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 …

North Devon Men in the Great Naval Battle

In this second post to mark the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Jutland  is a transcript taken from the North Devon Journal published the following week. In its report covering the battle the Journal published information about those who survived as well as those who did not... In the Great Naval battle on May …

The Battle of Jutland – The Toll of the Brave

In the first of two posts covering the Battle of Jutland 100 years ago today we have a transcript of an article from the North Devon Herald. The next post will be a transcript taken from the Herald's rival paper, the North Devon Journal. Published almost a week after the event both published news regarding …

Failing To Register Aliens

More from those Troublesome Aliens as Mrs Ellen Dyer of Summerland Street is brought before the bench for failing to register two Belgian musicians who were lodging with her in this article from the North Devon Herald... At the Barnstaple Borough Sessions on Thursday, before the Mayor (Councillor F. A. Jewell), Messer. H. Barrett, G. …

Sixth Devons -Leaving Lahore for Active Service

The following article taken from the North Devon Herald includes another letter from one of the Priscott twins who were serving in the 1/6th Devonshire Regiment. By the time it was published they had already arrived in the Persian Gulf and were making their way from Basra to Sheikh Saad on foot...Barum Athena The 1/6th …

6th Devons in Persian Gulf – Barumites Who Hope to Reach Bagdad

Twin brothers Fred and Reg Priscott were members of the 1/6th Devonshire Regiment a Territorial Regiment which drew it's numbers from Barnstaple and North Devon. By Christmas 1915, the Regiment had already spent a year in Lahore, India, before they received orders which would see them sent to Mesopotamia and the Persian Gulf... Mr. and Mrs. …

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 …

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 …

Baking Under Difficulties – A Recipe For Making Yeast in the Dardanelles

It may be the final of the Great British Bake Off this evening where tensions will be rising in the tent - but imagine having to create your own yeast and baking bread in the Turkish heat whilst under attack from the enemy. This letter written during the Gallipoli Campaign in World War One and …

Germans Release Barumite – Mr. Francis Gribble Describes his Life at Ruhleben

A fortnight after the article covering Mr and Mrs Chanter's visit to their son in a Dutch internment camp was published, news of another interned Barumite was reprinted in the North Devon Herald. Francis Henry Gribble was born in Barnstaple in 1862, the son of Henry Gribble of the Old Bank. In 1887, after finishing …