iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Ubique Vir @ubiquevir.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

📢 Desert maps klaxon! 🗺️ Always worth a listen if you get the chance. The allure of the desert is quite something, my Grandpa’s comrade Maj H Cartmell RE MC flew solo from Egypt>UK via the Libyan desert airfields they knew, many years after the war, such was his fascination with the sand seas.

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Ubique Vir @ubiquevir.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

My wife’s laid off as another local ‘grass roots’ charity goes to the wall due to incompetence & greed from the top. These dying troves are gold. Public archives where our past is passed along for all to enjoy. Shame when they’re gone. Latest finds 🗺️ @crusaderproject.bsky.social @merrynwalters.uk

Image shows collection of books, maps & old Japanese binoculars all found in a local charity shop for next to nothing.

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Ubique Vir @ubiquevir.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

‘Quartered Safe Out Here by George MacDonald Fraser, dramatised by Robin Brooks. A gripping, and vivid dramatisation of George MacDonald Fraser's account of his time with the 14th army in Burma, fighting Japan in 1945.’

bbc.co.uk

Drama on 4 - Quartered Safe Out Here - BBC Sounds

The story of MacDonald Fraser's time in Burma, 1945. Based on his outstanding war-memoir.

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Ubique Vir @ubiquevir.bsky.social · 27/11/2025

All historical based websites related to this account including Royal Engineers / RAF ASR have been taken down due to ongoing unauthorised extraction of personal data/IP for AI training. Feel free to contact directly with any research based enquiries. *Account not monitored*

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Ubique Vir @ubiquevir.bsky.social · 15/08/2025

Remembering my Grandpa & the ‘fine fellows’ he lost along the way serving King & Country in the Far East. After 38 months in India & Burma his VJ Day passed with little fanfare as he helped dismantle camps & rebuild German infrastructure. Life went on for the living. #VJDay80

Memorial to those who fought in the Far East

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Ubique Vir @ubiquevir.bsky.social · 14/08/2025

Thought I’d mark the occasion and let some of the collection see the light of day. Even dug the old desert goatskin out of the garage. 🐐 PS don’t tell anyone but the LRDP Sappers wore it better than those little-known SAS chaps! 😉😎

Personal items of Col DV Hutchinson MBE from WWII

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RG Poulussen @rgpoulussen.bsky.social · 14/08/2025

59 Infantry Division sappers. (#OTD in 1944. Class 9 folding boat bridge spanning the Orne at La Bagotière, France. #WW2 #HISTORY)

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Ubique Vir @ubiquevir.bsky.social · 13/08/2025

Final call to sign up to watch this tomorrow night. #RoyalEngineers supporting the armoured & infantry formations throughout the lesser known Operations in the Western Deserts, Syria, Burma & Assam during WWII. Maps, bridging, fieldworks and more. #REspect #VEDay80 www.instre.org/events/my-gr...

instre.org

14 August 25 "My Grandpa's war in the 12th Field Company RE" with Nathan Hutchinson - The Institution of Royal Engineers (InstRE)

Royal Engineers Historical Society (REHS)Webinar series 2025"My Grandpa's war in the 12th Field Company RE" with Nathan Hutchinson

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Susan @ssyu.bsky.social · 29/07/2025

I'm a complete amateur, gave talks at work but hated it. Thankful that Woody gives viewers the chance to tell their stories and with much encouragement by the sidebar mates. www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3cv...

youtube.com

Quin Shen Yu and the Burma Road

YouTube video by WW2TV

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Ubique Vir @ubiquevir.bsky.social · 29/07/2025

Honoured to shine a light on my Grandpa’s time in 12 Fld Coy RE during WWII. From Palestine, the Western Deserts, to the Arakan & beyond. Defence, logistics, desert patrols, Chindits & maps. @rehs-1716.bsky.social @crusaderproject.bsky.social @thinkdefence.bsky.social @merrynwalters.uk Link in ALT

Royal Engineers Historical Society Webinar on 14/08/25 - My Grandpa’s war in the 12th Field Company RE.

https://www.instre.org/events/my-grandpas-war-in-the-12th-field-company-re/

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Ubique Vir @ubiquevir.bsky.social · 07/06/2025

A thoroughly enjoyable telling of the professional soldier Stanley Henshaw on @ww2tv.bsky.social. Honoured to get a name check from the great @philipwblood.bsky.social too. This video hints at the impossible jungle topography where Stan earned his MM on May 1 1944. youtu.be/PIMbYYslhho?...

youtu.be

1944 - 12th Field Company R.E. Khuzami airstrip.

YouTube video by Devon Dad

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Alex Churchill @alexchurchill.bsky.social · 31/05/2025

Today thanks to Queen Mary and a band of hard working volunteers, you can learn all about the brave exploits of Indian soldiers in Africa at the beginning of #WW2 achurchill.substack.com/p/article-in...

achurchill.substack.com

ARTICLE: Indian Valour in Africa 1941-2

A few months ago I did a piece based on a guidebook to India that was presented to soldiers bound for the sub-continent.

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Ubique Vir @ubiquevir.bsky.social · 30/05/2025

Very much looking forward to this episode of @ww2tv.bsky.social. I was excited to share a handwritten note from 34 Coln commander to 23rd Inf Bde C/O Montague Stopford, detail the attack whilst my Grandpa was off recceing suitable grounds to build a jungle landing strip! @historybowsh.bsky.social

Hand note from John Burgess to Montague Stopford written in the Naga Hills in May 1944 detailing the airstrip built by the Commando Platoon of 12th Field Company RE/34 Chindit Column.

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Ubique Vir @ubiquevir.bsky.social · 08/05/2025

#OTD 80 years ago parachute training continued for 12th Fld Coy RE. They started their long war based in Palestine & ended it in Punjab. Both countries still blighted by war today. #VEDay80 marks a win against past aggressions, but will the world ever know peace? 📷 Rawalpindi

1945 Rawalpindi.
A Dakota drops a stick of men from 44th Indian Airbourne Division.

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Ubique Vir @ubiquevir.bsky.social · 08/05/2025

Both my Grandfathers felt ‘forgotten’ in the British forces. One, a Sapper of the Forgotten Army in Burma. Another patrolling the North Sea in RAF ASR. So many across the globe contributed to the war effort from Palestinian to Naga Pioneer Coys. To the forgotten on #VEDay80

Image depicting the many countries that contributed to the Victory over European Fascism in WWII.

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Ubique Vir @ubiquevir.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

The internet is not a total lost cause. Only today I met the Grandson of the Naga Chief who commanded the levy that helped my Grandpa’s Chindit Commando Platoon build the roads & airstrips deep in the Assam jungles in impossible conditions in 1944, #Burma. I can’t help but feel emotional. ALT ✏️

Noksang Ao of the Ao Tribe, Mokokchung.
Commander of No.2 Pioneer Naga Coy of 23rd Long Range Penetration Brigade, Special Force.
Oversaw a 600 strong labour force to construct roads, mule tracks, airstrips alongside the Royal Engineers Commando Platoons.

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Ubique Vir @ubiquevir.bsky.social · 22/04/2025

A warm welcome to Bluesky Edith. If you’re not following @edithmirante.bsky.social yet, then behold this epic thread bridging the history of Burmese bridges, to get a taste of what you’re missing out on.

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Ubique Vir @ubiquevir.bsky.social · 18/04/2025

What else to do on a rainy Good Friday, than finally document the small collection for map & Survey aficionado Col. M Nolan. Under Brig. Thomas, this 1942 reprint was collated during the 1912-15/16-18/23-26 seasons with fabulous detail of the Naga Hills tribal areas. @merrynwalters.uk

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Ubique Vir @ubiquevir.bsky.social · 17/04/2025

Returning once more to @ubiquevir.bsky.social’s 1935 copy of Eothen by A.W. Kinglake. Remarkable to see it filled with his scribbles & annotations for his exams at school, then only a few years later he’d be destined to retrace part of the route 100 after Kinglake with the Royal Engineers in 1940.

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Ubique Vir @ubiquevir.bsky.social · 23/02/2025

It was very kind of #NewtonAbbot #REA to allow me to talk today on the 12th Field Company #RoyalEngineers 1936 Palestine - 1945 Rawalpindi. Lots of nerves and lessons learnt from the preview showing so I can fine tune it for the #REHistSociety webinar in August.

Presentation with items from Western Desert and Burma Campaigns on display.

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Ubique Vir @ubiquevir.bsky.social · 17/02/2025

My dear 90y/o neighbour is sadly moving & having a clear out. She was happy for me to share these pics of her father, a signalman in the Navy at 15, enlisting in RAF 103 Sqn at 18, crashing his DH9a E550 in Ronchin at 19 & injured in Coolavohig Ambush at 21! @trevcaviation.bsky.social

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Ubique Vir @ubiquevir.bsky.social · 04/02/2025

Admiring the skill & knowledge involved in planning offensives from besieged TOBFORT. O/C 12 Fld Coy RE built a model on 10/10/41 for a planned attack on Carmùsa, from the limited means of a constantly bombarded garrison. #TopographyTuesday @merrynwalters.uk @crusaderproject.bsky.social

Image showing a sand table from 1941 Tobruk that was bombed out killing an officer & his batman. Underneath that image is a larger Italian 1936 map of the same area of Tobruk defences.

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Auschwitz Memorial @auschwitzmemorial.bsky.social · 27/01/2025

Eighty years ago today, over 7,000 prisoners of the German Nazi camp #Auschwitz, including some 700 children, were liberated by the soldiers of the Soviet Army. 1,689 days of murder, pain, suffering, and humiliation were over. Today, we all remember. We must keep remembering.

A historical black and white photo of young survivors in striped uniforms standing behind a barbed wire fence at Auschwitz concentration camp.

Black and white historical photo of liberated prisoners walking under the 'Arbeit Macht Frei' gate at Auschwitz Concentration Camp.

Black and white historical photo showing a large hall filled with discarded clothing, with a person visible in the background.

Historical black and white photograph of Auschwitz concentration camp after liberation showing dilapidated wooden barracks and victims' bodies on the ground.

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Ubique Vir @ubiquevir.bsky.social · 24/01/2025

It is with sadness I share that Lt-Col Allan Marles passed away last night. He celebrated his 100th Birthday only last year with close friends & loved ones. Allan was charm personified, friendly & modest of his remarkable life in the @Proud_Sappers. ubiquevir.wordpress.com/2024/10/16/s...

ubiquevir.wordpress.com

– Sapper Family –

Celebrating the 100th Birthday of Lt Col Allan C Marles KMN AMIOP MInstRE Foreword by Allan’s Grandson – Fergus Prodhan Allan Marles was born on October the 16th 1924 in Amesbury, …

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Peter Hart @peterhart.bsky.social · 19/01/2025

Getting nervous over ticket sales - so get your ticket today for this fabulous book launch conference from 18.30, 7 February at the Constitutional Club in East Finchley. Featues talks by me, Gary Bain, Alex Churchill & Taff Gillingham! [eventbrite.co.uk/e/1119751640299...]

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RG Poulussen @rgpoulussen.bsky.social · 16/01/2025

#OTD in 1940, New York. Did not know mechanical Trench Diggers were used in #WW2. #HISTORY

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Ubique Vir @ubiquevir.bsky.social · 16/01/2025

The names Bond, Sapper Bond. Licence to…thrill you all with my amazing RC tank!

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Ubique Vir @ubiquevir.bsky.social · 16/01/2025

How am I supposed to get this project completed when they make the 7th Armd Div Administration Codes so intriguing in Operation Battleaxe war diaries? I.Tanks = Seagull A/T Mines = Canaries Molotove Cocktails = Pheasants Halfway House = Pub @crusaderproject.bsky.social @robertglennie.bsky.social

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Ubique Vir @ubiquevir.bsky.social · 30/12/2024

With AI Pandora’s box well and truly open, where do you draw the line in the sand? Sharing historical data online used to seem a sensible option for longevity. But to what end? I know I’ve shared enough with good intent but now doubt my decisions. I’m left unsure what to post where. Anyone else?

Post on a Facebook group voicing concerns on AI use, it reads:-

I just wanted to post an open question to the group which I hope falls within guidelines.
I’ve remained on Facebook purely for the historical groups such as this and the connections it brings.
With Meta introducing more AI elements such as AI profiles, data scraping to train their AI and AI developers seeking automatic copyright by default. I am reticent about posting any more content on their platforms. But obviously don’t want to lose these valuable connections.
If I leave these main platforms, it will see a return to .php forums or similar such as WW2Talk. Do many people use these?
I do appreciate it may be too little too late as I have digital content in many corners of the internet, but I want to start removing myself from these larger exploitative companies that are using these destructive AI models.
No disrespect to the Admins/Mods of these pages, you have my gratitude for a good job well done.
Thanks in advance.

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Ubique Vir @ubiquevir.bsky.social · 29/12/2024

Lion of the Desert - 1981 Not so much research but a long overdue return to this depiction of Omar Muktar & the Libyan holocaust. A box-office flop bankrolled by Gaddafi whose Director intended to make Saladin about the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. We need more films on lesser known history.

Scene from Lion of the Desert, depicting troops marching at the docks as armour is offloaded from Italy.
At the time of filming no authentic vehicles were available so the Military Vehicle Museum built replicas.
10,000 extras were called upon during filming including personnel from Gaddafi’s military. Like in the real desert war, sand played an integral role, jamming equipment and affecting cameras/film.

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Lucy Betteridge-Dyson @lmbd1418.bsky.social · 16/12/2024

Op Romulus and #MuleMonday cross over! Pack transport of the 25th Indian Division at Ru-Ywa. Mules carrying mountain guns moving up from the beachhead, Feb 1945. 📸 IWM IND 4371

soldiers lead mules laden with stores and weapons across a dusty landscape

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Ubique Vir @ubiquevir.bsky.social · 15/12/2024

I can’t wait to get my paws on this perr-fect addition to my book collection on Burmese hiss-tory. 🐈

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Ubique Vir @ubiquevir.bsky.social · 08/12/2024

Great to see more talk on the Japanese War with Robert Lyman & @historybowsh.bsky.social on @ww2tv.bsky.social. Lots of content to discuss in 2025 leading up to #VJ80. I will be covering a Sappers path with his Chindit Commando Platoon from arriving in 42 to when they converted to a Para Sqn in 45.

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The Crusader Project @crusaderproject.bsky.social · 08/12/2024

British POW being interrogated, dated July/August 1942, North Africa. Anyone got views on the cap badge or lack thereof? #ww2 #militaryhistory #desertwar #afrikakorps ECPAD DAK64

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Ubique Vir @ubiquevir.bsky.social · 08/12/2024

For those interested, a short article linked below of when @ubiquevir.bsky.social and 12th Field Company R.E. joined 14th Infantry Brigade at the fall of #Damascus in 1941. Leaving the Western Deserts to mop up the battlefield and take over RAE works. ubiquevir.wordpress.com/2021/07/12/1...

ubiquevir.wordpress.com

12th Field Company War Diary (12 July) #OTD 1941

Operation Exporter By early July 1941 2nd Lieutenant D.V. Hutchinson M.B.E. was 22 years old. The previous year had been spent in the Western Deserts where he had earned his MBE during Operation Co…

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Ubique Vir @ubiquevir.bsky.social · 07/12/2024

For the retelling of WWII history, I still don’t feel much compares to ‘The World at War’. Not just Olivier’s captivating narration matched only by Keane for me. But as in ‘It’s a Lovely Day Tomorrow’ the first hand accounts from veterans like Calvert combined with stock footage/maps is remarkable.

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Ubique Vir @ubiquevir.bsky.social · 06/12/2024

Whilst working on the 2025 presentation, every step that @ubiquevir.bsky.social & the 12th Fld Coy RE took 82 years ago seems to feature in the daily news. In Feb 1942, heavy snow stopped all defence works in Djedeide, Syria. @thinkdefence.bsky.social 📷 @AWMemorial 021861 Image taken in Jan 1942

Black and white image showing two men of 2/11th Australian Infantry stood behind the snow covered defence lines at Djedeide with the mountain ranges of Syria rising in the background.

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Ubique Vir @ubiquevir.bsky.social · 05/12/2024

We still have a few original copies of the Tobruk Truth in the collection. A publication that covers breaking news of the shifting Empires in the furthest reaches of the globe. I hold the fragile papers, worn by time & war, envisaging my Grandpa reading them aged just 22 in the besieged Tobfort.

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Séan F Scullion @seanfscullion.bsky.social · 03/12/2024

In a couple of weeks, I will be giving a talk for the @RE_Hist_Society . It's all about the remarkable stories of Spaniards #ContinuingtheFight during #WW2. I cover some from the book & other new stories. Do join me & register here👇🏽 members.instre.org/Events

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Karl James @karljames1945.bsky.social · 27/11/2024

Very proud to have contributed to this excellent volume ‘Special Operations: India, Burma, China and Malaya’ in Andrew Kilsby & Daryl Moran (eds), In the fight: Australians and the war in Burma, 1942–1945 academia.edu/125872084/_Spe… #WeHaveWays #HistBookChat

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Think Defence @thinkdefence.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗟𝗜𝗦 𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗗𝗚𝗘𝗦 Many people think the Bailey Bridge was the first transportable military bridge, but they would be wrong. Download your copy today and all updates are free ➡️

payhip.com

The Inglis Military Bridges

When most people think about portable military bridges they tend to assume the Bailey Bridge was the first, but this would be wrong. Charles Edward Inglis designed the first dry gap prefabricated military bridge in service with any Army anywhere in t...

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Ubique Vir @ubiquevir.bsky.social · 22/11/2024

A superb little substack from the musings of Rob Lyman’s latest travels, highlighting the importance of the coalition force that helped secure victory in Burma. open.substack.com/pub/robertly...

open.substack.com

The Burma Campaign as an Imperial (and Coalition) Triumph

Some thoughts from my recent trip to Nagaland and Assam

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Mike Bennett @formerlytankiemike.bsky.social · 22/11/2024

Same spot 80 years apart. 1942/43 photo is of my dad and his mates from 8th Army on R&R in Cairo. The second is from a friend taken this year.

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Martin Whincup @whincupm.bsky.social · 22/11/2024

There was a young man at brigade, Staff work was his primary trade, But in an off hour, He used his brain power, And soldierly smut he purveyed. It's amazing what can turn up in the #archives. This, from a #WW2 brigade war diary, is a reminder that people sat behind the words.

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Ubique Vir @ubiquevir.bsky.social · 21/11/2024

Just to reiterate what a joy it is to see @crusaderproject.bsky.social back on the socials. An inspiration and source of supreme knowledge on the desert war, especially when delivering the much needed counterpoint to the Allied rhetoric. Take the following articles on water supply for example… 1/4

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Chris Camfield (AlliedArmour) @alliedarmour.bsky.social · 18/11/2024

A Matilda II tank for Monday. This photo is from January 1941, just after Operation Compass - the moment when the Matilda was dubbed "Queen of the Desert" for its near-invulnerability to Italian fire.

A Matilda II tank driving into Tobruk with a captured Italian flag on display. January 1941. IWM (E 1772)

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Ubique Vir @ubiquevir.bsky.social · 18/11/2024

#DesertRats klaxon 📢 Burtons 1953 classic starting on Film4 right now!!! #OTD in 1941 @ubiquevir.bsky.social and his 12th Field Company RE were preparing for a diversionary breakout to the northern sector of the besieged Tobfort. @otdmilhistory.bsky.social

Two men prepare to destroy a barbed wire defence with a bangalore torpedo in the Westeen Deserts.

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University of Exeter Special Collections @exeterunispeccoll.bsky.social · 18/11/2024

This is a copy of the earliest known printed map of Exeter, produced in 1587. Commissioned by John Hooker, Chamblerlain of Exeter, from the engraver Remigius Hogenberg, it formed the basis for all printed maps of Exeter for more than a century. 📷 Townsend Maps T12 #MapMonday #MappingOurExeter

A late 16th century map of Exeter. This bird’s-eye view from the southwest shows Exeter surrounded by a city wall with gates. Exeter is dominated by the Gothic cathedral of St Peter. At the top left is the castle of Rougemont. There are rolling hills in the background, and houses and trees dotted around the city. Underneath the map is printed: 'Hoker's Map of Exeter, 1587. Reproduced from the unique copy in the Exeter Guildhall. The earliest known printed map of Exeter.'

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