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Final thank you to our sponsors and supporters Now that we have announced our final figures, we would like to thank all our Sponsors and supporters, without them we would not be able to stage these massive spectacular events, Thank you!   KAS... More detail
Mayflower burning smashes fundraising record Here is our press release: TORRINGTON CAVALIERS MAKE £80,000 The Torrington Cavaliers are over the moon to announce that their August bank holiday BIG BURN event raised an incredible £80,000 for charity! A... More detail
Scarecrow competition - Looking for a Mayflower crew Scarecrow competition - Looking for a Mayflower crew The Cavaliers are looking for a crew for the Mayflower well here are few of them, thanks for entering.   1 Hatchmoor Nursing Home Captain Hatch and First Mate Moor 2 Maisie Palmer Sponge Bob Square... More detail
Great Torrington Commons Conservators Great Torrington Commons Conservators The last of our four named charities we're proudly supporting with our BIG BURN on the 28th August is the TORRINGTON COMMONS CONSERVATORS. They do a fantastic job looking after 365 acres of common... More detail

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  • We are a long established fundraising group who donate any monies raised to local charities. We take part in many local events, but our main events are always giant themed Bonfires. 

    Great Torrington has always been a "different" town. In the civil war the population sided with the King whilst all around the area others fought for the Roundheads. Today, despite many setbacks on the employment front, the town is home to a thriving community. Torrington is known as the friendly town and we warmly welcome visitors to this latest Cavalier event. The Cavaliers were born in 1970. Plymouth hosted a county wide carnival inviting entries from all the towns in Devon. A group of (then) young men dressed themselves in the uniforms of Cavaliers and entered a float depicting the old parish church which, in 1646, had been accidentally blown up by the Roundheads whilst 300 Cavalier prisoners were locked inside. (The Church was "rebuilt" in 1996 as the theme for that years bonfire). Subsequent to the visit to Plymouth the group decided to continue in being. Led by the late Larry Alexander (Lardo) their mission was to put on events "the like of which Torrington had never seen before".

    With their bonfires the Cavaliers have achieved national, and international recognition as builders of sophisticated structures, following as near as possible the design of the original. Each bonfire has been declared "better than the last one" although those that remember for instance the 1973 fire of the German battleship Bismark might disagree. The aim of all the bonfires is to raise money for local good causes. In recent times the 1996 event raised well £20000, most of which went to North Devon Cancer Care, and in 2000 over £40000 was raised, the main beneficiary this time was the Devon Air Ambulance who received a cheque for £20000 being the largest single donation ever received.

    Building bonfires is only a small part of the Cavalier activities, over the years they have worked around the town raising money for charity or physically setting to projects to enhance the town or help individuals. An active membership of around 40 is supplemented by many, many friends always available to give a hand. Work hard, play hard has long been the motto of the Cavaliers and "events the like of which etc,etc." remain one of the enjoyable rewards of belonging to the organisation. With your support this latest bonfire will again result in helping those less fortunate than ourselves.

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