Tribute to parish footpath champion

Tributes have been paid on the Bere Peninsula to a widely travelled resident who has died after long service as a local councillor championing footpaths.

A memorial bench has been installed by the parish council with the support of her family in memory of Doris Chapman, who died in 2024 aged 92. She served on Bere Ferrers Parish Council for 35 years, from 1984 until 2019.

Although born in London, Doris had a lifelong love of the countryside. Walking was a major part of her life and she was a familiar sight walking around the peninsula, often with her Yorkshire terriers, and knew every inch of the paths.

Her enthusiasm for walking developed into a longstanding involvement in protecting and promoting local footpaths. She became chairman of Bere Ferrers Parish Council’s footpaths committee. She knew the local area extremely well and remained an enthusiastic and notably independent walker into later life. She was also a great traveller, visiting many parts of the world, although Scotland was her favourite.

Parish council vice-chair Cllr Brian Lamb worked alongside Doris and knew her well: “Doris was a remarkable woman who dedicated her 35 years’ service to the 80 odd parish footpaths. She walked one of them every day whatever the weather with her two dogs.

“She acquired a remarkable knowledge of the paths and the particular problems that affected some of them. In consequence, trees across paths, hedges not cut back or gates requiring attention were always quickly dealt with and so benefited the walkers of the parish.“

Doris was a member of the planning committee and to every application her first question was ‘does it affect a footpath’. She also served as council chair from 1990 to 1992 and always supported other councillors and the public.

In her later years Doris could not go on her beloved walks, but still enjoyed days out in the car.

A bench celebrating her life and long dedication to the parish has been donated by Doris's daughter, Rebecca, and installed at Weir Quay, close to one of her favourite footpaths.

Doris left school at 14 and her first job was as a messenger for the London Evening Standard which took her to took her to interesting places, including the Houses of Parliament. The call of the countryside then lured her out of the city to a job in a Devon department store where she met her future husband Gerald. They married in 1953. Their daughter Rebecca was born in 1957 and daughter Claudia in 1960.

Doris and Gerald loved to travel and go camping. It was a time when foreign holidays were uncommon, but the then newly developed camper van allowed them to travel throughout Europe and camped inside the Arctic Circle in Lapland.

The couple separated after 27 years and Doris continued to travel later in life, to India, South Africa and China, Peru, USA, Canada, the Galapagos Islands and Alaska.

She also loved gardening and going to musicals like Les Mis, Mamma Mia and Joseph, while and Gilbert and Sullivan operettas were another favourite.