wemburywaves

On This Day in Wembury — 5 October 1934: Call to preserve Wembury coast

On this day the Exeter and Plymouth Gazette asked what response Plymouth would make to a proposal for the preservation of about a mile of coastline at Wembury. A local committee had taken up the matter, and the Devon branch of the Council for the Preservation of Rural England gave the project its full support. It was also reported that Mrs Sebag Montefiore had generously offered to donate land, provided that building in the immediate locality was permanently prevented.

The paper noted that Plymouth people made great use of Wembury Bay and described the surrounding coast as one of the lungs of the city. It argued that it was not too much to expect Plymouth to raise a few thousand pounds to secure the area under a comprehensive scheme. This debate foreshadowed later coastal preservation moves which eventually saw much of Wembury’s shoreline protected through National Trust ownership.

Source: Exeter and Plymouth Gazette, 5 Oct 1934

On This Day in Wembury — 5 October 1994

Wembury youngsters help launch a safer form of rugby

On 5 October 1994, the Western Evening Herald reported that children at Wembury County Primary School were among the first to try a new form of rugby designed to introduce youngsters to the sport without tackling.

It was called Tag Rugby.

The idea had been devised by Devon Rugby Football Union youth development officer Nick Leonard. Instead of tackling an opponent to the ground, players wore Velcro belts and stopped the ball carrier by pulling off one of the attached tags.

Among those demonstrating the game were Charlotte Marsh and Steven James, both aged 10, pupils at Wembury. The newspaper photographed them showing their new skills for a promotional video intended to encourage schools to adopt the game.

Headteacher Paddy Marsh told the paper that it was an ideal way of teaching youngsters how to play rugby without the risk of injury, particularly following the death of Matthew Mason, a 17-year-old college rugby player, the previous month.

What makes this little Wembury story particularly interesting today is what happened to the idea afterwards. Tag rugby became enormously successful as an introduction to the sport for children, and versions of it are now familiar in primary schools and junior rugby clubs across Britain and much further afield.

So those Wembury pupils photographed in 1994 weren't simply having a PE lesson. They were taking part in the early promotion of a form of rugby which would eventually be played by generations of children.

And there is something rather nice about the headline the Herald chose:

“Passing game to the world.”

For once, it wasn't much of an exaggeration.

Source: Western Evening Herald, Wednesday 5 October 1994.