8th Sept 2019 Wartime Memories 

An Exhibition of Our Research into life in Exbourne and the surrounding area during WW2.

During 2018 and 2019 our researchers have been looking at a varied range of resources to discover more about life in the village and surrounding area during World War Two.     

A very successful exhibition, held in Exbourne Village Hall on Sunday 8th September, showcased our findings. 

Much research had gone into the exhibition, including visits to the Devon Archives and the Museum of Dartmoor Life as well as online studies of newspaper articles and other documentation on a range of websites. The researchers also gathered a great deal of local knowledge and memories, which greatly enhanced the resulting displays.

The accompanying memorabilia also added enormously to visitors’ enjoyment.

Exhibits included a wide variety of Exbourne related themes:

Farming, Operation Pied Piper (the process of evacuation), and Evacuees and their school life including involvement in many fundraising and collections of items for the war effort (Most evacuees came to Exbourne from Battersea.), The WI and The Home Guard 

Also, American and Polish troops in Okehampton, Bombs that fell around Okehampton and Folly Gate airfield. Dennis Bater showed a presentation of Winkleigh Airfield during the war and neighbouring detachments of the Home Guard.

Exbourne Community Choir entertained with songs such as ‘Run Rabbit Run’ and ‘Who do you think you are kidding Mr Hitler?’ and many other well-known wartime songs, during the afternoon and cream tea and cake were also available and enjoyed by all.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank Dr Michael Winter and Exeter University Centre for Rural Policy Research, for contributing Wartime Farming knowledge, Dennis Bater for spending the afternoon with us and also Waitrose and Dunn’s Dairy for their support.