Here are some details of what I found:
Ducks Pool
"William Crossing Memorial. By kind permission of the Duchy of Cornwall, for use in conjunction with the above [stamp], this book has been placed here for the signatures of visitors by Dobson's Moormen. [23rd] October 1938"
Located under a giant rock at the head of a tributary of the Blacklane Brook, Ducks Pool is another permanent fixture on the Moor, and place of pilgrimage for many Letterboxers.
Sylvia Sayer, Chairwoman of the Dartmoor Preservation Association - advocate of conserving Dartmoor's heritage with an ambivalent attitude to Letterboxing - wrote in the book in 1951:
"Perfect weather. Very pleasant to find Ducks Pool so beautiful and unspoilt - we hope that all who visit Ducks Pool will join the Dartmoor Preservation Association."
Fur Tor
A group of regiment captains, Junior leaders and some Norweigan apprentices carried out this mission and returned the "battered remains" of the old visitor book to Plymouth City Library "in accordance with the directions written upon it".
The theft of stamps attracted some comments in the book. On August 16th, 1958, a group from Exeter University (1927-31) signed in. They wrote:
"The Cranmere stamp and the Fur Tor stamp both missing for the first time for about 20 years. A THIEF!! Kindly replace both stamps for our pleasure.
The Fur Tor stamp was idly imprinted just once in the book (that I saw), although the image has been partially ripped out, suggesting a visitor sought a copy.
The Letterbox thief was active in the 50's too, as was frustration about their activities. The 'Queen of the Moor' deserves a permanent Letterbox, and it is a shame that this original box no longer survives, deleted, as it was, from the Catalogue in 1993.
Captain Joyner would later become Major Joyner. He and Lt Col Lionel Gregory (who wrote the letter featured above) were the partnership widely recognised for establishing the Ten Tors expedition. Joyner was the 'architect', who designed the routes and checkpoint procedure. As the regiment's commanding officer, Gregory was Chief Controller of the first Ten Tors in September 1960 (when Cranmere Pool was one of the checkpoints!)
Read more about the beginnings of Ten Tors here. Lt Col Gregory OBE passed away in 2014. Read his fascinating obituary here.
Captain Joyner would later become Major Joyner. He and Lt Col Lionel Gregory (who wrote the letter featured above) were the partnership widely recognised for establishing the Ten Tors expedition. Joyner was the 'architect', who designed the routes and checkpoint procedure. As the regiment's commanding officer, Gregory was Chief Controller of the first Ten Tors in September 1960 (when Cranmere Pool was one of the checkpoints!)
Read more about the beginnings of Ten Tors here. Lt Col Gregory OBE passed away in 2014. Read his fascinating obituary here.
Crow Tor
The quality of the hardbound book - with "Crow Tor Visitors" imprinted on the front, suggests a long established Letterbox, but the book covered just a few days - between July 14th and 16th - and the method of recording visits was simply visitor name, arrival time and departure time. Judging by the length of stay - typically 6 hours - the group departures, and the repeated names, something odd happened here then, and probably not a Letterboxing trip...
If you can shed any light on this Crow Tor visitor book, please let me know via comments!
YOU CAN VISIT THE RECORDS OFFICE TOO!
Log on https://web.plymouth.gov.uk/archivescatalogue/archivescatalogue and search for "Cranmere Pool", "Ducks Pool, "Fur Tor" or "Crow Tor".
You must arrange to visit in advance. Email the Records office (pwdro@plymouth.gov.uk) with the archive numbers of items you wish to view. Don't worry - you can request to see more when you get there! Be sensible: there are hundreds of books stored here! Note their opening hours.
Take £5 in cash if you wish to photograph any item, as a charge applies for unlimited photgraphy, and cards are not accepted.
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