Budleigh Notables: N

  


 

Francis Ernest Newcombe (1910-41)

* He was born at Payhembury, near Honiton, on 1 July 1910.

* His parents were William John Newcombe (1880-1940), a journeyman blacksmith born in Cornwall, and Mary Anne Newcombe, (1883-1964)

* His siblings were William John Newcombe (1905-1975), born at Newton Poppleford, later living at Knowle until his death on 17 August 1975; Charlie Newcombe (1907-1984), born at Newton Poppleford, later living at Otterton until his death; and Cecil Newcombe, born on 26 April 1913

* His wife was Edna Joan Newcombe, née Leatt, born on 20 Sept 1919. They lived at 24 Armytage Road. She remarried following the death of Francis Ernest Newcombe (1910-1941), becoming Edna Joan Pearman in October 1995.

* He died in April 1941 while serving in the 8th Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment, and is commemorated on Budleigh’s War Memorial pictured above.

* You can read about him at https://budleighpastandpresent.blogspot.com/2023/12/ww2-75-april-1941-uses-of-census.html




Wilfred Kenneth Norman (born 1921). Businessman and philanthropist. He lived at 5 Coastguard Road. 

* In 1939, Ken Norman purchased the small grocery shop Hoopers in Budleigh High Street.

* By 1957 the grocery business had expanded sufficiently to need bigger premises.

* Norman’s (Budleigh) Ltd was formed, operating first from East Budleigh Road and then from Station Yard.

* By 1960 the business developed into the first cash and carry in the South West, and from 1971 six new sites were opened in Cornwall, Devon and Somerset.

* In 1979 the business was sold to Singlo Holdings Ltd, a subsidiary of Surrendra Investments Limited, an Indian business conglomerate  controlled by the Paul family.

* The Norman Family Trust was set up with the aim of helping worthy causes in the South West. Its logo is pictured above.

* Planning permission was sought on 20 November 2001 to build new homes to replace the supermarket and was granted on 4 December 2002.

https://nfct.org/about-the-trust/history/

https://www.thegazette.co.uk/company/00667674/filing-history/MTM4NzUwMzU1YWRpcXprY3g

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