Valiant Soldier marks Great War

Buckfastleigh’s time-capsule tourist attraction, the Valiant Soldier, has organised events to mark the centenary of World War One.

Art, artefacts and a moving parade of school-children all feature in a summer of remembrance under the banner of Buckfastleigh Remembers.

At the end of May an exhibition of World War One artefacts opens at the Valiant Soldier. The exhibition will feature photographs, objects and memories from the period. The exhibition is due to run for four years, with displays changing every so often and a rolling selection of pieces on view.

In addition, Tipperary Days, a performance of poetry and the spoken word, takes place in the atmospheric surroundings of the Valiant Soldier. There will be shows on Thursday May 29th to Saturday May 31st by the Buckfastleigh Drama Group and Rosemary Jessop.

On Thursday June 19, Friday June 20 and Sunday June 22 the town will see its most ambitious event. It will all be over by Christmas is a pageant created by the South Devon Railway and Buckfastleigh Primary School. Children wearing period costume will leave their school for the Town Hall, where they will sign up to join the war effort, then march down through the town singing songs of the time. At the South Devon Railway they will climb aboard a steam train waiting to take them to war. On Sunday, other groups and local people will be able to take part.

Graham Squires, speaking for the volunteers who run the Valiant Soldier project, said: “We wanted to organise some special events because the Valiant Soldier pub was in its hey-day during the years of the First War and its name is a fitting tribute to the men who died.”

The Valiant Soldier, known as the pub where time was never called, is a preserved public house with interiors from the 1950s and 60s. Volunteers opened it as a tourist attraction in 2000. For information, opening times and tickets telephone: 01364 644 522 or e-mail enquiries@valiantsoldier.org.uk. Valiant Soldier, 79/80 Fore Street, Buckfastleigh, Devon TQ11 0BS.