The Blandford Express

Many Dorset towns and villages are twinned with places which can be found in the La Manche Department of Normandy. Such links include: Bridport is twinned with St-Vaast-la-Hougue  (population 1828 – 2015). In 2019, the latter gained an award as the prettiest village in France. A must place to visit in St-Vaast-la-Hougue is the fine quality grocery store, La Maison Gosselin famous across France which has successfully traded there for more than 130 years. Lyme Regis is twinned with Barfleur (population 564 – 2018). Both now are popular seaside resorts but in 1066 it was the port where William the Conqueror embarked before the Norman invasion of England. In 1944, its German commander evacuated Barfleur, prior to any battle with the Allies, to avoid it being damaged because he liked the small port so much. Sturminster Marshall is twinned with Sainte-Mere-Eglise (population 3074 – 2018). In June 1944, American parachutist, John Steele was caught on the tower of the town church...

Dorset Starfish are not a rare marine invertebrate found off the Dorset  coast. In fact, Starfish saved hundreds of lives in Bournemoth & Poole during World War II by preventing an estimated one thousand tons of German bombs being dropped there. Starfish were decoy sites designed to deceive German night bombers away from strategically important towns and airfields. There were several Starfish decoys in Dorset. One was set up on the western side of Brownsea Harbour. It contained a mixture of different types of fire designed to simulate a burning town. Created with the help of a technician from Elstree Film Studios, it was operated by Royal Air Force personnel from a bunker about 200 metres from the set up pyrotechnics. Once the first wave of bombers had passed drums of oil and creosote-soaked hay bales were lit to simulate the effects of incendiary bombs. This sought to attract the focus of the drops from the next bomber wave. Poole & Bournemouth were a target for a large ...

After Danish born Bertha Hartung Olsen had appeared before Swanage Magistrates, she became known as the ‘ Brownsea Island Amazon’ . It was alleged that the 26 year old, ‘ good looking blonde’ had thrown a girl into the sea ‘ like a sack of wool’ and had also lifted up the girl’s father by his trousers. The physical training expert had been recruited as a security guard by the Island’s owner, Mary Florence Bonham Christie. Mrs Bonham Christie had bought Brownsea Island in 1927 for £125,000 and immediately banned both fishing and hunting. She was a keen supporter of the RSPCA and wanted the Island to become a bird and animal sanctuary. To achieve this, she had evicted nearly 200 Island residents. As a result, she was given locally the nickname, the ‘Demon of Brownsea'. John Walter Batt, a Bournemouth tailor, had been digging for worms as bait on Brownsea Island foreshore for 30 years. He had just received a solicitor’s letter warning him that he had committed a trespass. It was ...

Maybe it is the sea air why, over the years, Brownsea Island has had so many colourful and eccentric owners. Originally called Branksea Island, its name was changed because so many visitors left the train at Branksome by mistake. Among the early owners was William ‘ Mad Benson’ (1682-1754) whom Poole people believed dabbled in black magic and cavorted with a coven of witches. Once when he stood for Parliament in Shaftesbury he only received four votes. Out of spite, ‘ Mad Benson’ cut off the town’s water supply. Next eccentric owner was Sir Augustus John Foster (1780-1848) who had been a diplomat. In fact, he was the last Briton to declare war on the USA back in 1812. While living on Branksea, Foster suffered from bouts of depression and committed suicide by cutting his own throat. Then there was Colonel William Petrie Waugh who purchased the Island for £13,000 for a money making scheme. He mistakenly believed there were valuable clay deposits from which expensive porcelain ite...

  Maryland is a lost village which could be found on the west side of Brownsea Island in Poole Harbour. Originally the island had been called Branksea but apparently so many visitors got off trains at Branksome by mistake that later the island became better known as Brownsea. The lost village was named after the wife of its founder, Colonel William Petrie Waugh. The Edinburgh born Scot’s wife, Mary Murray Halloway-Carew was an amateur geologist. Apparently she was convinced after poking her parasol in the soil that the  island held clay suitable for making high quality pottery. Former Indian Army officer, Waugh had decided to buy the island for £13,000 as a money making scheme. It is said he had returned to England with little property of his own. The purchase was after he had been told by a geologist that Brownsea Island contained a ‘ valuable bed of the finest clay’ worth ‘ at least £10,000 an acre .’ As Waugh was a recently appointed director of the London & Eastern ...