December 1968
Do you remember Tiffen’s Taxi Service at Sunnyside, Appledore?
Richard Back of 8a Market Street, Appledore, received three awards at the presentation of incentive bonuses to apprentices of Appledore Shipbuilders Ltd at the Appledore Hall. He has been employed as a joiner for four and a half years, and has won the Shipyard’s carpentry and joinery bonus, the Amalgamated Society of Woodworkers’ annual award for the best woodworking apprentice employed outside the building industry. Last year this award was won by another Appledore Shipyard apprentice, Norman Harris. Teamwork bonuses went to G R Thisby, C J Cloke, P Williams, D J Harkness, R S Stevens, M G Tkaczuk; M Stevens, J O Gordon, P H Mugford, R Ford, A R Johnson, N J Meadows, B R Skinner, R G Beal, S McMurray, J Alexander, B C Fisher, R Dowding, D Bliman, A M Bedlar, R James, A J Newcombe, R A Cawsey, R T Gubb, P Martin, A W Back, N W Harris, R Back, A Powe, P M Stojic, R J Harris, G White, D Godfrey, K Reeve, S Schiller, A R Johnson, N R Meadows, C Edwards and D Bowden.
The Women’s Section of Appledore British Legion held a very successful social evening at Appledore Hall. Over 90 sat down to dinner, presided over by the president Mrs A Valentine. Chairman Mrs W Hare welcomed the members and their guests and the branch chairman, Mr W Lamey, moved a vote of thanks to the women’s section committee members who were responsible for the food, most of which was given. Miss Shirley Hocking organised the games and dancing. Mrs W Eastman was pianist for community singing.
When Mr W E V Cooke, of Kilrenny, Raleigh Hill, Bideford, entered his car to drive to work on Friday he found it had bald tyres – and that certainly had not been the case the night before. Further examination showed that the wheels were not the originals either. His garage is situated a short distance from the house and the doors had been removed some time ago. The thieves may have noted this, or may have seized the opportunity when their Corsair developed a puncture around 3am on Friday. “They were very cheeky” Mrs Cooke told the Gazette. “And they were not in any hurry”. Not only did they exchange the four tyres, they even replaced the hub caps on Mr Cooke’s car.
Mrs Wynne Olley and staff wish you a very happy Christmas.
The residents of Copps Close in Bideford have held their Christmas party with the Mayor and Mayoress, Cllr and Mrs P J V Fulford among those visiting. Entertainment was provided by Mrs E M Brown, Mrs E M Hoare, Mr D French, Mr R Colome, Mr J Coonam and Mr Hibbers, with Mrs F Hicks as the accompanist. Mr W Bennett was the compere.
AMP to expand at Bideford. More good news of the prospect of more jobs locally. Since they opened their new factory premises at East-the-Water last April, after operating a pilot factory at Appledore, the firm of Aircraft Marine Products (Great Britain) Ltd have doubled their labour force and at present employ 160. Now it is planned to spend an estimated £120,000 on extending the factory premises. This is expected to provide another 75 jobs. The news of the development follows closely on the announcement that the M.P.J factory, which is only a short distance away, is also to be re-opened early in the New Year.
Off they dash! Three miles of countryside faced this group of boys from Bideford County Secondary School. In the photograph, alongside the individual winner, Michael Hawkins is seen with three of his team mates from Kingsley House. They are Colin Found, David Schiller and Philip Cornish. In the junior boys’ event Drake House came first, Kingsley second and Grenville third. The first four individual placings were 1. Graham Boddy; 2, John Slee; 3, Geoffrey Edwards; 4. John Balfour.
Bideford Blues Reserves who are around the mid-way mark in Junior Division II. They are Dave Hooper, Eddie Nicholls, John Coote, Tom Richardson, Dave Baglow, John Berry, Brian Jones, Ossie Williams, Pat Riley, John Brimacombe, Geoff Fanson and Bob Barter.
Bideford Grammar School win the Bideford area contest in a road safety quiz. The team consisted of Bryan Cooks, David Bradford, Peter Cooper and John West. Winners of the Barnstaple area contest was Marist Convent School and Petronela Pokoj received a trophy from Mrs Ethelwynne Brown.
Three Bideford girls stole the show at the National Judo Championship in London. At the request of Masutaro Otani and National coach to the British Judo Council, the girls Jacqueline Francis of 6 Mill Street, Sally Ellis of Highfield Place, and Gillian Hooper of Stucley Road, gave a performance of the demonstration which formed part of the North Devon Judo Academy’s display at Bideford’s Trades Exhibition earlier this year.
Mrs Joan Davis, assistant matron at the Torridge Hospital, Bideford, is presented with a cheque for £800 at her home by ‘Guards Girl’ Pat Stevens. Mrs David, of 6 Glenburnie House, won a Ford Escort GT in a Guards Competition – Date the Guards – run in the West Country during the summer. But her husband, Mr Philip Davis, had recently bought a new car so she decided to have the money instead.
Celebrate New Year at Tanton’s Hotel with Egon Rix and the Country Club Four.
Giant of the bay at Clovelly – one that did not get away but caused damage to herring fishing nets. This giant basking shark, 23 feet long and 12 feet around the middle, is believed to be the largest every caught at Clovelly. It was caught by 18 year old Mervyn Mountjoy, of 23 Bridgeland Street, Bideford, and 17 year old Bernard Braund, of 25 High Street, Clovelly, when Mervyn was using his new 14½ foot boat for the first time.
Children of Instow County Primary School om the colourful costumes of their end of term Christmas production. It was a pantomime entitled ‘Elise and the Wild Swans’, the script being by Mrs Parsons and Miss Humphreys. Both performances were played to packed houses.
Littleham Colts – R Bryant, B Beer, C Huxtable, M Huxtable, R Smale, and P Wood - highly-placed in Division IV of Bideford Skittles League, were jolted out of the first round of the Starkey Cup Competition. They were given a 48-pin hammering by First Division title contenders Alwington – Les Wonnacott, Fred Leverton, Les Elston, Bill Branch, Arthur Bailey and Brian Metherall.
To pay around £30,000 for Burrows? No public poll having been demanded within the statutory seven days of the public meeting approving the Parliamentary Bill by which Northam Urban Council are to buy the freehold of the Burrows, the only problem would appear to be the agreement with the Royal North Devon Golf Club. The question of the agreement with the club has to be settled and the club have also said they will petition against the inclusion in the Bill of certain matters concerning golf. But if all goes well the Bill, now deposited, will become law by October and the Council then expect to pay into court around £30,000 which will buy them the freehold. This sum will be the subject of a claim by the heirs of the Melhuish estate, to which the Burrows would have reverted in 1970 at the expiry of a 200-year lease.
This wrought iron lectern, made by Andrew Howard, a pupil of Grenville College, Bideford, has been given for use in Northam’s new Church School. Seen with the lectern, which is temporarily housed in Northam Parish Church until the new school is completed, are the headmaster of Northam School, Mr George Harrison, with head boy Roger Harris and head girl Helen Price alongside him, and a group of other pupils. The lectern was designed by Mr Eric Locker and incorporates the traditional eagle.
Chris Boon, the son of Mr and Mrs H W Boon of Windmill Lane, Northam, strikes again! Ever since the 15 year old Bideford Grammar School pupil joined the Bideford and District Angling Club earlier this year, he has been beating the veterans of the sport. Now he has capped it all by smashing the club conger record with a fish of 26lb – double the weight of the previous best. The fish was caught when Chris was fishing from the rocks at Westward Ho!
Jim Long, the Royal North Devon golfer, has joined the Watford driving range as a teaching professional. Jim played for England boys when living in Gloucestershire, and on moving to Devon quickly established himself, and this year played for the South-West against the Midlands, and finished joint second in the Devon open.
An Irishman who joined the Royal Irish Rifles at the age of 16 to serve in the First World War, was seriously wounded and has carried a piece of shrapnel in his head for the past 51 years, celebrated his golden wedding at Torrington. He is Mr David James Atchison, of 115 New Street, a retired turf accountant, who met his wife Gwen Short when he was convalescing at the Sydney House, Torrington, after being invalided home from France. Mr and Mrs Atchison were married at the Baptist Church by the Rev J Mayo on December 22nd 1918. There are three children – Miss Beryl Atchison; Mrs Sylvia Symons and Mr Gerald Atchison who lives in Bideford. There are five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Many local English guests, including the Mayor and Mayoress of Torrington, Mr and Mrs W S Hutchings, and parties from Dartington Hall and the Beaford Arts Centre, joined Swedish employees at the Torrington factory of Dartington Glass Ltd in celebrating with a party on St Lucia Day, an ancient Swedish custom observed in mid-December. The attendance of about 200 included Swedish employees and their families numbering 35. The main festivities were in the glass blowing shed where the Swedish craftsmen fashion glass which is now exported all over the world. There were Swedish songs and dances around the Christmas tree, led by Mr E Vilhelmsson, the manager. In reply the English guests taught the Swedes some group dances and Christmas carols.
Did you go to The Atlanta Hotel at Westward Ho! for Christmas and New Year celebrations when Dave Spear increased by one from a trio to a quartet?
Junior Lance-Corporal Clarence Dunn, aged 17, of 6 Sunnyside, Woolsery, receives a farewell handshake from his commanding officer, Lieut-Col John O’Brien, after the autumn term passing-out parade of the Junior Leaders’ Regiment, at Taunton. Clarence was one of 49 Junior Leaders graduating to adult service at the end of two years’ training.
An evening of hymn singing was held at All Hallows Church, Woolsery, when the selection included hymns from the Methodist and Ancient and Modern hymn books. Solos were sung by Mr French, and the organist was Mr C B Griffiths. The Vicar, Rev S Roy Northmore, introduced the hymns. Following the service a hot pasty supper was held in the parish hall. Helpers were Mesdames N Gorrell, A C Perkins, D Braund, H Thomas, R Peard, J Raffe, T Braund, J Gorrell, and Miss J Kemble and others. A stall was run by Mrs and Miss Paddon.