Budleigh Past and Present

This gold medal was issued by the New York-based Tiffany & Company to celebrate the achievement of those who had laid the first transatlantic telegraph cable in 1858, including former Budleigh resident Admiral Preedy CB (1817-94). I thought I would add my own bloggerel contribution to mark the Admiral's bicentenary in 2017.  It can be sung to the tune of ‘Miss Lucy had a baby’. 1. Now let us sing of heroes, who sailed the ocean blue, And of a Budleigh worthy, and don’t forget his crew. Two hundred years ago it was - from rural Worcestershire - That Georgie William Preedy came: A nautical high-flier. He passed all his exams, of course, and rose up through the ranks.   We’re sure that to an army life he would have said ‘No thanks!’ Chorus So let us raise our glasses to our Admiral Preedy! This year is very special as his bicentenary. HMS Agamemnon , launched in 1