News in Exmouth

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Exmouth hosted a two-day music festival to celebrate the role music plays in the rehabilitation and recovery of wounded service men and women.

Members of staff at a Budleigh medical centre have raised more than a thousand pounds taking on Race for Life in memory of their practice manager.

The life of Exmouth’s ‘beloved’ and ‘legendary’ Camperdown cat has been commemorated by council workers with a touching plaque and tree-planting.

The Budleigh Salterton Literary Festival is celebrating its 10th birthday with an author line-up set to be a sell-out success.

Posted on: 7 September 2018

A sculpture to commemorate the role of the 'Sawdust Fusiliers' based in Devon during the First World War has been unveiled at Stover School.

The life-size wooden carving, situated beside the Stover Heritage Trail near Newton Abbot, depicts two members of the Canadian Forestry Corps with one of the horses they relied on to work the forest.

It was commissioned by 'Devon Remembers' (a partnership project co-ordinated by Devon County Council) and created by sculptor Andrew Frost as part of a range of projects to mark the centenary of the First World War.

The first contingents from the Canadian Forestry Corps arrived at Stover in 1916, following a request from the British Government for skilled and experienced lumbermen to harvest the country's ancient forests to supply the Western Front.

The Canadian Forestry Corps at work

Until then, Canadian timber had been imported to the Front, but the growing threat of German U-boats in the Atlantic put stop to the supply.  Using British grown wood instead also freed up space on transatlantic ships that were used to import crucial munition and food supplies.

The expertise needed to fell, haul and process wood were in short supply in Britain, so a battalion of 1,600 men were recruited from Canada to undertake this vital war work.

By October 1917, when the Canadian Forestry Corps left Stover, the 250 skilled foresters and sawyers based there had felled 700 acres of the estate, producing over 650,000 cubic feet of timber for the British Army.

It was sent to the battlefields in France and Belgium to be used for constructing trenches, dug-outs and roads and to make railway sleepers, huts, planking, posts and ammunition boxes as well as for fuel.

After the initial draft, the Timber Supply Department identified several other locations in Devon, and in June 1917 new camps were built at Mamhead and Starcross. They were supported by satellite camps at Chudleigh, Ashcombe, and Kenton.

A smaller site was opened at Torrington in early December 1917, with camps at Chulmleigh, Brookland and Bratton Fleming, and operations at Plymbridge near Plymouth started in January 1918.

Local people were very curious about the Canadians and enjoyed fetes and sports days when the visitors demonstrated their skills in logging, baseball, canoeing and First Nations' ceremonies. Several Canadian men married local women and stayed in Devon.

Lieutenant General Sir Andrew Ridgway, representing HM Lord-Lieutenant of Devon, was joined by Devon County Council Chair, Councillor Caroline Chugg and invited guests including; Canadian Army Adviser, Colonel Andrew Lussier; Devon County Councillor, Roger Croad; and Stover School's Chaplain, Rev Fiona Wimsett.

Speaking before he unveiled the sculpture, Lieutenant General Sir Andrew Ridgway said:

“At the time I suspect they [the Canadian Fusiliers] felt they were a long way from the front line. But the contribution they made to a whole range of battles was absolutely crucial. Indeed, the defining battles of the 100 days offensive could not have been undertaken without the skilled effort of the Canadian Corps. So I think it's entirely proper to gather here today to unveil this memorial sculpture and to pay tribute to the young men who served during World War One, and to recognise the vital contribution they made to frontline efforts all those miles away.”

Councillor Caroline Chugg

Councillor Caroline Chugg, Chair of the Council, said:

"As part of the Centenary commemorations we are honouring the links forged by Devon, particularly by the Stover Estate, with the Canadian Forestry Corp, some of whom stayed after the war ended to marry and begin families here.

"This magnificent wooden carving is a fitting tribute to the vital role of the Sawdust Fusiliers, honouring the effort and expertise of these men and horses throughout the war and reminding everyone of the important part they played."

Sgt. Charles King returning the oak chair to Stover Estate.

Cllr Chugg also received an oak chair on behalf of the people of Devon, carved by the 'Sawdust Fusiliers' during their posting and first presented to Stover House in 1919.  The chair was taken abroad after the war, and later to Canada, and has now been returned by Sergeant Charles King of the Royal Canadian Regiment as a gift to Devon to be kept at Stover Country Park.

Sergeant Charles King said:

"I’m presenting the chair on behalf of Canadian, the Canadian Armed Forces and my mother, Geneva King. I know my mum's here in spirit, and she would be very proud. This chair was built by Canadian soldiers 100 years ago, and it's being presented back by another Canadian soldier. We have to remember history and to tell the younger generation about history, and if we don't remember that, history will repeat itself."

A selection of photographs from the event are here

Posted on: 7 September 2018

Devon County Council is offering workers in the health and social care sector and job seekers wishing to enter the profession the chance to learn new maths and English skills for free.

Enrolment is open for 'Flex2Learn' which enables care workers across Devon to improve their skills and gain qualifications through flexible and online learning.

The project is designed to help them fit study around work and family commitments.

The courses on offer are English, English for Speakers of other languages (ESOL) and maths. They will also be available to job seekers who want to enter the profession and existing social care and health staff in both the private and public sector. This includes staff in care providers, residential and nursing homes and in the NHS.

The courses will be run by Learn Devon, Devon County Council's adult education service and are free. However if you earn above a £15,736.50 pa threshold, ESOL courses do incur a cost.

The roll-out of the project follows a successful joint bid with Dorset and Somerset County Councils for Department for Education funding in May.

Once enrolled, and depending on their circumstances and abilities, each learner will be assigned to a method of study or 'learning cohort'.

These are either 100% classroom based, a mix of classroom and online study, 100% online learning and learners with additional needs.

English and maths classes will run for two hours while ESOL is three hours. They will take place at a time when leaners can easily get to venues, access public transport or arrange childcare.

All learners will have individual learning plans which form a ‘route map’ of how a learner will get from their starting point on a learning journey to the desired end-point.

Content for the maths course will include skills such as numbers, fractions, decimals, percentages, common measure, using shape and space, or handling data while English will include the skills of communication, reading and writing used in everyday situations.

Learners participating in the Flex2Learn project will complete their courses by July 2019. They will be assessed throughout to ascertain their understanding, so will be set work to complete as well as writing exams at the nearest Learn Devon centre to them.

Councillor Rufus Gilbert, Devon County Council's Cabinet Member with

Cllr Rufus Gilbert

responsibility for skills, economy and Learn Devon, said: "Health and social care staff are dedicated and highly valued and many want to learn new skills or improve existing ones to help them with their personal development and career opportunities. However varied shift patterns and irregular hours can make it difficult to attend regular training and courses. This can limit their progress and prevent people from reaching their potential.

"Flex2Learn has been specifically designed to suit shift workers, those who have caring responsibilities and those who are preparing to return to work. A more skilled workforce leads to improved wages and ultimately a stronger economy."

Romanian Roxana Culcer, 34, came to the UK four years ago to work in a care home. She had several years nursing experience in Romania but and could speak only a little English.

She said: “At work, I lost my confidence as I found I was struggling to communicate as effectively in English as I did in Romanian. I was unable to enunciate some sounds which were absent in my mother tongue and it was affecting my interaction with people at work.

"A colleague recommended I try Learn Devon, so I joined hoping to overcome these difficulties and regain my confidence. At first, I just wanted to improve pronunciation but very soon I became interested in working on my grammatical accuracy as well, to improve my speaking and writing skills at work.

"The course has definitely helped my confidence. My hope is to eventually become a hospital nurse here in the UK, so I plan to continue studying ESOL.

“The course was useful, the tutor patient, kind and expertly guiding me towards my goals."

For more information please contact Learn Devon's Exmouth office on 01395 223 851 and ask to speak to the Flex2Learn Project Officer. More info is available here.

The Journal has joined forces with The Deaf Academy to shine the spotlight on Exmouth as the UK’s first deaf-friendly town.

Exmouth fighter says UFC bout will be over inside the first round

Event will also feature games, stalls, a raffle, food and drink, and other attractions