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Hemyock Castle
Ancient Heart of the Blackdowns

Kindle Books and More

Our growing collections of Kindle books, videos and other products come from our researches & the many special exhibitions at Hemyock Castle.

Kindle eBook version of the new Hemyock Castle guidebook also available as a printed booklet.

In 1995, Margaret Sheppard conducted a large number of interviews with residents of Hemyock, about their eyewitness memories of life. Kindle books created from these interviews are published in the "Hemyock Memories" series.

Hemyock Memories Books

The complete WWII "Box Set," Hemyock Memories Volume 5, contains all our WWII volumes 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 covering life during World War II 1939-45. These Memories of WWII Kindle books contain over 75 fascinating eyewitness accounts by residents of Hemyock, of their life during WWII, both serving overseas and on the "Home Front." HD Slideshows of the many photos from the original book can be viewed for free on YouTube. DVDs and other video formats, by request.

Subsequent volumes in the Hemyock Memories series contains surprising tales of long-forgotten rural life in Hemyock and the Blackdowns.

Volume 6 "Country Cures and Cider" includes traditional country cures for horses & humans; and stories about commercial cider-making at Hemyock Castle Farm.

All proceeds from these two series of Kindle books go to Hemyock's Blackdown Support Group charity.

Hemyock Residents Remember Rural Life:

Cover: Hemyock Memories Kindle Book, Country Cures & Cider
Country Cures and Cider

This is the first volume in a series containing fascinating tales of long-forgotten rural life in Hemyock and the Blackdown Hills. This series is based largely on personal interviews conducted in 1995; edited & republished in electronic format on Kindle, to raise funds for Hemyock's Blackdown Support Group Charity.

These series of Kindle eBooks can be read on any Kindle device, and also in the free Kindle reading apps that Amazon offers for PCs, tablets and smartphones. Kindle now also offers a free online Kindle reader, which works within most web browsers.

"Country Cures & Cider" Volume 6 of Hemyock Memories.

In our modern world with its instant communications and 24/7 TV news coverage, it's hard to imagine rural Devon life before the 1940s when many people in Hemyock seldom ventured farther than the nearby towns; almost anything necessary could be made, bought or repaired locally; and where most activities had been contained within the village. This was long before the UK's National Health Service was founded: People, especially in rural areas such as Hemyock, relied on traditional cures & remedies, even for quite serious medical problems & injuries.

This book covers:

It includes the story of healing the eye of a valuable Arab colt horse, using just ordinary sugar; Also cider-making at Hemyock Castle Farm. This book relates some traditional remedies for humans and horses; as well as the important part that cider and cider-making played in village life. It is equivalent to about 20 A5 pages.

UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0713VRNRP

USA: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0713VRNRP

Hemyock Residents Remember WWII:

Cover: Hemyock's Memories of War Book
Hemyock's Memories of War Books

Originally, the memories were published in 1995 as Hemyock's Memories of War, a 65 page, A4 printed booklet, illustrated with many photographs. Several hundred copies were sold. All profits went to the Royal British Legion. Note. All copies were sold, this original printed version is now out of print, but is contained in the Box Set.

Memories of WWII, Web Preview

The adapted extracts published on this website in 2005, to commemorate the 60th anniversary of D-Day, give a flavour of these rare stories from a wide variety of eyewitnesses.

Memories of WWII, Kindle Versions

These accounts have been edited & republished in electronic format on Kindle, to raise funds for Hemyock's Blackdown Support Group Charity.

The Complete WWII Box Set, Volume 5, contains all Volumes 0, 1, 2, 3, & 4, so is the best version.

The many photos & images from the original book have been made into four HD slideshows and uploaded to YouTube.

These books can be read on any Kindle device, and also in the free Kindle reading apps that Amazon offers for PCs, tablets and smartphones. Kindle now also offers a free online Kindle reader, which works within most web browsers.

Kindle Volume 5: Complete WWII Box Set.

Volume 5 contains all five previous volumes 0, 1, 2, 3, 4; making it a complete WWII Box Set: This is the recommended version.

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B071783LLK

USA: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071783LLK

Kindle Volume 0: Complete Text Only Version.

Volume 0 contains the complete original text in alphabetical order, with over 75 first-hand accounts, plus the full list of names: Still available separately, but the "Box Set" includes this and usually is better value.

UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00X19HHLM

USA: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00X19HHLM

Kindle Volume 1: Illustrated, Edited Excerpts.

Illustrated edited excepts: Dunkirk 1940, D-Day 1944, Surrender of German U-Boat Fleet 1945: Still available separately. The "Box Set" includes this.

UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00YCJ3E94

USA: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00YCJ3E94

Kindle Volume 2: Evacuee Children, The Home Front & Women's War Work.

Illustrated edited extracts. Many of these stories were written by women and are about wartime life for women; including working in new roles, replacing men who had been sent overseas to fight: Still available separately, but the "Box Set" includes this and usually is better value.

UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B010RF7L2M

USA: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B010RF7L2M

Kindle Volume 3: WWII in Europe & North Africa.

These edited extracts cover many of the campaigns, including the long bitter struggle after the D-Day landings in June 1944 until Europe was finally liberated on 8th May 1945, VE-Day: Still available separately, but the "Box Set" includes this and usually is better value.

UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B013XHT03E

USA: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B013XHT03E

Kindle Volume 4: WWII in Royal Navy, Convoys, Burma & The Far East.

These edited extracts cover the Arctic, to the tropics and the steamy heat of Burma; then on to witnessing the Japanese surrender in Singapore and release of the prisoners of war, after VJ-Day on 15th August 1945: Still available separately, but the "Box Set" includes this and usually is better value.

UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B013XK559E

USA: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B013XK559E

Links to Video Slideshows of Original WWII Photos.

For convenience, the more than 130 photos from the original book have been arranged in four groups, forming four slide shows, each lasting about four minutes. The slide shows have been uploaded as 1080p HD. This means that they can be viewed using most types of computer or mobile devices and at any of the resolutions supported by YouTube. Contact us for a DVD version of these slideshows, or versions in other formats.

Links to Videos of WWII Excerpts.

Several edited excerpts of the WWII Memories are available on YouTube. These use automated text-to-speech software to read the text aloud, while the text scrolls slowly up the screen.

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Hemyock Castle is a privately owned, scheduled ancient monument;
Normally only open for public tours on Bank Holiday Mondays
(2 to 5 pm) between Easter and September.

To contact us: Click here

Hemyock Castle, Hemyock, CULLOMPTON, Devon, EX15 3RJ, UK.
© 2001–2025. Prepared and published by Curlew Communications Ltd