The Dartmoor Society Annual Award was then presented to Simon Dell. Vice Chair Nick Fennemore read out the following citation:
Simon Dell first fell in love with Dartmoor in the 1960s as a schoolboy standing atop West Mill Tor but it was 50 years ago this year that his life changed as he embarked on a lifelong passion for the moors, its landscape and communities.
First completing Ten Tors in 1975 (his first of six events as a participant) he remained volunteering in this renowned youth event for 38 years and was eventually awarded the Gold Service Certificate in 2012 after assisting in training countless teams as well as being a member of the rescue teams on events controlling the west side of Dartmoor.
In 1980 he was posted as police officer to Tavistock and was immediately met by Bill Aimes, one of the founders of the Dartmoor Search and Rescue Group, who told him of the expectation that Simon would immediately join the Tavistock section of the group which he remained with for many years becoming the group Chairman almost 20 years later. In 1997 Simon was appointed an MBE for his services to the Dartmoor Search and Rescue Group and Mountain Rescue England and Wales.
In 1985 Simon was one of the founding members of the search and rescue dog section on Dartmoor and also assisted in introducing a new system of search management for looking for missing people on Dartmoor. This new and revolutionary system, still used today, was introduced nationally with Simon teaching at Bangor University in Snowdonia and York University on international mountain rescue search management courses.
In the late 1990s he was also instrumental in leading the working party building and raising funds for the construction of the Dartmoor Search and Rescue Group centre in Tavistock.
In 2010, after his own mountaineering experiences in the Alps and the Himalayas, his search management work and experience led him to be invited by the BBC on an expedition to the North Face of Everest as part of planning a search for the body of Sandy Irvine on the Tibetan side of the mountain. He spent 3 weeks in Tibet and in the Rongbuk glacier area assisting in the planning of that search.
His involvement in rescue on Dartmoor led to him becoming an expert witness at a number of high profile inquests and cases relating to a number of unfortunate deaths on Dartmoor over the years. After many years in the rescue group Simon turned his attention to being a Dartmoor guide, working for the national park until all the guides were made redundant in 2012. He subsequently established a private company called Moorland Guides and eventually had 33 guides collaborating across Dartmoor providing walks for international colleges, local schools and the public alike. Part of his passion for guiding was the accessibility for those using wheels and from this was born the Wheeled Access Group which has become a well-respected part of Moorland Guides, offering guidance and advice to a number of organisations and bodies including DNPA. The Miles Without Stiles initiative was created from the involvement of the Wheeled Access Group. Simon established the Dartmoor Walking Festival as well as assisting in the formative years of the North Devon Walking Festival on Exmoor and Lundy Island. Over the years the Dartmoor Walking Festival has raised thousands of pounds for the Devon Air Ambulance charity.
He remains as a Director of Moorland Guides during the transition of passing the group on to a younger guide with fresh ideas and youthful drive. He is a familiar contributor to local magazines and publications and has written over 20 books including Dartmoor guide books, industrial archaeology aspects of Dartmoor and histories of Dartmoor Prison as well as the history of the Ten Tors expedition.
His account of the 1932 Dartmoor Prison Mutiny is regarded as the definitive record of that event. He also assists staff in historical aspects at the Dartmoor Prison Museum.
In 1981 Simon became a wildlife crime officer following the 1981 Wildlife and Countryside Act. His experiences have taken him to other police forces to establish initiatives on places such as Skomer Island in Pembrokeshire. Some years ago he was approached by the Diocese of Exeter team and assisted in planning the Dartmoor Archangel Way long distance path as part of the Mary Michael route from St Michael’s Mount to St Albans Abbey and continues to guide on Dartmoor inspiring especially young people with his love of Dartmoor and its communities.
For many decades as a police officer within the Dartmoor area he has worked from all local stations and is well known and respected by the communities he has served for so many years.
He is currently assisting a PhD student researching Beatrice Chase of Widecombe and continues to give presentations and lectures across the region, sometimes alongside others such as Dr Todd Gray. Last year his academic paper on the carved stones in the Cowsic Valley was published in the Transactions of the Devonshire Association and he is currently working on a fresh paper concerning Tyrwhitt’s horse drawn tramway.
In the formative years of our own society he was a committee member and our Treasurer. He spent 18 months undertaking the lengthy administrative task of obtaining charitable status for the society and we owe him our gratitude for that. He has also given a number of lectures at our conferences over the years.
Simon is a member of the Dartmoor Storytellers group and also spends much of his time in supporting the Ukrainian communities bringing them out onto Dartmoor to enjoy its beauty, history and landscape, but by no means last utilising the healing qualities of the moors for those so traumatised.
He has also played a significant part in the running of Tavistock Local History Society and has been Chairman of Princetown History Club since 2015.
Over the last few years Simon has been the Quaker Chaplain in Dartmoor Prison, supporting inmates as well as staff until August last year when the last residents left.
As a member of Tavistock Edge Players he created a play entitled Is Dartmoor worth Crossing which has been seen to great acclaim with him playing the leading role as William Crossing!
Simon leaves a half century legacy of service to Dartmoor and its communities as well as beyond internationally. He is well known and respected throughout Dartmoor within the communities he has selflessly served for so many decades.
For those years Simon has been involved in supporting Dartmoor, its communities and authorities, educating people about the beauty and heritage of this land he fell in love with as a schoolboy, and as is apparent, he is not yet ready to hang up his boots. His love of, and enthusiasm for, Dartmoor is an inspiration to us all.
Tom Greeves then presented the award to Simon who, in thanking the society said: ‘I am greatly touched and surprised that I have received this incredible accolade today. Like a piece of academic work which has been peer-reviewed, I see this award coming from you, my peers, and I am greatly touched by your kindness. Thank you one and all.
