Christine Marsh - Former post lady, mayor and history lover
Christine Marsh,
Former post lady, mayor and history lover.
Although Christine Marsh wasn’t born in Okehampton, she has lived most of her life in the town and loves it deeply.
‘I came here as a small child,’ said Christine. ‘My father was a local person and well known locally. When I was growing up, people would always say “Oh, you’re Courtney Bolt’s daughter” - it was never Christine!’
On leaving the town’s secondary modern school she trained as a chemist’s dispenser and then spent a while on the reception desk at The White Hart, before marrying and having her two children, Caroline and Perry. While they were young she worked as a tailoress on a self-employed basis and for a while as a postlady.
‘I loved that job, I used to walk for miles - my kids used to tease me about my post office pace when walking,’ she said.
For many years Christine was secretary to three GPs at Okehampton Medical Centre, but it is perhaps in her role as a councillor she is most well known. She was elected to the town council in 1997, the county council in 2001 and also represented Okehampton on West Devon Borough Council.
‘I first stood for council around the time of the enhancements around St James Street,’ she said. ‘There was a lot of controversy around it, people felt they weren’t being listened to. There was a by-election looming and I just thought to myself there was no point griping, do something about it.
‘I’ve been very fortunate to have been mayor of Okehampton for five consecutive years, chairman of the county council and mayor of West Devon - and through being a councillor I was a member of Dartmoor National Park Authority which I enjoyed, because I absolutely love the moor.’
She’s stepped back from both the county and borough councils now but remains a town councillor, and the longest serving member at that.
She has been involved with Okehampton Archive since its inception around ten years ago - it’s become a complete treasure trove of memorabilia of the town, with people donating everything from old newspapers to photographs and artefacts.
‘We receive all sorts of bits and pieces from all sorts of people - they might think it’s rubbish but we don’t. It’s not only archive stuff, it’s things about what’s happening now, like the opening of the new primary school. It’s all part of the jigsaw puzzle of life in Okehampton.’
Christine freely admits she’s a bit of a magpie when it comes to collecting scraps of information about the town. Apparently her loft is crammed full of all sorts of records and papers - thankfully all filed properly - and an entire wall of her home is dedicated to pictures of various parts of the town.
‘I’ve always been into history, I used to like it at school, and I love to look at places and think who would have lived there, who would have touched that. Someone once said to me: “Would you go back or forwards in time if you could?” I’d love to go back in time.’
Not surprisingly therefore, Christine has traced her family tree on both her mother’s and her father’s sides as far back as the 1600s. Her father’s family were involved in agriculture and there was a close connection with the Royal Navy on her mother’s side - but she’s got a bit stuck with a branch of the family that came from Moscow
Now 72 and retired, she is just as busy as ever - and you get the impression she wouldn’t have it any other way.
‘I find myself getting drawn into all sorts of things, it’s probably time I said “No” to some, but I think you need to keep busy and active,’ she said.
With hobbies such as gardening, knitting, crochet, reading, jigsaw puzzles and spending time with her family, there’s certainly never a dull moment.
Christine is also a member of the Everything Okehampton organisation, which took on the organisation of the town’s Christmas light, Edwardian Evening and the music and food festival following the demise of the chamber of trade. She is now throwing herself into plans to mark the 800 year anniversary of the granting of Okehampton’s licence to hold fairs and markets.
She said: ’Okehampton’s not a small town any more where everyone knows everyone else, it’s got bigger but it’s still got a tremendous community. Okehampton has changed but I still love it.’
Jane Honey