The great poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge was undoubtedly the most famous person to be born in Ottery St Mary. But he was not the only famous name to be born in the town.

In the mid-19th century, the physician Dr Charles Whitby had eight children, two of whom went onto greater things. His second daughter, Beatrice (1855-1931), went onto marry a doctor herself and achieved some fame as a writer of short stories and novels such as One Reason Why (1891), A Matter of Skill (1891), Mary Fenwick’s Daughter (1893) and Bequeathed (1900) having moved to Leamington Spa. Her son, Philip Hugh Whitby Hicks (1895-1967), though not born in Ottery himself, later became known as ‘Pip’ Hicks, a leading brigadier in the Second World War. Perhaps there was some desire to taste combat in the family’s blood? Beatrice’s oldest brother had served with distinction in the Second Afghan War (1878-80), the same conflict Sherlock Holmes’ fictional sidekick Dr Watson was supposed to have served and been wounded in. Sadly, Beatrice’s brother was killed in action.

Happily, Beatrice’s younger brother, Hugh Whitby (1864-1934) also born in Ottery, achieved success in a quieter field altogether enjoying fame as a prolific right-arm bowler during the cricketing era of WG Grace. Whitby bowled for Oxford University in the 1880s, later touring North America in a team formed by Ned Sanders, another Devon boy born in Heavitree, now in Exeter. In later life, Whitby enjoyed a long career as a master at Tonbridge School, between 1889 and 1919, a teaching career similar to the fictional hero of James Hilton’s Goodbye, Mr Chips, a novella published in 1933, the year before Whitby’s death.

Another Ottery boy, Sir Isaac Heard (1730-1822), was appointed Garter Principal King of Arms and later helped plan the funeral of Lord Nelson in 1805. Heard was knighted in 1786. As a young man, Heard had served in the Navy and very nearly been killed off the coast of Guinea when a fierce storm swept him off the ship. The same storm had swept off the boat’s mast. Heard was rescued after he was discovered holding onto the mast as it floated in the water.

John Newte was a distinguished figure born in Ottery St Mary too. Newte (1656-1716) grew up to be a high Anglican clergyman and became known as a vigorous defender of the lawfulness of church music.

Finally, scientist and inventor Edward Davy (1806-1885) was also born in Ottery St Mary. He was a distant relation of Humphrey Davy, the inventor of the famous safety lamp. Davy started out as a physician (he was himself the son of Thomas Davy, a doctor at Guy’s Hospital) but really started attracting attention when he developed a working model of a telegraph in Exeter Hall in 1837. He also invented a relay and began to develop ideas for a wireless telegraphy system. Davy’s breakthroughs rattled some of his rivals who had also simultaneously been working on their own telegraph system.

Unfortunately, at this point Davy’s marriage fell apart and he was forced to flee to Australia to escape paying debts he owed to his wife and to various other people. In 1847, the patents for his telegraph were sold to the Electric Telegraph Company.

He enjoyed considerable success in Australia, however, continuing to practice as a physician, working as a farmer, editing a newspaper called the Adelaide Examiner and even became mayor of Malmsbury, the town in central Victoria where he had settled.

His inventing days seemed to be behind him although shortly before his death he learned he had been elected as an honorary member of the Society of Telegraph Engineers. The good news was conveyed to him, appropriately enough, by telegraph.