Sport

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.

Among the 61 entrants for the children's fishing competition,

which marked the beginning of Bideford's Regatta Week, were only two girls, but one of these - 13 year old Barbara Williams - beat all but one of the boys.

Twelve year old Christopher Hold, of 1 West View Avenue, Bideford, won the prize for the heaviest single fish - 3½ozs – and also the heaviest catch, but as could not win both prizes, the other went to Barbara, of 3 Meddon Street, who had been practising all week but had done practically no fishing before then.

This was the first time she had caught anything.

Barbara fished near the Sea Cadet craft at the bottom of Bridgeland Street, and Christopher just on the lower side of the bridge. Competitors were allowed to fish in an area extending from How’s Yard to Bridgeland Street.

Each prizewinner was presented with a rod by Mr W G Lee, on behalf of the Regatta Committee.

Gazette article dated 9 September 1960

Keep Fit for the Ladies' Rowing Club

'Torridge Toppers' of Bideford L.R.C

There's glamour about keeping fit!

Members of the Bideford and District Ladies' Rowing Club are meeting on Thursday evenings for keep-fit classes at their club headquarters.

The classes are taken by Mrs Plumtree, a former international oarswoman, who is coaching the club.

#BidefordAAC

Gazette article dated 8 March 1957

Bideford Rugby Club’s annual London tour

Trousseau shopping, Turkish bathing,

sight-seeing, the ice-show “Cinderella on Ice”, and of course, the England v France rugby international at Twickenham, were among the highlights of Bideford Rugby Football Club’s annual London tour.

Leaving Bideford early in two coaches, the party of seventy-five players, supporters and friends, had an uneventful road journey – apart from the two passengers who had a little trouble with a turnstile – and reached London only ten minutes after the scheduled time of arrival.

After sight-seeing, a party of about forty went to the international and one tour ‘veteran’ described the game as one of the best he has seen. For the women, of course, Bond Street and Oxford Street proved an attraction far outweighing rugby football.

Leaving the ice show, some of the party must have thought they had dreamed the whole trip for behind them they heard someone ask in the broadest of Devon accents, “Us b’ain’t going ‘ome yet, be us?” and then found themselves in the middle of an outing party from Bideford blouse factory of Jaquemand Ltd!

Gazette article dated 4 March 1955