From Budleigh to Nicaragua: a fascinating Coffee Time Talk
The Central American country of Nicaragua barely makes it into the world news media nowadays. Not so long ago its civil war between opposing forces of the so-called Sandinistas and Contras was grabbing the headlines. Not just for the ferocity of the conflict and for the inevitable involvement of the US and Russia but also for the way in which the war split families. ‘ Uncles shot at nephews, brothers at brothers, and we even know of fathers and sons who were on opposite sides of the conflict,’ as Nicaragua-based journalist Carlos Powell wrote so poignantly. Parents of Frederick William Fley (1868-1932) James John Godfrey Fley (1832-1916) and Jane Fley, née Abell (1832-1868) with some of their children. The photographer, William Beer, had established a portrait studio in Chapel Street, Exmouth, around 1865. Photo courtesy of Jane Gray What most East Devon people are unaware of is how the Nicaraguan civil war tragically split a family with ...