Postman Branch is somewhat of an interloper in Barefoot on the Cobbles as he did not actually live in Clovelly. As Leonard makes up his mind whether or not to join up, I used William Branch as a well-known local figure who was a prisoner of war.

William Henry Branch was born on 8 May 1888 and baptised at Northam on 21 June. He was the son of James and Mary Ann Branch née Heard. At the age of seventeen, William joined the army reserve as part of the 4^th Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment. At the time, he was living at 6 Hazel Terrace Northam and working as a labourer for Mr Ashplant, a shoemaker. William was just under 5 foot 6 inches tall and weighed 129lb, with brown eyes and brown hair. He described himself as a Wesleyan Methodist. It appears that, six months later, on 19 June 1905 he was part of the regular army. 1911 finds William serving in India as a Lance Corporal in the 13^th Hussars.

He married Ethel Mary Bowden in 1912 and they had one son. At some point, he was attached to the 2nd Life Guards. In the early days of the First World war he was taken prisoner. Whilst he was a POW at Wittenburg Camp, he was shot through the hand so that he would be unable to use a gun. He was discharged in July 1916 and awarded the Silver War Badge.

He became the local postman, walking the route from Bideford to Buckland Brewer daily. He used to stay in a hut at the back of the Methodist Chapel whilst he waited for the outgoing letters to return to Bideford. By coincidence, it may be that this shed is now in my garden, although other sheds are available! He also worked as the local lamplighter. By 1939 he was living at 3 Rickards Row in Buckland Brewer. He died in 1963.

 ‘Now the old men pontificated about the war, what so-and-so should or shouldn’t have done, how our brave boys would win through and wasn’t it a pity about Postman Branch, who’d been taken prisoner.’

Barefoot on the Cobbles will be published on 17 November 2018. More information about the novel can be found here. Copies will be available at various events in the weeks following the launch or can be pre-ordered from Blue Poppy Publishing or the author.