and still used for that today. The difference between the dates of its hallmark and donation suggests it might originally have been used for something else. Its value in 1994 for insurance purposes was over £1,000.

Lord Mamhead died in 1945 at the age of 74. In 1954 the estate was auctioned off, and Mamhead House became a Christian centre. In 1963 all the house’s furniture and fittings were sold off, and it became a boys’ school. It is now owned by the Rockeagle property company, and several small businesses have their headquarters there.

Mamhead House in 2012

In 2012, the house and accompanying 165 acres of gardens, park and farmland, were put up for sale with an asking price of £8,000,000.

At the moment, it is not clear whether the donationof the cup marked the end of Mamhead’s presidency – a sort of parting gift - or whether he stayed in office until the time of his death. If the latter, he would have been Devon’s President for a quarter of a century, and even if there is no evidence of his playing strength or activity, his longevity in office at a time of consolidation for the Association makes him eligible for inclusion in this list of Pioneers.

Quite apart from being one of the founding fathers of the Devon County Chess Association in 1901, Douglas Fawcett was a pioneer in many different areas, from colour photography, through motoring, mountaineering, aeronautics, science fiction and philosophy.

Douglas was born in Torquay, in April 1866, the son of Edward Boyd Fawcett and