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Category Archives: Local People
NDDH volunteer awarded medal in Queen’s Birthday Honours.
A retired gas engineer from Westward Ho! who has dedicated his life to voluntary work after becoming ill has been awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for 2018. Roger Pullen, 71, was awarded the … Continue reading
Posted in Local People
Tagged charities, NDDH, Queen's Birthday Honours, Westward Ho!
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Bideford’s Nat West Bank.
An iconic building in Bideford, Nat West Bank (formerly National Provincial) closed on 29th May 2018. Peter Christie looks back on its history, and Gerald Waldron remembers his time as a bank employee. End of an era. The closure of … Continue reading
Posted in History, Local People
Tagged bideford, Nat West Bank Bideford, National Provincial Bank
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Bideford Art School: a brief history.
Bideford Art School (now Bideford Arts Centre), a listed building on the Pill, has an interesting history. It started life in 1896 as a technical college, a result of ‘self help’ Victorian values. Our photo above shows the plaque on … Continue reading
Posted in History, Local People
Tagged bideford, Bideford Art School, Bideford Arts Centre, Harry Juniper, John Butller
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Cinnamon Trust seeks volunteers.
volunteer@cinnamon.org.uk www.cinnamon.org.uk The Cinnamon Trust needs volunteers. The Cinnamon Trust is the national charity whose wonderful volunteers help people over retirement age and those in the latter stages of a terminal illness by offering all kinds of pet care. We … Continue reading
Another ‘lost shop’ – Taylor Brothers.
Shops come and go all the time in all towns, with a few lasting for some time – but even these eventually close. One that fits this latter category is Taylor Brothers’ shoe shop in Mill Street. I first started … Continue reading
Memories of Bideford Shipyard.
Many thanks to Mr. Freddie Palmer, who provided these photos. We’re sure that they’ll be of interest to many people. “Buzz” is dating the photos of the trawler “Galatea” as 1975, since records show that as date of launch. Names … Continue reading
Posted in History, Local People, Shipping
Tagged bideford, Bideford Shipyard, river Torridge, shipbuilding, shipyard, Torridge shipyards
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Time capsules and the Port Memorial.
Saturday April 11th saw an interesting event on the Quay when the restored Port Memorial and Ornamental Gardens were re- opened by the Mayor following refurbishment. Councillor David Howell had also organised a ceremony with the Sea Scouts to bury … Continue reading
Training the Army Horse.
(Whilst turning out old cassette tapes recently, I came across a recording in Devonshire dialect, made by my father, Percy Reed (1907 – 2001) of Northam, in 1985. It told the tale of a childhood incident in which he was … Continue reading
Posted in Animals, History, Local People
Tagged Devon dialect, horses, warhorse, World War 1
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Coronation Day, 1953.
Photos from Owen Vaggers. In the paper edition of November’s “Buzz”, we published this – Two photographs of the V.E.Day Celebrations, 1945, which took place at the bottom of Pitt Hill, Appledore . I cannot remember all the the names … Continue reading
More memories of Bideford Hospital.
There were three wards: male, female and children’s. Off the corridor leading to the female ward were three rooms for private patients. The staff, as far as I can remember, included the Matron, Miss Daymond. There was one Welsh SRN … Continue reading
More memories of St. Peter’s Church, East the Water.
Following on from Mike Davy’s article (July Buzz), here are some memories. My first is of 1974 when I brought my elder daughter Caroline to the Sunday school run by Rosemary Butler. Living in Torridge Mount, it was only a … Continue reading
My role as Bideford’s Beadle & Macebearer.
In 2009 I had the great honour of becoming Bideford’s first lady Beadle, and later in 2010 of being appointed as the first lady Macebearer. Ever since I was a child I have been interested in the ceremonial and regalia … Continue reading
Posted in History, Local People
Tagged Beadle, bideford, Bideford Town Council, macebearer
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Memories of Bideford Hospital.
Bideford Hospital 1962 My father had a chemist’s shop in the High Street and I married a local girl just before my final exams. From a London teaching hospital to Bideford Hospital was a steep learning curve for me as … Continue reading
Graham Frisby (1958-2013).
Last month I attended the memorial service for Graham at the new Westward Ho! Baptist Church. Graham’s sons spoke eloquently and movingly about their father, a lovely sociable man whom we all remember from trips to Bideford Pannier market where … Continue reading
Posted in Local People
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The original “Lost Shops” list.
Here’s the original list, serialised in “Buzz” over the last few months. Thank you to everyone who responded with their own memories and additions. Listed below are some of the businesses that Bideford has lost over the last 50/60 years … Continue reading