Simon Dell
Simon Dell’s interest in the way people lived, along with his love of the outdoors have combined to make him an ardent supporter of local heritage.
When I asked Simon Dell if I could interview him for the heritage issue, I knew he would have a lot of experiences we could talk about, as he is both the chairman of Tavistock Local History Society and of Princetown History Club, as well as the director of Moorland Guides. However, he is also no stranger to dealing with adrenalin-fuelled situations from his time in the police force and over 20 years as a member of Dartmoor Rescue Group.
Simon grew up in the North Devon coastal village of Appledore, and as a teenager he recalls mowing a lawn for an elderly lady; afterwards he realised what a full and interesting life she had led and how much he had enjoyed their conversation. Although history lessons at school held little interest for him - in fact he admits quite openly that he failed his O-level exam - social history, based on people’s real-life experiences became a fascination, and he now has 16 books on a variety of social history and heritage topics to his name. I think it would also be fair to say that the heritage of Tavistock and Dartmoor started to exert a hold on him from an early age; he has been enthralled by Dartmoor ever since the age of nine and felt completely at home in Tavistock from the moment he set foot there as a 16-year-old police cadet.
When Simon first became a community constable in 1975 he continued to take the time to talk to people – Tavistock and the outdoor environment became his new classroom. By 1983 he had settled in Tavistock and the books of Gerry Woodcock, and the author himself, became a huge source of inspiration. 1997 was the 150th anniversary of Tavistock police station and when Simon suggested that the event was worthy of a book, his colleagues declared unanimously that he should write it. He embraced the idea and started visiting police pensioners to record their experiences; then with guidance from Gerry Woodcock, he wrote his first book, The Beat on Western Dartmoor, celebrating 150 years of Tavistock policing.
Simon served in the Devon & Cornwall Constabulary for over 40 years, spending half of that time in Tavistock as the local community policeman, before rising to the rank of special constabulary assistant chief officer. He was awarded the MBE for his services to community policing and Dartmoor Rescue Group, and also received the Queen’s Commendation for Bravery in 2003 followed by the Daily Mirror’s ‘Pride of Britain’ award for an act of completely selfless and heroic bravery, when he entered a burning building twice to rescue a father and son. The episode resulted in Simon receiving a spinal injury and burns, necessitating his retirement as a full-time police officer, although he remained in the special constabulary for another eight years, in charge of leading volunteers.
During his time as a policeman Simon enjoyed working with young offenders, often introducing groups of them to the benefits of Dartmoor and Lundy, another of his favourite places. He now delights in sharing local heritage with his young granddaughter and is committed to making history more accessible to young people. Honoured to follow in the footsteps of Gerry Woodcock and become chairman of Tavistock Local History Society, Simon is keen for all supporters of Tavistock’s heritage to make the most of the town’s rich history, including young people. Recent Heritage Weekends have included ‘letterbox-style’ historic treasure hunts, while Simon’s dramatic skills were put to the test at Christmas when he led a ghostly history tour in the guise of Abbot Lyffing of Tavistock Abbey.
Simon describes his company, Moorland Guides, as being ‘born out of adversity’. He was a Dartmoor National Park guide for 15 years, until the DNPA regretfully had to cut the service. The CEO gave the guides 18 months’ notice and Simon rose to the challenge, submitting a business plan six months later to take over the service. 22 guides signed up with Moorland Guides and as the business has flourished, the number has risen to 33, who now lead parties not just on Dartmoor, but also on Lundy, the Jurassic coast and even internationally.
Simon has great difficulty in saying ‘no’, and is consequently involved in a huge number of local projects and activities – he gives over 200 talks each year, he is leading the indexing project on the late Gerry Woodcock’s ‘Tavistock's Yesterdays’ and he is involved in a project to save a plaque of Jupiter on the soon-to-be-demolished Princetown blacksmith’s building. His enthusiasm for the heritage of Tavistock and Dartmoor is boundless, and it gives him great pleasure to share his knowledge with others. We all walk past history without realizing it, and there is nothing that gives Simon more satisfaction than knowing he has made someone pause and really look at a piece of history for the first time.
Rosemary Best