In 2026, our 50th year, our Vice-Chair Robert Musgrave MBE will be conducting interviews, gathering stories from all those who have shaped and been shaped by the past five decades at Shallowford Farm. Stories, told first hand, will reflect upon the legacy of our late founders, Elizabeth Braund MBE and Rosemary Bird MBE, and the impact they are still having today. A new story will be uploaded every Thursday throughout 2026.
1. Elizabeth Braund
Fifty years ago this day, Elizabeth Braund and Rosemary Bird had already spent their first Christmas and New Year on Dartmoor.
Nine months later, they would have been established at East Shallowford Farm, with the first group of young people there. Young people have been staying ever since.
In an interview with the BBC, Elizabeth said, ‘This idea of having them at all, came from me having lived among the families in south London and knowing very well the life of the housing estates and how cramped it is in many ways and how a lot of kids grow up there.
‘Young people see growing things and they may vandalise them, probably not realising what they are looking at, and very often don’t have the opportunity of going out of London into a real country situation. We wanted to give that opportunity. Here at Shallowford, they have to share in the life of an ordinary farm. And that means they have things to do in the house. And that means, too, they begin to work together.’
Elizabeth went onto say: ‘We’ve got a lot to be very, very grateful for in the way it has been and the people who have supported us along the way. Hundreds of kids and several generations have been part of this, and the young people who’ve grown up themselves and then come back to us, and have been a great help to us and come back again and again. We’ve enjoyed all that! In between all the upsets we have had! And there’ve been a few of those too!’
Elizabeth never wavered from the conviction of the value of the project, especially for those who stayed ‘long enough to have lasting effect.’
She never changed from that opinion.
Since those first pioneering days, hundreds, if not thousands of young people have benefitted from residential stays at East Shallowford Farm. Rosemary died in 2010 and Elizabeth in 2013, but the work of The Shallowford Trust continues.
This year we celebrate 50 years with a series of events and activities.