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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.

A thin wisp of smoke curled upwards

through the trees near the bank of the river Torridge between Bideford and Landcross as a lone figure began building up the small fire which has been his only source of immediate warmth since a week before Christmas. Stocking up the fire was a tramp who says he has been ‘in the business’ since 1930. He is 58-year-old Peter Evans who is on his 12th visit to Bideford. Three weeks ago, ‘Fiddler’ (70 years old) another tramp well-known for his musical abilities, joined Mr Evans, this being their first meeting for two years. They last meet at Seaton at Christmas 1960.

Peter, a Londoner by birth but who had spent most of his younger days near Ipswich had built a cabin composed of tarpaulin, corrugated paper, pieces of wood and newspaper, all kept intact by string and wire. One of his major sources of income is selling scrap metal to a dealer.

On most days he walks into Bideford perhaps to buy food from the money he receives from passers-by. Water he obtains from a tiny spring a few yards away from his cabin.

As the older tramp sipped at a tin of black tea, he said ‘I have never been ill; I’m healthy and I enjoy myself. Today 50 per cent of the world’s population die of over-eating, 30 per cent of starvation and the rest of worry.’ He left with his one pram to continue his wandering earlier this week. Peter had not yet made up his mind. ‘Certainly with all the fine weather it’s the time for a move’’ he declared as he took a large bite of dry bread.

Gazette article 8 March 1963

Works at craft he learned over 65 years ago

Rope mats in Appledore

It was in December 1939 after 45 years in the Merchant Navy, that Mr Dick Hocking of 47 Market Street, Appledore, stepped ashore for the last time. At 81 he lives alone, cooks his own meals, does his own washing and keeps his home ‘shipshape and Bristol fashion.’

His hobby is a craft that he leaned years ago on board the ships that carried him to such faraway places as North and South America. He never fails to spend at least two hours each day making rope mats and he is probably among the last exponents of the art. The rudiments he learned as a boy soon after he left his native Appledore in 1894 at the age of 13 for his first voyage in the Annie Laurie.

When he starts on a new mat he unravels a length of old rope to provide double yarns. Five lots of these are plaited together and then are stitched with twine. Mr Hocking claims that such mats are virtually everlasting and he displayed one from his dining room. He made it 50 years ago by palm and needle and it is still in good condition.

Gazette article 1 March 1963

Sight of a lifetime

River Torridge freezes

Parts of the river Torridge down to the estuary froze in the bitter wind of last weekend and these sheets of ice coming up-stream on the tide and meeting ice that had been brought down-stream on the ebb, presented a remarkable sight around the arches of Bideford’s 600-year-old Long Bridge. Nothing on this scale has been seen this century.

A leading fisherman said he had never before seen so much ice there or down river frozen to such an extent. Large sections of ice, some several feet thick, piled up against the arches of the bridge and up-stream the frozen river at one time presented an almost continuous stretch of ice. Below the bridge huge chunks of ice were scattered on the sands at low tide.

Gazette article 25 January 1963