Every Friday I send out an email that features photos from the Rupert Leach Collection, snaps taken from the personal View-Master reels of View-Master’s Director of Photography in the 1940s and 50s. These never-before-published images show alternative shots of some commercial View-Master reels and personal photos of Leach, his wife Poppy, and others.
I try to get to the bottom of the people and places pictured within. Let’s dig in!
The only clue in this week’s reel is what’s written on the envelope: “Devon Trip — Totnes, Plymouth.” We can assume this is an extension of the the previous reels we’ve looked at from this stack.
This first shot is a beauty! A sunny day in Totnes, a town “at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England, within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty,” per its wikipedia page.
From downtown Totnes we move on to this incredible display of tulips. Now, I don’t know if this tulip garden is in Totnes. Please let me know in the comments if you recognize it as more than simply the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty!
I poked around a bit and the only place in the area I could find known for its tulips is the RHS Garden Rosemoor. It’s a lovely place and worth a glance regardless:
While searching for tulip-heavy gardens in Devon, I did find this legend from Devon about why most tulips don’t have a scent:
The story has it that there was once an old lady who planted an amazing flower garden, and her tulips were so beautiful that the fairies chose their flower cups as cradles for their tiny babies. They say the fairies were so grateful to the old lady for her amazing tulips that they presented the blooms with bright colours and a delicate fragrance. Sadly, after the old lady passed away, the beautiful garden was destroyed by the new harsh owner and, to revenge themselves on him, the fairies took away the smell of the tulips.
Our next shots are definitely of Plymouth.
Based on my image searches of the area, this photo and the next were taken from two sides of the same platform.
Plymouth Naval War Memorial. Designed by Robert Lorimer, this WWI memorial was unveiled in 1924. After World War I, the Royal Navy wanted to find a way to commemorate sailors and Royal Marines who had died at sea and had no known grave. Following WWII, the memorial was expanded to include those lost in that war, too.
I would love to know if the platform Rupert Leach took these photos on is still there. I believe it’s Smeaton’s Tower, a memorial lighthouse located pretty much in front of the the war memorial:
Just a guess on my part!
There’s a photo of a proclamation by the Queen dissolving the present parliament. Not clear why this one was worth photographing. Perhaps it has more historical significance than usual?
When I tried to search Google for this image the top hit was my own post of Sissinghurst Castle! So, it’s not identical to that photo but it’s pretty darn close! While Sissinghurst is not close to Totnes or Plymouth, it’s possible this is just a random extra from the Sissinghurst reel. OR, placing colorful plates in front of your castle’s windows is just how the English like to do it?
Obviously, lots of holes this week. Please let me know if you have any ideas on where the massive tulip gardens of Devon are located!
If you made it this far you should smash that ❤️ button so I know you’re out there and following along. Thanks for reading, friends! And be sure to subscribe for new reels every week.
Man, I learn things every time you post in this blog. Most Americans are complete idiots when it comes to knowledge of other governments; I knew nothing about the periodic dissolution of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. (It works, so they must be doing something right.)