Budleigh Notables: B
Hubert John BALE (1898-1947).
* According to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) his parents were a Mr and Mrs Richard Bale.
* The CWGC records his wife as Alice Kathleen Bale, of Budleigh Salterton.
* He died following his time as a Japanese Prisoner-of-War during WW2. Military records give his rank as Captain.
* His grave, pictured above, is in St Peter’s Burial Ground
* You can read about him at https://budleighpastandpresent.blogspot.com/2023/10/ww2-75-prisoner-of-japanese-captain.html
Margaret Joan BANNISTER (1908-1991). Schoolteacher. She lived at ‘Eryl Mor’, Victoria Place.
* She was a former pupil of Badminton School, near Bristol.
* Her first teaching post was in January 1931 at Ingleside House in Upper West Terrace.
* She ran her own school from September 1931 until 1979 at the Church Institute – on the site of today’s Green Mews, off Station Road.
* Former pupils included actress Belinda Lee (1935-1961) and composer Sir Richard Rodney Bennett (1936-2012).
* Photo of Miss Bannister's school, Summer 1975. Back row (l-r): Jonathon Middleton, John Ashdown, Manus Home, Julie-Anne Williams, Simon Lamont. Middle row (l-r): Patricia Scott, Lucy Mayhew, Miss Bannister, Penny Lupton, Andrew Ashdown, Vicky Lawly. Front row (l-r): Alexander Allum, Jane Briggs, Carl Clark, Susie Ashdown, Debbie King, Chris Deller, James Harrison, Jonathon Allum. Photo courtesy of Simon Lamont.
* In September 1979, following the demolition of the Church Institute, her school with 15 pupils moved to new premises at The Linhay, next to Fairlynch Museum. It remained there until 1991.
* Her grave is in St Peter’s Burial Ground,
https://budleighpastandpresent.blogspot.com/2013/11/people-from-past-8-joan-bannister-1909.html
Harry ‘Roy’ BARTLETT (1924-1944).
* His parents were Brigadier Harry Bartlett CBE (1895-1964) and Hilda Mary Bartlett, née Hodder (1895-unknown).
* His wife was Joan Bartlett, née Cook, or Cooke, described as ‘of Budleigh Salterton’.
* He died from wounds received at Salerno, Italy, during WW2.
* His grave, pictured above, is in St Peter’s Burial Ground,
* You can read about him at https://budleighpastandpresent.blogspot.com/2020/09/ww2-757-brave-royal-marine-wounded-at.html
Harriet BARTON, née Brandreth MBE (1863-1919). She died post-WW1 after a very short illness.
* Her parents were Lieutenant Colonel Ashton Milnes Brandreth (1836-1905) and Catharine Brandreth née Medlicott (c.1836-c.1889).
* Her husband was Colonel Maurice Charles Barton (1852-1939).
* They were living in 1911 at ‘Serai’, Sherbrook Hill, and also at ‘Green Bushes’.
* She was appointed Commandant of the 38th Volunteer Aid Detachment (VAD) at ‘Green Bushes’ in December 1914.
* You can read about her at http://www.devonremembers.co.uk/content/the-honoured/barton-harriett
Colonel Maurice Charles BARTON DSO (1852-1939)
* His parents were Charles Barton (c.1820-1901) and Dorothea Maria Barton, née Weymss (c.1820-1900).
* His army career included involvement in the Akha Expedition of 1883-84, the Isezai Expedition and the Chitral Relief Force of 1895, the latter gaining him the medal pictured above.
* His wife was Harriet Barton, née Brandreth MBE (1863-1919).
* He retired to Budleigh in 1911.
* They were living in 1911 at ‘Serai’, Sherbrook Hill, and also at ‘Green Bushes’.
https://www.bartondatabase.com
James Ayers BAYLEY (1918-1942).
* His parents were Captain Lawrence Hodson Bayley RN (1893-1955) and Isa R.N. Bayley.
* His uncle was Victor Bayley CIE, CBE (1880-1972).
* His wife was Elizabeth Bayley.
* He died as the result of an accident during WW2. His rank was given as Lieutenant.
* His grave, pictured above, is in St Peter’s Burial Ground
* You can read about James Ayers Bayley (1918-1942) at https://budleighpastandpresent.blogspot.com/2020/10/ww2-75-tragic-accident-at-dalditch-camp.html
Victor BAYLEY CIE, CBE (1880-1972)
* Born in the Lambeth district of London, he settled in retirement at 7 Cliff Terrace.
* He was an uncle of James Ayers Bayley (1918-1942) and attended the inquest into the latter’s death.
* An engineer, he was responsible for the 1920-1926 construction of the railway line through the Khyber Pass in India. On 4 November 1925, his wife ‘Mrs Victor Bayley’ drove the first train.
* He was appointed Companion of the Indian Empire (CIE) and Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his engineering work in India.
* He had a second successful career as an author in retirement.
* Using the pen name of Wayland Smith – the legendary blacksmith in German and Norse mythology – he wrote a science fiction novel, published in 1936. The Machine Stops describes how a mysterious plague causes all metals to disintegrate, a disaster that casts humanity back into barbarism. The novel’s young hero – a kind of avatar of the mythical smith – attempts to fabricate a new alloy to save the human race.
* Some of his other books include: Nine-Fifteen from Victoria (1937), pictured above with a photo of the author; Permanent Way through the Khyber (1939); House of Hatred (1940); Dangerous Derelict (1941); Is India impregnable (1941); and City of Fear (1970).
* In 1943, he found time to become Chairman of Budleigh Salterton Urban District Council.
* He was cremated at Amersham, Buckinghamshire, following his death in 1972.
Fred Alexis BEDFORD (1924-1944).
* His parents were Fred ‘Beddy’ Bedford (1890-1954) and Galy Alexeievna Bedford, née Gorbounoff, of Exmouth.
* He was killed in action in Normandy during WW2.
* He is listed on Budleigh’s War Memorial, although his links to the town are unclear.
* You can read about him at https://budleighpastandpresent.blogspot.com/2021/03/ww2-75-2-july-1944-escaping-from.html
Sir Richard Rodney BENNETT (1936-2012), composer, lived at ‘Corner Cottage’, Fore Street; later at ‘Pagets’, 11 Westfield Road; later at ‘Lace Acre’ on Boucher Road. Also at ‘Applecot’, 16 Upper Stoneborough Lane.
* He was President of Budleigh Jazz Festival.
* The Bennett family fled from London air raids in WW2 and settled in Budleigh thanks to the suggestion of
* A year before he died, among memories that he recalled of his childhood in Budleigh was a classmate at Miss Bannister’s kindergarten. This was Belinda Lee (1935-1961), ‘who had a toy accordion of which I was extremely jealous’.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Rodney_Bennett
https://budleighpastandpresent.blogspot.com/2013/01/sir-richard-rodney-bennett-1936-2012.html (19 Jan 2013)
https://budleighpastandpresent.blogspot.com/2014/11/museum-scores-precious-find-for.html (Nov 2014)
Harry Rodney BENNETT (1890-1948), author, lived at ‘Corner Cottage’, Fore Street; later at ‘Pagets’, 11 Westfield Road; later at ‘Lace Acre’ on Boucher Road. Also at ‘Applecot’, 16 Upper Stoneborough Lane
* Some of his books, such as the one seen above, were illustrated by
* The Bennett family fled from London air raids in WW2 and settled in Budleigh thanks to the suggestion of
* His grave is in All Saints’ churchyard, East Budleigh.
Francis Alan Roscoe BENNION (1923-2015), barrister, constitutional lawyer, and author, pictured above. He lived at 30 Fore Street.
* He helped to draft the constitutions of Ghana and Pakistan.
* He had more than 161 letters published in The Times between 1949 and 2013.
* His forthright views on a range of topics were covered in publications, including his book The Sex Code: Morals for Moderns (1991).
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/jt199899/jtselect/jtpriv/43/43ap09.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Bennion
https://philosophynow.org/issues/5/The_Sex_Code_by_Francis_Bennion
Reverend John Kenneth BEST OM, MC, MA (1887-1981). Chaplain to the Forces 4th Class.
* The Imperial War Museum holds a collection of letters, diaries, photographs and other material covering his service as an Army Chaplain in WW1 and WW2, including harrowing descriptions of the sights and sensations of the fighting on the Suez Canal, at Gallipoli and in France, with specific reference to the Third Battle of Krithia (June 1915), the Battle of the Somme (1916) and the German offensive on the Lys (April 1918).
* He was buried alongside his sister Dr Margaret Gladys Best MRCS, LRCP (1890-1989) in St Peter’s Burial Ground
* His gravestone, pictured above, records him as OM (Order of Merit), but military records query this. His name does not appear on a list of members of the Order of Merit.
https://www.unithistories.com/officers/Army_officers_B02.html
Ernest Cecil Blencowe BLENCOWE (1881-1916).
* His parents were Ernest Gottwaltz (1857-1908) and Sarah Harriet Ellen Gottwaltz, née Smee.
* His wife was Ellen Mary Blanche Blencowe, née Edwards (1875-1958).
* In 1913 he and his wife were living at ‘Westcott’, 5 Links Road – known then as Golf Road.
* He changed his surname from Gottwaltz to Blencowe at the outbreak of WW1 ‘as a precaution against possible capture’, according to his regimental history.
* He was killed on active service at Ypres Salient, Belgium, during WW1. His rank was given as Captain.
* You can read about him at http://www.devonremembers.co.uk/content/the-honoured/blencowe-ernest-cecil
* And also at https://fairlynchgreatwar.blogspot.com/2016/02/a-most-cheerful-company-commander.html
Charles Belfield BONE (1862-1942). Architect. He lived at ‘Innerdown Close’ on Golf Road – now Links Road - according to Kelly's Directory 1919.
* He was a partner in the London-based firm of Rogers, Bone & Coles.
* His appointments included Architect to the Rolle Estate, the largest estate in Devon comprising over 55,000 acres in 1883.
* He designed ‘Endcliffe’, on Exmouth Road – now called ‘Downderry House’ and pictured above. The building is mentioned in Sir Nikolaus Pevsner’s Architectural Guide as a late example of a ‘butterfly plan’. It was designed in the shape of a butterfly, enabling all the principal rooms to have double aspects and enjoy views over the gardens. The house was built for George Adamson Parker (1867-1947) who had retired to live in Budleigh.
* Other Budleigh houses that he designed were ‘Westbourne Cottage’, on West
Hill, 'Killadoig' 9 Links Road, and numbers 1 - 7 Links Road.
* He was buried alongside his wife, Jane Prudence Bone, née Ardagh (1860-1944) in St Peter’s Burial Ground,
https://architecture.arthistoryresearch.net/architects/bone-charles-belfield
http://www.sussexparishchurches.org/spc_V31/architects-and-artists/321-architects-and-artists-b
https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/M1SB-XC4/janet-prudence-ardagh-1860-1944
Jean BLATHWAYT (1918-1999), children’s author, lived at ‘Sunbank’, 9 East Terrace. Blue plaque on site.
* Some of her books such as Jo’s Neighbours (1958) and On the Run for Home (1965) have apparent references to the Budleigh area.
* Hundreds of local Brownies knew her as ‘Brown Owl’.
* Her grave is in St Peter’s Burial Ground,
* An exhibition to mark the centenary of her birth was staged at Fairlynch Museum in 2018.
https://jeanblathwayt100.blogspot.com/2018/02/why-jean-blathwayt-deserves-blue-plaque.html (9 Feb 2018)
https://jeanblathwayt100.blogspot.com/ (5 March 2018)
https://budleighpastandpresent.blogspot.com/2018/02/a-blue-plaque-for-jean-blathwayt.html (22 Dec 2022)
Reverend James BOUCHER (1811-1901). Parish priest. He lived at 3 Prospect Terrace. Pictured above from a photo at Budleigh Salterton’s Cottage Hospital on East Budleigh Road, now known as ‘Seachange’.
* Among the numerous local charities that he supported was the Cottage Hospital, where he laid the foundation stone on 8 March 1888.
* Boucher Road and Boucher Way were named in his honour.
* He was Curate of Littleham for 36 years from 1865 to 1901.
* His grave is in Littleham Churchyard.
Roger Talbot Norton BOWEN (1935-2023) Businessman, engineer, author. He lived at ‘Summerlands’, Cricketfield Lane.
* With his wife Brenda he founded the Budleigh Salterton Festival of the Arts, later to become the Budleigh Music Festival.
* He self-published various books, including some about former local residents such as Thomas Nadauld Brushfield MD (1828-1910) and General Julius Edmund Goodwyn (1824-1890). They include Lunacy to croquet : the life and times of Dr Thomas Nadauld Brushfield (2013) and General Julius Goodwyn: Crimea War Hero (2017).
* He was Chair of the Exeter Chamber of Commerce from 1972 to 1974.
* He served as an Independent Councillor for Budleigh Town Council from 2000 to 2012.
* He was Chair of Budleigh Salterton Croquet Club for a number of years, publishing Croquet at Budleigh Salterton in 2015.
https://eastdevonnews.co.uk/2023/04/17/roger-bowen-memorial-service-budleigh/
https://www.budleighmusicfestival.co.uk/visiting-information/previous-festivals
Algitha Bridget ‘Biddy’ Fabian BRACKENBURY (1892-1975). Schoolteacher and headmistress. She lived at ‘Copplestone’, Bedlands Lane.
* She was the youngest of the seven children of the Reverend Fabian Brackenbury (1853-1928) and his wife Edith Mary née Hawtry (1852-1934).
* Her teaching career included a period at the Royal Naval School, an independent boarding and day school founded at Haslemere, Surrey, in 1840.
* With a partner, Irene Constance Hogg, she purchased ‘Copplestone’, a five-acre property on Bedlands Lane, opening it as Copplestone House Preparatory School for Girls in January 1928.
* The school was open during the holidays for both boys and girls. A prospectus explained: ‘Miss Brackenbury’s aim is to provide a temporary home for young people who cannot be with their parents; to run the household as for a family, and to establish an atmosphere of freedom and happiness where boys and girls can follow their own interests and pursuits, and find scope for independent occupation.’
* Former pupils at Copplestone House Preparatory School included the author and Budleigh youth leader Jean Blathwayt (1918-1999).
* Another former pupil, the poet Margaret ‘Meg’ Ruth Peacocke (b.1930), remembered her as ‘the redoutable Miss Brackenbury’. Attending as a day pupil in the 1930s, she recalled in 2011: ‘I spent three wonderful years there, by far the happiest part of my education, before I was packed off to boarding school.’
* Miss Brackenbury left Copplestone House Preparatory School in August 1943. She died in Exeter.
* The photo from Fairlynch Museum archives shows pupils and staff at Copplestone House Preparatory School in the Lent Term 1931.
Percy BRIGHT (1895-1916)
* His parents were Joseph Bright - killed in 1887 in a railway accident - and Margaret Bright (later Hancock), née Counter.
* He was born in the village of Northlew, near Okehampton, and had no direct link with Budleigh Salterton.
* His widowed mother and sister had moved to and were living in Budleigh Salterton by 1901, his mother’s second husband, whom she married in 1888, being William Hancock, landlord of apartments at 2 Station Road. Percy Bright’s sister, Lucy Beatrice Blackburn, née Bright, married the photographer Frederick Tom Blackburn in 1905.
* He was killed in action in France during WW1. His rank was given as Private.
* You can read about Percy Bright at http://www.devonremembers.co.uk/content/the-honoured/bright-percy
Franklin BRISTOW (1913-1941).
* His parents were Joseph William Bristow (1877-1943) and Alice Bristow, living on Granary Lane in 1943.
* He may have attended Exmouth Grammar School as a pupil.
* He died while serving in the Royal Navy during WW2. His rank was given as Able Seaman.
* You can read about him at https://budleighpastandpresent.blogspot.com/2020/12/ww2-75-19-december-1941-sacrificed-for.html
Vice-Admiral Sir Ronald BROCKMAN KCB, CSI, CIE, CBE, DL (1909-1999), naval officer. He lived at ‘The Chance’, Coastguard Road. Pictured above, left, with his father Engineer Rear-Admiral Henry Stafford Brockman CB. Image © National Portrait Gallery.
* He served under Lord Mountbatten of Burma and participated in accepting the surrender of the Japanese Fleet in 1945.
* He was Gentleman Usher to Queen Elizabeth II from 1967 to 1979.
* He was the last surviving Companion of the Order of the Star of India, an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Brockman
Francis Gore BRUCE (1885-1918).
* His parents were Francis William Bruce (1857-1927) and Mary Sarah Caroline Bruce, née Bean. They were living first at ‘Setlagoli’, Clinton Terrace in 1913, and from 1923 at ‘Setlagoli’, Moor Lane 1923, named after where his father had served in South Africa.
* He died of pneumonia at the Field Hospital, Sarcee army camp, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, during WW1.
* He was buried in Calgary Union Cemetery, Alberta, Canada; his headstone records him as Private Francis Gore Bruce.
* You can read about him at http://www.devonremembers.co.uk/content/the-honoured/bruce-francis-gore
Thomas Nadauld BRUSHFIELD MD (1828-1910), mental health pioneer, antiquary, lived at ‘The Cliff’, Cliff Road. Blue plaque on site.
* As medical superintendent of two county asylums he was a pioneer of non-restraint treatment for patients, improving conditions for them by making the wards cheerful and by organising entertainments.
* He wrote extensively about All Saints’ Church, East Budleigh, and about Sir Walter Ralegh (c.1552-1618).
* He contributed over 70,000 items during the preparation of the Oxford English Dictionary, the publication of which began in 1884.
* He served as President of the Devonshire Association in 1893-94.
* He was a founder of the Devon and Cornwall Record Society.
* His grave is in St Peter’s Burial Ground,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Nadauld_Brushfield
https://budleighpastandpresent.blogspot.com/2011/01/thoughts-out-of-blue.html (25 Jan 2011)
Horace BUCKNELL (1905-1941). Died on active service during WW2.
* His parents were Thomas William Bucknell (1876-1944) and Annie Jane Bucknell, née Sage (1873-1946).
* His wife was Lily Bucknell, née Hughes. They married on 26 October, 1929, at Christ Church, Notting Hill, London.
* He died on active service with the Royal Air Force during WW2.
* His headstone in Magdalen Hill Cemetery, Winchester, Hampshire gives his rank as Aircraftman 1st Class.
* You can read about him at https://budleighpastandpresent.blogspot.com/2020/12/ww2-75-26-august-1941-buried-in.html
William Richard BULL (1876-1915)
* His parents were William Bull and Mary Ann Elizabeth Bull, née Rickards.
* His wife was Ellen Alexandra Bull, née Vowden. She was the daughter of George Vowden and Ann Vowden, who lived at the White Cross Inn, Colaton Raleigh.
* He was killed in action at Gallipoli during WW1. 'Anzac, the landing 1915' by the Australian artist George W. Lambert (1873-1930), painted in 1922 and pictured above, shows the landing at Anzac Cove, 25 April 1915.
* He is listed as W.R. Bull, R.M.L.I. on the Budleigh Salterton Roll of Honour among those who ‘died in their Country’s Service’. Yet his name is absent from Budleigh Salterton War Memorial.
* He is listed as Lance Serjeant Bull in military records.
* You can read about him at
http://www.devonremembers.co.uk/content/the-honoured/bull-william-richard
and also at
https://fairlynchgreatwar.blogspot.com/2015/04/a-budleigh-royal-marine-at-gallipoli.html
Alfred Edmund BURCH (1920-1942)
* His parents were Percy Alwyn Burch and Louisa Burch, of Knowle.
* He died in Karachi from wounds received in action during WW2.
* Military records give his rank as Gunner.
* He is remembered on his parents’ headstone in St Peter’s Burial Ground
You can read about him at https://budleighpastandpresent.blogspot.com/2021/01/ww2-75-8-december-1942-one-of-dearest.html
Edward Gerald BURCH (1891-1919)
* His parents were Edward Osment Burch and Kate Amanda Burch, née Thorn Edward, living at 43 High Street, and later at 47 High Street.
* His wife was Florence Lillie Burch, née Erwood. They married in Bath in 1911
* Their daughter was born in 1912 in the Plymouth area.
* By December 1915, when he enlisted, the family had moved to ‘Northfield’, on Greenway Lane.
* He died while serving with the Royal Garrison Artillery, his rank being given as Corporal.
* He is buried in Cologne Southern Cemetery, Gernany, where his grave, pictured above, can be found. Image credit: Elza Yaskovskaya
Wilhelm Bürkle (1912-1941)
* On the basis of an entry at www.wikitree.com his parents may have been Karl Bürkle (1864-1930) from Ortenberg and Anna Theresia Bürkle, née Heitzmann (c.1866-c.1961). Wikitree gives his birthdate as ‘born about 1909, location unknown. The German War Graves Commission www.volksbund.de gives his birth date as 20 July 1912, location Karlsruhe. Ortenberg is only 50 miles south-east of Karlsruhe, so the connection is possible. However there are two Ortenbergs in Germany!
* If Wikitree’s ‘Wilhelm Bürkle (abt. 1909)’ was indeed Wilhelm Bürkle (1912-1941) his siblings included his brothers Joseph Bürkle (1896-1978), Karl Bürkle (1897-1986) born Ortenberg, August Bürkle (1898-unknown), Georg Bürkle (1901-unknown) and a sister Anna Bürkle (1904-unknown). The German Red Cross - Deutsches Rotes Kreuz (DRK) www.drk.de: logo pictured above - has a Tracing Service which ‘clarifies the fates of missing persons’ from WW2.
* Wilhelm Bürkle (1912-1941) joined the German Air Force – the Luftwaffe – and was the Flight Engineer on a Heinkel He III bomber of 7/KG55 – the 55th Luftwaffe Bomber Group, based at Chartres, France during WW2. His rank is given as Oberfeldwebel (OFw), equivalent to an RAF Sergeant. The aircraft was shot down on 2 April 1941, crashing into the sea two miles from Budleigh, with the loss of all five aircrew members. Only the body of Hans Ludwig Wolff (1912-1941) was recovered.
* You can read about Wilhelm Bürkle (1912-1941) at https://budleighpastandpresent.blogspot.com/2020/12/ww2-75-2-april-1941-no-longer-enemy_15.html
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