East Devon Luncheon Club hosted a special guest recently at the Belmont Hotel in Sidmouth, who gave a talk on Sir Walter Raleigh.

Lieutenant General Sir Andrew Ridgway KBE, CB, KStJ, DL, a former Lieutenant Governor of Jersey and a current Deputy Lieutenant for Devon, spoke on the subject of 'Following in the footsteps of Sir Walter Raleigh from Devon to Jersey'.

During the talk, Sir Andrew compared his upbringing in Exeter to that of the Elizabethan adventurer, who was born and brought up in Devon.

The pair both served in the military, and were both governors of Jersey. Sir Andrew reportedly said that he was 'very pleased that their careers were not mirrored entirely', as Sir Walter was later imprisoned and beheaded.

He also spoke about meeting various global figures and members of the Royal Family, particularly the late Duke of Edinburgh, whom he said was 'always amusing and a real pleasure to entertain on the island'.

Simon Card, Chairman of the Luncheon Club said: "We could easily have extended our lunch for another two hours simply to hear more stories from Sir Andrew and with over 50 members and guests attending it proved to be another great success for us.

"We were very grateful to the Belmont Hotel for their care and attention towards our guests on this occasion. We return to their sister hotel, The Victoria, our usual venue, next month for another interesting talk on the theatre."

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