Dr. Michael John Balsdon, who died recently in Santiago, Chile, came from this area, being the eldest son of the late Mr. Stanley Balsdon and of Mrs. Doris Balsdon, who now lives at Bideford. He was brought up in Sutcombe, attended the local school and later King Edward the Sixth Grammar School, Totnes. He was then articled to chartered accountants Sully and Company at South Molton, going from there to work in London for Peat, Warwick & Mitchell. After a few years as a qualified accountant he decided to study medicine and gained a position at St. Thomas Medical School. Qualifying in gynaecology, he spent three years in Canada. On returning he took a post at Southampton and became honorary physician to the Royal Navy in Portsmouth. After taking partial retirement Dr. Balsdon moved to Santiago, where he became professor to the Santiago Clinic and in his "leisure time" he set up a clinic for the underprivileged in the area. He was aged 58 and leaves a wife and two stepchildren.
I had known for some years that one of the large mural monuments in St. Mary's Church, Woodford (Essex), where I attend services at Christmas, was in memory of a Bosanquet. The inscription however is all in Latin and it was only this past Christmas that I was able to obtain the English translation. It is to the memory of David Bosanquet who died in 1741. Apparently there was a Bosanquet home here called Forest House. David was a wealthy merchant and an antiquary. The "London Morning Advertiser" referred to him as being "much esteemed on account of his learning and other amiable qualities". I have now been able to find this branch of the family on the large family tree given to me by Mrs. Frederica Freer, who has visited here a number of times and is the great granddaughter of Theodore and Merelina Bosanquet who lived at West Down House, Bradworthy. The Woodford branch of the family came to an end when David's only child died unmarried in 1909.
Margaret Isobel Grills, married into a family who have kept in close touch with their ancestral village, has died in Toronto. She was the wife of Ronald Grills. They were long time friends of mine and I have visited and stayed with them a number of times at their summer cottage on Lake Kawagama, north of Toronto. Isobel, as I knew her, was a versatile person, an accomplished artist in various mediums, as well as a keen sportswoman. A written tribute to her states that although "Born and raised during times of undeniable, traditional restraint and conventional decorum, Isobel kept pace with the times''.