EAST BUDLEIGH'S MARITIME HERITAGE CELEBRATED (AUTUMN 2025)


The laying of the first successful transatlantic telegraph cable in 1858 was one of the events featured in this summer’s exhibition at East Budleigh’s Salem Chapel. 

Vice-Admiral George William Preedy CB was Captain of HMS Agamemnon, the British warship which worked with the American Navy’s USS Niagara, meeting in mid-Atlantic to carry out the complex operation.



The Agamemnon's crew, with Admiral Preedy, bare-headed, fourth from left. Photo by A.J. Melhuish, Blackheath 



The Agamemnon meets a whale mid-Atlantic 

Admiral Preedy’s grave is in East Budleigh churchyard, and he was honoured with a stained glass window in All Saints’ Church.


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