appledore
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Bideford Community Hospital opened in 1925 and is celebrating its 100th anniversary as a major feature of the town this year. The building of the hospital was made possible thanks to a generous donation from Sir William Reardon Smith, a wealthy shipowner who was born in Appledore in 1856. He made major contributions to hospitals in…
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Last year we reported on the planned demolition of Bideford’s first collar factory on the site of the old Littlejohns Coal Yard. Sadly, that historic building has been demolished, but a recent donation of 14 different styles of collars to Bideford and Community Archive provides another opportunity to reflect on an industry that contributed so…
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We hear that Navantia, Appledore will shortly start cutting steel for the bow sections of the first new Fleet Solid Support Ships. A massive 100 x 30-metre barge will transport them to Belfast. It should be something to watch as it comes in and going out of the estuary fully laden. When we hear about…
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The Appledore Book Festival has long provided a showcase for local history and this year’s exciting programme is no exception. What is exceptional is the quality and variety of the new research which has been brought together, and what are sure to be some compelling stories of north Devon folk who inhabited these shores in…
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The horrific detonation of nuclear bombs over the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August 1945 killed between 150 and 246 thousand people, mainly civilians. Soon after, Japan announced its surrender and 15 August was made the official V-J Day in the UK, commemorating the end of the Second World War. Bideford…
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On 4 May Appledore hosted the 200-year celebration of the RNLI. The day was fine and in the morning sunshine everyone could visit the Mollie Hunt, Appledore’s Tamar class all-weather lifeboat, brought along the quay while the tides were high. As people stood looking at the modern boat, all technology gleaming, leaflets were handed out to…
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The recent planning application by the owners of Richmond Dock, Appledore has understandably generated a lot of discussion locally. The Wheatcroft Collection, claiming to be the largest collection of Second World War vehicles and artefacts in private hands, purchased Richmond Dock in 2020 in order to house their collection of boats and maritime artefacts, including…
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The announcement that WW2 has ended in Europe was broadcast to the British people over the radio late on 7 May 1945. The BBC interrupted its scheduled programming with a news flash announcing that Victory in Europe Day would be a national holiday, taking place on 8 May. Bideford & District Community Archive has…
Bideford and River Torridge Heritage Harbour 