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Combe
Combe maps
Historic maps of Combe and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Combe maps
Combe photos
We have no photos of Combe, although we do have photos of these nearby places:
Plymstock| Yealm River| Wembury| Yealmpton| Newton Ferrers| Plympton| Noss Mayo| Bovisand| Heybrook Bay| Plym Bridge| Plymouth| Stoke| Cremyll| Ermington| Wotter| Devonport| Ivybridge| Harford
Combe area books
Displaying 1 of 26 books about Combe and the local area. View all books for this area
You can read extracts and browse photos from these books.
Memories of Combe
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Devon memories
My First Memories
I was born in Garden Village, Billacombe in 1944 and lived there until I was 8 years old. My memories are very strong of walking up Pleasure Hill to Sunday School at Pomphlet, walking to and from Goosewell Infant School and buying cream buns from Goodbodys Bakery on the way home. We lived with my grandparents who kept chickens, had wonderful apple trees, raspberry bushes and gooseberries in their garden. Summers were very colourful. We did not own a car and my mother used to walk us to all the woods in the district such as Staddiscomb, Radford, Saltram and Colesdown where picking primroses and bluebells were a strong feature of my memory. I have always been haunted by Dickens 'A Christmas Carol' after seeing Plymstock School's version in a Christmas concert. These were the days when steam trains ran on many branch lines and my most vivid memory was of catching the train to Steer Point and collecting shells for the chickens. We owned a caravan at Bovisand where we spent a lot of... Read more
A Very New Broadway
In 1962 my parents and I (12 years old) moved from Bristol to open Victoria Wine (later to become the Wine Market before reverting back to Victoria Wine). There were still several empty units awaiting occupation. I can recall most of the shops that were open, starting at the fire station end was James & Rosewell hardware, a ladies hairdresser, Lloyds? Bank, newsagent, service road, Barclays Bank, ladies & childrenswear, coffee bar (bane of our lives with noisy motor bikes racing around every night), South Devon Textiles, Co-op, Midland? Bank, Sharp & Savage TV, our shop, Dingles foodshop. Mays florist, Millbay laundry, Widgers decorators, Dewhurst, Pearkes grocery, Lockharts hardware then lastly was Fine Fare which was one of the first supermarkets to open in the UK.
There was no development on the south side at this time. It was another 2 or 3 years before Woolworths, then another year or two before Co-op (Plym House?), Boots and Halfords appeared.
We had the pleasure of the sight of cows grazing... Read more
Found Memories of Early Days at Yealmpton
Now living in Australia and having revisited Yealmpton in recent times, the changes are amazing. Where there used to be fields in which I played with mates, sadly houses now stand. The old bridge, church, Mother Hubbard's Cottage and pubs are still much as I remember them, but the old charm seems to be missing. In 'my days' I could name just about everyone living in the village, now - from what I'm told - that isn't so! My memories go back to during the blitz when Plymouth was being bombed and I was just 4 or 5 years of age; the next day picking up silver streamers apparently dropped by the bombers to deflect radar, visits to a devastated Plymouth and 'tin pan alley' - a row of corrogated iron sheds selling whatever was available. I remember the American army camp at Brixton, picking cockles from the mud at Undercliff, Saturday evening film shows in what was the then Womens Institute near the bridge, fetes, and - when older - dances behind... Read more
Navy Transit Camp Lyneham
Nights at the local inn. Hikes to Yealm River. Company of land girls at nearby camp. Newton Ferrers.
My Stay at Collaton Cross
I lived in Collaton Cross for a short while when my Husband was in the R.A.F. My surname then was TURTLE. My son Nicholas was born in the house in Collaton Cross. He was ill at birth and taken to Freedom Fields Hospital in Plymouth where he had a successful operation and is now a strapping six foot 3inches and very fit. I had a Daughter Julie and another son Tony. I enjoyed my stay at Collaton Cross and used to enjoy walking into Newton Ferrers. I had very friendly neighbours who were very helpful when my son was born and in hospital. My husband was working from R.A.F. Mountbatten on air/sea rescue. As I recall Newton Ferrers was a very pretty village which I hope some day to revisit,I also hope that my son will decide to visit his place of birth in the not too distant future.
I feel that I did enjoy the area but sometimes,when you are young and bringing up a family, you do not... Read more
Living at Collaton Cross
I must have only been about 3 years old although it seems when I recall the memories, that I was older. I remember roller skating on the "hangars" at Collaton Cross. These were actually the remains of the RAF hangars (presumably where they originally stored the planes?) and were large slabs of concrete on which the children of the estate used to play. I have no idea how long we lived there for with my sister Christine and mum and dad, Julie and Ted Bedwell. My dad was stationed at RAF Mountbatten and I didn't yet go to school so cannot remember much else. I have returned and it looks much the same although the houses are now private rather than RAF quarters.
A Naval Hideaway.
What a great little place to be when in the RN. I was serving on the Boom Defence Boats in 1954/5. These boats were coal burning, and I was a stoker, so it was pretty hard work! We spent most of our time in Pembroke Dock, but now and again we had to do some work in the Plymouth area, and berthed in Turnchapel, a real hideaway, no Naval Patrols, no Naval Officers, as our Skipper used to leave for his home in Plymouth, well I think that's where he went!! Then we all used to go up to a little pub, just up the road from the jetty, on a hill, brilliant little place, good beer, always a sing song, nice female company!! And everyone was happy, that is until closing time! Yep, that's fifty odd years ago now but I will always remember Turnchapel, although for the life of me, I am unable to remember the name of that pub. I remember the name of one of the... Read more
