Military

Christmas Eve at the Front

An interesting letter has just been received by Mrs Packer, of Broadclyst, from her husband, Corpl Packer of A Company, 1st Battalion Devonshire Regiment, who is serving with the Expeditionary Force in Northern France. In the course of a letter he describes a remarkable incident which occurred on Christmas Eve between the British and German trenches.

While on a visit to his grandmother in Bideford, a six-foot two-inch American student, wearing an all-white naval uniform, marched along the Quay on Friday evening to make a little bit of history.

When 17 year old Harding Dies, from Virginia, formally boarded Bideford Sea Cadets’ training ship Bideford he is believed to have become the first member of the United States Naval Sea Cadet Corps to be so received in this country.

At the quayside, Harding, a senior apprentice in the US Corps, was met by Lieut-Cmdr Tome Rowe, head of Bideford Sea Cadets, and members of the unit.

Harding is no stranger to Bideford. Before emigrating in 1938 to marry Mr Douglas Dies, a public relations man for the US Department of Agriculture, his mother was Miss Mary Harding, whose father, the late Mr C S F Harding, was for many years headmaster of what is now Bideford County Secondary School. Her mother, Mrs Lilian Harding, lives in Abbotsham Road, and it is with his grandmother that Harding is staying for a short while on this his fourth visit to Bideford. When eight, he spent a summer term at Grenville College.

Harding is in this country with other students of the National Cathedral School in Washington to carry out archaeological excavations on the site of a Roman palace at Chichester. He returns to his home in Belle Vue Boulevard, Alexandria, on August 23rd.

On board the ceremonially flagged TS Bideford, Harding with a Southern drawl, told the Gazette “I enjoy Bideford very much. I know a lot of people here.” He was impressed by the ship. “It’s very well kept”, he said; “freshly painted and all the brass is polished.”

Article dated 20 August 1965

Beaches Wanted For Military Training

130 acres at Instow

A large portion of Instow beach, and of Braunton Burrows and Saunton beach, is wanted by the War Office for military training and there will be a public enquiry into these requirements at Barnstaple Guildhall on May 9th.
About 1,500 acres in all are required.
Combined Operations Experimental Establishment will be transferred entirely from Westward Ho! to Fremington where the Vicarage and the grounds surrounding may be taken over.
The Zeta berth opposite Westleigh may be retained permanently.
In the parish of Instow they require the REME camp site with its five and a half acres, and want, in addition, 130 acres of Instow sands below high water mark from the Jubilee Hall, north-east towards the cricket ground.
Live ammunition will be used at the Burrows; the land at Crowe is required for demolition training, and Instow beach for vehicle trials.
Gazette article dated 6 April 1951