THE identity of Dartmoor Dick has been disclosed thanks to readers of the Times. Rector of Okehampton the Rev Stephen Cook appealed in the paper in July for more information about a headstone in the churchyard bearing the name of Richard Kelly (Dartmoor Dick). Mr Cook said Dartmoor Dick was not a highwayman as he was first told, but he was nonetheless a very colourful character. Mr Cook said: ?He was born at Higher Halstock Farm and spent nearly all his life living and working on the moor as a smallholder and a Dartmoor Ranger. ?He had a close friendship with a Mrs Wreford, the son of ?Lady Trollope? of Belstone, who lived in Klondyke House, and it was she who nursed him in his final years and put the gravestone in the churchyard, ordering the stone from Italy and commissioning Rogers and Sons of Exeter to do the work. ?Mrs Wreford was an interesting character herself, the founder of the ?Universal United Christian Crusade?, of which Richard was one of the earliest members ? so far as we know he may have been one of the very few members! ?The stone carries a badge and inscription of the Crusade on the back. ?Richard was known for his love of the moors and his habit of singing as he went about his work. ?There is a sharp bend in the road just prior to reaching the camp which is known as ?Kelly?s Corner? to this day. ?He was also known as the town?s strongman and apparently had a party piece, whereby he would pick up a 56lb weight in either hand and then clang them together above his head. ?He was a bit of a rabble rouser, and would often be in trouble after a night on the town. ?He is buried next to his mother, Margaret Kelly, who died in 1928.? The vicar thanked all those who had responded to his request for information and added there was doubtless more to be discovered by anyone with the time and energy to do so.
