Mervyn Ninnis – Trenches Like Canals

Whilst scanning items for our North Devon War Items project on our Facebook page, I came across several stories about the men who served in the war which made me want to find out more about them. One of these men was Mervyn Ninnis of the Devonshire Regiment. Born on the 9th January 1889, in …

Welcome to 2016

The start of a new year gives us a chance to reflect on some of the things we have discovered over the last year and look forward to some of the things we may find during 2016. In 2015 we showcased some of the items we have in our general library collection through our new series of Discover...On …

With the Royal North Devon Hussars on Active Service

In a previous post containing a first hand account of the Royal North Devon Hussars landing at Suvla Bay letters from Sergt Cater gave an insight into what it was like for the Royal North Devon Hussars in Gallipoli. In this article, published in the North Devon Journal there are further glimpses into what life …

Discover Gallipoli and the Dardanelles…On Our Shelves

This month marks the anniversary of the Royal North Devon Hussars arrival in Gallipoli in 1915. By the time they arrived the  British and ANZAC troops had already suffered heavy casualties and there were already calls for the Peninsula (also known as the Dardanelles) to be evacuated. The Royal North Devon Hussars landed in Suvla …

Royal North Devon Hussars at Gallipoli – a first hand account

A hundred years ago today the Royal North Devon Hussars were landed at Sulva Bay as part of the Gallipoli Campaign. Very little was reported in the newspapers at the time as there was a ban on the reporting of movements. It was only after the evacuation of the peninsula that the stories of those …

An Interned Barumite

As part of our series of posts covering World War One articles from the local newpapers this interesting article from the North Devon Herald contains an interview with Charles Edward Roberts Chanter (an original Trustee of the North Devon Athenaeum) and his wife describe visiting their son, John Fincher Roberts Chanter, in an internment camp …

Ilfracombe Soldier’s Diary

In this interesting article from the North Devon Journal, Edgar Lancey Laramy sends home a diary to his wife detailing his experiences of the war...Barum Athena Mrs. Laramy, No. 1, Strand, Ilfracombe, has just received an interesting diary from her husband, Driver Edgar Laramy, 108th Heavy Battery, R.G.A., as under :- “We left Southampton on …

“Between the Devil and the Deep Sea” — A Barum Motorist’s Dilemma

Whilst trying to comply with the Defence of the Realm Act this Barnstaple motorist got caught driving without his lights at night... The magistrates at Braunton Divisional Sessions held in Barnstaple yesterday (Wednesday), were called upon to decide a case of an unusual character. A Barnstaple motorist, Mr. Roy Berry, was summoned for allowing his …

Put That Light Out! — Failing to Obscure Lights in Lynmouth

The Defence of the Realm Act came into force on 8th August 1914, just four days after the declaration of War. What follows is the coverage of the first case in North Devon to be brought before the Magistrates regarding the visibility of light from a property facing the Bristol Channel. Any light visible from …