THREE Tavistock residents were appointed honoured burgesses last Saturday for their distinguished service to the town. The honour went to Gill Gorbutt, Gerry Woodcock and Russell Woolcock. Mrs Gorbutt worked for Help the Aged for 14 years, was active in various community projects in Brentor and helped set up what is now Tavistock Area Support Services. A Tavistock town councillor from February 1990 to May 1999, she was mayor from 1997 to 1998. She was involved in many organisations, including the citizens advice bureau, the youth centre and Age Concern. She is currently a trustee for Westden, the Santa Rosa Fund, Tamwed, and trustee and chair of the local nursing association trust fund, is chairman of Tavistock Farmers' Market and is involved in a number of countywide activities. Gerry Woodcock came to Tavistock in 1966 as head of the school's history department after years of teaching in Yorkshire. He later became head of the sixth form, a post from which he retired in 1995. Mr Woodcock has for many years written and lectured on all aspects of the history of Tavistock, and is closely involved with the Tavistock Local History Society. He has written 14 volumes of 'Tavistock Yesterdays', episodes from her history. Russell Woolcock was born in East Cornwall and joined Ward and Chowen, Tavistock's oldest business, in 1944, at the age of 16. He has worked in the company ever since, qualifying as a chartered surveyor in 1956. He was sole principal for at least 20 years and is now a consultant. He was associated with the Dartmoor Commoners' Association since 1953 and was secretary from 1957 to 1986. He was also involved in the drafting of the Dartmoor Commons Act in 1985 and was the first secretary of the Dartmoor Commoners' Council from 1986 to 1997. Mr Woolcock has been secretary of the West of England Show for more than 40 years and is president of the Tavistock Young Farmers' Club. He has been president of the Whitchurch and Sampford Spiney Sheepdog Trials, a chairman of both Western Counties Agricultural and Valuers Association and the Cornish Agricultural Valuers' Association, and has been secretary of the West of England Scotch Blackface Breeders' Association for the last 50 years. He has been chairman of the Marshalls and Browns Almshouse charity for 22 years and is a trustee of the Bawden Trust and the Watts Charity. Other club involvements include membership of Tavistock Rotary, a founder member of the Tavistock Round Table, and trustee of the West Devon Club. Tavistock mayor Caroline Keane said: 'Gill Gorbutt, Gerry Woodcock and Russell Woolcock have each honoured this town in their individual contributions of hard work and dedication. 'Such efforts have helped to make Tavistock the exceptional market town in the South West in which we live today.' Since 1984 the town council has been empowered to give the distinction of 'honoured burgess', a civic rank, to people who have done good for the town, worked hard and been a prominent citizen.
