had realised what a splendid and regular teacher she had been, how she always won the affection of her pupils, and how she had thrown herself heart and soul into the Sunday School work, and how they would all miss her. They asked her acceptance of the present as a mark of their esteem for her. Miss Winifred Lamey had very kindly offered to take her class. Mr Hutchings in a few well chosen words mentioned that Miss Wright had been a great help to him, as she had always been so regular and punctual – Miss Cork added her testimony, Miss Wright had been a helpful companion to work with, and she had shared a class with her with much pleasure. Miss M Guard a pupil of Miss Wright’s class also added her best wishes on behalf of the Class, and Miss Beatrice Hooper, representing the Infant teachers mentioned their regret at Miss Wright’s impending departure. Miss Wright suitably replied and thanked them all for their kind present which she would value very much, and appreciated their kind wishes.

Mr William Stanbury and Miss Lillian Wright are married with Miss Augusta Hutchings as bridesmaid, and Mr Arthur Saunders as best man.

A pretty but quiet wedding took place at St Mary’s Church, Appledore, on Sunday, August 26th, the Vicar officiating. The contracting parties were Mr Hammond, son of Mr Hammond, retired coastguard, Royal Navy, and Miss Florrie Jewell, daughter of the late Mrs Moyses, and step-daughter of Captain W Moyses, of s.s. Ortona.

Bideford County Magistrates on the application of Mr R W Young (for Mr T A Goaman) granted Appledore licence holders an extension of time enabling them to keep open from 10am to 10pm on Regatta Day.

At Bideford County Sessions a protection order was granted Mr Sidney Lamey in respect of the licence of the Dock Inn, Appledore. Mr Lamey stated he had held a licence at Spitafields for three and a half years.

Turning to sport, the Appledore and Instow Regatta is reported in depth on page 5 of the 7 August paper and provides the names of all winners. It states that the weather was ideal for both rowing and sailing.

“Jan Stewer” visited Bideford and performed to large audiences in the Church Institute over two days. The chorus to “Old uncle Tom Cobley and all” was sung lustily by the audience. A ventriloquial duet was given by Mr A J Coles and Old Peter. (“Jan Stewer” was a popular storyteller and author who used Devon dialect, his real name being A J Coles.)

If you want to look smart for your evening out, this could be the solution bought from H F Elliott in the High Street, Bideford:

Bideford Regatta – great event on Torridge. Never has there been a greater amount of enthusiasm apportioned the holding of the Bideford Regatta than the generous share which accompanied the even. To Bidefordians young and old it is the one occasion in the year which commands attendance and secures the greatest interest and popularity. The morning was heralded with a beautifully fine sky and, though cloudy at intervals, the weather was regarded as ideal. Thousands entered the town, thronging the main streets and Broad Quay, which looked especially gay with numerous flags and decorations fluttering in the breeze from the front buildings and masts on craft plying up and down and moored in the river. A happy, jovial spirity – the Regatta good temper – prevailed, a happy disposition determined to make the most of all the fun going.

Bideford housing problem with trio of owners engaging in court proceedings – Mr Sidney Violet, Mrs Nora Couch and Mr Frederick Richard Davis.

The Donkey Parade held at Clovelly, by kind permission of Mrs Hamlyn, on August 4th, was favoured with glorious weather and proved a great success. The judges were Capt Keith Channer and Capt Pike. The prizes were awarded as follows and given away by Miss Mary Asquith.

Thomas Jarvis is conveyed by Mrs Hamlyn from Clovelly to Bideford and District Hospital.

Travelling on the Bideford-Clovelly road is an increasing source of danger. The number of char-a-banc cars now passing daily along the road becomes larger with each successive summer, but the control of speed and reckless driving does not appear to grow in the same proportion, and dangerous driving is too often allowed. For the common safety of all users of the roads it is essential that a stricter and safer procedure is adopted.

A very pretty wedding, which created considerable interest in the district, took place at the United Methodist Chapel, Hartland. The contracting parties were Miss May Cruse, eldest daughter of Mr and Mrs William Cruse, Hugglepit and the Rev Alfred Trudgeon, Meeth, eldest son of Mr and Mrs Trudgeon, Port Loe, Cornwall. Both parties are well known and there was a large number of friends at the chapel to witness the ceremony. The service was conducted by the Rev L Orchard, Pastor, assisted by Pastor Hill. Miss Edie Heard presided at the organ. The bride was attended by two bridesmaids, the Misses Olive and Flo Trudgeon. Mr Cyril Andrew, Woolsery, carried out the duties of best man.

Miss Pascoe, who had been staying at Blagdon, cycled via Youltry for Hartland Town. When nearing Lower Lashlist stile on a steep place she was thrown off, breaking a leg. Dr Kay was called and attended the sufferer, and also kindly sent her right on to Bideford Hospital in his own car.

Bert Ayer has been fined £1-12-0 for driving a County Council steam roller at excessive speed through Hatherleigh. He denied the charge. The speed was estimated at 8 mph with sparks coming from the funnel. In court the County Surveyor said it would be impossible to drive the vehicle at such speed, but Mr Ayer was ultimately found guilty.

The centenary celebration programme of the North Devon Cricket Club, founded in 1823 and established at Instow since 1837, commenced on Friday and will extend until Tuesday, August 21st. It is an exceedingly attractive one, and is drawing a large number of spectators. In its early days the Club was largely of a social character, and the programme for the centenary is in keeping with this feature of its history, for the ‘social’ side of the celebrations will be, to many, as appealing as the matches. Wallace Ash’s Band has been engaged for the week’s social events, which will include an ‘at home’ at the cricket ground on the afternoon of the centenary match between Mr G E C Wood’s eleven and North Devon Cricket Club. Last evening there was an old time North Devon Cricket match played in top hats followed by the centenary fancy dress ball.

Mr Westcott, headmaster of Langtree School, is to be congratulated in being the means of two more scholarships, won by Horaco Westcott and Cyril Huxtable. And he organises a successful Sports Day:

While Mr F P Ellis, of Langtree, was looking at his cattle in one of his fields, one of the heifers suddenly attacked him, causing him to fall heavily on the back of his head, but luckily escaped with a severe shaking and bruising. The ringers, choir, Rector and Churchwardens of Langtree have had their annual outing, visiting Ilfracombe. The journey was made by chars-a-banc and motor cars, the party numbering about 40. Many availed themselves of the opportunity of a Channel trip to Lynmouth which was much enjoyed.

Memorial tablet to the late Rev Hudson Grosett Heaven unveiled in Lundy Church. Members of the Heaven family from Pennsylvania were also present. Six men came over from Shirwell to ring the bells and the Bishop of Crediton, Dr Trefusis, presided over the memorial service.

Sailings of the Royal Mail Motor Yacht, Lerina.

Northam golfers witnessed a decidedly interesting fixture – a two round contest between J Taylor and C Taylor, two well-known Northam golfers. Northam has given birth to many golfers of high repute, and such contests as the one which took place the other day are of the greatest interest to all who live there. Therefore, although the weather was wet at the commencement, the two brothers were not accompanied when they hit off from the first tee in a contest which was going to bring a surprise result. The brother of the professional at Radyr succeeded in defeating his, perhaps, more experienced brother after an exceedingly well fought match by 2 and 1. A fine effort indeed!

A pageant of John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress has been given at Northam. There were two performances, both crowded. The Gazette of 21 August gives a full list of cast members on page 2, which you can read at the Archive – did any of your family members in take part? The pageant will be repeated in the Rectory Grounds in Bideford on 24 August.

At Parkham, potato blight has cut down the haulm in the gardens but so far field potatoes are not showing any sign of the blight. Later in the month - the present boisterous weather will no doubt drive down the corn and make it difficult to cut in some places. Corn harvest operations are in hand and the promise of a good yield is well maintained. The blight has affected the garden potato haulm and it is now making its mark on the field potatoes.

For many years the church tower at Parkham has leaked. A few years ago the Rector, Revd Hensley, undertook the difficult task of oiling it with a force jet. This proved effective and he has now undertaken to re-oil it. Parishioners help with ladders but he does all the dangerous work himself. (Does anyone from Parkham know how old Revd Hensley was at the time, and whether he survived the experience?)

Sale of desirable freehold estate in Shebbear – South or Little Furse, and Furse House.

Frederick Wood of Torrington is taken to Bideford and District Hospital by Dr Wilson.

The late Miss Stoneman – following a prolonged illness, Gladys, aged 18 years, the eldest daughter of Mr Robert Stoneman, Well Street, Torrington, died 28th July. The funeral was largely attended by relatives and friends, Rev J W Mayo officiated. Messrs B Vodden, F Vodden, J Jury, P Reed, W Jury, S Johns and R Johns, were bearers.

An application for housing subsidy was received by Torrington Rural Council and a Committee appointed to deal with the whole housing question.

At the auction by Messrs R Blackmore and Sons, for the sale of the freehold thatched cottage known as ‘Rose Care’ Westward Ho! bids did not advance on £1,050, and the property was withdrawn. It is expected that the property will shortly be disposed of by private treaty. A Westward Ho! property known as Sunset is for sale.

A very attractive wedding took place at the United Methodist Church, Woolsery, the contracting parties being Miss Bessie Jane, the younger daughter of Mr and Mrs W Elliott, of Slade Farm, Clovelly, and Mr John James, the eldest son of Mr and Mrs James Heal of Poundstock. The bridesmaids were Misses Kathleen Ada Heal and Mabel Burrow. Mr Percy Heal acted as groomsman. Mrs S Cardew and Mrs Boundy presided at the organ and the officiating minister was Rev W E C Harris, assisted by Mr Hill and Miss E Edwards.

August 1973

The Golden Hinde million-dollar replica, awaiting sea trials at Appledore where she was built in the yard of Messrs J Hinks and Son, will return to America in 1977, if suitable backers can be found. Mr Gordon Knight, on behalf of the American owners, said that they plan to sail the ship to the States in October even if this means cutting out the scheduled visit to London.

Two harvest jugs made in the North Devon style by Harry Juniper of Monkleigh will be a reminder of the nine years Mrs Eileen Coombs of Footlands, Weare Giffard, spent as headmistress of Bideford church junior school. At the end of term ceremony she was presented with one jug – and she in turn presented one to the school. Also presented to Mrs Coombs on behalf of the school by the Rector, Preb T Derwent Davies, were a dog basket with a log basket to match and a decanter and glasses of Dartington glass.

Girls from Bideford County Secondary School in a recent gymnastic display at the Sports Ground.

Although primarily held as a social event to foster the community spirit, the first fete organised by Bideford West Community Association made a profit of more than £30 for its funds. Held on the children’s playing field at Meadow Park, the fete was opened by Mr Jim Needs. Mrs Needs was presented with a bouquet by Kirsten Hook. With such an array of bonny babies on view, the judges – Mrs Needs, Mrs Ashton and Mr Sumner – had a difficult task for which prizes of baby clothes were given by H E Fletcher Ltd. Overall champion was Zach Grills. Other winners were Rachel Gardiner, Julie McCaffrey, Justin Slade and Louise Shapland. There was also a good standard of entries in the children’s fancy dress competition. Toy Works Ltd gave the prizes and Mr and Mrs Needs were judges. Winners included – Elaine McCaffrey, Mark Davy, Collette Cogan, Stephen Evans.

Four local men working at Bideford Shipyard Ltd help in the final preparations for the launching of the Grima, a car passenger ferry built for service in the Shetland Isles. She was named at the yard by Mrs W R T T Hamilton, wife of the Lord Lieutenant of the Shetland Isles.

The Mayor of Bideford, Councillor Major Ted Hill, gets ready to bowl the first wood to formally open this week’s annual tournament at the Bideford Strand Club.

Those of the 101 tenants of Bideford Town Council whose modernised houses had previously a particularly high standard of decoration will not, after all, have them restored to that standard. On the recommendation of the housing committee the council agreed to adhere to a former decision that the houses should be returned to tenants as ‘new houses’ – with emulsion painted interior walls.

Tenants of converted houses had told her they had no fault to find, said Alderman Mrs Ethelwynn Brown. They said the council had already gone to great expense in making the homes so nice and they had ‘no quibbles whatsoever.’

Awaiting her big day when she will lead the procession at Bideford Carnival is Susan Holland with her attendants, Pamela Johns and Rachel Braund.

Beautiful pieces of jewellery were shown to members of Buckland Brewer WI by Mr R W Yeo who spoke at their August meeting on gemstones. It was reported that nearly £30 raised by a dozen members participating in a sponsored walk had been devoted to the Devon Federation appeal, enabling the institute’s full quota to be met. Money raised by 24 members taking part in a sponsored knit is to be given to the Parish Room appeal. The squares will go to charity. Mrs Wicks reported on the National Federation annual meeting in London. Mrs P Mills won the competition – a flower arrangement depicting a nursery rhyme.

Although knifed three times and critically hurt, a former Clovelly man grappled with and finally shot an armed terrorist. The bravery of Constable Bernard Aust , younger son of Mr and Mrs A F J Aust, of Higher Clovelly Post Office, who is serving with New South Wales Police in Australia, has won him three awards for ‘the most courageous act by a member of the force in 1972’. At the time he had been a probationary constable for only three weeks.

Weighty matters added to the fun at a garden party held at Frithelstock vicarage. One of the competitions was guessing the combined weight of the Vicar and the two churchwardens. Mrs J Hunkin was the winner.

Three young children were cut off by the tide on the rocks near Shipload Bay, Hartland. One girl managed to clamber to safety and after the alarm was raised by Mr J V Jeffery, the remaining two children were rescued by the inshore lifeboat from Clovelly.

Hartland detachment of the ATC and its parents’ committee raised £14 by a jumble sale.

Rural doctor’s dilemma at Hartland.

The fund which has been established to build badly needed tennis courts at Hartland will benefit as the result of several events organised in Hartland. A dance at Hartland church hall was followed by a gymkhana, clay pigeon shoot and other competitions at Gorvin Farm which raised about £80, and finally a treasure hunt was held. Cup for most points in the gymkhana was won by M Parrr with K Higgins, J Stewart, B Walter and M Eppingstone as runners-up. Judges were Messrs A Conibear, D Hunt, H Conibear, D Jeffery, with secretaries Mr L Gifford, Mrs P Bowen and Miss B Ross.

In aid of hospital funds a whist drive was held at Hartland. Seven tables were in play and Mr Middle was the MC. Winners were Miss Darnell, Mrs Cooke, Mrs Allin, Mrs Squires, Mr Houchin, Mrs Colwill, Mrs O’Donnell and Mrs Jeffery. Draw winners were Mrs Rowe, Mrs Heard and Miss Westlake.

Garstand Carris, an 11-year-old cow from Mr Peter Martin’s 40-strong Friesian herd at Littleham, was a worthy winner of the top award in the dairy section at Woolsery Agricultural Show. The strong Devon section was headed by Charles Lewis and Son of Merton who took the championship and reserve awards with their 16 month old Potheridge Conductor and a well-bred heifer.

Captain H L Morgan, of Northam, whose death occurred at the age of 84, was a well known local personality. Not so well known was the fact that he was something of a hero of an earthquake and tidal wave disaster at Napier, New Zealand, in 1931. Capt Morgan was then in command of HMS Veronica, a sloop which was grounded in the harbour by the first shock but later refloated. He organised food depots, policing of the streets and temporary hospitals and for his services he was made CMG. In the First World War he received the DSO and was mentioned in despatches. Retiring in 1934 he served in the Second World War as a sea transport officer.

More patients at the Cottage Hospital, Torrington, reports Dr C F R Briggs.

The sum of £54.39 has been sent to the Royal National Institute for the Blind by the Torrington organiser, Mrs May Hutchings, as a result of local collection. Collectors were Mrs R Lugg, Miss L Baker, Miss J Davis, Mrs Marshall, Mrs L Piper, Mrs G Stapleton, Miss E Petherbridge, Mrs N Mules, Mrs L J Hutchings, Mrs D Nicholls, Mrs V Sander, Mrs M Hutchings, Mrs K Finnamore.

Disgusted Mr Duncan, of Welcombe, tears up his film script.

Mr and Mrs J D F Troman, of Biteford, Woolsery, are giving up farming.

August 1998

Properties for sale at Marine Parade, Appledore, developed by Grencolodge Ltd.

A galaxy of local talent is taking stage at Appledore to help raise fund for the village’s church hall. The 23-strong Bright Stars Theatre Group with its Rising Stars children’s section and Planets juniors is staging its second annual summer old time music hall show.

Pirates paraded through Appledore at the weekend – accompanied by cowboys, Red Indians, Baywatch babes, flower children, devils, punk rockers and a host of other colourful characters. It was carnival day in the riverside village, again organised by the Appledore Pirates charity group in aid of local causes, including their annual pensioners’ Christmas party. Hundreds of visitors watched the procession travel through the village, led by Pirates’ standard bearer Roy Dunn and by carnival queen Sally Ashworth and attendants Lucy Ewington and Stacey Lamb. Winning entries were: Under six years walking – 1 Punk girl, Shannon Cox; 2 Bride, Chloe Jury. Under 12 years walking – 1 Flower power, Rosie Webb and Kelly Cox; 2 Claire Cox and Alex Eastwood; 3 Connie McDonald. Walking senior – 1 Lone Ranger, Terry Bailey; 2 Morris dancers, the Blackbirds. Public houses – 1 Tall Ship, Beaver Inn; 2 Royal British Legion; 3 Seagate Hotel. Mounted characters – 1 Red Indian, James Arbuthnott. Junior tableaux – 1 China Town, Kids around the block. Senior tableaux – Bill and Ben, Barbara Potter and friends; 2 Appledore Arts Festival; 3 Babe watch. Queen of queens – Northam May Queen.

An Appledore man is being hailed as a hero in Canada after saving the life of a young girl. Brian Dent swam into the chilly waters of the Upper Campbell Lake to carry out the dramatic rescue of the five year old who had been blown away from the shore on an air bed. Mr Dent is a strong swimmer but it took him half an hour to pull the girl back to shore.

Forty firemen from across North Devon fought to contain a blaze which threatened the historic New Inn near the Pannier Market in Bideford on Monday. At one stage it was feared that the fire, which had started on the ground floor and travelled up the two floors above it, would reach the roof. One fireman was taken to hospital after electric cables in the building flashed and arced. But he was released after a check-up. The fire is believed to have started in a fuse-board in a kitchen cupboard. The flames moved up swiftly through the cavity walls of the building. “This is what caused the real trouble,” said Chief Fire Officer Trevor Shaddick. “The fire spread through the spaces behind the dry lathe and plaster partitions. “What took place here was similar to the way the disaster at Windsor Castle happened. Fire can travel undetected through voids.” Bideford Fire Service arrived on the scene within minutes of the emergency call at around 11.30 on Monday morning. Their concern for what could be seen happening – and even more, what could not – led them to call for back-up. Pumps from Appledore, Barnstaple and Torrington, plus a turntable ladder, raced to the scene. Police cordoned off roads around the Pannier Market. An ambulance stood by. Although the blaze was contained within an hour, the firefighters stayed on the scene for some hours until they could clear the rooms and lift floorboards to check there was no more danger. For owner Richard Holdcroft, who has been at the New Inn for more than four years, it was the second fire trauma within a matter of days. A week ago a chip pan fire caused smoke damage to rooms in the building. Officer Shaddick said the two incidents appear to be unconnected. A weary Mr Holdcroft sat outside his inn on Monday as firemen emerged from the blackened interior and the crews began stowing away their hose reels and other equipment. Said Mr Holdcroft: - “We will open the inn again as soon as possible.”

The days of trying to decide which supermarket checkout queue is moving the quickest are gone at the new Safeways store in Bideford. For the past month the store has been offering its customers a “futuristic” shop with a self-scanning system providing relief to stressed-out shoppers. The new Shop and Go system allows customers to scan their own goods, with no need to unload and re-load at the check-out. And to make shopping even easier and faster Safeway shoppers in Bideford have the added bonus of being able to bypass the checkouts altogether and pay for their shopping at a stand-alone Easi-Pay terminal with either a debit or credit card. On entering the store customers collect a Handiscan – which looks a bit like a mobile telephone – from the Shop and Go dispenser unit by using their Safeway ABC card. Bideford shoppers are among more than a quarter-million Safeways customers cross the country able to benefit from the system. The company is now aiming to roll out “shop and go” to all its superstores, reinforcing its position as the widest user of self-scanning in the world. Bideford store manager Colin Rudlof said: “My customers want to spend as little time as possible at the checkout and Shop and Go will address this.

Bridget Mitchell and her son, Simon, from Westward Ho! check out the system

One of Bideford’s behind-the-scenes workers has been chosen by the towns Rotary Club as their Citizen of the Year. Bernie Perry received the award from Rotary past-president Eric Hubber at a special luncheon to mark the occasion. For many years Bernie was involved in the Scouting movement, including the 2nd Bideford Troop. He and his wife Maureen have also fostered more than 50 children over a 12-year period. But the Rotary Club’s decision to select Bernie was primarily prompted by the amount of work and dedication put to his position as chairman of the Bideford Royal British Legion and welfare committee and all the unpublicised work, comfort, care and guidance that committee gives to considerable numbers of Legion members in need of assistance. “His work is little known about, but quietly done with great dedication to the Legion,” said Mr Hubber. Bernie had been with the Royal Air Force Police in Malta before coming to Bideford in 1971 to work at the former Bideford Shipyard.

Charity week at Edgehill College in Bideford took place in February but fund raising for the Children’s Hospice South West did not stop there. As they broke up for the summer holidays the students presented trustee Beryl Munns with a ‘bag of gold’ – containing a cheque for £2,100.

The picture shows Mrs Munns, David Stevens, Rose Hungate, Kristina Kastelan and Kristabel Henry

More than 60 budding young athletes took the opportunity to train with Olympic star, Todd Bennett, in a three-day athletics coaching event organised by Torridge District Council recreation development officer Vikki Chatwin and held at Edgehill College.

Spam will be on the lunch table at Major Michael Brown’s Bideford home when his friend Eric Williams arrives in a wartime Jeep for a special reunion on Saturday – VJ Day. The two men were in 136 Field Regiment of the Royal Artillery in World War Two. Eric was a signaller in a forward observation party and Michael was their officer in charge. They served in the steaming, disease-ridden jungles of Burma alongside the Gurkhas. And that is what 73-year-old Eric’s journey is all about. Eric has raised many thousands of pounds for the cause. Michael is asking well-wishers in north Devon to send donations to the Gurkha Welfare Trust. Our picture shows Major Brown at his home in Moreton Drive with two memories of wartime Burma – the tin of Spam and a traditional Gurkha kukri.

A tele-message from the Queen was among many cards and gifts received by Bideford couple Fred and Dorothy Bartlett on their diamond wedding anniversary. Originally from Middlesex, Fred moved to North Devon, and Dorothy was an Appledore girl who moved to Bideford as a teenager.

The run-down state of one of Bideford’s oldest and largest cemeteries has brough complaints from local people and from as far afield as the USA! Now the town’s parish church is calling on the local authorities for help with a problem it says is too big for it to tackle alone. The cemetery at Northgate, East-the-Water, is run down and overgrown by weeds. It is the responsibility of St Peter’s Church, a daughter of the parish church of St Mary across the river. The Rev Tim Jessiman of St Peter’s and the new Rector of Bideford Rev Malcolm Strange have promised to do all they can. But having visited the site and seen the scale of the problem they say the church will need help. “It’s huge. At least the size of three or four football pitches,” said Mr Jessiman. They would be arranging a short-term solution by getting the undergrowth cut, he said. But he was also seeking grant aid from the town and district councils for ongoing maintenance. With money also from the church they should then be able to pay contractors. Local resident George Evans said the cemetery was in a dreadful state. “It is not only vandalised, but also very overgrown.” His brother and two grandparents were buried there, said Mr Evans. Visiting from Iowa, USA, Joan Allen (formerly Lock) went to the cemetery to see the grave of her parents. On returning home she wrote to the Gazette and Advertiser: “It was an utter disaster area. Weeds, brambles, you name it. If I did not know where my parents were buried I would never have found their grave. It is a disgrace to the community. It made my heart break to see it like that. A beautiful old town like Bideford needs to take care of its history and those who used to live there.”

Three colourful new murals adorn the walls of one of North Devon’s smallest churches. Half way up the famous cobbled High Street in Clovelly, tiny St Peter’s Chapel seats just 20 people. It was more than full on Sunday for a special service to dedicate the murals created by local artist Fiona Creighton-Balfour. Now living in Bideford, Fiona once lived in the fishing village and attended the chapel as a youngster. She studied art first at Bideford School of Art and then Winchester Art School, where she obtained a BA in fine art. The murals were the idea of her parents Roger and Gwen Creighton-Balfour of Higher Clovelly, who used to live almost next door to the chapel and cared for it for many years. Our picture shows Fiona with the Vicar, the Rev Martin Hunnybun, and the murals.

Team agents Scammell Adamson are marketing a luxurious Victorian residence in Instow at an asking price of £385,000. The property is presently divided into owner’s accommodation, three self-contained holiday apartments, and two further detached letting units, all enjoying river views. The owner’s accommodation includes entrance hall, lounge, dining room, kitchen, conservatory, office/bedroom, bathroom, two bedrooms, utility room and cellars. There is double glazing and gas central heating. Two holiday letting cottages are also double glazed and the three self-contained holiday apartments for between two and four people all have separate entrances, gas central heating and double glazing. Outside there is a games room, launderette, a heated swimming pool with a telescopic cover, which can be opened in fine weather, and a double garage. The property enjoys well tended and attractive grounds laid mainly to lawn.

Jacobs Field, in the pretty village of Parkham, is a development of nine detached houses and bungalows being built by Sharman Homes, The first bungalow is nearing completion and has already been sold to a local buyer. A variety of styles is available, including two and three bedroomed bungalows and four bedroomed houses. The bungalows are priced from £79,950 and the four bedroomed houses from £97,500.

Dartington Crystal of Torrington pulled its weight in the recent House of Lords versus House of Commons charity tug-o-war event. The contest was followed by an auction to help boost fund raising for the Macmillan Cancer Relief fund. One of the items on sale was a unique Dartington Crystal bowl made at the factory, engraved with the insignia of both Houses and the signatures of the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, and predecessors, John Major, Margaret Thatcher, James Callaghan and Edward Heath.

Westward Ho! is set to rival the Copacabana when Salsa by the Seaside hits town this month as the centrepiece of a summer festival. Organisers are confident that the sensuous sounds and rhythms of Latin America will bring a major boost to the resort’s tourist trade. The dance festival is brought to Westward Ho! for a second year by Rachel Anstis, who is an events organiser in Leeds, but whose family comes from Northam. Salsa, samba, merengue, mambo and lambada were providing the hottest dance craze sweeping the country, said Rachel. And Latin music was also infiltrating television screens, with advertisers quick to pick up on the infectious rhythms. More holiday bookings had resulted from last year’s event at Westward Ho! with coach loads coming from Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham and Bristol, she said. Many of them had returned to North Devon for holidays since the event. On the Saturday some of the country’s top dancers will be showing how its done at the Kingsley Leisure Centre and there will be live music from top Latin DJs.

Tanya Cusan from Colombia and Alex Beckford show how it should be done

BAPS Publishing in Westward Ho! is a new company run by a well-known local name in the world of creative artwork and print – Phil Crouch. Phil originates artwork, layout and text to suit the client, using the advanced technology of Apple Macintosh.

Property for sale in Beach Road, Westward Ho!

Years Ago - September

September 1923

Births announced – To Mr and Mrs Malcolm Andrew, of 1 Queen Anne’s, Bideford, a son; August 31st to Mr and Mrs J T Bewes, twins, (son and daughter); August 31st to Mr and Mrs James Little, 28 Elm Grove, a son (nee Beatie Taylor); a son for Mr and Mrs G V Botterill, Hillside Terrace; to Mr and Mrs Mountjoy, at Honestone Street, a daughter; at 8 Barnstaple Street to Mr and Mrs J E Rivers (nee Mabel Harris), a daughter; to Mr and Mrs David W Thomas, a daughter (nee Gertrude V Hancock); to Mr and Mrs Tudor (nee Elsie Backway), a son; at 23 North Road, to Mr and Mrs H V Lucas, a daughter (nee Cissie Shute); at the Barton, Weare Gifford, to Mr and Mrs R C Powell, a daughter; at 58 Clifton Street, to Mr and Mrs F Taylor, a daughter;

Deaths announced – August 30th at Wimbourne Terrace, William Henry Blight, second son of Mr and Mrs R Blight, of Shebbear; August 27th at Pebble Ridge Terrace, Westward Ho! John Dingwall, husband of Alice Dingwall (nee Alice White); August 26th, at West Lodge, Annery, Mary Ann Honeybun; at Cardiff, Reginald John Clarke, grandson of Mrs J M S Clarke, Northam; at Mizpah, Abbotsham Road, Mary Lamerton; Elizabeth Kingsbury, at Lansdowne, Bideford, aged 78 years; John Seldon, at 6 New Road, Bideford; Jane Vaughan at 3 Bridge Street; Dinah Varnold on September 7th at Higher Gunstone; at Abbotsham Road, on September 5th, Ralph Archibald, youngest son of Mr J Street (late Bideford Stationmaster).

The weather is causing considerable problems at the moment. A storm in the last days of August has been described as the most violent for nineteen years. A large tree was blown down at Hansen Recreation Ground and completely blocked the river path. Corrugated iron roofing at the shipyard was also blown down and telephone communications were disrupted for some hours. In Appledore seventeen boats were swamped with significant loss of gear and in Instow four club boats were damaged beyond repair. The corn harvest is fair this year and hay is satisfactory, but roots are likely to be poor. Potato yield is below normal. In the gale at the end of August large quantities of apples and pears were blown off the trees and lost.

Farmers in the region are on the watch once again for signs of Foot and Mouth disease. It is believed that the current outbreaks stem from animals imported from Ireland. Two such outbreaks have been confirmed at farms near Torquay and stringent steps are being taken to stop it from spreading.

An additional five years to complete the Torrington-Halwill Junction Railway? Torrington Rural Council strongly objects.

Bideford Town Council doesn't object to a one year extension.

Bideford Fire Brigade again in the limelight. An alarm at Mr Withecombe’s farm, West Annery, coming a little before tea time on Sunday dismissed any restful thoughts the Bideford Firemen may have entertained for the evening. The call came at 4 o’clock and the Brigade were ready to a man within five minutes, very smart work considering it was a Sunday. But unfortunately for at least twenty-five minutes a wait had to be made for a motor lorry to tug the engine to the outbreak of the fire. However…

At Alverdiscott, the wedding has been solemnised between Mr W J Drowne (younger son of Mr and Mrs J Drowny, of Cholditch Farm, Clawton) and Miss E Phear, (eldest daughter of the late Mr and Mrs Phear, of Webbery).

The dairy farm known as Hampitt and Smytham at Alverdiscott is for sale by auction.

Alwington - The marriage between Mr George Dark formerly of Horns Cross) and Miss Dorothy Mary Colwill (only daughter of the late Mr Richard Colwill of Fairy Cross) took place on August 15th at Kirklands, Illinois, USA. Miss Colwill’s many friends will be pleased to hear that she had a pleasant voyage and is very happy and comfortable in her new home. Mr Dark has been some years in America. He is at present helping on a big farm belonging to Mr Harris of Edmond, but hopes shortly to have a farm of his own. His brother and married sister live very near. Mr and Mrs Dark have the hearty wishes of a wide circle of friends for every happiness in the future.

Mr Alfred Jenkins, son of Mr John Jenkins, of Devonport, and grandson of Mr William Jenkins, of Appledore, has been appointed third mate of s.s. General Smuts, of Sir William William Reardon Smith’s line. Mr Charles Daniel, of 3 Ivy Court, Appledore, has also joined as ship’s carpenter.

Before commencement of the ordinary business of the county sessions at Bideford Town Hall, Mr H N H Stucley made a presentation of the Royal Humane Society’s certificate on vellum to Leonard Cann, the 19 year old fisherman son of Mrs Rose Cann, a widow, of Irsha Street, Appledore, in recognition of his gallantry in saving the life of a boy named Roy Cook, age 10, from the River Torridge.

At Bideford County Sessions on the application of Mr T Oerton, jnr, the licence of the Beaver Inn, Appledore, was temporarily transferred from Mr John Slingo to Mr George Henry Popham, naval pensioner, lately home from service as a petty officer with the Mediterranean fleet.

The salmon fishing season just finished has been a very poor one for the fishermen at Appledore. Some fine catches were made at the commencement of the season, but after that scarcely any fish were caught and the season was not all like it used to be.

The ketch Catherine from Bideford has sunk five miles from Tuskar Rock off the coast of Ireland. The crew took to their boat and were rescued by a passing steamer. The Catherine was carrying coals from Newport to Courtmacsherry and her loss is serious for her owner Capt. William James Lamey of Myrtle Street, Appledore.

A very pretty wedding was celebrated at St Mary’s Church, Appledore, the Vicar, Rev Hugh C A S Muller, MA, who had postponed his intended departure for a few days holiday, officiating. The contracting parties were Miss Edith Aleathea Evans, fourth daughter of Captain and Mrs Josiah Evans, of the Temperance Hotel, Appledore, and Mr John Edwards Gregory, chief mate of s.s. Orleigh, Messrs R and J Cocks, Shipowners, eldest son of Captain and Mrs Thomas Gregory, of 19 Myrtle Street, Appledore. Captain Frederick Gayette, acted as ‘best man’ supported by Mr Thomas Waters, whilst the bride was given away by her cousin, Mr J Ridd, Senior Police Constable at Appledore. Two small bridesmaids were Misses Linda and Annie Gayette. The bride looked beautiful in a smart gabardine costume, of light grey colour with a crepe-de-chine hat to match, tastefully…

What are the ‘Seven Wonders’ of Britain? The editor of ‘The Strand’ put the question to a number of famous men, and the answers are given in the September issue of that popular magazine, Mr H A Vachell, the well known novelist, gives ‘Clovelly’ the seventh place in his list “because there isn’t a modern house in it.”

Climbing Clovelly.

Mr Hicks, of Redruth, showed his ‘one and only’ working model of a Cornish Tin Mine in the Hartland Square. There were about 150 moving figures and the model took him years to construct.

Much surprise and regret was caused when it became known that Mr William Braund had been taken violently ill just as he was about to have his lunch at the Abbey WaterWorks. His fellow workers did all they could for him and Dr Young soon fetched, but he became worse, and was taken to his home at Cookwood in Lady Stucley’s phaeton. It was intended to take him to Bideford Hospital the next day. Lady Stucley’s motor car was waiting at St Andrew’s Bottom and kind helpers to carry him there, when he died quietly about 2 o’clock.

Mr W H Westlake, of Mount Pleasant, Hartland, was only laid up for a few days before his death – he was harvesting at Norton the previous Monday. A prominent member of the former New Union Friendly Society, founded 1815, and of the Annual Fete Committee of the same, he did not lose interest when it amalgamated with the Female Society to form the ‘One and All’ Court of Foresters in January 1915. He was also Trustee and a member of the General Committee.

J W Dark, aged 14½, grandson of Capt Dark, of Instow, has been successful in the Cambridge Local Examination, Torquay. The certificate entitles a student to exemption from the Matriculation Examination of the University of London.

Under news from Langtree, at Stibb Cross U.M Chapel the Rev H R Reed and Mr Gregg conducted a most impressive memorial service to the late Miss Amy Balsdon. The deceased had been a regular attendant at Stibb Cross Sunday School and Chapel. There was a large and sympathetic congregation. Miss Fishleigh presided at the organ. In the same month, at a special meeting of the Trustees of the United Methodist Chapel, Langtree, held in the schoolroom, Rev R W Luxton presiding, it was decided to add to the number of trustees. It was also resolved to hold the harvest thanksgiving services in October, provided the dates suggested were suitable to the Langtree Male Choir and Concert Party.

The well known cutter ‘Gannet’ chaperoned by the ‘Lerina’ her successor in connection with the mail service to Lundy, once again made her courtesy to Bideford Bar, over which she passed en route to her new home in South Wales.

Robinson Crusoe Rector – An Appeal from Lundy Island by Henry H Lane.

Miss Mary Rouse Dunn of Riverside, Northam, who died recently, has left £50, a dressing case and a gold bracelet to her “faithful maid” Lily Harris and £50 to her chauffeur Henry Page.

At Parkham, the corn harvest is well advanced generally, some farmers having finished, whilst others, if they had a day longer for the weather changed, would have finished.

The marriage of Mr Oswald Millman Ellis, only son of Mr Lewis Ellis, of Eastfield, Shebbear, and Miss Veronica Price, only daughter of Mr J E Price, of Belle Vue, Shebbear, took place at the Parish Church.

A very pretty wedding was solemnised in the Baptist Church, Torrington, the Rev J W Mayo officiating, and the contracting parties being Mr Thomas John Drayton, second son of Mr and Mrs James Drayton Catheys, Cardiff, late of Torrington, and Miss Beatrice Pretoria Eddy, eldest daughter of Mr and Mrs Augustus Eddy, Well Street, Torrington.

Mr Charles Bernard Mervyn Drake-Cutcliffe, who passed away after a brief illness at Halsdon Terrace, Torrington, was a member of an old and esteemed North Devon family, for generation associated with the Manor Lee, Ilfracombe. The news of his death was received with the utmost regret by the townspeople and by a wide circle of friends in North Devon.

Housing conference at Torrington.

The death has taken place at Cornmarket Street, Torrington, of Mrs Mount, at the age of 90 years, Deceased, a very patient old lady, had resided with Mrs Mole during the past 12 months. In her younger days she acted as nurse to the children of Lady Gertrude Rolle of Stevenstone. She was buried at Buckland Filleigh.

A combined effort was made by the Torrington Hospital Committee and a band of willing helpers to raise funds for the Hospital. A carnival had been advertised to take place but owing to the unsettled weather this had to be postponed, whilst a fancy fair, concerts, etc. which should have been held in the Vicarage grounds were carried out in the Town Hall and Pannier Market. The public dance, held in the Drill Hall, was largely attended.

The Harvest Festival Services were held in the Weare Gifford Wesleyan Church on Sunday and Monday. On Sunday, the preacher was Rev H F Reynolds of Torrington, large congregations being present. On Monday a good number attended the tea, presided over by Mrs Wilton, Mrs F Beer, Mrs Southcombe, Misses Hearn and other helpers. In spite of the continued rain and storm, the Church was full for the evening meeting, when with Mr W H Fenwick in the chair, very forceful and able addresses given by Rev J Morrish, of Bideford, Rev H F Reynolds and Mr W Pinkham of Witham. An anthem was very well rendered by the choir, and notwithstanding the depressing influences outside, the meeting was most cheerful and successful. The fruit, etc. were sold by auction at the close, and the collections were good.

The 4 September paper carries a long and largely verbatim account of a fraud trial held in Bideford which is well worth visiting the Archive to read. The accused, Mrs May Clarke from Brixton, was staying at a boarding house in Pebble Ridge Terrace, Westward Ho! We must assume that the reporter for the Gazette was very skilled, both at taking shorthand and reading it back to transcribe later.

The autumn meeting of the Royal North Devon Golf Club at Westward Ho! took place in “boisterous weather” and resulted in a three-way tie for the Canny Ryall Challenge Cup. Capt. L W Bennet, Col. W E Davies and Mr F Belben tied on 78 for the 18 holes.

At Bideford County Sessions Philip Francis Williamson, independent means, of Dorset, who did not appear, was summoned for causing an obstruction in Golf Road, Westward Ho! by leaving a motor car there unattended for an hour and five minutes, when PC Uglow said several large charabancs had to go out of their course to prevent a collision. Defendant told him had been for a bathe and thought the car would have been all right where he left. Fined 5s. Mr G F Lefroy pleaded guilty for Martin A Cooke, independent means, London, summoned for a similar offence at the same place when PC Uglow said a tremendous number of motor cars, including twelve large charabancs were incommoded, some having to stop. When he arrived and was spoken to,…

The funeral took place of Mrs Alice Howorth Maltby, wife of Mr Brough Maltby, of Golfstone, Westward Ho! and late of Beddington, Surrey, and youngest sister of the late Sir Henry Howorth, KCIE, FRS, etc. Following a service, which was fully choral, at Holy Trinity Church, Westward Ho! the interment took place in Northam Churchyard.

Amid many signs of regret, the funeral took place of Mrs Jane Tyrell, wife of Mr Joseph Tyrell, of Annery Kiln, and daughter of Mr J C Prouse, of Woolsery. Deceased, who was well known and respected passed away at Bideford Hospital after a long illness patiently borne. Rev G L Edwards officiated, assisted by Rev Moyses, of Weare Giffard.

Miss Dorothy Braund, a school teacher, of Woolsery, is an ‘unwise virgin’.

As usual the small adverts provide an insight into the culture and economy of the time:

Revd W Treffry of Edgehill College seeks a cook for one of the hostels; Mrs H Stevens, Grenville Street, Bideford, needs a general servant; Mrs Hardman, Crafthole, Westleigh, wants a young nursery governess for a child of five years; Mrs Moir-Byres, 1 Bay View, Northam, seeks a girl about 16 years old to help in the house. Two in the family, two maids kept; J Headon, Westcombe, Bideford, has a garage to let; Stent’s Motor Garage, Westward Ho! has a vacancy for a permanent first-class mechanic; J T Waite, Music Warerooms, 77-8 High Street, Bideford, wants a young lady of good address and some knowledge of music as an apprentice; Wanted, organist for Westward Ho! Church. Can be male amateur able to play the music for sung eucharist. Apply the Vicar, Northam.

At the end of the summer, two adverts on page one of the paper for 4 September show the contrasting influences at work at this time in history:

And finally, two items from the lost and found columns:

Lost at Plymouth, Launceston, Tintagel or Clovelly on 30 August, a DIAMOND AND ONYX BAR PIN – John P Wilson, Ritz Hotel, London.
(That seems a long way to travel in one day?)

Strayed – two sheep with tar mark M on side, last seen near Instow. Owner - Mills, Cross Street, Northam.
(A long way from home!)

September 1973

‘Second Homes’ blamed for shortage.

Gale force winds gusting up to force 10 caused havoc throughout North Devon on Tuesday night. Appledore and Ilfracombe lifeboats were in action in the early hours of Wednesday morning when in rough seas two boats were in difficulties off Lundy. Hartland coastguards received a message that the M/V Dublin was standing by a yacht in distress to the south of Lundy and Appledore lifeboat, called to the scene, found the 40ft yacht Chong Peng of Littlehampton in difficulties with engine trouble. Two men were put aboard and she was towed to Ilfracombe. While this operation was in progress red flares were seen off the north of Lundy and Ilfracombe lifeboat was called out. The flares came from the 21ft Bluebell en route from Ilfracombe to Tenby, but she was able to almost reach Ilfracombe under her own power. At Torrington 200 people had just left a huge marquee erected for the open day of the Milk Marketing Board AI centre when, according to centre manager Mr Jim Martin, “It went up like a balloon.” The main support snapped in two and the marquee valued at something like £2,000 was completely destroyed. Luckily no one was injured, although two men had just finished taking down the public address system inside the marquee. Part of a house under construction at Torridge Road, Appledore, was blown down, leaving the rest of the building in a dangerous condition. And throughout the area trees were brought down.

From saddle to tiller. Horse-riding Vicar of Appledore, the Rev Donald L Peyton Jones, who for 25 years was an officer in the Royal Marines, is offering his services in dinghy sailing instruction.

The Appledore-built replica of the Nonsuch has brought thoughts of home to several people from North Devon living in Canada and the border States of USA. Latest instance comes with a newspaper cutting of a photograph of the vessel, en route by road from the Seattle area to the Manitoba Museum of Man and Nature in Winnipeg, sent by Mr and Mrs Brian Taylore, of 202 Daley Drive, Moses Lake, Washington. They and their two children emigrated from North Devon three years ago. Mr Taylor’s home was originally at Higher Clovelly and that of his wife Margaret at Westward Ho!

Appledore Shipbuilders’ order book was given a boost with a three ship order from a Norwegian firm. Worth in the region of £5 million, it takes the Appledore company’s order book into double figures. The order, placed by Kristian Jebsen (UK) Ltd, a shipping company owned by the Norwegian Jebsen Group of Bergen, is for three bulk carriers.

It was with mixed feelings that Mr Ernest Bignell, of Appledore, learned that after a four-year battle with the planners he can build a restaurant and guest house on the site of the old market there.

People living in the Torridge district and beyond who have admired the way Colonel Sir Mike Ansell of Pillhead, Bideford, has triumphed over his blindness can learn from his newly published autobiography, “Soldier on,” the details of how this great sportsman went, as he puts it himself, “into the dark.” The account is surprising: it was known that he lost his sight as a result of injuries received in the early fighting in France – but what was not generally known is that the wounds were administered unwittingly by British soldiers. Colonel Ansell tells the story in gripping fashion: how, in the pouring rain and trying to make their escape as the German troops closed in, they climbed for shelter into a loft. It was there that he took “the full blast of a Tommy gun less than 10 feet away.” Explains the colonel: “What had happened was this: the occupants of the farm had heard us enter the loft and thought we must be Germans: a party of English trying to get away like ourselves came to the farm, probably also looking for shelter, and were told of our presence. I’d been hit by the blast through the door, I thought my head had gone, and when it stopped I knew I was blind and my hands were numb.” His years as a prisoner of war and the unsuccessful and often painful attempt to regain his sight form only a facet of a life filled with so much activity, so much happiness and not a little tragedy. The full story is told, too, of how he has helped make Britain one of the leading equestrian nations in the world. It’s a fascinating book, written from the heart, and it’s easy to tell how proud he has been of “commanding a regiment at an early age, polo with the Hurlingham team in America, representing Great Britain at show jumping and above all overcoming blindness.” His final comment: “If I were to look out west I would see beyond the lawn a few lights flickering from Bideford, a mile away, like coloured stars on a cold night; the sheep huddled and still; and in the middle of the field that lopped elm which has witnessed so much. A friend tells me I can’t see them, but he is wrong, for in my mind I see things well. They blaze sometimes.”

The So and So’s! Thieves who entered Bideford County Secondary School during the school summer holidays stole seven sewing machines. The theft was discovered when school resumed.

Once upon a time a horse and cart would not merit a second glance. But that was in the days before moonshots, space walks and yellow lines. One thing never seems to change – the patient way that horses everywhere seem prepared to wait for their master – and this one, pictured in High Street, Bideford, was no exception. And, of course, horses themselves never have to worry about parking restrictions.

Seventy-three women in the Bideford area will be trying to lose a ton and a half of surplus flesh over the next six months. Members of the newly-formed Bideford weightwatchers class, their average reduction, they hope, will be at the rate of about 2 lb. a week. Most of them have a special target. For Mrs Gillian Waldron, of Barton Tors, Bideford – seen in our picture with Mrs Heather Quance of 45 Churchill Road, Bideford, who is the class lecturer – it is to get her weight down to 9 stone. That’s the weight at which she tipped the scales when she was married: since then she has had five children, including triplets, and her weight has zoomed up. Already with Barnstaple weightwatchers, Mrs Waldron has lost 50½lb and she weighed in at Bideford this week, when the new class was formed. Mrs Quance, staggered at an attendance of over 100 women at the inaugural meeting, commented “It shows there must be an awful lot of women in the area who think they ought to lose weight.” Mrs Quance herself dropped from 14st 2 oz to 10st 2oz in 24 weeks and is living evidence that targets can be achieved. The 73 who have “signed on” – they range from a nine year old girl to old age pensioners and their weights range upwards to 16 stone – hope they can do the trick too.

Swimmers at the indoor pool at Lenwood Country Club, Northam, need not be alarmed if they see a sinister black shape slowly surfacing from the bottom – it will only be one of the Bideford Sub-Aqua Club members coming up for air. The club, formed in January by four professional divers, is now 30 strong. Special help is being given to the club by the Army’s Fording Trials Branch at Instow where the Club’s founder members and instructors – Peter Watts, Mike Corrick, Brian Maxwell and John Pavitt – are civilian divers.

“Get your hair cut” was the message headmaster Mr John Dare had for some of his boys at Bideford Grammar School. “I told them they would not be allowed back to school until it was done and I am glad to say they complied. Within a couple of hours they were back and after inspection they were allowed to resume.” Target for Mr Dare’s attentions were those boys with particularly long hair in the age group up to the Vth form. Among a dozen boys were concerned.

Mrs Joan Durant, of 29 Abbotsham Road, Bideford, who was 90 in April, has had an unexpected visitor – the sister of Mrs Peggy Brockwell (nee Murray), of Victoria, Australia, whose childhood memories of Westward Ho! aroused much interest when published in the Gazette a few weeks ago.

Sanction for a loan for £23,505 is being sought by Bideford Rural Council for the erection of five dwellings on the housing site at Buckland Brewer. The contractors, J E Stacey and Co Ltd, have been asked to start work as soon as possible because the council hopes the contract will be completed during its lifetime. The new council takes over on April 1 next year. Members were told that planning applications for development on the Horns Cross and Woolsery sites had been approved subject in both cases to the dwellings being occupied by old people.

Few carnivals can have such a picturesque route as that at Clovelly. This year’s was a high spot of the summer revels programme. The Revel queen, Miss Y Kelly, and Revel princess, Miss Alice Perham, led the procession down the cobbled High Street to the quay. Teas were served on the Quay by women members of the Revels committee. In the evening there was a display by Ilfracombe Corps of Drums, followed by floodlit bingo. A sausage ‘sizzle’ on the beach was served by Mrs G Perham and family. The carnival day was organised by Messrs G Shackson and G Smith. Awards were:

Replies from Clovelly and Woolsery councils on SWEB’s proposals for the future opening of their Clovelly shop have been received by Bideford Rural Council. Both parish councils agreed to the shop opening on Tuesday and Friday mornings, but Clovelly also requested one extra half-day, preferably an afternoon. The rural council decided to support the Clovelly request for an afternoon opening plus the morning openings.

Complaints at Hartland.

One hundred years ago this winter work on building the lighthouse at Hartland Point was in progress.

Not a moon shot, but the start on two tennis courts the Hartland club are having constructed at the rear of the pavilion. Part of the estimated total cost of £2,500 is being met by a grant from the National Playing Field Association.

Now on her way on the first leg of the Whitbread round-the-world race is the Burton Cutter (formerly Windward Spirit). Skippered by the well known transatlantic yachtsman, Mr Leslie Williams, she is the joint entry by him and Mr Alan Smith, of Littleham. A Torrington garage proprietor, Mr Nick Rowe, is one of the members of the crew. The last days before the start of the race were busy ones taking aboard supplies. Mrs Smith and Mrs Rowe were among the helpers, and Bidefordian Mr Peter Lewis was occupied on a last-minute order for saloon furniture.

Contrary to Bideford Rural Council’s recommendation of approval, made subject to the provision of additional car parking facilties, Devon County Council has recommended refusal of plans to extend Monkleigh village hall. They have done so because they think there is insufficient off-street parking to serve the development. If the development was to proceed, the county suggested, further parking over and above that originally envisaged would have to be provided. The rural council have referred the matter to the hall management committee.

A four bedroomed house, Trelyon, Bay View Road, Northam has been sold by auction for £28,000. The property of Mr E R Boase, was bought by a neighbour, Mr F M G Clark of Highfield Manor.

Retiring after 46 years with local buses was Mr Sidney Lamey, of 22 Castle Street, Northam, the senior inspector of the National Bus Company’s western region. Joining as a conductor in 1927, the year before double-deckers were introduced to North Devon, he later became a driver and since 1951 has been an inspector. He and his wife lived at Instow for several years before moving to Northam.

Mr and Mrs Granville Kelly, of Northam, who celebrated their diamond wedding, probably number more golfers among their friends than any other couple. When he retired in 1956 Mr Kelly had served the Royal North Devon club at Westward Ho! for 51 years – as page boy, assistant steward and steward. They have three children. Their son, Sidney, succeeded his father as steward until leaving the area. There are two daughters – Mrs Ellen Houldridge and Mrs Ruth Newcombe – two grandchildren and seven great grandchildren.

Provision of a comprehensive school at Northam for pupils in the 11-16 age group is to be considered by the North Devon Divisional Executive of Devon County Education Committee. No site has yet been chosen. The move would reduce the pressure for places at Bideford county secondary school which at the moment is attended by pupils from the Northam district. Recommended for planning approval by Northam Urban Council was a new six-class infants school on a site adjacent to Jackets Lane.

Miss L Copp, elder daughter of Mr and Mrs F A Copp, of 10 Lily Close, Northam, an old girl of Edgehill College, has been awarded the Higher National Certificate in applied biology at Brighton Technical College.

By a margin of one vote – six for and seven against – Northam Urban Council on Tuesday rejected a move to reverse the council’s policy not to sell council houses to tenants. Before the council was a report of the housing and public health committee recommending them to consider selling the houses, taking each case on its merits and providing that the sale would not be detrimental to the council housing programme policy. During the debate the council were said to be in a dilemma and to be “facing the lesser of two evils.” A petition signed by 14 tenants asking the council to reconsider its earlier decision not to sell was reported. Mr R F Hill said a sub-committee appointed to consider every aspect of the whole question earlier this year had unanimously recommended it was wrong to sell any of their houses. He would like to know why it had been raised again. The chairman, Mr John Smith, said any member of the committee could have any item raised. It was perfectly fair and above board. In view of all the convincing arguments that had been put forward he was surprised it had been raised again, said Mr Hill. “I am afraid I can only think it is politically motivated because it is the government’s policy to sell council houses,” he said. They were an independent council and not concerned with politics. Their duty as a local housing authority was to provide houses for people in need, not to see them off. Every house that was sold reduced the pool of houses they had to draw upon. If the council sold a house it would cost twice as much to build another to replace it. If a tenant could afford the sort of money required to repay a mortgage he should not be where he is but should look for a house elsewhere and leave the accommodation for those who are really in need, he said. Brigadier T – Keene, who had asked the housing committee to reconsider policy on the sale of council houses, said he took the “greatest umbrage” at Mr Hill’s suggestion that the move was politically motivated. “It is not; I don’t care a damn what the politics are,” added Brig Keene.

For sale. The entire contents of quality shop fittings and first class domestic furniture and effects – 7 Fore Street, Northam.

Reports yesterday from South America that secret negotiations have started for the release of 38 year old businessman Mr David Heywood, kidnapped in Buenos Aires at the weekend, have delighted members of his family living on Torridgeside. “It’s good news – all we can do is to wait and hope” said his father, Mr Sam Heywood, of West Fordlands, Northam. He and Mrs Heywood have been waiting anxiously for further information after getting the shock news last weekend that David had been kidnapped by men believed to be members of the People’s Revolutionary Army as he drove home from his office. But no further news has come through and Mr Heywood said yesterday: “It’s terrible just having to wait not knowing what is going to happen.” It has been reported that a record ransom of £1.4 million has been demanded for David’s release, but Mr Sam Heywood said he would be surprised if this was the figure. Mr David Heywood worked in Buenos Aires for the Nobleza Tobacco Company, the Argentinian subsidiary of the British American Tobacco Company, and he went out to South America with his wife Pamela who is a daughter of Mr and Mrs Edwin Chamings of the Bilberries, New Street, Torrington. Her mother said this week that she and her husband had thought first about flying out to Buenos Aires to comfort her. “Poor girl, I know what she must be going through” said Mrs Chamings. “They are a devoted couple.” The family have been in touch with Mr Peter Mills, MP for Torrington, and he in turn has been in contact with the Foreign office. David’s brother John, an accountant in London, is in close touch there with British American Tobacco Co.

Counsel’s opinion has been obtained by Torrington Town Council about the proposed closure of the pannier market. Doubt arises out of the possible sale of the market for redevelopment as a pedestrian shopping precinct. The council has asked the Town Cler, Mr A W G Fitt, to take up with the prospective purchasers the possibility of a small area, about 500 square feet, being made available in the proposed project for continued use as a pannier market.

Eat at The Captain’s Table Restaurant, Beacon Lights, Bath Hotel Road, Westward Ho!

When Mr C A Vaggers of Westward Properties Ltd lodged an appeal against the refusal of the local planning authority to allow him to complete a holiday complex near Beacon Lights, Westward Ho! he got a shock. It was not that he had been certain that he would win, but that a Department of Environment inspector, said that he could not deal merely with the proposed children’s non-gambling amusement centre that Mr Vaggers wished to add, he must deal with the shops, offices, amusement premises, stores etc. as a whole. Now the Minister has agreed with his inspector that planning should be refused! The puzzling thing is that not only had Mr Vaggers already been granted permission to erect these but they have operated throughout the season as an adjunct to a children’s boating pool, with a lighthouse in the middle – and proved so popular that the powered boats clocked up more than 20,000 rides this season.

An application in respect of 64 single storey and 58 two-storey chalets, an amenity block, swimming pool, playroom and changing room at Westward Ho! Holiday Village, Golf Links Road, has been recommended for planning approval by Northam Urban Council. Approval of the application, made by Bancroft Land Ltd, is subject to conditions. One of these is that before the development is started a landscaping scheme must be approved by the local planning authority.

Old wreck, The Leopard, to be blown up at Westward Ho!

An old age pensioner of Westward Ho! is disgusted.

Members of Westward Ho! Surf Lifesaving Club prepare for their rescue routine during one of the club’s training sessions on the beach. Chairman of the club, Mr George Harrison, said that he would like to find a number of young lifesavers living in the Instow area so that a club could be formed there.

Nearing completion on a 10-acre site at Winkleigh is a £250, 000 factory for TTB Developments Ltd, a member of the Amersham-based Boughton group of companies. Recruitment, initially for 100 men, will begin next month. The largest fire-engine chassis in the world, together with a new range of multi-purpose cleaning vehicles, will be amonth the first machines fabricated in the new factory to help the group meet present record order commitments.

Mr R Hughes is refused permission to convert outbuildings to a restaurant at Manor House, Woolsery.

September 1973 Woolsery Hughes planning

Oh yes – it’s Rod Stewart top of the local chart this week. Pressing hard are the Wizzard with “Angel fingers” and Roy Wood’s “Dear Elaine.”

(-) 1 Oh no not my baby (Rod Stewart)
(-) 2 Angel fingers Wizzard)
(10) 3 Dear Elaine (Roy Wood)
(6) 4 Angie (Rolling Stones)
(-) 5 The Dean and I (10 CC)
(-) 6 Rock on (David Essex)
(-) 7 Like sister and brother (Drifters)
(2) 8 Dancing on a Saturday night (Bobby Blue)
(1) 9 Young love (Donny Osmond)
(-) 10 Spanish eyes (Al Martino)

September 1998

Victorian Abbotsham property for sale.

A deceptively spacious Grade II listed cottage situated in the heart of Appledore, is for sale at £99,950.

Children’s charity CLIC landed a big cheque thanks to Bideford and District Angling Club. CLIC vice-chair Pat Humphries was literally swept off her feet when she and chairman Brian Taylor visited the club. With them are angling club chairman John Blackwell, event organiser Stuart Humphries, members and friends.

With the death of Clarence Metherell last week, Bideford has lost a man who served its community in many ways, including local government, for more than 30 years. Mr Metherell, who was 83, was twice Mayor of his native town. Representing the town council from the mid-60s, Mr Metherell was one of the first elected members of Torridge District Council on its formation in 1974 and was its chairman in 1975-76. He served on that authority for 21 years. Born in the town and an Old Boy of Bideford Grammar School, his career took him to become manager of the former Bideford and North Devon Building Society. Among his wealth of voluntary service, Mr Metherell was a member and former chairman of the Bideford Bridge Trust, which he served to the end. A keen sportsman, he was a former president of the Bideford Strand Bowling Club and a former county bowling president. In earlier years he was secretary of Bideford Amateur Rowing Club. He will also be remembered by the local skittling fraternity, having been a member of the local Penpushers team for many years. Mr Metherell was a prominent member of Bideford Methodist Church in the High Street, where his funeral took place on Tuesday. He leaves a widow Mrs Ethel Metherell and two children, Ian Metherell and Judith Bowden.

Bideford based aero company Edgley Sailplanes is set for expansion after securing major investment funding for the design and development of a new glider. The £250,000 investment by an off-shore venture capital company will enable the creation of a two-seater version of the company’s unique kit-form glider.

The parent company of Bideford firm Cosmetics Plus has announced a drop of 64% in its half-year pre-tax profits. Swallowfield plc, the Somerset based manufacturer of branded and private label cosmetics and toiletries, made just £524,000 in the first six months of 1998, compared with £1,457,000 last year.

More works are to be carried out to highlight Bideford’s 700 year old Long Bridge as one of the town’s most attractive features. Following concern about the standard of repair work to its parapets earlier this year, workmen have returned to remedy the situation. Now the town council has given the go-ahead for a new £12,000 floodlighting scheme to highlight the historic structure. “The previous floodlighting was not really successful. We always had bulbs going out” said Mayor Cllr Noel Deakes.

Gee up: these four youngsters take to the Bideford Carnival Trail true to the event’s Wild West theme. Kieren Wreford, Joe Wilkins, Maya Wilkins and Luis Wilkins won the prize for the best themed float.

Youngsters in Bideford are appealing for proper space for a sport which is growing in popularity and has nowhere to go but the streets and other public places. In-line skating enthusiasts who have been using the old tennis court at the former Stella Maris convent are about to see it given over to housing development. It means they must also find somewhere else- which could mean the refuse tip – for all the intricate jumps and slides they have put so much effort into making. Lack of proper facilities for fun on rollers is a problem they share with scores of youngsters across the North Devon region. “The nearest proper place is Truro where there’s a purpose-built park,” said 17 year old Tim White who is so keen that he made a skating jump for his GCSE project. His is one of the pieces of equipment in daily use by the group who go along to the old tennis court to speed and slide and spin around. “Football and cricket are provided with proper pitches and facilities; why not our sport?” asked 17-year-old Jonathon Howard. Torridge District Council ways it is aware of the difficulties the youngsters face. It points out that there is a skate-boarding bowel in Devonshire Park – albeit at the extreme end of the town. Both they and North Devon District Council are looking at possible sites for skating in their areas. Both point out that there are other factors involved in setting up a special area for the sport, like safety, insurance and the personnel to man it. Torridge leisure services officer and principal engineer Dave Fursman says he wants to gauge how much interest there is locally. “I’ve spoken to youngsters out there and even suggested they get up a petition,” he said. “A skate park would cost thousands of pounds and there’s no special funding available for it. “So we really need to know the strength of feeling there is.”

Sun, sea and surfers were a prizewinning combination for young artist Emma Ousley in a competition to design a poster which will encourage holiday visitors to North Devon. Emma, of Westcroft School, Bideford, was the winner of the competition organised by the Burton Art Gallery and Museum. She received a cash prize and an enlarged copy of her poster in a ceremony at her school, and is pictured with deputy headmaster Peter Evans.

Kathy is coming home! One of Torridgeside’s favourite vessels, the three-masted schooner Kathleen and May, is on her way back to the North Devon estuary where she spent much of her working life. After an absence of 37 years, the wooden vessel – the last of her kind in the country – will be returning to familiar waters. Local businessman Steve Clarke has acquired her as the centrepiece for a Bideford Chamber of Commerce millennium project. By the year 2000 it is planned to have her fully restored and on public display on the river. Appledore boatbuilder Alan Hinks, a champion on traditional boatbuilding skills and creator of authentic and famous wooden replicas of the Golden Hinde and the Nonsuch, is acting as consultant.

Archers in the Pannier Market reflect a period of Bideford’s history when flying arrows were a common sight in the town centre. Kenwith Archers are taking advantage of the large undercover space for winter practise and competition. “At one time all the men had to go to their town butts to practise and become proficient at archery” said Kenwith spokesman Mike Brown. Buttgarden Street takes its name as the site of Bideford’s medieval archery butts.

An interesting Grade II property is being offered for sale in Buttgarden Street, Bideford, with an asking price of £72.500.

Two thoughtful Buckland Brewer girls have raised £360 for cancer charities in a show of support for a neighbour. Rebecca Court and her sister Amy decided on their fund-raising venture after hearing a neighbour was being treated for cancer. Rebecca used her artistic talents to paint glass jars and sell them as lanterns. Amy drew a large chalk snake in the roadway near their home in Orleigh Close. The girls then leafleted the community to invite people to cover the snake with coins. As a result of their efforts the sisters were able to present £180 to a representative of the North Devon Hospice and a further £180 to local man Roger Britton who is undertaking a sponsored bike ride across Mexico for Macmillan Cancer Relief.

Plans by the Local Government Commission to amalgamate Hartland and Bradworthy parishes into one larger ward are being opposed by Torridge District Council. This follows protests from both parish councils. In its review of electoral boundaries the Commission concluded that Welcombe, Hartland and Bradworthy parishes should be combined to form a 2-member Hartland and Bradworthy ward. “Overall there is little merit in changing when the present arrangements are working well at parish level, which is where it matters,” added the Bradworthy council.

Worlington House Youth Hostel, Instow, is for sale by public auction.

At a tender age Vanessa Jobson-Scott of Northam has gained a glittering array of trophies in the pony show world. During the past summer she has won no fewer than 45 trophies, eight medals and hundreds of rosettes. She capper her summer by going on to successes at both the Ponies UK and British Show Pony Society championships. She is pictured on her grey Borderland Victor.

Roller skating and skateboarding youngsters have found a champion from the older generation in their battle for purpose-made facilities. Northam businessman Dennis Perkins, 68, is living proof that the sport of skating is not a short term fad. He has been skating for more than 50 years and is still going strong! Dennis has now come out in support of youngsters in Westward Ho! and Bideford areas who are mounting petitions calling on the district council to make provision for them. His skating began at the age of 12 and he met his wife Elizabeth on a skating rink.

Dave and Vanessa Ebdon of Marshford Organic Nursery, Northam, have reached the finals of a prestigious national competition. The Organic Food Awards is organised by the Soil Association and You magazine. The Ebdons have qualified for a new vegetable box scheme category. Dave and Vanessa have had a busy year, winning the fresh produce category in the 1997 Organic Food Awards. They were named as Star Performers in Lynda Brown’s comprehensive Shoppers Guide to Organic Food for their farm shop in Northam.

A ’significantly modernised Devon thatched inn’ is for sale – Parkham.

Properties in Jacobs Field, Parkham, for sale.

Have Sunday luncheon at Penhaven Country House, Parkham, for £10.95.

An historic gazebo in Torrington which is in danger of collapsing is being saved by an £83,000 Lottery grant. The 18th century garden building is in the grounds of the house of Sir John Palmer, brother-in-law of the great painter Sir Joshua Reynolds. The grant from the National Heritage Fund will enable the gazebo to be moved to the Royal Horticultural Society’s Rosemoor Gardens for restoration.

Torrington Silver Band shows off its HQ.

Luxurious bungalow for sale in Torrington.

Two properties for sale including a fully detached bungalow at Chopes Bridge, Weare Giffard.

What do the great ocean liner the QE2 and a workshop in North Devon have in common? The answer is master upholsterer Keith Dunford. He is celebrating the first anniversary of his upholstery business Sweet Recovery at Westward Ho! which he came out of retirement to start. Recovering suites and seating in the lounges, restaurants and other passenger rooms of the QE2 is one of the many jobs Keith has carried out in his long career as a craftsman.

Buy a home in Galleon Way, Westward Ho!

Police special Darron Mansfield gets ready to ride the Tarka Trial on his trusty two-wheeled steed as part of his patrol duties. The first thing members of the public he meets are likely to say to him is a somewhat surprised “You don’t see many policemen on bikes these days!” Darron and other specials are now a familiar site along the estuary-side route as they keep an eye on the wellbeing of its users on foot and on bike. “We meet up with all sorts of situations, from holidaymakers who want to know places to eat in the area to missing children and minor accidents,” said Darron, who lives in Westward Ho! He’s ready to take to the water if someone falls in (he has a direct mobile phone line to the Coastguard), sort out parking problems and cope with minor accidents. The cycling specials also provide an added bonus of keeping an eye on commercial premises and marine property along the route. Most cyclists regard the Tarka Trial as a leisurely ride on a highly scenic route. But not all do. “There are those who just pelt along with head down and no consideration for anyone else on the trial,” said Darron. “Road rage isn’t confined to motorists!”

Forget about pigs, a 30ft whale will be taking to the skies over Westward Ho! It will be the centrepiece of a colourful display of kites taking part in the second annual kite festival organised by Kruzy Kites of Barnstaple.

North Devon’s budding soccer stars are to have the benefit of all-year professional coaching with the backing of a Premier League club. Qualified coaches Pete and Paul Davey of Woolsery have since last year been involved with local young players at soccer camps and at events organised by Torridge District Council. Now, through fellow coach and avid Everton supporter Bob Moon, also of Woolsery, they have established a special link with the Merseyside club and have become part of its nationwide community coaching programme. A planned series of local coaching courses over the next 12 months are to be launched on September 9 with a visit to North Devon by seven Everton FC coaches. Joined by the local trio they will provide free coaching sessions for special needs youngsters at Pathfields School and for 90 invited primary school children from around the region at Edgehill College in Bideford. The evening will see the Everton coaches put to the test with a friendly soccer match against Bideford Reserves. During the day a football signed by the Everton players will be raffled to raise money for Pathfields School. The Everton-backed coaching programme was a departure from the normal in that it would provide regular, all-year coaching for local youngsters, said Mr Moon. And after expenses had been met any money left over would help to finance trips for local children to Goodison Park for coaching and to see Everton play.

A substantial detached six bedroom restored farmhouse is for sale in Woolsery.

Clusters of wind turbines on North Devon’s uplands and the possibility of a woodchip power station at Yelland are hinted at in a report this week. It comes before North Devon District Council as authorities across the country await the Government’s review on renewable energy. It is said this will show that the “build rate” of the capacity to produce it has got to increase fivefold. The report by the South West Energy Group says the Greater Exmoor region is rich in the resources needed – wind, wood and, on a small scale, hydropower. Most of all, wind power. Local people on Taw and Torridgeside fiercely fought plans for a 23-turbine wind farm in the West Down area and for six turbines near St Giles in the Wood in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The regions two district councils turned down the projects. Their decisions were upheld after lengthy public inquiries. The report by the South West Energy Group, which is believed to include big players of the electricity industry, says sites for turbines have been identified. They would hold either a “wind cluster” – comprising three or four turbines – or a single very large turbine. The UK rural population uses far less wood for domestic heating than other European counties. Figures are 5% in the UK and up to 45% in the EU. Commercially its use could be huge. Two possible very large scale users are identified in the report. One is the Caberboard factory in South Molton. “The other is the old power station site at Yelland,” says the report, which suggests that Devon County and North Devon District Council raise with the owners of Yelland the possibility of using wood-derived power “for redevelopment of this site.”