Michal Brandstatter is a 55-year-old educator and photographer. She came to Okehampton 15 years ago, moved away two years ago, and has recently moved back after living in France and South Devon. Born in Israel, Michal moved to England at the age of 4, and has since...
Anna Georghiou was born in Torquay. Her paternal grandparents came to the UK from Cyprus in the 1960s. Anna now lives and works as an artist and holistic therapist in Okehampton, after attending university and living and working for a period in Cyprus. Anna considers...
Peter Szypko lives in Sheffield. He is currently undertaking a research project to find out more about his father Aleksander’s eventful early life, including his time spent at the Okehampton Polish Naval Camp during and after the Second World War. Aleksander Szypko...
Adam Hassan is an A-Level student, who moved to Okehampton from Egypt around three years prior to his interview. He is hoping to study Computer Science and Mathematics at university, before going into Finance. Adam was initially surprised by the welcoming reception he...
Carol Williamson was born in Trinidad. She came to the UK to study in 1958 - and ended up staying! She now lives with her husband on their family farm, returning to the West Indies for the winter months. Carol has a son and daughter very nearby, and another daughter...
Antoni (Tony) Olszowski lives in North Yorkshire, and is currently looking into his father, Stanislaw’s, life during the Second World War, and how this relates to the Okehampton Naval Camp. After seeing active service in the Polish Navy, Stanislaw was sent to...
Ann Zielonka is a part time Health Visitor living in Sheffield. She is currently researching her father, Antoni’s, story. Antoni was in the Polish Navy during the Second World War and spent several periods of time in the Okehampton Naval Camp: both for training and in...
Ingrid Esteve Martin is Spanish. She came to Barnstaple in 2018, moving to North Devon from Portsmouth for a fresh start. She lives with her two children and is in the process of establishing her own graphic design company. Being both a volunteer and sharing her story...
Ana Lodge is of Brazilian, Italian and American heritage, and was born in Holland. Today, Ana lives in Tiverton and works for North Devon Sunrise, a CIC which celebrates diversity of identity and offers support to a wide range of communities in North Devon. She enjoys...
Angela Howard and Milena Trowbridge were born in Tiverton to Danilo Maglov, a Yugoslav European Voluntary Worker who settled permanently in Tiverton after WWII. Angela and Milena discuss what they know of their father’s wartime experiences and his life in Tiverton...
Dale Snow was born in Tiverton and discovered at the age of seven that her father was from Yugoslavia. In this interview, she talks about her father, Franc Rozic, and the circumstances that led his father to banish him from the family home in Yugoslavia at the age of...
‘Mac’ Mudabbir Ahmed was born in a small town in Bangladesh. He moved to the UK in 1998, and lived in London until moving to Tiverton in July 2019 to open a business. He runs the Nawab restaurant, serving authentic Indian cuisine. Of the people of Tiverton, Mac says:...