Newton Abbot publisher David & Charles is this week celebrating 50 years in the industry.

The firm was founded on April 1, 1960 – no joke – by David St John Thomas, with whom the company is still in touch today, and Charles Hadfield, who resigned from the management in 1964 but remained active as a respected author and adviser until his death in 1996.

In its first year the company netted a £16 profit on a £1,600 turnover and had a list of five paperback booklets.

Its first book, Devon Flood Story, charted the devastating effects of the storms that struck the county in 1960 and became an immediate bestseller going through five reprints in a month.

At first staff worked from a hut in David St John Thomas's garden but from 1964 to 1975 their offices were above the booking hall at Newton Abbot railway station.

FULL STORY IN OUR ONLINE EDITION