EXCITING stories about people from Tavistock who have emigrated to various parts of the world will feature in a new exhibition at Tavistock Museum. The idea for the exhibition came from two members of the history society, Linda Elliott and Alex Mettler. They already had plenty of information on the topic and decided to put it all together and create the exhibition which opens in March. Many interesting stories have already emerged from their research, including that of a vicar from Sampford Spiney who emigrated to Mexico and was shot by bandits. His wife, who was with him in Mexico, then had to try and get back to England after the death of her husband. And another is of Harry Rogers, aged 19, who died when the Titanic sank. He now has a memorial in Tavistock Cemetery with his family. Mrs Elliott, who is also on the museum committee, said the exhibition will concentrate on people from Tavistock and the surrounding areas due to a 'record number' of people who emigrated and left the town. She said: 'We thought this exhibition would be of interest to people as there was a large number of people who emigrated to places like Canada, America and even Mexico. 'In 1861 the population of Tavistock was 8,912 and by 1901 it had dropped to 4,728 — a record number of people who decided to emigrate. 'The exhibition explains why they went, what it was like when they went there and what they were doing there. 'I think it will make a very good exhibition but we are still looking for more stories.' Anyone who has stories, photographs and artefacts they would like to go into the exhibition can contact Linda on 01822 615211 or Alex on 01822 614773.