horse-drawn omnibus taking people to a fair in Torrington fell off Bideford Quay into the River Torridge, and eight people were drowned. The book "Kingsley's County" put the expansion and growth of Bideford down to the publication of Charles Kingsley's romance Westward Ho! in 1855. There was an extension of the London and South Western Railway from Barnstaple in 1856. The Pannier Market opened in 1884. In 1902 the first car arrived in Bideford: it was owned by Dr E.J. Toye, the car being a 4-1/2 hp Benz. World War II In 1942 American GIs arrived in Bideford. At first they were there to work in radar stations across North Devon and work on experimental things. More American troops began to arrive as the war progressed. Experiments nearby, including The Great Panjandrum, were said to be viewed in the area in secret by Dwight D. Eisenhower and Sir Winston Churchill at the Strand Cinema. In 1943 more Americans arrived as D-day training had begun at beaches across North Devon During the war Bideford Ordnance Experimental Station Depot O-617 was set up to experiment on waterproofing equipment for the D-day landings. The Americans' GI camp was at Bowden Green in Bideford, and had plenty of facilities, including a cinema. There was also a vehicle repair shop off the Kingsley Road, and the Pill was taken over by US forces as well. Because of the sheer number of American soldiers in the area by 1943 the American Red Cross opened a club near Chudleigh Fort in East-the-Water. Bideford had an Auxiliary Unit Patrol at Cleave Mine, the men of this patrol were expected to be the resistance if Britain was invaded. During the war 2700 evacuees were expected in Bideford; a large number of these came and stayed throughout the war. During World War II a bomb was dropped on a house in Bowden Green and caused substantial damage. Also during the war an RCAF bomber crashed in East the Water; three men were killed and one badly injured. A memorial has been put on the Tarka Trail to commemorate this. It is also thought that during the war there was an experimental Royal Navy unit testing a secret petrol pipeline in the river. It is thought that after being rescued in the Bristol Channel, some German airman were brought ashore at Bideford, where they were taken to Bideford Hospital. There was