Ian Churchward’s Blog 4th October 2026

My latest album has now been released on Spotify, Apple Music and Youtube etc. It is an instrumental album called Mellotron and Guitar:- https://open.spotify.com/album/4MoPVGLOwFQMfwFukkGbVl?si=926oLGLsSbqkP6AlXuSkXQ

Ian Churchward’s Blog 27th September 2026

Got back home from the Isles of Scilly yesterday evening. It was a lovely holiday but I'm feeling quite tired today. There was an amazing model of Cloudesley Shovell’s HMS Association in a hotel at one end of St Martin’s. A few years ago I recorded my song about the Isles of Scilly naval disaster of October 1707. https://thelegendarytenseconds.bandcamp.com/track/sir-cloudesley-shovell

Ian Churchward’s Blog 18th September 2026

I am posting this on a Friday rather than the usual Sunday for my weekly blog as I am off to the Scilly Isles for a holiday tomorrow. Jack Anthony of Anthony Hamilton Productions has sent me this message about his new film. The film is about Richard the younger son of Edward IV. My short film “The Pretender” has been nominated and is screening at the Birmingham Film Festival on the 8th of November 2026. If anyone would like to come for FREE to watch any of the films at the festival the link is below:- https://www.birminghamfilmfestival.co.uk/screenings

Ian Churchward’s Blog 13th September 2026

On Thursday I took some video footage of the Babbacombe Cliff Railway. I have now edited this and put it onto youtube with the song that I composed with Elaine for its centenary. I have tried to make the video look like it was filmed in the 1920’s in view of the fact that the Babbacombe Cliff Railway was opened in 1926. We also attempted to try to make the song sound like it was from the 1920’s and it is going to be on a new album called Our Unfinished Business which is due for release in December.

Ian Churchward’s Blog 6th September 2026

Jay and Jules came over to my house on Wednesday afternoon and gave me a copy of their latest album. My name is mentioned on the back of the CD sleeve as I helped to record some of the songs. Elaine had made a nice cake which we enjoyed eating and then I recorded Jay playing bass on my three new Ricardian songs.

Ian Churchward’s Blog 30th August 2026

Here is a really nice video featuring my friends who are in a band called Changing Waves. It was filmed on Dartmoor in Devon. They are performing a song called Teign Valley and I helped to write some of the lyrics for this song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSQlxypPDd4

Ian Churchward’s Blog 23rd August 2026

Oh dear me as well as Richard III being defeated on the 22nd August my football team were also defeated yesterday so that’s another weekend totally ruined!

Ian Churchward’s Blog 16th August 2016

On the 16th August 1942 John Challis was born. He played the character of Boycie the used car salesman in the comedy Only Fools and Horses. He was the patron of the Mortimer History Society and I recorded a comedy song with him for this society called the Mortimers. Lord Zarquon helped with the recording of the song. https://open.spotify.com/track/62oiduafNIaCZ6c8HFICD2?si=5b05085773004cc0

Ian Churchward’s Blog 9th August 2026

David Beatty was confirmed in the permanent rank of vice admiral on 9th August 1915, though he had previously served in the acting rank from August 1914. He led the British battlecruisers to meet the German navy, ahead of Admiral Sir John Jellicoe and the bulk of the British fleet at the battle of Jutland. As I have mentioned in my previous weekly blogs Chris Marks Churchward was a stoker on one of the ships commanded by David Beatty. Here is a link to my song called the Battle of Jutland:- https://music.apple.com/gb/song/battle-of-jutland/1674894268

Ian Churchward’s Blog 2nd August 2026

One of my instrumental tracks was included on a recent Radio Waterloo show and it can be heard via this link:- https://soundcloud.com/mophead-1027/the-horizon-535813610?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

Ian Churchward’s Blog 26th July 2026

Edna Coles sent me some very interesting photos after I shared my recent blog which mentioned the battle of Jutland. She told me that her father had written a diary about his time on HMS Tiger at the battle of Jutland and it is now on display in the naval museum in Devonport. Edna sent me two photos of the pages of the diary, a newspaper article about her father and of his invitation to attend the commissioning of a new HMS Tiger in 1972.

Ian’s Blog 16th July 2026

Last week Stephanie Medwell travelled down to Torquay so that we could investigate some of the addresses where her Grandmother used to live in South Devon. Stephanie was staying with a relative in Livermead and I drove over to meet her and her second cousin Fiona. The three of us have a connection to Christopher Marks Churchward which I find quite amazing. I think I had forgotten that Fiona’s Grandmother was the sister of Stephanie’s Grandmother Olive Reynolds and by a strange coincidence I used to work with Fiona in Barclays Bank and we used to car share together when we worked at the office in Exeter. It feels a bit strange to think that if Christopher Marks Churchward hadn’t died at the battle of Jutland then he would have married Stephanie’s Grandmother and Stephanie would never have been born. I guess I would then have been related to Fiona. Olive kept the postcards that Chris sent to her. I think the earliest one was dated 1907 which was sent to where she was living in Newton Abbot. This was the first property that we tried to find. The road name on the postcard was Keyberry Road and the property is still called The Anchorage but it is now 22 Keyberry Park. While we were in Newton Abbot we also went to Union Street where Christopher’s father had a cheese and basket shop. Later this business was taken on by Christopher’s brother George when their father set up another business in Exeter.

Ian Churchward’s Blog 12th July 2026

Last Sunday I started writing a script for a local heritage project for which I hope to obtain some grant funding. This would involve a local historian being filmed talking about and at some places of historical interest in Torquay followed by some of my songs about those places. This is my song about the opening of the station at Torre which is on one of my Torbay Pageant albums and my idea is that it would be part of some of my musical compositions for my project. https://open.spotify.com/track/3fQi7DNL02N61zE1SdvGHs?si=f54cc1d8f5324052

Ian Churchward’s Blog 5th July 2026

I have added some new short video clips onto my youtube channel. This one is the view from the top of Ludlow castle taken by my son Tom when we were on holiday in Wales last month. The background music is a song called Sunnes of York composed by myself and Ashley Mantle which is on the Mer de Mort album:- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6szv7hnrIOY

Ian Churchward’s Blog 28th June 2026

Due to a metadata error there has been a delay in my Sci Fi Hi Fi album being available on Apple Music. I am pleased to announce that this error has now been corrected and the Sci Fi Hi Fi songs are now on the Apple Music website.

Ian Churchward's Blog 21st June 2026

For Father’s day my son Tom and his wife have given me a very nice bottle of Legend beer with a Legend beer glass. Legendary beer for The Legendary Ten Seconds!

Ian Churchward’s Blog 14th June 2026

We have just had a really nice holiday in Wales. It was great to visit several medieval castles which included Stokesay, Castell-Dolfordwyn, Powis, Aberwystreth, Oswestry, Chirk and Ludlow. The castle of Chirk was especially interesting and I discovered that some of the previous owners included Roger Mortimer, Richard III and Sir William Stanley of whom I have recorded songs such as this one:- https://open.spotify.com/track/59xWVt7VBReLpiNMl8pRMc

Ian Churchward’s Blog 31st May 2026

Here is the link to a really great video about the music scene in Torquay which includes myself, Steve Honeywill and David Clifford talking about the bands we played in during the 1980s:- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dsxz4yEAYEc

Ian Churchward’s Blog 24th May 2026

On Monday afternoon The Legendary Ten Seconds played a set of Ricardian songs at Waldon Point, St Luke’s Road South in Torquay. I sang and played the guitar, Elaine sang and Lord Zarquon played his Memotron keyboard. Elaine sang the lead vocals on King in the Car Park and Charm and Grace. In between each song I talked about Richard III and the Wars of the Roses. We started with the first song that we composed and recorded about Richard III called The House of York. The last song that we played was about the battle of Bosworth called White Surrey.

Ian Churchward’s Blog 17th May 2026

My song about the school strike which started in 1914 in the village of Burston has been included on Strummers & Dreamers show number 639 on Cambridge Radio:- https://cambridge105.co.uk/