Torrington

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.

The wedding took place at St Michael’s Church, Torrington, on Saturday, March 24th, of Miss Mary Margaret Eileen Ayre, eldest daughter of Mr and Mrs William Ayre, 2 Risdon Terrace, Torrington, and Able Seaman Richard Kenneth Roach, RN, only son of Mr and Mrs R E Roach, 3 Mant Row, Aberdare, South Wales.

The Vicar of Torrington, Rev C J Barker, officiated, Miss M L Wright, at the organ, accompanied the hymns. Mr Robert Snell, uncle of the bride, carried out the duties of the best man.

Full Gazette article is dated 6 April 1951

All Looking Forward To Their Great Day

These are the children who will be the centre of attraction when the crowning of the May Queen takes place at Torrington May Fair on May 7th.

Seated in the front centre is this year’s May Queen, Elizabeth Somerfield.

Pictured are Alan Combes, Pauline Burridge, Rodney Oke, Janet Symons, Elaine Morris, Jacqueline Stacey, Pauline Jenkins, Isabel Downing, Diane Ward, Elizabeth Somerfield, Elizabeth Webb, Pauline Hooker.

3 April 1959 Torrington May Fair2

Full Gazette article dated 3 April 1959

Torrington To Have Its First Woman Mayor

Miss Florence L Lake accepts Council’s unanimous invitation.

For the first time in its history Torrington will have a woman as Mayor when Miss Florence L Lake, of Windyridge, Furzebeam Terrace, Torrington, the only woman ever to have been elected to the Borough Council, takes office in May.

Announcement that Miss Lake had accepted the invitation of the Council to succeed Cllr J H Long, Mayor for the past two years, was made at Monday night’s Council meeting. Miss Lake’s energies in the political field earned her the honour of being elected President of the South West Area Liberal National Council in earlier days and the leading part she played locally in the merging of the National Liberal and Conservative causes has been recognised by her election as Dame President of the Torrington Division United Liberal and Conservative Association.

Second daughter of the late Mr and Mrs W Lake, of Beam Farm, Torrington, Miss Lake has an intimate knowledge of the town in which she has spent all her life and a great many of its inhabitants can speak at first hand of her kindliness and readiness to help. A sympathetic interest characterised her work as a member, and later as Vice-Chairman, of the Bideford-Torrington Guardians Committee, as a member of which she followed in the steps of her late father with whom she was a frequent visitor at the Torrington Institution. Care for the young has also claimed her interest and she was a member of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children Committee. During the war and after she was local hon. Secretary of the Soldiers’, Sailors’ and Airmen’s Families Association.

Miss Lake will have a younger sister, Mrs B Howard, Penlea, Queen’s Terrace, New Street, Torrington, as Mayoress during her year of office. Through another sister, Mrs F J Webber, West House, New Street, Torrington, the Mayor and Mayoress elect have a link with the Mayoralty for Mrs Webber’s father-in-law, Mr Silvanus Webber, was Mayor of Torrington in 1893, 1913 and 1914.