AT their April meeting, members of Thorverton Historical Society received a talk by Dr David Parker entitled “Devon and the First World War”.

David introduced the talk as being about Devon’s attitude and contribution to the Great War and how it affected the people of Devon.

The weather in the summer of 1914 was very good and many holiday makers were enjoying the sunshine in the resorts of Devon. Few were concerned about what was happening in foreign countries.

There were local problems with suffragette protests in Newton Abbot. The clay workers in the Teign Valley were involved in violent strikes and there were other strikes in Plymouth and North Devon.

Ireland was seeking home rule that Asquith had promised for later in 1914. The fleet was anchored off Torbay and tourists came to see the ships and enjoy the sunshine but this scene was not to last.

In late August military reservists were called up. Devon had a large Army and Naval presence so many were involved. Some were based in training camps on Woodbury Common.

Many of Devon’s fishermen were Naval reservists. Their trawlers were converted and fitted with guns and they became patrol boats looking for enemy submarines.

Some trawlers had hidden guns so they still looked like fishing boats but were heavily armed. These Q ships were used to protect trawlers off the coast of Devon and HMS Pirze sank a submarine.

Paddle steamers from Ilfracombe were converted to minesweepers or patrol boats. One such steamer even went as far as Gallipoli and saw action there.

Blackouts were required at home but few locals saw the point in them. There was a great fear of spies. It was known that the Kaiser’s brother had visited Ilfracombe and his sister had been to Sidmouth.

The reality was they had visited, but as tourists, not spies.

However, spy mania was rife and the Abbey at Buckfast was suspected of hiding spies. The monks were mainly German or French and could freely wander around. The local council wanted police to surround the area but gave up the idea when they were asked to pay for the policing.

By the autumn of 1914 there was no conscription and all military recruitment was from volunteers. Conscription was introduced in May 1916. Rallies were held to drum up local support, bands would play and women were encouraged to get their men to join up.

Mothers were targeted to encourage their sons to enlist and girlfriends were similarly encouraged to get their boyfriends to join.

Horses were needed for the war and the military paid farmers a good price for them and they were willing to sell. Many thousands of horses were killed in the war.

The train system was used to move troops about and Devon had a great railway network. Local troops were moved out and others moved in for military training.

Guest houses that had lost their holiday makers did well in providing accommodation for the young soldiers. Clergy warned of the danger of letting young ladies go out at night because of all the young soldiers in the area.

Bigamy was not uncommon. Ilfracombe was regarded as an immoral place so troops were not sent there.

Voluntary enlistment was poor in Devon and Dorset, along with other rural areas. It was much higher in the cities where “pals” regiments were formed.

Lord Fortesque organised military tour campaigns travelling to five or six villages a day in an attempt to further encourage recruitment.

Stirring speeches were given but there was still a great lack of volunteers. There was the feeling that men in the countryside, who were mostly farm workers, would join when the farmers’ sons joined up.

Propaganda showing German atrocities was common. Research has shown that civilians in France and Belgium were killed but the extent is unknown.

A clearly marked Red Cross ship was sunk by a submarine off the Devon coast at Start Point.

Belgian refugees flooded into Devon and were distributed around the county. Although they were welcomed at first, attitudes had changed by the end of the war.

Many wounded troops were shipped back to Devon for treatment and recovery from their wounds so local people were recruited and trained for work in the many hospitals here.

Entertainment was laid on for the wounded troops with some local villages competing to be the best at this. A total of 3,000 troops attended a strawberry tea at Torquay.

Refreshments were laid on for all troops passing through Exeter St David’s railway station. Initially this was tea, bread, ham and an apple but later was reduced to tea and a bun.

Children were used to gather sphagnum moss which was used as an antiseptic wound dressing, foxgloves for digitalis, horse chestnuts for acetone for cordite and wartleberries for jam for the troops.

There were shortages of meat and potatoes but this may have had more to do with the price the farmers could get rather than what was lost at sea.

Women worked on farms to replace the men who had gone to war. Dartmoor prison was used to contain conscientious objectors who would not perform any task for the war effort.

The lives of so many Devon people were changed by the war to end all wars.

Robert Turner