Bude WWII Heritage Trail

Written Directions:

Starting at the Tourist Information Centre in the Crescent Car park take a leisurely stroll up the Strand and cross the road at the pelican crossing.

Making your way up the hill you’ll find your first plaque on your right at Zuma Jay’s Surf Shack which was the Sunny Corner Library owned by Mrs Dean, where American troops could borrow books for a small fee and buy small gifts and souvenirs.

Slightly further up the hill on the right you’ll find the next plaque at Potters. Where you’re now stood was once Darch’s Fish and Chip Shop, during the war years fish and chips were not rationed to keep the moral of the country up so Darch’s become a popular destination for a teatime treat!

Crossing the road at the traffic lights you’ll find yourself at Lansdowne Dairy. Known as Bromell’s Dairy & Smale’s Grocers during the war years, the Ministry of Food took over the dairy and provided milk to the American troops. To this day the Lansdowne Dairy owners still have the original order books from 1940-1945. A quart of milk was 6d and a gallon of milk was 2s/4d which today roughly translates to 2 pints of milk for 30p and 8 pints of milk for £1.20.

Continue up the high street and to your left you’ll find our next plaque at Shine Hairdressers. This was once the site of the British Ministry of Defence War Office. War Offices were placed in towns and cities across the country to issue official documents for both military personnel and civilians.Right next door you’ll find Webbers Estate Agents which during WWII was the Ministry of Food – Ration Office. Food rationing was a Government scheme which began in Britain on the 8th January 1940 to ensure fair shares for all at a time of national shortage. Even petrol and clothing were rationed. To buy rationed items each man, woman and child had to register at their local shop and was provided with a ration book containing coupons. Shopkeepers were provided with enough food for their registered customers and shoppers had to present their ration books to the shopkeeper so their coupons could be cancelled as they purchased things .By 1942 most food essentials were on ration including meat, butter, cheese, milk, sugar, tea, eggs, preserves and sweets. Rationing finally ended in 1954 when meat came off ration.

On the corner you’ll find yourself at Truscotts Hardware Shop. This gem of a shop has been in the same family for over 125 years although not always in this spot. During the war years this was the site of Hawkins Shipping Company. Here tickets to far flung destinations could be bought, it’s highly likely that tickets for the Titanic were sold here in 1912! Truscotts moved into the building just after the war ended in 1947.

Take a gander down Queen Street and about halfway down the high street you’ll find Bude Yoga and Therapy Space which was the Police House during the war years. At this time the main Police Station was based in Stratton so the Police House provided housing to PC Tregaskes who at 6ft3in was an imposing character who is said to have ruled Bude with a “fist of iron and a reign of terror.” (Tony Edwards)Following the high street and turning left towards the Post Office you should spot our next blue plaque at the end of Belle Vue Lane. At what is now the Arthur W Bryant Funeral Service the United States Army Billeting Office once stood.

The 29th Battalion Rangers arrived in Bude in early 1943 and by December of the same year the 2nd Battalion Rangers arrived in Bude by train. When the troops first arrived in Bude they’d be sent to the Billeting office to be assigned their places to stay known as ‘Billets’. Most troops were billeted to private homes to live with a local family for the duration of their training but some stayed in tent camps in Bude and the surround villages. Many troops became very close with the families they lived with and stayed in contact after the war.

Take a left turn at the Post Office heading down towards Adventure International.  Built in 1909 the Grenville Hotel was where the American Officers and other high-ranking personnel were billeted during the Rangers training in Bude. The Grenville Hotel hosted the Officer’s Mess which provided meals exclusively for the Officers staying at the hotel. The hotel also played host to the American Red Cross and their volunteers known as ‘Donut Dollies’ who served coffee and doughnuts in what they called ‘Donut Dugouts’ to all the American troops to boost morale.

On the opposite side of the road you’ll find Roly’s Fudge Pantry which was the PX Store from 1943 -1944. PX stood for Post Exchange which was where the American troops stationed in Bude could buy American products like socks, chewing gum, chocolate bars, soap and cigarettes. In the days before the creation of the Post Exchange travelling merchants would move between military camps across America selling items to soldiers, usually at highly inflated prices. This continued for many years but by the outbreak of WWII the US War Department formally created the Army Exchange Service to operate not only PX stores but restaurants, cinemas and clothing stores for American troops throughout the world and still does to this day.Meandering back up the hill to Bude Post Office you’ll find our next blue plaque.

Here was the site of the Telephone Exchange. When you make a phone call today the lines are connected by an automatic switching system but during the war years these connections were made manually by women working at central telephone exchanges. If you wanted to make a call you would pick up the phone which connected to a switchboard, the operator would ask “number please” and would then ask you to hold the line as they connected you manually by plugging the ringing cable into the relevant jack. Telephone exchanges employed mostly women and it became one of Britain’s first female workforces.  It’s said that the American troops would line up around the block to place calls home to family and friends.

Continue your stroll up the hill towards Sainsburys. Here you’ll find our next plaques. The Headland Pavilion was located where today the Atlantic Rise Retirement Village now resides. The Headland Pavilion was a small building that served as a cafe and events space. During the war years the pavilion was used as a sickbay and classroom for the Clifton College students evacuated to Bude. In 1943 the American Rangers stationed in Bude decided to throw a Christmas party for the local children. They organised a feast of treats including marshmallows, candy canes and chocolate bars from the US and Father Christmas even made an appearance (played by Corporal Wally Borowski, 2nd Rangers F Company) who gave every child a white china teacup and a sixpence.

Sainsburys supermarket was once home to Bude’s Picture House. During the war years the cinema would have shown such famous 40’s flicks as The Lady Eve (1941) and Casablanca (1942) as well as showing newsreels before the main feature film reporting on the war which were produced by the Ministry of Information. The picture house was a 999 seat cinema (One more seat would have meant more tax so the owners stuck to 999 seats!) which showed films throughout the week but was closed on Sundays. However, when the American troops arrived special orders were given to keep the cinema open on Sundays to entertain the troops.

Taking a walk down the hill past the Pearl Exchange and crossing the road through the golf course towards the Sam Edwards Garage you’ll find our next blue plaque. The Sam Edwards & Co Garage has served the people of Bude here for over 100 years. During the war years many of the American military vehicles were kept behind the garage.

Local stories tell of soldiers taking naps in their jeeps and leaving graffiti on the walls of the garage. The children at the local school were also known to visit the garage to talk with the troops and be given treats of sweets and even Lux soap!

Walking back towards the sea front you’ll find yourself at the Crooklets Inn and Tommy Jacks Beach Hotel. These buildings were the Pengarth Hotel and the Hawarden Hotel during the war years and were utilised by the American troops as ‘chow houses’ for meals and some were billeted here. The troops would queue outside with mess tins and tin cups in hand ready for a hot meal after long days of training and drill practice.

Taking a stroll right, up past Crooklets Inn and behind Rosie’s Cafe you’ll find End House at Crooklets. During the war this house served as the Armed Forces Network – a radio station designed to keep all US personnel abroad up to date with news from home, music, weather and more. Formally known as the Armed Forces Radio Station, the AFN began broadcasting on 26th May 1942 from the BBC Studios in London. During the final preparations for D Day the BBC joined forces with the Canadian Broadcasting Company to transmit their radio show to all of the Allied Expeditionary Forces and small stations like the one here in Bude were set up. Please note that End House is a private residence and should be respected as such.

Walking up the stairs towards the cliffs on the South West Coast Path you’ll see a small concrete structure which is a relic from WWII. The Pillbox was constructed by the US Army in the style that German pill boxes were made. It was built for training purposes and not for British defences. The pillbox was intended to give American troops training for the Normandy landings the most accurate experience with as many different scenarios to train with as possible. The pillbox was abandoned after the war and was eventually closed off to the public due to vandalism, however during the Bude at War Heritage Weekend in 2017 the pillbox was cleaned up and reopened to the public so they could experience part of the WWII history of Bude. Please note the Pillbox is not accessible by pushchair or wheelchair

From here follow the Coast Path back towards Bude, past Crooklets Cafe and the beach huts to the Seapool. Bude Seapool is a semi-natural tidal pool opened in 1930 for safe bathing. During the war years the pool was used by American troops in training exercises and for recreation. It’s even said that local children taught a few of the troops to swim. Please note the Sea Pool is not accessible by pushchair or wheelchair

Continue following the Coast Path and you’ll find yourself at The Beach Hotel and Elements Restaurant. This is Summerleaze Crescent – once home to Clifton College. During the war a collection of guest houses and hotels stood here which were used as accommodation and classrooms for Clifton College, a private boys boarding school, which was evacuated to Bude due to the heavy bombing over Bristol.

A memorial stone was erected on the Headland by pupils and teachers of Clifton College in 1968 in thanks for the hospitality shown to them by the people of Bude.Rejoin the high street at the end of Summerleaze Crescent and strolling down the hill towards the Recreation Ground and Bude Castle you’ll find our next plaque. The Castle, now a museum, art gallery and heritage centre, was built in 830 by Sir Goldsworthy Gurney. In 1930 Lady Nicholson took ownership of the castle and during the war years the Castle became home to Russian nobility and several Russian refugees. Russian nobleman Count Obolensky and his family along with their governess lived with Lady Nicholson at the Castle. Local people recall seeing the family bathe in the sea pool and the Russian children giving ballet shows for locals and troops on the Castle grounds.

Following the Canal Towpath toward Summerlease Beach we come to the end of our Bude WWII Heritage Trail. You’ll find our next plaque by the Lock Gates and Breakwater for Wrecking. The Bude Lock Gates are some of the only working Sea Lock Gates in the UK. The Breakwater allows safe passage for vessels into the harbour from the North Atlantic’s stormy waters. Although the harbour was no longer in commercial use by the time war broke out, Bude’s beaches saw many shipwrecks and much wrecking.

Many supply ships found themselves foundering or torpedoed off the Cornish Coast, especially Trevose Head, which led to huge boxes of cargo washing up on Cornish shores.

Turning around and following the canal path past the library and the Olive Tree restaurant you will find yourself back at the Tourist Information Centre. We do so hope you enjoyed the Bude WW2 Heritage Trail and exploring the hidden history behind our modern façade. Made with thanks to those who have contributed their memories, research and time to this heritage trail.

A specialthanks to Yvonne. Many thanks to Bill Kneebone, Ricky Perry, Peter Vickery, Elizabeth Hobbs, Colin Austin and Dan Haylock for the reading, recording and creating of the QR Codes which brought our history to life.

Funded by Cornwall Community Foundation.