Highampton Local History Group

2019: January to June

January

There was no HLHG meeting in January.  Instead the Group came together to enjoy a belated New Year Celebration dinner at The Half Moon Inn, Sheepwash, on Wednesday, 30th January.

February

Charles introduced Dennis Bater who gave an interesting illustrated talk entitled “Memories of a Retained Fireman”.

Dennis first joined the Fire Service in 1967 and served for 27 years during which time he attended a number of fires and incidents in and around the Hatherleigh area.  He relayed many interesting and humorous anecdotes and stories and reflected on how things have changed over the years, especially with regard to Health and Safety for the fire crews attending a thatch fire.  A very informative and enjoyable evening.

The evening closed with the usual refreshments,

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March

For our March meeting, Charles introduced Mr Terry Plenty who gave us an entertaining, informative and engaging talk on marine history, drawing on his knowledge of 30 years’ experience as a marine engineer in the Merchant Navy.  

Terry took us on a journey through history, from ships reliant on wind power to ships driven by steam power through to the mega container ships of today, powered by massive diesel engines.  An engaging evening intertwined with anecdotes and tales of Terry’s time at sea.

The evening closed with the usual refreshments.

April

The April meeting followed on from the Annual General Meeting.

Charles introduced Mr Peter Roberts who entertained the group with a fascinating illustrated talk entitled “Whales, Trails & Tales”.  

The group was treated to some beautiful photos of the landscape, fauna and flora of South Africa – an expert guide around the rugged coastline and magnificent beaches of this sun-drenched land.  The slideshow ended with some stunning pictures of giant whales breeching and playing in the seas … an excellent advert for the South African tourist board!!

The evening closed with the usual refreshments.

May

For the May meeting, Charles introduced Simon Dell who gave us a highly amusing illustrated talk entitled “The Two Moors Way”, entertaining us with stories of the walk that he and an ex colleague undertook from the south coast of Devon to the north coast, starting off at Wembury and ending up at Lynmouth.

The Two Moors Way is a long-distance footpath of well over 100 miles, a beautiful route through the Dartmoor and Exmoor National Parks with rugged tors, open moorland, woodland, deep shady Devon lanes, wildflowers, wildlife and a number of interesting pubs, not to mention standing stones and glimpses into past history. A very interesting and enjoyable evening was had by all.

The evening closed with the usual refreshments.

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