Presidential Thoughts

 




This gold medal was struck by New York jeweller Tiffany & Co to mark the successful laying of the transatlantic telegraph cable in 1858

 ‘Not much happens in Budleigh Salterton,’ they say. ‘Saltertonians don’t like change.’  Well, I beg to differ. 

 In fact I would go so far as to say that at least two former Budleigh residents have changed the course of world history.  

 I learnt about the first shortly after my arrival in the town back in 2008. Admittedly, my source was Wikipedia. Not the most reliable perhaps, but the story of how General John Graves Simcoe had unwittingly saved the life of the USA’s first President, George Washington, during the American War of Independence is so picturesque that it deserves a glorious mention in our town’s annals. 

The second Saltertonian – well, actually he lived in Little Knowle – came to mind not just because Fairlynch Museum is honouring his memory with a bicentennial tribute in its exhibition this year, but because 2017 will for ever be seen as a year of extraordinary change following Donald Trump’s triumph in the US election.  

Perhaps nowhere can the change be better appreciated than in the contrast of tone between the new President’s inauguration speech, and that of the first messages to be exchanged by telegraph between Queen Victoria and US President James Buchanan on 16 August 1858. 

 You can read in the next edition of Fairlynch’s magazine The Primrose about the courageous naval officer who retired to live in our area after playing a key role in enabling this new and world-shaping means of communication. 

‘Europe and America are united by telegraphy’, was the first message sent from this side of the Atlantic. ‘Glory to God in the highest; on earth, peace and good will toward men.’ 

 At the time, it was not the speediest means of communication: Queen Victoria's message of 98 words took sixteen hours to send. 

 But President Buchanan’s inspiring response was worth the wait. The telegraph, he wrote, ‘is a triumph more glorious, because far more useful to mankind, than was ever won by conqueror on the field of battle. May the Atlantic telegraph, under the blessing of Heaven, prove to be a bond of perpetual peace and friendship between the kindred nations, and an instrument destined by Divine Providence to diffuse religion, civilization, liberty, and law throughout the world.’

What a contrast with the message broadcast to the world on 20 January 2017 by the newly elected US President. 

www.fairlynchmuseum.uk


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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

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

A home that Hatchard-Smith built: Lavender House

Image
Lavender House, one of no less than 50 houses in Budleigh Salterton designed by Hatchard-Smith   Instantly recognisable with their red and white decoration and their front doors set within brick arches, the houses built by architect William Hatchard-Smith (1887-1987) are still sought after and appreciated by their owners for their elegance and comfort, their sturdy construction and their attention to practical detail. Plans for one of the houses designed by Hatchard-Smith Lavender House, on Moorlands Road , is a four-bedroomed detached family residence built by Hatchard-Smith in the late 1920s when it was originally named Lavenderhay.   Set within what are described as beautifully landscaped gardens of approximately an acre it has recently undergone an extensive refurbishment programme while retaining much of the original charm and character. The stained glass memorial in Budleigh Sa
Read more