Torbay MP unveils plaque
A plaque commissioned by the descendent of a Salvation Army band member jailed for breaking a bylaw in Torquay has been unveiled 130 years after it was repealed.
In 1886, the Torquay Harbour and District Act came into force to stop the Sally Army band piping up at Torquay's harbourside. At the time, a number of band members were thrown into prison for refusing to keep quiet. The law didn't last long, but it did result in convictions for marching and singing hymns in a public place.
On Sunday, some of the ancestors of the people criminalised by the nineteenth century bylaw attended a celebration, complete with Salvation Army band, to remember the overturning of the ban 130 years ago.
The commemorative plaque, unveiled in the Inner Harbour by Torbay MP Kevin Foster, is close to the place where Salvation Army marcher William Robins was arrested for breaking the ban in 1888. It's been commissioned by Martin Robins, the great-grandson of the man arrested.
Major Robert Elliott of The Salvation Army in Devon and Cornwall says the day was: "A chance to reflect on and remember the sacrifice made by William Robins and other local of Salvationists who were effectively jailed for their faith as they sought to serve the community of Torquay in the name of God."
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