On This Day in Wembury – 18 August 1875
An advertisement in the Western Morning News offered Wembury Bay Cottage to let, furnished. The property, only a few minutes’ walk from Wembury Park and close to the coves, included a dining room and a stable with two stalls.
The notice illustrates how by the 1870s, parts of Wembury’s coastline were already being marketed as desirable retreats, with cottages promoted for their proximity to the sea and leisure appeal, foreshadowing the village’s later growth as a residential and holiday destination.
Source: Western Morning News, 18 Aug 1875.
On this day in Wembury — 18 August 1941
The Western Morning News reported a remarkable wartime ceremony at St Werburgh’s Church, Wembury, where a flag of Australia was formally presented to the parish. The service, conducted with both military and civilian attendance, symbolised a powerful bond between Devon and Australia, united through one of Wembury’s most distinguished sons — Major Edmund Lockyer.
In a service attended by members of the Royal Navy, Army, and Royal Air Force, Flight Lieutenant Strudwick of Sydney presented the Australian flag on behalf of the Government of Western Australia, to commemorate Major Lockyer’s historic act of raising the Union Jack at King George Sound on 21 January 1827, thereby claiming the entire Australian continent for the British Crown.
The flag was received by Reverend C. H. D. Grimes, then conducting his final service in Wembury before leaving to become vicar of Newton Ferrers. He paid tribute to Lockyer, who had been born at Wembury House, son of Thomas Lockyer, former Mayor of Plymouth. Rev. Grimes reflected that Lockyer’s venture from Devon to the far side of the world echoed the spirit of Drake, Raleigh, Frobisher, and Hawkins, all sons of the West Country whose courage shaped England’s seafaring destiny.
During the service, lessons were read by officers from the Army and Royal Navy, and a Royal Marines band led the congregation in hymns including Eternal Father, Strong to Save and Onward, Christian Soldiers. Prayers were offered for the King, Allied leaders, and the wartime cause.
The Australian flag was left to hang permanently within the church as a memorial to Major Lockyer — explorer, founder of the first British settlement in Western Australia, and enduring symbol of Wembury’s global legacy.
(Source: Western Morning News, 18 August 1941 — “Presentation of Flag: Australian Gift to Wembury.”)