250 years of Exmouth's FIRSTS

For her second book about Exmouth, Daphne chose to celebrate the achievements of 24 people who were either born, educated, worked or died in the town. From the 1st picture of a female powder monkey to the 1st 4-year-old to hold an art exhibition, many FIRSTS have been achieved by Exmouthians in the past 250 years in a variety of fields and by a variety of ages. Some have already received full recognition for their achievement whereas others have only recently been recognised globally.

Among the females are the 1st women to climb Mont Buet; 1st computer programmer; Exmouth’s 1st OBE; 1st runner-up placing in the Eurovision Song Contest; the 1st descendants of 1st Lord Exmouth to live in Exmouth; the 1st Exmouthian to feature on a Europa stamp and the 1st woman to command an RAF fast jet squadron. The males include the 1st proposer of the Submarine Telegraph; the 1st Victoria Cross to be announced by telegram the day following the action; the inspiration behind the 1st “Carry On” film; the 1st Radio 1 DJ to play a request for royalty; the 1st person to diagnose pancreatitis preoperatively; the 1st principal of Seale Hayne College and the 1st professor principal of Rolle College; the 1st Governor of Fiji to visit Pitcairn Island; and the 1st blind person to row the Pacific Ocean.

Arranged in chronological order of their association with Exmouth, their stories interconnect, especially along the themes of India; Reading (Berkshire) and Honours (three Croix de Guerre, four OBEs, a VC and a Dame), but can be read as stand alones for those of you who like to dip in and out of a book. Daphne was amazed to discover that two residents of her present home were among those FIRSTS. Those featured who are still alive have said how honoured they are to be included among “250 years of Exmouth’s FIRSTS”. Let’s hope their stories encourage present Exmouthians to even greater things during their lifetimes.

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With 63 coloured illustrations and 39 black & white in its 208 pages, "Exmouth's FIRSTS" (ISBN 978 - 1 - 897715 - 04 - 8) was published in 2019 with a cover price of £14.95 but those who are able to buy direct from Corridor Press and collect from them in Exmouth will be able to purchase copies for £10.00. (If you are not local to Exmouth, we can supply copies for £12.50 including postage & packing).

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