First ever edition of The Herald

A NEWSPAPER dating back almost 120 years is believed to be a copy of the Western Evening Herald's first edition.

Barbara Davies was helping her elderly friend Bette Llewelyn sort through some paperwork when they came across the publication marked volume 1 edition 1 and dated April 22 1895.

The single large yellowed page, which folds to form four sides of news, is the title which predates The Herald, and reveals tales from all-over-the globe.

News ranged from counts of Oscar Wilde appearing in court to five black people, including two women, being "lynched" in Alabama, for the alleged murder of a young white boy.

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Stories were gathered from Texas, China, Japan, Cuba and Germany in this edition but there was also updates from Holsworthy, Gosport, Tiverton and Cattedown, Plymouth.

Featured were adverts for horses and carriages, livestock and poultry as well as "persons wanted" for odd jobs.

"I was helping Bette sort out some papers and we found it in an unmarked brown envelope," said Barbara who lives in Ivybridge.

"We were very surprised to find it and Bette has no idea where it has come from," she said.

She added that Bette had lived in Ivybridge for many years with her now late-husband but the couple were originally from Wales so they don't know how it came to be in Bette's possession.

She said they'd both enjoyed browsing the stories of the day and that the paper was in immaculate condition.

The history of the Herald stretches back to 2pm on Monday, 22 April 1895 when the Western Evening Herald was launched as Plymouth's first evening newspaper.

In 1921 it was bought by Sir Leicester Harmsworth — a year after he bought the Western Morning News company — and was renamed The Evening Herald and Western Evening News on 17 September 1923.

On 24 May 1924, the name was changed again to the Western Evening Herald and Western Evening News.

After changing format to tabloid in 1987, the title changed again to the Evening Herald, becoming simply The Herald in October 2006 when its print deadline shifted from midmorning to nighttime.