Past meetings 2021
19th August 2021
(Report by Ian Young)
On Thursday 19 August we held our first meeting since the COVID restrictions caused our activities to be suspended. It was a well-attended meeting, in which Mike Storr, who last visited us in November 2018, again regaled us with a talk about some of the Music Hall comedians who were active in the first half of the twentieth century. He entitled his talk “Masters of Mirth - The Sequel.”
This featured the monologues written by the popular Music Hall writer Marriott Edgar, including Runcorn Ferry which Mike recited in full (“Tuppence per person per trip”) and Gunner Joe. He also tod us about Al Read, Sir Bernard Miles, Norman Evans and Stanley Holloway. 
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21st October 2021
(Report by Ian Young)
On 21 October we welcomed back a speaker who had entertained us with his anecdotes in February 2020. On the present occasion Ken Moore’s subject was the Dickin Medal, which is awarded to animals that have shown exceptional bravery in the face of danger. It is awarded by the PDSA, and was awarded to dogs, most famously, for service in the Second World War in rescuing people trapped after air raids. The first award, however, was to three homing pigeons who saved the lives of stranded air crew in 1943 after their aircraft was ditched.
The award is named after Maria Dickin who instigated it in 1943, giving a boost to morale during the war. It has been awarded 73 times since its inauguration, to 32 pigeons, 36 dogs, 4 horses and even a cat who caught many rats while under fire and was injured during the so-called Yangtze incident when HMS Amethyst was stranded in the Yangtze river in 1949.
Ken regaled us with a number of anecdotes about the work of animals awarded the medal, including Gustav who brought news back from the Normandy beaches on D-Day. He unfortunately died when he was accidentally trodden on by a cleaner.
Other heroes he told us about include horses that kept exceptionally calm after explosions, and animals in military conflicts and in civilians emergencies, some of who were awarded the medal and others who were not. One is renowned for rounding up drunken sailors from Glasgow pubs. And Bamse who was a Norwegian dog who travelled with the Norwegian navy during the war, and is honoured with a statue in his homeland and in Montrose in Scotland.
Ken is likely to be invited to visit us again, perhaps to regale us with a talk which he entitles “Animals In Uniform.”
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14th November 2021
(Report by Ian Young)
On 18 November 2021 Dr Craig Spence took us on an archaeological journey to Jamaica, specifically to Port Royal on the south coast. It is away from the popular beaches of the north coast and it is a long time since it was a popular destination for pirates. These “Brethren of the Coast” made it a prosperous centre in the 1680s, when it hosted daily markets and was the home of skilled craftsmen, and was defended by 120 guns. The famous Henry Morgan lived there as governor of Jamaica until his death in 1688.
The prosperity of Port Royal did not long survive Morgan’s death, for in 1692 there was an earthquake followed by a tsunami in which it is estimated about four thousand people died and at least 160 buildings were destroyed. A large part of the town disappeared underwater as the event undermined the foundations of the buildings which were built on sand on low-lying ground. An attempt to rebuild was undertaken in 1703 but fire and hurricanes prevented its full recovery, and the townspeople moved to nearby Kingston which was on higher ground, though Port Royal survived as a naval station.
For the archaeologist these circumstances left the town in an excellent state of preservation but with poor excavation conditions, Craig explained. In the 1960s excavations were begun using modern techniques, and in the 1980s an underwater survey was undertaken.
Attempts have been made to develop the site as a tourist destination, including a cruise ship terminal, an underwater museum, and other ideas of greater or lesser practicality. Craig described some of the work he was involved with in the 1987 excavations. In 2017, 3D mapping techniques were applied,. Eventually, in 2019 a cruise ship terminal was constructed. It is floating and manoeuvrable apparently well suited to the local conditions. In 2020 The Port Royal 2020 Project was initiated, which aims to turn the place into a world-class heritage site as well as improve the economic and social conditions for the people who live there.
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