Exeter Memories 10th Anniversary

Today is the 10th anniversary of the popular local website, Exeter Memories. Conceived by David Cornforth, who had the idea that a website that accumulated memories of Exeter through the preceding decades, would be of interest for many, and would also become an important social record of Exeter through the last 100 years.

The first memory on the site was from John Moon, who started his memory with “I was one of hundreds of American Sailors shipped in to Exeter serve at the U.S. NAVAL SUPPLY Base, code named JOWL-93. My group arrived in September 1943 and were billeted for a short time at the Royal Marine Barracks in Topsham and then when some Quonset Huts were built we moved on to what had been a beautiful golf course. We turned it into the epitome of a mud hole.”

Since then, 142 other memories have been published on the site, many for the first time. The site now covers the history of the city, through its many buildings, current and past Exeter firms, hospitals, schools, churches and biographies of interesting people with links to the city.

Exeter folk are always interested in old photos of the city, and Exeter Memories fulfils their expectations with about 6,000 images, many to be seen for the first time. The development of Princesshay in the last few years was fully documented by David with about 200 photographs showing the demolition and rebuilding, over a period of four years.

Film is an important part of Exeter Memories, with probably the largest collection of privately held historic film of Exeter, on the web. The earliest film dates from 1925, showing the trams in the High Street, the army in Topsham Barracks, the cattle market and the annual river regatta. The aftermath of the blitz and the carrying of the Olympic torch through the High Street in 1948 can all be seen on the film pages of the site. The post war era is not forgotten, with much film footage from the 1950s and 60s, most of which is unique to Exeter Memories.

David is keen to include photographs of Exeter folk, with many portraits of citizens in former times, and group photographs of sports teams, schools and work mates. He encourages people to send in their photos and stories to share with a wider audience.

The tenth anniversary of Exeter Memories coincides with the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War. There is a monthly extract from the Exeter newspapers from a hundred years ago, to enable our 21st Century citizens to read the news from 1914 onwards. There are also articles related to how Exeter people lived with the war, and a Roll of Honour for the men who died in the conflict. New pages related to the conflict will be added as we progress through to 2018.

If anyone has an interesting photo or story for inclusion in Exeter Memories they can contact David Cornforth by email at exetermemories@gmail.com. The site can be found at www.exetermemories.co.uk