OKEHAMPTON Community Archive held its first 'Living History' exhibition to try and bridge the gap between the past and present of the town.

Volunteers were kept busy throughout the day with 100 local residents visiting the exhibition, which was held in the Charter Hall last Thursday.

The exhibition included a Powerpoint presentation prepared by OKA member Paul Vachon, which explained the aims and objectives of the archive.

The emphasis was on community ownership of their local history.

Members of Okehampton Community Archive, Gillian Lower and Horace Rutley, supported the presentation with a display of photographs and documents from Okehampton's 20th century history.

The exhibits covered landmark events such as the changes to the town brought about by the demolition of the old West Okement river bridge, the floods of the early 1950s and the severe snow storms through the decades of the century from 1947 and 1963 to the present day.

A novel feature of the exhibition was an opportunity for visitors to walk the streets of old Okehampton and look in the shop windows of former premise such as Allin's Tea Rooms in the former Fore Street and Rosemary Lane quarter of the town.

There was also a visit from Hayley Friend, the great, great grand-daughter of the former proprietor of Allin's Tea Rooms.

Cllr Michael Ireland, the chairman of OKA said: 'We hope to hold another event in the spring with a new theme.

'Our aim is to create a living history of Okehampton in the 20th and 21st centuries, accessible to all and creating a real sense of collective ownership of our town's recent past.'

Cllr Ireland said the response by the public to bring in their photos and memorabilia was overwhelming.

'Archive members provided a photo and document scanning service throughout the day offering the opportunity for CD copies of old photographs to be made and the originals retained by their owners.'

Members of the Okehampton Community Archive expressed thanks to everyone who supported the event

Anyone who would like to share their life and experiences in Okehampton can email their details to [email protected]">[email protected]