► A GREAT HUMANITARIAN

The death of the ‘Father’ of the Urban Council, Mr Douglas Chapple, occurred on Tuesday. The block of flats, Douglas House, was named after him in recognition of his many services to the town. Fascinated by old Teignmouth, Mr Chapple collected a large number of interesting articles, including documents and pictures, which he had hoped to see exhibited one day in a museum in the town. He was president of the recently formed Historical Society.

A keen churchman, he was vicar’s warden over a long period at St Michaels. He was a great humanitarian, always ready to help people in need. He was chairman of the Risden Charity, which helps deserving people on Maunday Thursday, and was secretary of the Soup Kitchen, which now distributes 30 food parcels to these families at Christmastide. He always delivered these parcels himself. Sincerity was his watchword, a man whose motto may well have been ‘Do unto others as you would be done unto you’.

► SCHOOLCHILDREN’S OWN COACH

Devon County Council’s Education Committee will not give grants to primary schools for buying vehicles, so the parents and staff went it alone. In eight months, the Parent Teachers Association collected £600 in money raising events.

They scoured the country for a suitable coach, and found one that had been used as a school bus around the South Molton area, not a modern mini bus but a 38-seater 1954 Bedford Saloon. It cost £325, and the remainder of the money will be used for maintenance and running costs, with a £60 a year donation from the education authorities.

► WISE WORDS

Most folk are as happy as they make up their minds to be. There is nothing new except that which has been forgotten.  The art of acting consists in keeping people from coughing.

► BUNGALOW COLLAPSES

Mr and Mrs Roger Hook heard a loud crash at about 3am and leapt out of bed to find that their lounge had virtually disappeared. Outside walls, a chimney, part of the roof and the floor had crashed down outside, in the grounds of the Dunmore Hotel, Shaldon. Under the debris were hundreds of pounds worth of furnishings. The lounge was situated over the garage, which also caved in. Mr Hook owns a garage business in Teignmouth, and one of his power boats, the ‘Roger and Out’, was crushed in the garage by the rubble. The cause of the crash is not known.

► TORTOISE

Lost, child’s only pet, please return. Reward. Dolphin Court, Powderham Terrace.

► GRAND OLD LOCOMOTIVE

Dear Sir:

This is to thank you for publishing the letter from British Railways, about the transit of the King George V on Saturday. The train watchers on the platform at Teignmouth Station included one who spent many an hour polishing the engine’s brass bell, an acquisition from its goodwill visit to the United States.

As the grand old locomotive ran steadily through the station, it needed little imagination to see behind it the old Cornish Riviera Express, with its chocolate and cream carriages. The sight brought back fond memories of a boyhood spent opposite the Great Western line just outside Paddington Station.

George O Gallop, Higher Brimley Road

► RIVIERA CINEMA

Clint Eastwood in Dirty Harry; Bugs Bunny Show No 7; The Three Worlds of Gulliver.