If you thought the Chilean miners had a hard time...











Pictured emerging from their ice cave on 24 September 1912 are Commander Levick, second from right, and his five companions

Photo credit: The Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge

Katherine Lambert will tell the story of how a former Budleigh Salterton resident together with five fellow-explorers from Scott’s doomed 1910-13 expedition survived the seven-month ordeal of a pitch-dark Antarctic winter.

Huddled in a cramped ice cave, they survived on a diet of meat and blubber and a unique brand of resilience and comradeship.

The author will be talking to the Friends of Fairlynch Museum about her book Hell with a capital H, based on the diaries kept by Surgeon Commander George Murray Levick, the group's doctor.

He settled in Budleigh Salterton after an eventful life which included serving in World War I, pioneering medical treatments for the disabled, founding the British Schools Exploring Society and giving lessons in survival techniques to commandos in World War II.

Commander Levick's life and achievements will be the subject of a fascinating exhibition at Fairlynch Museum starting on 10 April.























Katherine Lambert's talk is on Monday 21 February, at 7.30 pm in the Peter Hall, Budleigh Salterton. Copies of her book signed by the author will be available. Entry is £1 for Friends of Fairlynch, £2 for non-members.

Katherine Lambert has worked as an author, journalist and book editor. She is joint editor of The Good Gardens Guide 2010-2011, published by Reader’s Digest. She also worked with author Peter King on the book Scott's Last Journey. She is currently writing a book on Cornish gardens, which will be published by Frances Lincoln in 2012.

The Friends of Fairlynch support and fund-raise for Fairlynch Museum. Annual membership offers unlimited free entrance to the Museum during opening hours, three newsletters annually giving information about the Museum, and a programme of winter talks at a reduced entrance price.

New members, at an annual subscription of £10 per member, are most welcome. Please contact Alexis Zane on 01395 443437.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

People from the Past: 3. Reg Varney (1916-2008)

Image
Reginald Alfred 'Reg' Varney was an English actor, most notable for his role as a cheerful Cockney bus driver in the 1970s TV sitcom On the Buses . For ten years he lived at Dark Lane House on picturesque Dark Lane in Budleigh Salterton, seen above.  Millions of television viewers remember him with affection. He has been described as belonging to the old school of comedians, with his dislike of much contemporary television and his pride in never using swear words to get a laugh. Varney was born on 11 July 1916 in Canning Town, which was then part of Essex but is now part of East London. His father worked in a rubber factory in Silvertown and he was one of five children who grew up in Addington Road, Canning Town. He was educated at the nearby Star Lane Primary School in West Ham and after leaving school at 14, he worked as a messenger boy at the Regent Palace Hotel, pictured above.  
Read more

WW2 100 – 3 July 1941 – ‘Our beloved son’: Private Stanley John Holloway (1914-41) 12th Battalion, Devonshire Regiment

Image
Continued from 11 June 1941 ‘A German platoon fired a salute of honour over the grave’ FLYING OFFICER PETER HAROLD HOWARD PRITCHARD (1921-41)   https://budleighpastandpresent.blogspot.com/2021/11/ww2-75-11-june-1941-german-platoon.html   Image credit: www.FindaGrave.com Stanley’s sad death at the age of 27 stirred various thoughts in me when I first read about it. He is not listed on Budleigh Salterton’s War Memorial, yet his grave is in St Peter’s Burial Ground on Moor Lane. His family were not local, yet he seems to have been killed while engaged in the highly hazardous work of protecting Budleigh against invasion.   The Commonwealth War Graves Commission records him as a member of the 12 th Battalion, Devonshire Regiment with the Service Number was 5627659. According to the same source, his parents were George and M. Holloway, of Hounslow, Middlesex.   Tackling this WW2 project chronologically as I am, it was clear that Stanley had died on the same day as Private Clifto
Read more

WW2 100 – 23 January 1945 – A tragic accident in Burma: Captain Gerald Arthur Richards (1909-45), Royal Army Medical Corps

Image
Continued from 21 January 1945 FLIGHT SERGEANT RENNIE ARTHUR LOADER (1915-45) Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR), 518 Squadron https://budleighpastandpresent.blogspot.com/2021/04/ww2-75-21-january-1945-forecasting-for.html         A photo of Gerald Arthur Richards sent to me by his daughter Louanne   Like a number of war dead whose names are not listed on Budleigh’s War Memorial,  Gerald Arthur Richards is mentioned by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) as having a link with the town through his wife Kirstine. It was difficult to confirm that link, but there were enough intriguing aspects to Gerald’s story to raise questions that I wanted to see answered. Further research led to more East Devon links – to Honiton, Exmouth and further afield. In a very roundabout way I finally made contact with his daughter Louanne, to whom I am grateful for providing information about the family, not least some family photos like the one above. Gerry, as he was kno
Read more