DHRG Books Out of Print
The DHRG books which are no longer in print can be viewed or downloaded free of charge uisng this website. They are listed below.
The Wadstrays
By Irene O’Shea
This booklet traces the history of the Wadstray farms. There have been land transactions, intermarriage, social interaction and legal disputes. They would have played a part in the village life of Blackawton and the town of Dartmouth and some had connections with other nearby towns and villages. The book provides insights into the lives of the people, their homes and workplaces.
Available to view or download free.
John Davis – Master Navigator, 1543-1605
By Ray Freeman & Eric Preston
Davis, along with Sir Humphrey Gilbert, was one of the foremost navigators and explorers of his time, who knew Dartmouth as his home port. This is a more detailed account of John Davis’ life and work, based on research by Ray Freeman.
Available to view or download free.
The Secret War from the River Dart
By Lloyd Bott
During the Second World War small boats of the Royal Navy carried out clandestine missions on the German occupied coast of France. This is the story of the 15th MGB (Motor Gun Boat) Flotilla which carried out such missions between 1941 and 1944, operating out of Dartmouth. The author, Lloyd Bott CBE DSC, was an officer with the Royal Australian Naval Volunteer Reserve and was First Lieutenant in MGB 502, one of five boats in the Flotilla.
Available to view or download free.
Operation “Fahrenheit”
By Michel Guillou
This book tells the tale of a group of patriotic Frenchmen who fled to England in a small boat to join the Free French forces, enabling a daring raid on a German signal station at Pointe de Plouezec in Brittany in November 1942. The raiding party, in their high-speed Motor Torpedo Boat, departed from and returned to Dartmouth. The original book was written in French by Michel Guillou, an amateur historian, and has been translated into English for DHRG.
Available to view or download free.
Dartmouth Industry and Banking 1795–1925
By Ivor Smart
This was the last book Ivor Smart wrote for the Dartmouth History Research Group. As with all his other publications, it was meticulously researched, and contains quite an astonishing amount of historical detail, describing the business of banking in Dartmouth over 130 years, including dramatic events such as the sudden failure of the Dartmouth General Bank in 1824.
Available to view or download free.
River Dart Pilotage
By Dave Griffith
Dave Griffiths encountered many tense moments during his years as a River Dart pilot, piloting commercial vessels over 200 feet in length up to Totnes, and moe recently manoeuvring 500-foot cruise liners in and out of the harbour. He recounts his stories here with a sense of humour that makes the book an enjoyable read.
Available to view or download free.
The Newcomen Road
By Ivor Smart
In 1861 the Dartmouth Corporation agreed to go ahead with an ambitious plan prepared by engineer William Bell to build a new modern highway sweeping down from Southtown as far as the Quay. The eventual implementation was far more modest, but nevertheless the Newcomen Road vastly improved Dartmouth’s accessibility. Ivor Smart’s inimitable account of the political and commercial wranglings that beset the project provide a fascinating insight into how Dartmouth was run 150 years ago.
Available to view or download free.
The Development of Dartmouth Millpond to 1846
By Ivor Smart
Ivor Smart’s diligent and thorough research provides a detailed account of how the area around where Market Square is today, originally a tidal creek and later a mud bank and mill pond, gradually – over more than 700 years – became a major part of today’s town.
Available to view or download free.
A Wrens-Eye View of Wartime Dartmouth
Compiled by Ray Freeman
Ray Freeman tracked down nearly 30 Wrens who served in Dartmouth during the Second World War, and persuaded them to contribute their own personal recollections. Their tales range from the hilariously funny to those describing the shock and horror of war. Together, these memories provide a vivid account of wartime Dartmouth.
Available to view or download free.
Wrecks off the South Devon Coast
By Tony Aylmer
Diver Tony Aylmer’s enthusiasm for the underwater world enabled him to write this fascinating little book about wrecks that lie on the seabed between the mouths of the rivers Erme and Dart.
His tales of local shipwrecks cover nearly 200 years, from HMS Ramillies, which foundered off Bolt Tail in 1760, to the English Trader which came to grief at the mouth of the Dart in 1937.
Available to view or download free.
The Story of Warfleet
By Ray Freeman
Warfleet Creek and the land and houses immediately surrounding it, including Gallants Bower, were once part of a manor and parish quite separate from Dartmouth. Ray Freeman’s story spans the period from the 14th century to the comparatively recent acquisition of Gallants Bower by the National Trust.
Available to view or download free.
The Newcomen Memorials in Dartmouth
By Ivor Smart
Ivor Smart’s research was as meticulous as ever in this account of the town’s attempts to commemorate one of its most famous sons, engineer Thomas Newcomen. None of these proposals came to fruition until the 1960s when one of Newcomen’s original steam engines was carefully reconstructed in a purpose-built engine house, ensuring that Thomas Newcomen and his association with Dartmouth are not forgotten.
Available to view or download free.
The Free French at Kingswear
By Tony Higgins
This book contains a detailed account of the activities of the 23rd MTB Flotilla (motor torpedo boats), one of several Coastal Forces Flotillas based in Dartmouth and Kingswear during the Second World War. Manned by the Free French navy, the flotilla would cross the Channel at night to attack enemy shipping off the French coast and around the Channel Islands.
Available to view or download free.
The Guildhalls of Dartmouth
By Ivor Smart
The present Dartmouth Guildhall dates from 1849, as the stone over the entrance proclaims. There have been no less than four previous sites to which the term “Guildhall” is applicable. Ivor Smart traces their history, providing a great deal of information about Dartmouth’s development over many centuries.
Available to view or download free.
Dartmouth Cottage Hospital
By Dr W. G. Kean
The late Dr Giles Keane wrote this history of Dartmouth and Kingswear Cottage Hospital starting from its beginnings in 1887 to 1991. A second edition of this booklet, published by the League of Friends to bring the history up to 2014, is available from Dartmouth Museum.
Available to view or download free.
The Holdsworth & Newman Families
By Ray Freeman
Ray Freeman’s first booklet for DHRG tells the stories of the Holdsworth and Newman families, interrelated by marriage, who had a major influence on the affairs of Dartmouth and the surrounding areas from the 17th century onwards. Both contributed immensely to the development of Dartmouth.
Available to view or download free.