Local charity makes a big difference - from page 1

Community Projects North Devon launched GROW in February 2009, based at the commercial glasshouses in the Park. These glasshouses, built in 1984 as a municipal growing area, were surplus to Council requirements in 2003, and then gradually decayed and were vandalised. They became a community liability, being frequented by drug users and rough sleepers.

Over the last 12 months, an exciting transformation has unfolded. GROW has secured the site, cleared the adjoining area of Park, and refurbished and glazed the three houses, which are heated, to put them back into horticultural use. Successful crops of tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, and flowers were grown in 2009. The appearance and safety of this corner of the Park is restored.

The Jigsaw charity was established in Barnstaple in 1984 to give marginalised or disadvantaged groups in the community a place to work, train, and develop or regain self-respect and life skills. It provides furniture restoration, upholstery, picture framing, and carpentry, and re-cycled furniture . The establishment of GROW has enabled the same chances to be offered in the horticultural field. Many clients of the charity had never previously seen or sown a seed, but now can experience the therapeutic value of growing and nurturing plants, as well as the satisfaction of producing vegetables, fruit, and flowers which are of great use to the community.

GROW also operates an allotment in Mill Road, Barnstaple, and in April will be undertaking the clearance and cultivation of a quarter-acre plot at in the Bideford area. This obviously increases the number of people it can assist, and the range and quantity of fruit and vegetables that can be produced for the local community.

An important aim of GROW is to promote healthy eating. As well as growing and selling fresh, local, seasonably-available produce directly from the glasshouse site (go along and treat yourself every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday before April, and afterwards every weekday), GROW will be working with Bideford Bay Children’s Centre to supply ‘Local Produce Bags’ from May onwards. Any profits made will go to further the aims of GROW as a local community charity.

Support for GROW has been forthcoming from many sources - Safer North Devon, Bideford Town Council, Ministry of Justice Community Cashback, Bideford Bridge Trust, Devon PCT with North Devon Homes, South West Foundation, the Probation Service, and Torridge Training Services. The glazing work was undertaken by Devon Glass. GROW is a member of the Allotment Association, and affiliated to the ‘Thrive’ website and the Community Council of Devon’s ‘Home Grown- Community Owned’ programme.

The supervisor is Ian Smith, who trained as a horticulturalist at Bicton College. He has worked with Jigsaw for three years in setting up and steering the Horticultural Project, and can be contacted on 01271-314624 by anyone who would like to know know more, or who would like to volunteer their help. TA



A Postcard from Bideford New Zealand - read more on the next page!
We gunned our Mitsubishi north on State Highway 2 towards the infamous Rimataka Range en-route to Bideford New Zealand. ...........
 

Courses For Everybody

There’s really good news from the Yarner Trust in Welcombe this year to lift your spirits and welcome in the spring.

Yarner would like to encourage more people to enjoy their inspiring courses, and have created a bursary to help fund places on courses. A generous legacy from one of their founders, Tom Welch, has made sure that courses remain within everyone’s reach. Anyone can apply and it’s a very simple process, so just call Yarner on 01288-331692 or email info@yarnertrust.org and they’ll help you get started. All they ask in return is your honesty in paying the full rate where you can afford to do so.

Just some of the new courses that might inspire you include Stone Carving, Cheese Making, Beekeeping and beauty products. Not forgetting their popular favourites such as Lime Rendering, Yurt Making and Smallholding. There’s also a special 4 day Butterfly Break where you get a mini holiday as well as exploring Devon Wildlife Trust’s nature reserve at Marsland.

The Yarner trust is in Welcombe, between Bideford and Bude, just off the A39 and is a registered charity.

Sandra Helsby Sandra@yarnertrust.org
01288-331692

The Yarner Trust is dedicated to sustainable and creative living through a programme of educational events covering rural skills, smallholding, sustainable building and wildlife.
 

Family History

Hello Everybody, welcome to the Family History section.
This month I shall be giving you a few facts about tracing your British Army Ancestors. The British Army was established as a permanent institution in 1660. Searching for military ancestors prior to this date is therefore difficult
The records of men who served in the British Army are not kept in one large sequence. The filing method and therefore the searching method, varies depending on the man’s rank and the period he was in the army. Officers’ and Other Ranks’ records prior to 1922 are held in separate sequences at The National Archives ( TNA ) in Kew, London. It’s necessary therefore to know whether you are researching an Officer or Other Rank before you begin. The Army Lists published annually from 1740 list all officers in the British Army.

All army records for men who continued serving after 1922, fought in the Second World War, or joined at any time after 1922 are still with the Ministry of Defence, which will release details of service records to the soldier or their next of kin upon receiving a written request.
Army records prior to the First World War are mostly arranged by regiment at TNA, so it may be necessary to know which regiment your ancestor was with to find a record of their service, though some have been indexed by surname army wide for certain periods.

The careers of officers can be traced from their initial commission to any promotions and eventual retirement using the annually published Army Lists, which gives details of the regiments each officer served with. This can be used to trace original documentation.
In 1940 around 60% of service records of the 6-7 million men who served as soldiers during the First World War were destroyed during bomb attacks in London. Of the 40% that survive, a large number have now been digitised and can be searched on-line by name at the subscription sites such as Ancestry. If no record of your ancestor can be found using the on-line databases, the entire surviving collection of the First World War soldiers’ service and pension records can be searched on microfilm, indexed by surname range, at TNA.

The main series of officers’ service records for the First World War period was also destroyed during the bombing in 1940, but over 20,000 supplementary records survived and can be searched by surname on the TNA on-line catalogue.

There may be no evidence of your ancestor joining the army during the 1914-1918 if their service record was destroyed. The Medal Rolls Index Cards can be searched for brief details including name, service number, regiment, and details of medals awarded.

The next meeting of the Devon Family History Society, Bideford Group will be on Saturday 20th March in the Devon Community Centre directly opposite the Burton Art Gallery from 2-4pm. We are being entertained by Master Jake the Master Surgeon from the 1646 in Torrington. The meetings are open to all and are free. Any queries please contact me, Len Collum 01237 472883.

Westward Ho! Potwalloping Festival 2010
This is an annual 3- day community event in celebration of the old “Potwalloping” tradition dating back to the late 1800s. The dates for this year are Saturday 29th – Monday 31st May.
Contact Mrs Terry Thorpe, 2010 Chair, on 01237 422492 or email enqs@potwallopping.co.uk. For all Arts & Crafts stall enquiries please telephone 01237 423335 email aandc@potwalloping.co.uk and for all outside stalls and commercial tender enquiries, please email stalls@potwalloping.co.uk.
 

North Devon Record Office

 This  is the time of year for our annual stockcheck of archive collections so we have been busy recently making sure that everything in our strong room is where it should be. During this period, usually the first two weeks in February, the Record Office remains open but we do not produce any original documents. It is a good opportunity to get down to some essential backroom tasks that would be difficult or impossible to undertake under normal circumstances. This year we hired a professional photographer to take digital images of a selection of our more attractive estate maps, some of which date back to the eighteenth century. As these maps vary in size from A5 to many square metres, the digital images will provide a quick means of access without having to produce the original item on each occasion.

 The oldest of the maps we photographed was a small, delicately coloured plan of a property called Grange in East the Water (ref. 2379A/Z38/12). It is undated and unsigned but all the evidence suggests that it was produced around 1700 by the eminent cartographer Joel Gascoyne. We know that Gascoyne was employed by the Grenville family of Stowe, Kilkhampton to produce a 33 - map atlas of their properties a few years earlier, and Grange was also owned by the Grenvilles. This map may have been part of a projected atlas of the family properties in Devon, for it is given the number 28 in the top right hand corner and there are binding marks on its left hand margin.

If you would like further information on the North Devon Record Office, please visit our website at www.devon.gov.uk/record_office. The North Devon Record Office is part of the Devon county archives service provided by Devon County Council. Tim Wormleighton