A historian dedicated to sharing the stories of Teignmouth and its residents is marking two milestones in 2026.

As well as celebrating her 80th birthday this month, Viv Wilson MBE will be marking 40 years of her popular slide shows about Teignmouth at the Pavilions in March.

Viv’s first show took place at the Carlton Theatre in 1986 after the Teignmouth Players took on the lease and needed additional events ‘to get bums on seats’. Designed to attract both residents and visitors, she focused on the ‘interest and beauty of the local area’.

Viv had just left her role as guided walks officer for Dartmoor National Park to ‘test the theory that life begins at 40’. As well as freelance work, Viv presented her shows in the Carlton ‘every Monday through the season’, which sparked interest from locals who began sharing their own photographs and stories.

Her early shows included only a handful of old photographs, but Viv’s focus changed after the landlady of a bed and breakfast introduced her to her friend, a prolific collector of postcards and curiosities, Arthur Smith. The meeting sparked a long friendship and the creation of ‘The Wilson Archive’ of tens of thousands of images of Teignmouth.

Another chance meeting with a former schoolfriend-turned-publisher resulted in Viv producing her first book of historical photos and she is now the author of 13 publications.

‘The investment I made was time,’ Viv exlained. Time with these old people who had no-one visiting them, no-one to talk to, no-one interested in what Grandad did; but I was.’

Viv’s dedication to documenting Teignmouth’s stories resulted in an MBE in 2022.

She has no plans to retire and continues to be inspired by the stories people share. ‘It’s human,’ she remarked’.

Viv will be sharing tea and cake at a ‘pop-in’ birthday party at the Alice Cross Centre between 11am and 5pm on Saturday February 14.

Her show, Teignmouth: A Celebration is at 2:30pm on Sunday March 8 at Teignmouth Pavilions.