Events
Monthly meetings are held on the first Thursday of the month at 10.00am
The New Remembrance Hall, Charlton, Shaftesbury, Dorset, SP7 0PL
The 29 bus service from Shaftesbury to Salisbury stops in Charlton near to the hall, refer to the link on the Welcome page for the current timetable.
A charge is made of £2 per person, to cover speakers costs and refreshments. Open meetings provide an opportunity to have a coffee, socialise and to enjoy presentations from invited speakers. Non-members are welcome to attend one open meeting to sample what is on offer.
| Dates for your Diary | |
|---|---|
| Meetings | |
| Thu May 2nd | Peter Gill - "The Wit and Songs of Noel Coward" Born in 1899, Coward was an actor, composer, director, producer, and in later life painter - and he excelled at them all. He said of himself "I am an enormously talented man, and there is no point in denying it". This is a reminder of that talent and some of the wonderful songs and wit of the 'Master' including A Bar on the Piccola Marina, Don't Let's Be Beastly To The Germans, Mrs Worthington, There Are Bad Times Just Around the Corner and Mad Dogs & Englishmen. Peter lives in Ross-on-Wye, Hertfordshire. He has been writing and producing for the theatre stage for the last 25 years. He is also an experienced piano/vocalist and spends much of his work life touring the country in a variety of theatre shows. We welcome him back to speak to us by popular demand after his talk last year on Private Godfrey. |
| Thu Jun 6th | Colin Divall BSC, MSc, PhD, FRHistS - "Who Built the Victorian Railways and Did They Get it Right?" The great Victorian engineers like the Stephensons, Locke and Brunel get much of the credit for Britain's railways, but as the world's first 'big business' many other kinds of minds were involved in planning, promoting, constructing, operating and regulating the network. In this talk I argue that our fascination with the engineers echoes that found in the latter half of the 19th Century, which in turn was partly a reaction to the messy reality of railway politics. While the railways were central to many aspects of Victorian society, the network was not as good as it could have been, and the reasons for this might provide insights for railway policy today. Colin Divall, professor emeritus of railway studies at the University of York, was head of the Institute of Railway Studies & Transport History for 19 years from its founding jointly with the National Railway Museum in 1995. He now splits his time between research on the history of rural transport in the West Country, campaigning for better facilities for walkers and cyclists in and around Bridport, where he lives, and largely failing to build an accurate model of Wimborne station as it was in 1960, when he moved to that town. |
| Thu Jul 4th | Steve Herra - "The Mysterious Disappearance of the Irish Crown Jewels" What were the Crown Jewels referred to by the Irish locals? Why was the safe kept in the library rather than the strongroom? When waking up after an alcoholic slumber, what did Arthur Vickers find wrapped around his neck? Who left the Crown Jewels on Arthur Vickers desk? Who found the front door and strongroom door open? What was the reward to recover the jewels? Which famous author offered his help in solving the case? Who was the famous brother of Francis Shackleton? What happened to the files in Scotland Yard? What did the King say when presented with the secret report? Steve is a third generation of Cunard seafarer and met some of the stars featured in his QE2 talk. His last ship was QE2 where he was one of the Pursers, on leaving Cunard he served in the Royal Naval Reserve. During past years he has conducted tours of both Cunard and P&O ships when they are in Southampton, sadly when the pandemic struck these have all ceased. He has been delivering talks to U3A, Probus, WI and may local history groups for several years. We welcome Steve back after his very interesting and informative talk "Titanic - A Night of Ice". |
| Thu Sep 5th | Rupert Hague-Holmes - "The Tragedy That Was Arnhem" On the 80th anniversary of the Battle, this illustrated talk looks at the reasons why the Battle Of Arnhem resulted in failure. It is not a chronological analysis of the Battle, rather a perspective on the reasons that led to the failure in the operation. We will look at the key personalities involved, the unanswered controversies, and tactical errors made on the ground during the Battle. Rupert graduated from Durham University with a degree in Law/Politics in 1987. A qualified solicitor, he spent 35 years in private practice and the finance industry in London, Birmingham and the Channel Islands. Having been brought up within a military family, Rupert has always been fascinated by military history. He is a regular speaker at public events and is currently writing the biography of Lt General Sir George Lea (1912-1990), due to be published this year. Lea commanded 11 Parachute Battalion at Arnhem. During lock-down Rupert gave us a Zoom talk on 'The Battle of the Imjin River'. |
| Thu Oct 3rd | Dr James Taylor FRSA - "Grace Darling and the Fine Art of Saving Lives at Sea" Darling's daring rescue of steamship passengers off the Northumberland coast in 1838 brought her international dame and celebrity. Discover more about her bravery and short life (died aged 26) living in the Brownsman and Longstone lighthouses, and the full extent of the artistic contribution that has helped keep her in the public eye. Grace became the 'poster girl' of the RNLI and was the first woman awarded their medal for gallantry. James is a former curator of paintings, drawings and prints at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich. |
| Thu Nov 7th | Giles Fern - "The Friends of Guys Marsh" Details TBA |