PEOPLE from Tavistock have been paying tribute to the Queen Mother -who visited the town in 1967- following the death of the much-loved Royal this Saturday.
Some have been remembering the special day 35 years ago, when the Queen Mother came to Tavistock. Hundreds of children were given time off school to turn out for the occasion and excitedly greet the royal visitor with home-made Union Jacks. The visit to Tavistock was part of a royal trip to the South West, which included a tour of Cornwall and brief visits to Plymouth and Torbay.
Alexander Craig-Mooney was clerk to the then parish council when the Queen Mother visited on May 4, 1967, and was part of the welcoming committee in Bedford Square.
'The councillors and I were stood in the Square and she was introduced to us. She was an informal and charming person,' he said.
Times photographer James Bird was one of the throng of children who braved wet and windy weather to greet the Queen Mother on her visit to Tavistock.
'We were stood in Bedford Square, by the church, with hundreds of other children all waving our little Union Jack flags. The Queen Mother arrived and went for a walk-about in the Square,' he recalls.
Muriel Brown, from Whitchurch, also met the Queen Mother when she visited the town 35 years ago.
'She was equally charming then as she was all through her life. I think everyone would agree it is a great loss to our nation,' she said.
West Devon Mayor Cllr Robin Pike led tributes from the borough following the Queen Mother's death.
Cllr Pike said the Queen Mother was a sad loss to the nation. 'Many people have fond memories of her and she will be sorely missed. She was an inspiration to all for her devoted service,' he said.
The Mayor has sent a letter of condolence to the Queen on behalf of the Council.
A one-minute silence was held before Tuesday's planning committee meeting at Okehampton and the Union flag was being flown at half-mast at the council's Tavistock offices throughout the period of mourning.
West Devon Borough Council spokesperson Alison Stoneham said books of condolence had been opened at both Tavistock and Okehampton borough council offices for people to leave their tributes.
Mayor of Tavistock, Cllr Norma Woodcock said Tavistock Town Council was flying its Union flag at half-mast this week as a mark of respect. Before the meeting of the full town council held on Tuesday, a one-minute silence was observed.
Cllr Woodcock said a letter of condolence would be sent to the Royal Family by the town council expressing the sympathies of the people of the town.
At the Easter Sunday service at St Eustacius Church, in Tavistock, special prayers for the Queen Mother were said and a book of condolence was opened in the church.
Devon County Council's book of condolence was opened at County Hall, Exeter on Tuesday, and copies are available in libraries across Devon for members of the public to pay their respects.
A county council spokesmen said: 'Many people and particularly those of older generations who remember with great admiration Her Majesty's work during the Second World War will want to express their sympathies and thoughts at this sad time.'
The book will be open until the day of the Queen Mother's funeral next Tuesday (April 9).
All messages of sympathy recorded in the Book of Condolence will be forwarded to the Royal family. Condolence messages may also be sent at the Queen Mother's memorial website at: http://www.royal.gov.uk">www.royal.gov.uk