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Chivenor
Chivenor maps
Historic maps of Chivenor and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Chivenor maps
Chivenor photos
We have no photos of Chivenor, although we do have photos of these nearby places:
Fremington| Braunton| Buckland| Instow| Pilton West| Saunton| Barnstaple| Appledore| Georgeham| Tawstock| Westleigh| Croyde| Northam| Bishops Tawton| Putsborough| Shirwell| Westward Ho!| Bideford| Goodleigh| Landkey| Woolacombe| Abbotsham
Chivenor area books
Displaying 1 of 26 books about Chivenor and the local area. View all books for this area
You can read extracts and browse photos from these books.
Memories of Chivenor
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Devon memories
MY CHILDHOOD IN BRAUNTON
I've put this date for want of something better. I was born in Ilfracombe in 1955 and lived with my parents, Charles and Marjorie Thomas, until I left to come and live in Spain in 1973.
Our home was a house called Cherry Cottage, Coril Head, Braunton. To get to it you had to walk up SIlver Street.
I remember the Summerfields, who lived in the house you can see on the left hand side of the photo. Anne Summerfield who is a year older than I. They used to live in the cottage on the other side of the street. I don't remember the name of the house.
My father used to raise ducks on some land to the left of the bridge over the river running through the churchyard of St Brannock's church.
Cherry Cottage was sold in 1982 when my mother left England to come to Spain also.
I haven't been back to visit since 2003 but I don't remember many changes in the street. ... Read more
Caen Primary School
My name is Julia Coles and I was born in the Nursing Home in Wrafton Road on 11 May 1954 to Edna and Phil Watchus. My father was in the RAF at Chivenor and I lived in Braunton until I left to work in Exeter in 1990. I remember Braunton so well, Caen Street with the Post Office on the left hand side. Chuggs the newsagents, the cake shop, Darracotts the Ironmongers, Holdens. It had everything and to be honest I don't think our mums had to venture outside of Braunton for much at all. I had a very happy time at Caen Primary School where Mr Goss was the Headmaster, Mr Pitt was our last year teacher, there was also Mrs Hippersley, Mrs Johns, Miss Wells and Mrs Tucker. It was a lovely little school and did well to prepare us for our future. I also spent a lot of happy times at St Brannock's Church where I was in the choir for many years.... Read more
Lovely Braunton
My parents, my aunt and myself moved to Braunton in 1971. We lived next door to the Clarkes who were very kind to us. Although we had moved from a large town house, this house seemed large too - it had a wonderful view right across the Taw/Torridge estuary and west across Braunton Burrows. I may have missed my friends at first, but I very soon came to love the North Devon countryside and the beaches close to us. We were very lucky to be able to move to such a lovely place.
At Brannocks Chruch
Back in 2009, I brought my son down to North Devon to retrace the places my grandmother's family originated from. I had previously found references to generations of Manleys and my x 2 great grandfather was the church warden of St Brannock's. I was fortunate to find his grave in the grounds of St Brannock's and then spent a couple of hours wandering up and down the rows saying the names of those lying peacefully so they would know they were being remembered by a northern stranger.
Ladies Hairdressers at Instow
My mother - Hilda Florence Allen - worked as a hairdresser in Instow for a time during the Second World War. At the time she was married to Douglas Steer although the marriage did not survive long and she later joined the WRAF and was posted to Egypt for the remainder of the war years.
She had happy memories of Instow and took me there with my father for one of my earliest summer holidays probably around 1949. I revisited just this weekend in 2008 and tried to locate the hairdressers shop where my mother had once worked but there has been so much change that it proved impossible. I did walk along the sandy beach and thought deeply about having previously walked here almost sixty years ago! I looked across the water to Appledore and thought how beautiful the area is.
Family Home
Ahh Instow.. Always in my heart. Gran moved from Plymouth to Bickleton (2mls inland from Instow) c1930. Mum (Nancy Rooke) went to Instow school. During the war years she met Dad (Ron) married (1942) and moved to Staines where I grew up. Every year, with my two brothers, Doug and Andy, we would have our holidays with Gran, Aunt Lila and Uncle Ray (Spiers). Travelling down by train, watching out for the derelict tower on top of the hill above the old village near the School. Uncle Ray worked at the REME camp. They moved into Instow c1960, gran passed away 1963. We moved to Newton Abbot, Devon in 1964. Mum, Dad, Doug and Andy moved in with Aunt Lila and Uncle Ray c1966. Andy went to Instow School. Andy now lives in the same house that Aunt Lila had. I particularly remember the beach, Norman Johns' ferry to Appledore, I think he went to school with Mum. So many memories.
Saunton Sands Hotel in WW2
The hotel was used by the Duke of York's Military School which had been evacuated from Dover - on the cliff tops. Wooden huts were erected along the cliff in front and alongside the hotel to be used as classrooms - each with coke-operated stoves leading to outside chimneys.
All doors were taken off the hotel rooms [to create space?]. Bunk beds were installed. The sands had been used for Commando training and, since we were allowed down, we were able to acquire large stocks of discarded or lost ammunition from cartridges to grenades and 'gelly'!! A small amount of gelegnite and a hot coke-stove chimney makes a satisfactory bang!! Since we were mostly Army 'brats' whose fathers were serving or had been killed we were 'aux-fait' with the use of such as we found. Grenades were a little too noisy, causing school staff to react so were rarely used! Little booby traps -found on the beach. These could have a rifle round fitted and be delicately placed.
