Budleigh Past and Present

Continued from  10 June 1941 'A Vaseful of Remembrance':  SERGEANT JOHN LAKE ENDICOTT (1921-41)   https://budleighpastandpresent.blogspot.com/2020/12/ww2-75-10-june-1941-vaseful-of.html Identifying Peter, who died at the age of 19 while on a minelaying mission, proved difficult: with just the initial P on Budleigh’s war memorial for guidance, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) database yielded only two servicemen, both named Peter.  For a long time I included him as one of my ‘orphans’ – Budleigh-linked WW2 servicemen about whom, sadly, barely anything is known. Finally with immense help via Ancestry from Budleigh resident Carolyn John, Peter Pritchard’s story emerged. It seems that the Pritchard family was based mainly in London, but details uncovered by Carolyn included Peter’s address as ‘Cove’, Budleigh Salterton.  Evidently this fine 19 th century house at 2 West Terrace was a holiday home for the family, which would explain why Peter’s name is ...

The photo shows the model of a rhynchosaur, made by Budleigh-based designer Neil Rogers and displayed in Fairlynch Museum Yesterday I went to my first meeting of a local poet’s group in Budleigh Library. I read my poem ‘Dear Rhynchosaur’ about this strange Triassic reptile which lived about 235 million years ago. Its bones were found near the east bank of the River Otter in the 19th century. The creature helped me to realise that, whether LORP is a success or not, the project occupies, relatively speaking, only a few seconds of our local history. But here’s my poem: Dear Rhynchosaur, inside your case, You have a really funny face. Your beady eye and parrot’s beak, As creatures go, are quite unique. In ancient times, it seems, your paws Walked upon Budleigh’s streets with claws Like those of really savage brutes. Yet all you ate were simply roots. I wonder, does your lizard’s tail Mean that you were an adult male? The pattern on your scaly back Could camouflage against attack. Your b...

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...