-
Recent Posts
Categories
Author Archives: Tango Alpha
From Hungarian refugee to Glorious Devon bistro owner.
It’s funny how Facebook opens up all sorts of windows and lets us see inside other people’s lives. The latest “7 facts that you may not know about me” has resulted in this article. My mother, Julianna Ibolya Homolya, left … 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
Leave a comment
Freemasonry in Bideford.
‘Buzz’ has been very fortunate to receive various donations from Bideford’s Freemasons. They are well known for their charitable work and many local organisations have benefited from their fund-raising. I asked Peter Christie what he could tell us about the … Continue reading
A Nineteenth-Century Bideford Doctor.
William Henry Ackland was born in Bideford in 1825 and was the son of a doctor. His father, also William Ackland, had been apprenticed to a surgeon and apothecary in Bideford, but William Henry trained at University College Hospital in … Continue reading
Posted in Health, History
Tagged Bideford, Charles Kingsley, Dr. W. H. Ackland, Liz Shakespeare
2 Comments
The Torridge Sealock.
Anyone who has been to the harbour at Bude will know the canal basin and sea lock where the Bude Canal meets the sea. Far fewer people are aware that just three miles up the Torridge from Bideford port is … Continue reading
‘A Little Port’.
As promised in last month’s Buzz here is the poem about Appledore written by George Douglas Warden (father of Audrey Jones of Bideford) , who was wounded and lost his sight in World War One. (Contributed by Audrey’s daughter-in-law, Eleanor … Continue reading
Bideford Home Guard, 1943.
Rear row – Ptes S Laird, P Cloke, WE Voden, CMS Gosling, Sgt. R Featherstone, Pte. TD Frayne, Cpl. GR Hill, Ptes FJ Clements, G Waldron, J Lock, Cpl. F Stacey, Pte R Raymont, Cpl. EJ Moyes. Third row – … Continue reading
Holiday snaps !
As the holiday season approaches many will consider buying a new camera. However, with the advent of the all encompassing mobile telephone is one necessary? A similarly priced camera readily captures snow scenes, beach scenes, portraits, the family cat or … Continue reading
Posted in History, Photography
Leave a comment
Bideford Races, May 1928.
This advertisement comes from the Bideford Gazette for 1928 currently housed at the Bideford Archive. The archive is run by volunteers, and you will find it is a mine of information on Torridge district; not just births, marriages and deaths, … Continue reading
Posted in History
Tagged Bideford archives, bideford buzz, northam, Shebbertown Racecourse
Leave a comment
Memories of a Plymouth evacuee.
With time on my hands, I have been trying to trace people who were part of my youth – over 70 years ago! Knowing only her maiden name, and not having seen or heard of her since the end of … Continue reading
Floods – policy versus practicality.
With flooding very much in the news last month this may be a good time to review the policy of the authorities on flood protection and the effect it is having on the vulnerable Northam Burrows. There are two major … Continue reading
Posted in Environment
Tagged Atlantic storms, coastal erosion, extreme events, flood defences, flooding, Northam burrows, tidal surge, tides, Westward Ho!
Leave a comment
More about the Bridge Trust.
Having talked about how the Trust came to be set up and its involvement with property in the town I will now discuss the very wide range of things the Trust has funded. Trustees have always been interested in … Continue reading
About the Bridge Trust.
As promised, and following on from my introduction to the Bridge Trust, I will discuss some of the history of the body. No-one knows when the Trust was set up but it must have been soon after the Bridge was … Continue reading
Coronation Day, 1953.
Photos from Owen Vaggers. In the paper edition of November’s “Buzz”, we published this – Two photographs of the Coronation Day, 1953, which took place at the bottom of Pitt Hill, Appledore . I cannot remember all the the names … Continue reading
An 1844 view of Bideford.
“BIDEFORD (ST. MARY), a sea-port, incorporated market-town, and parish, having separate jurisdiction, and the head of a union, locally in the hundred of SHEBBEAR, Great Torrington and N. divisions of DEVON, 39 miles (N. W. by W.) from Exeter, and … Continue reading