Budleigh Past and Present

      Annie Whittaker More than sixty years after she was evacuated to Budleigh Salterton during WW2,  Marilyn Reynolds had vivid  childhood memories of that  most traditional East Devon  home industry: lace.  As a six-year-old wartime  evacuee in Budleigh Salterton, she recalled how, ‘o nce a week, the Honiton lace-making ladies would climb aboard a bus and, sitting with  t heir huge pillows propped on their knees, set off for the charming village of Otterton to pursue their craft.’ The chances are that Budleigh’s wartime lacemakers so vividly remembered by Marilyn Reynolds were on their way by bus to be supervised by one of East Devon’s truly legendary lace teachers, still spoken of with awe by today’s lace experts.   Fairlynch Museum volunteer Sue Morgan explains the finer points of lacemaking to members of a Probus group in October 2017 Fairlynch’s resident lace curator Sue Morgan writes: ‘Mrs Annie Whittaker, n ...

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...

Thanks to the generosity of Honiton-based firm DuraLife Windows the Museum now has a smart new weatherproof noticeboard. Job done! Looking pleased with their efforts are Matt Jordan from Duralife and Fairlynch volunteer George Norman.   Click on the company's website to see their range of products http://www.duralifewindows.co.uk/