?I HEARD a machine gun firing and saw several bullet holes appear in the left wings. We were taken completely by surprise . . . the enemy fired another burst from my right, putting the engine out of action and hitting me on the right ankle.? That was how Throwleigh resident Oscar Greig described his FE2b fighter plane being shot down over France during the first world war. He had been shot down by Lt Manfred Freiherr von Richthofen, the Red Baron. He spent the next two years in five different prisoner of war camps, but, following a daring journey across Europe, returned home just before Christmas 1918. Greig?s remarkable story is just one of those featured in the new book Throwleigh: pictures and memories from a Dartmoor Parish, which has recently been published thanks to a grant from the Countryside Agency. The book contains more than 250 fascinating photographs from the Throwleigh Archive, plus contributions gleaned from interviews with past and present residents of the village. The book begins with some recollections of the Beating of the Bounds ? the ancient practice was revived in 1923 by Father Lowe and is now held every seven years, starting out from Payne?s bridge. Father George Lincoln Cambier Lowe was a key figure in Throwleigh?s history. He came to the village in 1895 and found things very elementary. As an enthusiast for the ?High Church? he quickly introduced changes in the style and appearance of the church service. Father Lowe was also a great dog lover, his longest-standing companion was a little terrier called Ripple, who has a memorial stone just outside the churchyard and as close to the Lowe family graves as it can be, without actually being in the graveyard. Another figure of the era was Granny Arscott, who lived at Church House. She lived to be over 90 and would still do the step-dances and the broom dance in the tithe barn when she was more than 80. Schooling in the village gets a chapter, which includes a picture of the children lining up for the visit in 1966 by the then Minister for Education Anthony Crossland. He described it as a ?lovely little school?, but this made no difference when the school closed five years ago. Other chapters focus on the village?s farms, the church and chapel and wartime experiences. There are also plenty of pictures and first hand accounts of life in nearby Wonson, Murchington and Rashleigh. The book grew out of an exhibition which the Throwleigh Archive held in 2002. The archive was set up in 1999. Since then, volunteers have scanned many hundreds of photographs and documents lent by current and former residents. What makes this book such an enthralling read is that wherever possible, stories and memories are imparted through the words of ordinary people. Michael Paget, who has edited the book, said the archive had never set out to claim to be an oral history project. However, in 2002, some interviews were recorded with people who remembered Throwleigh in the ?old days? and these provide the backbone of the book. One of the key sources were the accounts of the late Amy Harvey, who became headteacher at Throwleigh School at the age of 21, and retired in 1968 after a career of 38 years. Mrs Harvey recalls, for example, the efficiency of the postal service during previous times. ?On one occasion a letter was received in the village at 7.30am, the answer dispatched by the 8.30 bus and that was received in London by 3.30 the same afternoon. She also describes the unusual events that made up sports days in Throwleigh back in the 1920s: ?The Dutch cheese races for women and children followed, when a large red round ball was sent rolling down the side of the sloping field. What were the men doing? Pillow fights, high jumping and skittles ? first prize a pig, for every cottage had a pig. As we children watched, two men balanced on a pole, hitting out at each other ? how we wished the pillow would burst, and occasionally it did, sending feathers everywhere.? This book is an absolute must for anyone interested in the changes which have gripped Dartmoor?s villages in the last century. Any money raised from sales of the book will be used to maintain and extend the Throwleigh Archive. The book is available at £15 from The Throwleigh Archive, Ladyemede, Throwleigh, EX20 2HU, p&p £6, or from Throwleigh village shop, the Museum of Dartmoor Life, Okehampton, Moreton Bookshop, Moretonhampstead and Webber & Sons, Chagford. RICHARD WEVILL