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Ex-mayor and town crier 'will be greatly missed'
Herald Express
|May 21, 2025
TRIBUTES have been paid to a former Newton Abbot town crier and mayor who "always raised a smile".
Ken Purchase took on the role of town crier after his wife spotted a newspaper advert.
Mr Purchase, 87, was born in Tiverton and was adopted at an early age by the Purchase family, who lived in Newton Abbot.
On leaving home at 16 he began his working life as a painter and decorator. He later moved to the turbine manufacturer Centrax before taking up a role as caretaker at the adult education section of the Passmore Edwards Centre, which he held for a long time.
After wife Dulcie spotted an advertisement for the job of Newton Abbot town crier, Mr Purchase agreed it might be an interesting challenge.
Having secured the position, the couple would go as far afield as Australia, taking part in competitions and acting as ambassadors for the town.
This story is from the May 21, 2025 edition of Herald Express.
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