Frankie Walden was a legend in Honiton.

A farmer at Littletown, Frankie is remembered for his love of horse racing, his partiality for scrumpy and taking part in Honiton May Fairs and carnival processions.

He first entered a milk float in the trade section of the carnival in 1929 and won many prizes for his cattle and horses in shows all over the South West.

His given name was Sidney Francis Walden. He was born in Upottery in August 1896, the fourth child of Sidney James Walden and Elizabeth (nee Crabb).

Frankie married Hilda Mary Sluggett at St Pauls in 1924. Hilda’s sisters Winnie and Minnie were bridesmaids.

After the reception, the happy couple set off for their honeymoon in Bournemouth.

Frankie might have had a problem with following rules. He was fined five shillings for allowing a sheepdog to be at large and out of control at night. He told the court that the dog had slipped its chain.

In 1940 he was convicted at Bridport on a charge of being under the influence of drink and incapable of being in charge of a car at Chideock Hill. Mr Wright, for his defence, explained that the defendant was a peculiar individual.

His manner, unfortunately for himself, perhaps for others, was to get exceedingly excited, most voluble, and talkative when he was as sober as anyone could be.

A moderate drinker, he had just recovered after a fortnight of influenza. Frankie was fined £5 and ordered to pay £7 eleven shillings costs and disqualified from holding a licence for 12 months.

Two years later Frankie was in trouble again. This time in Exeter where the court fined him 10 shillings for using a fog lamp on his car in Topsham Road, and a further 20 shillings for driving the car without a licence.

He said there was fog on top of Sidmouth Hill, and he was sorry that he neglected to switch off the light afterwards; the nonrenewal of his driving licence was an oversight, due to pressure of work.

Frankie was a member of Honiton Town Council and opposed the Mayor Juanita Phillips’s recommendation that an acre of land which was owned by the Marker Estate, that he occupied, should be requisitioned for allotments.

He wrote: "In order that there should be no misunderstanding, I should like to state that I am perfectly willing to make any sacrifice if I can be convinced it is necessary in the interests of increased food production, but in this case, I firmly believe that if I was to give up the field adjoining my buildings, which the Council wanted for allotments, I should not be furthering this object but very definitely the opposite, besides suffering a great deal of inconvenience.

"The local War Agricultural Committee took the same view, and the Ministry of Agriculture refused the Council's request for compulsory requisition of the field while there were other more suitable sites available which were contributing little or nothing to the National larder.

"The truth of the matter is that the Allotments Committee have seen me heavily dung this field every year for several years past and thought that bumper crops could be grown for a couple of years without the allotment holders having to put their hands in their pockets to buy manures. Then when the War is over, they'd hand the field back to me with the fertility sucked out of it. Fertility of land is like money in the Bank. I have worked hard to put it there and it is only fair that the cheques should be cashed not by the Allotment holders but by me.”

People speculated that Frankie must have been a millionaire.

He died in October 1986 aged 91. His estate was valued at £113,193.

His coffin was carried to his funeral service in St Michaels Church on a cart pulled by his favourite horse, Jubilee.