As you come out of Teignmouth on the Dawlish road and approach the top of the hill, keep an eye out on the left-hand side and you may catch a glimpse of one of Teignmouth’s hidden gems of architectural and historic interest. St Scholastica’s Abbey nestles behind the pallisade of tall trees. It is nowContinue reading “Countess Isabella Jane English”
Category Archives: People
Peter Paul Marshall
Introduction – a Pre-Raphaelite Inferno In my previous post I mentioned the wonderful names of various Victorians. Here is another one to conjure with – Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Yes, one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood; and, No, he’s not buried in Teignmouth cemetery. But there is a strong connection. History is fascinating forContinue reading “Peter Paul Marshall”
Rear-Admiral William Alfred Rombulow Pearse
Introduction Is it a pre-requisite of admirals of the 18th and 19th centuries to have grandiose names? Probably not, but one of the first graves we researched was that of Rear-Admiral Thomas Abel Brimage Spratt – a name to conjure with. A Royal Naval Mediterranean explorer, he could be called the “Indiana Jones” of his time! RearContinue reading “Rear-Admiral William Alfred Rombulow Pearse”
Three in One – Part 3b – Harry Welchman – Career Years
On February 5th 1960 the TV presenter Eamonn Andrews surprised Harry Welchman in a taxi outside the Riverside Studios in Hammersmith, London. This became Harry’s appearance later that week on the popular TV show of the time ‘This is Your Life’. Unfortunately the recording of that show doesn’t exist any longer; it would have beenContinue reading “Three in One – Part 3b – Harry Welchman – Career Years”
Three in One – Part 3a – Harry Welchman – His Origins
The final person in the Three in One tale is Harry Welchman, 24 February 1886 – 3 January 1966. Although he made several non-musical plays he was really a star of musical theatre and, as the Times remembers him, “perhaps the most popular musical comedy hero on the London stage in the years between the wars”.Continue reading “Three in One – Part 3a – Harry Welchman – His Origins”
Three in One – Part 2 – Sylvia Forde
Leaving behind the mystery of Janet Sarah Coke we now add a little glamour and intrigue to the Three in One tale. Sylvia Forde was Harry Welchman’s second wife. She too worked in the theatre, almost married a Prince and, importantly for Harry, she provided him with massive support when he toured the country. EarlyContinue reading “Three in One – Part 2 – Sylvia Forde”
Three in One
The credit for the discovery of this story must go to one of our keen volunteers, Jean Gitsham. It is a tribute to the almost archaeological tenacity required to locate and uncover the burial sites of people who have an historic attachment with Teignmouth. Like many such discoveries serendipity places a part. In Jean’s ownContinue reading “Three in One”
Bombing Casualties – Henry and Elizabeth Williams
The Wonder of the Web! It would be nice to think that news of Teignmouth Cemetery has gone global. We’re not quite there but we have had another international contact recently, this time from Tom Williams of Anaheim, California. Tom had visited the cemetery in 2015 and, amongst the overgrowth and brambles, had managed toContinue reading “Bombing Casualties – Henry and Elizabeth Williams”
Robert Arthington – Philanthropist – The Millionaire Miser
From Liberia to Teignmouth The Cemetery continues to raise bizarre connections with the outside world. In April 2012 Charles Taylor, the former president of Liberia, was found guilty by a Special Court in the Hague of eleven charges of atrocities including terror, murder and rape. He was subsequently sentenced to 50 years in prison ofContinue reading “Robert Arthington – Philanthropist – The Millionaire Miser”
Maurice Mortimore
As an interesting by-product of all this work we have been doing on the war graves we have come across a number of other graves of people who have died in service but who are not in official Commonwealth War Grave Commission sites. There are also others, non-military, who died during particularly the Second WorldContinue reading “Maurice Mortimore”
Teignmouth Old Cemetery 