After languishing at or near the bottom of the list for 16 years,

Bideford St John Ambulance Cadets have won the North Devon championship.

Not only was their victory in the inter-unit competition, staged at South Molton, a triumph for pertinacity, but it was an overdue award for Cadet Supt G B Clarke who has refused to be daunted by defeat or by odds that were often heavy.

In the competition, the team – Michael Hammett, Peter Jury, John Braund, Roger Birch, with Nigel Skinner reserve – well and truly toppled Barnstaple from top position.

To set the seal, their No. 2, Peter Jury, carried off the Hoerman individual cup.

In the team event, competitors had to deal with a mock accident. The judge was Dr P Bush, while Dr W McIntosh of Northam and Dr T O Candler of Bideford judged the individual tests.

Gazette article dated 3 April 1964