Crediton Museum Olympic Display

Firstly, by kind permission of the Church Governors, items usually stored at the church have been loaned to the museum so that more local residents can learn about them. There are objects, including a coat, boots, musket barrels and saddle, left in the town by the Cromwellian army when they were here during the English Civil War, and other interesting items found in the church. Secondly, to celebrate the opening of the London
Olympics, awards have been loaned by local sportspeople who have achieved at national level. 

Organiser of the Olympics display, David Nation, said “It is just amazing what great successes have been achieved by local people. Often we hear little of it but these people have shown enormous dedication and commitment to reach the levels of performance
they have. At both individual and team level several have toured the world competing against the best and still come away with medals. This display celebrates their successes and we hope it will inspire future generations of local sportspeople. Just because you come from a small market town in rural Devon does not mean you cannot compete with the world’s best.”

The earliest Olympic success was a gold medal for Crediton solicitor John Symes who played for the England cricket team in the Paris Olympics of 1900 – the only time cricket has featured! Although they don’t have the medal on show, photographs are displayed of the team and local teams for which John Symes played. World achievements by Becky Brooks (now Tancock) in Tai Kwon Do and Ian Bond in Bowls are featured, as are the improving performances at international level of athlete Sophie Skinner.

Society vice chairman Sandra Cooper said “The limited amount of space we have means that we need to change our displays fairly often to enable us to show people just how much history the area has. What we’ve displayed over the last three years has been very well received and there are many more stories to tell in future exhibitions.”