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13. Michael Baylis's Escape Kit This peculiar collection of objects is a Second World War Escape kit issued to Lieutenant Michael Baylis of the Royal Devon Yeomanry. During the War, the Yeomanry served as 142nd Field Regiment Royal Artillery.  After some time in home defence they were sent to the Mediterranean to serve in the …

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18. The Evacuee's Doll This doll, dressed in pink, represents the experiences of one war-time child who was evacuated from London to the peace of North Devon. Her name was Janet. Bombed out of their home, Janet, her younger sister, baby brother and their mother were taken to a local Rest Centre, while their father …

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23. The Wellington Bomber Gun Turret This is the rear turret of Vickers Wellington serial number Z.8721, which crashed into the cliffs at Beckland Bay, near Hartland Point, on 13 April 1942. The turret was occupied by 26 year old Sergeant Charles Trevor Daniel, RAFVR. He died instantly in the crash, as did the other …

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28. Prisoner of War Furniture Many children through the years have had clothes and furniture made for their dolls. But this furniture tells a wartime North Devon story. This set of dolls’ furniture was made for 10 year old Gloria Butler and her sister Pamela during the Second World War.  Gloria’s parents ran Butler’s Tobacconist …

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32. A Yeomanry Table Napkin The Royal Devon Yeomanry Regimental Collection includes a set of illustrated silk table napkins made by Thomas Marshall in 1850 for the Officers’ Mess.  The hand drawn images show the range of the Yeomanry’s activities at that time. Thomas Mervyn Bouchier Marshall was the son of the banker John Marshall …

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34. The Land Army Embroidery This embroidered tablecloth records the names and celebrates the work of women at the Braunton Bulb Farm during the Second World War. The Braunton Bulb Farm was established by Seymour Cobley Ltd in 1923 on poor, rabbit-infested sandy soil at the edge of the Great Field and Braunton Burrows.  They …

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37. The Yeomanry Music This hand-written sheet music was created in 1852 by the Thomas and John Marshall, the sons of the owner and manager of the Barnstaple Bank. The two Regiments of Yeomanry, the North Devons and the First Devons, had originally been created to protect against a potential invasion by Napoleonic France.  By …

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38. Matron's Autograph Book This autograph book belonged to Jane Appleton, the fourth and final matron of the Barnstaple Red Cross Hospital in the First World War. The hospital was set up at The Miller Institute on Derby Road, now Yeo Valley Primary School.  It was one of around 3,000 temporary Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) …

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39. A Painting by Brian Chugg This painting is entitled “Composite of Beach Defences I” and was painted by Brian Chugg from sketches made just after the Second World War. Brian Chugg (1926-2003) was born and lived in Braunton, North Devon. He studied at Bideford School of Art 1946-9 then Camberwell School of Art 1949-50. …

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43. Bertie Burrington's Archive These documents record the life of an ordinary, but remarkable North Devon man, who overcame a difficult start to create a happy family life in Barnstaple. Bertie Burrington (1894-1982) was born in Braunton, where his father was a level crossing keeper.  By the time he was six his father had died …