“The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.”


 
 
So wrote the narrator of L.P. Hartley’s novel The Go-Between.

But Fairlynch Museum is one of many organisations in Budleigh Salterton which are hoping that the differences between customs and traditions will no longer stand as barriers between generations.

Fairlynch Chairman Roger Sherriff is in discussion with Mark McGlade, chief co-ordinator of the Budleigh Salterton Memory Book to see how the Museum can work with groups like St Peter’s C of E Primary School, Age Concern and Budleigh in Business in recording reminiscences of the past. The aim, say the Memory Book team, is to share the memories and fascinating stories of the people who live in and around the town with friends, neighbours, children, grandchildren and future generations to come.

With an ageing population, Budleigh Salterton is blessed with having a wealth of historical memories from a broad section of interesting people with first hand-hand knowledge and life experiences of those who have lived through the Second World War or life in the Raj and our colonial Empire. Budleigh Salterton and surrounding area is home to former fighter pilots, war heroes, prisoners of war, evacuees, acclaimed scientists and academics, explorers, authors, poets, farmers, fishermen, school teachers and retired TV and film personalities and every one of them has a story to tell and perhaps help inspire a new generation to see our history and older generation in a new light.

The project is still in its early stages of development and will be launched from Monday 11 Nov 2013, Remembrance Day with an event at St Peter's Primary School in Moor Lane.

For more information about the project, click on www.budleighmemorybook.org.uk

The above photo shows well known fisherman of the past Ron Pearcey (standing) with mackerel caught with a seine net. The seine net is a long flat net used like a fence to encircle a school of fish was one of many from the Nick Loman Collection, used in Fairlynch’s ‘Sea, Salt and Sponges’ 2013 exhibition to illustrate the history of fishing in Budleigh Salterton.  Local resident Nick Loman was a fish merchant for most of his working life.  For many years he has been gathering information about the history of fishing in Budleigh from families involved in the industry, which was at its height in the 19th century. 

 

Comments

  1. Beverley Ramsay27 October 2013 at 09:17

    Help please! My father was evacuated, with his brother, to Budleigh Salterton in WW2. He is 80 in February 2014 and is dream is to visit the town to see the place to where he was evacuated. He has golden memories of the place. Stayed in two houses, one close to the railway station but, of course, he doesn't remember names too well. It was close to a church and a bank and a chemist shop. Can anybody help us please because we want to make his dream come true...his loving wife and daughters...thanks

    ReplyDelete
  2. Michael Downes27 October 2013 at 11:07

    Hi Beverley
    Tell us his full name and we'll try to help.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Unknown8 January 2014 at 08:08

    Sorry for delay Michael. Appreciate your response. His name is Royston Harry Williams. He was with Mrs E M Daniel for the majority of time, with his brother Dennis in Knowle Road, we think. He was in Budleigh from 1940 until bombs fell in town in 1944. Thanks Beverley, Paphos, Cyprus

    ReplyDelete

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