Local authority leaders across Devon have spoken out in concern for the people of Ukraine and their families, following the Russian invasion.
Team Devon authorities, including Devon County and District Councils and the Devon Association of Local Councils, have pledged to work together to support Ukrainian refugees seeking sanctuary in the UK, and have each condemned Russia's actions.
They have agreed to give particular support to families in Devon whose relatives in Ukraine are fleeing the conflict.
Individually, councils have also taken steps to cut Russian...
The role of an Exeter-born Royal Navy Lieutenant in helping to protect the fragile independence of Estonia and Latvia at the end of WW1 is one of the personal stories featured in a new book that’s published next month.
Battle in the Baltic, by author and naval historian Steve Dunn, turns the spotlight on the almost forgotten story of the navy’s 13-month brutal conflict in the Baltic Sea.
At the time, neither the British Government nor the public had any real appetite for the campaign but Secretary of State for War Winston Churchill was determined to stop Bolshevik Russia...
Exeter’s animal hero, the valiant pigeon Mary of Exeter, and her owner, Cecil “Charlie” Brewer, will be honoured on Saturday 20 January 2018 by the unveiling of a blue plaque at her owner’s former home in West Street.
Mary, part of the National Pigeon Service during the Second World War, carried top secret military messages across the English Channel to her pigeon loft behind Charlie’s bootmaker’s workshop. She was awarded the Dickin Medal, the highest award for animal bravery.
The blue plaque by Exeter Civic Society is its first to honour a partnership between an animal...
Members of the Polish ‘307’ nightfighter squadron which defended Exeter during the Second World War will be honoured with a plaque in Exeter Cathedral this month, as the city marks the 75th anniversary of the Exeter Blitz. The events on 15th November are part of ‘307 Squadron Day’, recalling the same date in 1942 when the squadron presented the city of Exeter with the Polish flag as a sign of international cooperation. This year’s events will be attended by His Excellency Arkady Rzegocki, Polish Ambassador to Great Britain. Ambassador Rzegocki will unveil a plaque in the Cathedral’s St...
RESIDENTS in Exeter are being urged to nominate unsung heroes and community champions as part of a nationwide search to find ‘The Best Of British’. Global hearing specialist Amplifon has launched Amplifon Awards for Brave Britons in memory of the company’s founder and Second World War hero, Charles Holland, who was honoured for his bravery by Britain and America. After the war the courageous veteran dedicated his life to providing better hearing for people affected by the conflict and in 1950 launched Amplifon, which has become a global company specialising in providing the best in class...
A 10-year mission to honour those who have given their lives fighting for their country has finally been realised by Cullompton resident David Godfrey, after adding the final touches this week to the memorial garden he masterminded.
A woodfuel arrived today at the memorial gardens – next to the Hayridge Centre in Cullompton – to deliver three tonnes of woodchip, which is the last detail before the garden has its official launch next week.
The woodchip was donated and delivered free-of-charge by local woodfuel distributor Forest Fuels, which has its HQ in Okehampton....
Fallen heroes from the Devon and Ulster Regiments, which served at the Battle of the Somme, are to be remembered ahead of tomorrow’s pre-season rugby friendly between Exeter Chiefs and Ulster Rugby.
A new exhibition is being set up for the day at Sandy Park Stadium, the home of the Chiefs, to remember 3,237 Allied servicemen from the Devon and Ulster regiments who paid the ultimate sacrifice on the first day of battle on July 1, 1916.
In what will be a moving tribute to those killed in battle, the Exeter Suite will not only lay out 3,227 shrouds – 16 per cent of the 19,240...
The unique Dartmoor Life in the First World War Exhibition is being displayed again from 18 to 24 August in Princetown to celebrate the prestigious award for the best exhibition in Britain and Ireland. The trophy, presented by the Community Archive and Heritage Group, was awarded particularly for inspiring young people to recognise the importance of their cultural inheritance and innovative working together with local history groups.
The Exhibition is presented by the Dartmoor Trust in partnership with Dartmoor National Park Authority and supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF...
ONE of the British Army's most senior members attended the 19240 Shrouds of the Somme exhibition in Exeter on Saturday along with thousands of visitors who queued patiently to see the project.
The 19240 Shrouds of the Somme project aims to commemorate every single one of the 19,240 allied soldiers who died on the first day of the Battle of the Somme, 100 years ago.
Artist Rob Heard spent three years creating the exhibition which saw him hand-stitch every single shroud in order to remember every soldier who fell. After he had made every 12 inch figurine he would symbolically...
More than 394 soldiers from The Devonshire Regiment will be individually remembered in a unique and historic centenary art project commemorating the fallen of the Battle of the Somme.
The 19240 Shrouds of the Somme commemorates all 19,240 allied soldiers who fell on the first day of the battle which began on July 1st 1916.
Exactly 100 years to the day later, at the same time as the whistle was blown to ‘go over the top’, 19,240 hand-stitched shrouded figures representing every soldier have been revealed, laid out in Exeter’s Northernhay Gardens.
