Sub Lieutenant Rupert Brooke wrote his most famous poem 100 years ago in 1914, while training at Blandford Camp with the Royal Naval Division- “If I should die, think only this of me, that there’s some corner of a foreign field that is forever England.” His death in 1915, in Greece from a mosquito bite, is one of the anniversaries commemorated in the 2015 Dorset Year Book.
Published by The Society of Dorset Men every year since the Society’s foundation in 1904- apart from two war years- the 2015 edition has been increased to 214 pages, as against 166 pages last year.
The 2015 Dorset Year Book contains a varied selection of interesting articles- historic and topical- on the life and times of Dorset people, events, towns and villages- incorporating many interesting photographs and illustrations.
Royal surgeon, Sir Frederick Treves GCVO was the first President of the Society in 1904, followed by Thomas Hardy OM in 1907. ITV Downton Abbey playwright and Oscar winner Lord Fellowes of West Stafford DL is the current President.
This is the second Dorset Year Book to be edited by Trevor Vacher-Dean, sometime publican, policeman and estate agent- only the tenth occupant of the editorial chair in over a century. Born in Poole, but with family roots in Milton Abbas, Editor Trevor Vacher-Dean lives in Weymouth. He has been a member of the Society’s committee since 2006. He joined the Poole & Dorset Herald in 1966 as a staff reporter, chronicling happenings in Poole, until moving to Tiverton to become a Constable with Devon & Cornwall Police.
There he met and married Jilly- eventually they returned to Dorset, to Poole & Bournemouth, where Trevor found success as an estate agent for 20 years. They came to Weymouth in 2000 as popular licensees of The Boot, the town’s oldest pub, dating from the times of Queen Elizabeth I around 1600.
“I never realised how completely the Dorset Year Book would take over my life,” says Editor Trevor Vacher-Dean. “I feel like the keeper of a treasurehouse, with each valued offering being carefully nurtured and cared for. I gratefully acknowledge that without the shared vision and masterly wizardry of Chris Smith at Print Team, the result would be very much poorer than it is. I hope our readers enjoy this Year Book and also appreciate what a ‘labour of love’ it has been for all who have made a contribution.”
Among the content of the 2015 Dorset Year Book:
Peter Pitman, then at Portland Secondary Modern School, remembers leaving Easton station at 7.15am one morning, to travel to the Festival of Britain in 1951. Lunch was provided on the train- steak & kidney pie, followed by ice cream.
Palmers Brewery at Bridport, “a 221 year success story,” is chronicled by Michel Hooper-Immins, who reveals some 50,000 pints of real ale are produced every week in the thatched brewhouse, which dates from 1794 in the times of King George III.
Peter Tubbs tells of Albert Newman, 30 years in the Royal Navy, later a bread roundsman in Talbot Woods, Bournemouth. “The Germans chose to machinegun Bournemouth while on his round- he survived by rolling under his delivery van.”
The life of countryman Frank Palmer, born at Upcerne in 1915, is summarised by Philip Knott. “At the age of ten, Frank was milking four cows before and after school.” In the 1920s, a fleet of charabancs took children on outings to Weymouth.
“There was a mill there before the Domesday Book,” says Joanna Smith about Lyme Regis’ Town Mill, whose walls date from 1648. Threatened by demolition in the 1970s, the Town Mill Trust was founded in 1991, today a thriving attraction.
Ian Andrews outlines the historic links between the Port of Poole and Newfoundland. The ships took salt, household goods and food for the settlers and travelled back to Poole loaded with salted cod from the rich fishing grounds.
The front cover and eight colour plates are reproductions of paintings by Arthur Cecil Fare [1876 to 1958.] The front cover shows St. Peters Church and High East Street in Dorchester. Other plates include Milton Abbas and Corfe Castle.
Nick Carter tells how a defence ministry career which began in Portland, culminated in becoming a Policy Advisor to UK forces in Afghanistan. Meeting Ministers and Generals, Nick worked hard to establish good relationships with the Afghans.
Steve White recalls the tented army camp at Ballard Down, north of Swanage, “by October 1914, the presence of troops began to have negative effects on the people of the town- petty thefts- resulting in the early closure of licensed premises!”
The Collingwood memorial just outside Pimperne, marks the battalion of the same name who left Blandford Camp in 1915 for Gallipoli. Stuart Adam, today’s guardian of the memorial, chronicles the battles against the Turks and the grave loss of life.
The Portland Railway closed 50 years ago. Brian Jackson has researched the branch line, where trains began running in 1865. The First World War brought military and naval personnel to the island, including ambulance trains to the Naval Hospital.
The Kohima Epitaph is spoken at every Act of Remembrance. Rev. Dr. John Travell tells how the Dorset Regiment defeated a large Japanese force in April 1944. The Second Battalion defended Kohima Ridge, the last obstacle on the road to India.
The 2015 Dorset Year Book is sent free to all Society members, but is now available for £6 from the Tourist Information Offices at Dorchester, Sherborne and Lyme Regis, Waterstones at Bridport, Gullivers Bookshop in Wimborne, Candy’s of Sturminster Newton, Books Afloat at Weymouth, Cards & Celebrations at Easton and Swanage New Books. There is no price increase, despite the extra pages.
Individual Dorset Year Books can be ordered by post from Alderman Andy Hutchings at 23 Hereford Road, Weymouth, Dorset DT4 0QB at a cost of £8.20- including UK postage. Please make cheques payable to The Society of Dorset Men.
The Society of Dorset Men was founded 110 years ago on 7 July 1904. The Society has a long and rich history, beginning as The Society of Dorset Men in London and aiming to bring together fellow Dorsets in the capital city. Since the 1950s, the main activities of the organisation have been centred on Dorset. Today, there are around 1,200 members throughout the UK and all over the world. The President is Oscar winner and ITV Downton Abbey playwright Lord Fellowes of West Stafford DL. He succeeded Sir Anthony Jolliffe GBE DL DSc DMus in 2011, the only Lord Mayor of London to be born in Weymouth- who still lives in Wyke Regis.
The four objects of The Society of Dorset Men are: “to make and to renew personal friendships and associations, to promote good fellowship among Dorset men wherever they may reside, to foster love of the county and pride in its history and traditions and to assist, by every means in its power, natives of Dorset who may stand in need of the influence and help of the Society.”
Michel Hooper-Immins
