ROBERT Brealy was a man of Devon who went to London at a young age and commenced business as a builder, carrying out many large contracts, including the erection of Lambeth Workhouse. On retiring from business, he returned to Devon, first living at Exeter and then Winkleigh. It was when he took up residence in Okehampton at The Leaze, Park Road, now Tors Road, that he threw himself into public work. He made two attempts to get on the Devon County Council, having opposed the late W F Holley and the General E H Holley. A stalwart Liberal he did effective work in many parts of the Tavistock, South Molton and Mid-Devon divisions and received several invitations to stand for Parliament. He was a member of the Town Council and Mayor of Okehampton during 1899/1900 and during his year of office carried out two improvements ? the erection of the Butchers? Market and the making of Kempley Road. In recognition of his efforts, the residents in the road presented him with a silver mounted walking stick. He was also deeply interested in the Okehampton Commons question. At that time, the War Office only paid £10 per annum as compensation for the disturbance of common rights through artillery practice and the grant was for the hamlets and borough. A committee was formed and Mr Brealy had numerous interviews with the War Office. A sum was settled on and then the claims of the parish and hamlets came into conflict, the matter being referred to arbitration. Mr A Guy Whipham acted as arbitrator with a much improved award. The borough and the parish appointed their own Commoner Committee and the War Office paid £250 per annum in all. Mr Brealy was a member of the Wesleyan Church and a local preacher, and held the office of circuit steward. He was an active member of the Okehampton Guardians and when he joined the Board the conditions of the old workhouse appalled him. Mr Brealy pressed for the old premises to be remodelled and eventually this was agreed on and the Guardians decided to entrust the work to Mr Brealy. The old local government board, who were not keen on sanctioning the alteration, were very complimentary when the work was finished and the Guardians presented Mr Brealy with a framed illuminated address, a set of ?Encyclopaedia Britannica? and a gold watch. During his mayoralty there was great excitement when local businessman and former mayor of Okehampton, Charles Geen arrived on Saturday evening in August 1900 in his new car. It was of Parisian workmanship and had been specially built for him, being something of a hybrid, as it had used the best portions of several types of motor car, so manufactured as to give all the good points of several types of machines combined into one de-luxe model. Mr Geen had paid a visit to Paris and purchased all the machinery from the different manufacturers and shipped them to London. He supervised the construction of the motor car and after a few trial runs around Trafalgar Square he drove to Okehampton! Mr Geen described the journey as a pleasure but there is no record of how long the journey took or how comfortable the ride. One of Mr Brealy?s most pleasant tasks as Chief Magistrate was to present, on behalf of the Bench and others, a Purse of Gold to retiring First Class Constable Bidgood of the Devon Constabulary. He had been held in high esteem by the people of Okehampton for what was considered to be the impartial and upright manner in which he carried out his duties. The quaintly described Purse of Gold reminiscent of Elizabethan rather than Victorian times, no doubt contained sovereigns. In July 1900 Mr Breely had the pleasure of meeting Rifleman Ward at Okehampton Station on his return from Bisley after winning the Queen?s Prize. Included in the party were local dignitaries, a company of the 4th Devons, the band and a large and enthusiastic crowd. Flags were flying and Private Ward and his family were escorted to the town hall for a civic reception and the room was jam-packed with people with hundreds more outside just wanting to pay homage to their local hero. Mr Brealy was also elected to the Committee of Dignitaries based at Exeter to organise the welcome from South Africa of General Sir Redvers Buller. Mr Brealy died at Coldridge at the age of 83 in December 1923, but his name will live on in Okehampton as a tablet in the outside wall of the market hall is engraved ?This stone was laid on August 28th 1900 ? His Worship the Mayor R F Brealy Esq?. It was a lavish municipal event and it was described in the press in some detail as follows: ?In accordance with a resolution passed at a recent meeting of the town council, the Mayor of Okehampton, with befitting ceremony, on Saturday placed in position a memorial stone in a prominent place in the now rapidly rising walls. These are already some seven or eight feet from the ground, and it was at this height at a convenient point that is to be seen by the passers-by that the stone is placed fronting to Lodge Street. Fine weather favoured the event and it being market-day a large number of farmers as well as townspeople gathered to witness the ceremony. ?Assembling in the town hall at half-past four o?clock, the Mayor and Corporation and members of the Okehampton Charity Trust formed a procession and, headed by the mace-bearers, walked to the site where they were welcomed by a fanfare of trumpets. In front of the stone a platform was erected for the council and privileged spectators and the roadway below was filled with townspeople and market people who ceased their buying and selling at the temporary stalls erected on the other side of the road, while the ceremony was onwards. Beside the Mayor the company on the platform included Aldermen Seth Harry and T Jessop, Councillors T R Wood, W Pearce, T C Westcott, J Coombe and H Rowe, Mr G L Fulford (Town Clerk), the Rev F W Saulez (Vicar) and Messrs S P Newcombe, T Kennard, J Grendon, J Palmer, W B German, J Glass and J Heywood (Charity Trustees), the architect (Mr J Archibald Lucas, FSC) and the builder (Mr William Ball). ?After a brief religious service, conducted by the Vicar, the Mayor, using a silver trowel with ivory handle, presented by the architect and a mahogany mallet, the gift of the builder, skilfully laid the memorial stone, a large granite block bearing a suitable inscription.? Mr Brealy was a man who contributed much to Okehampton after his retirement. Hilary and Mike Wreford