IN A moving ceremony, seven new Bovey Tracey roads have been named after fallen servicemen.

The roads, on the new Longstone Cross estate on the A382, now bear the names of men who fell in the Second World War.

The man behind the service was Colonel Mark Bailey, a Bovey Tracey resident and member of the town’s Heritage Trust, who has thoroughly researched every man and woman who died in service in the wars of the last century.

In total 51 Bovey Tracey people died in 20th century conflicts and he has gathered their stories together in his book ‘Smitten Down Yet Not Destroyed’.

He said: ‘Bovey Tracey has been using the names of its war dead for new residential road names as a means of providing new residents with a link with the town’s history and to encourage a sense of belonging.’

Most recently a similar service was held at a new estate on Bradley Bends where First World War heroes were honoured. Members of the Bovey Tracey Army Cadet Force Detachment D Company led by SMI Spencer Bartlett took part in the service alongside members of the Royal British Legion and deputy town mayor Cllr Martyn Evans.

Guests of honour were members on one servicemen’s family. David, Andy and Jonathan, three nephews of Captain John Leach who died in 1941, attended the service and unveiled the stone which was donated by Dartmoor National Park.

A plaque atop the stone explaining the reasoning for the naming was paid for jointly by the Bovey Tracey Town Trust and developers Devonshire Homes.

After Col Bailey read out the names of the fallen, a minute’s silence was observed. Staff Sgt Bob Bolton played Reveille and The Last Post. The service concluded with Col Bailey reciting the Kohima Epitaph.