Annals for 2019
19th March John Challis, Actor and Author
By John Challis
John is still best known as ‘Boycie’ from his famous role in ‘Only Fools and Horses’.
He loved to mimic people at a very early age and later took part in school plays. He poked fun at his chemistry master by imitating his difficulty pronouncing his ‘s’ s. The headmaster was named Arthur Foot, but John called him ‘six inches’
John started work in an estate agent but soon got sacked. He bought a copy of ‘The Stage’ magazine, applied for a job and got it. He toured in repertory for five years, and then had small parts in the West End before joining The Royal Shakespeare Company where he had parts in ‘As You Like It’ and Richard III. He played in Henry V in 1966 while those actors and others not on stage watched the World Cup football underneath it while the play was going on!
He nearly joined ‘The Magical Mystery Tour with The Beatles’ but after telling John Lennon he preferred The Rolling Stones’ he did not get the job. However, both John’s liked imitating the Goons together.
He had small parts in ‘Coronation Street’ and ‘Open all Hours’, Then he played the evil henchman Scorby with Tom Baker in a six-part TV series of ‘Dr Who’ called ‘The Seeds of doom’ – one of the most popular of the ‘Dr Who’ series. He then went to the States with a part in Tom Stoppard’s play ‘Dirty Linen’ on Broadway.
Back in the UK John was contacted by John Sullivan, the playwright, to join David Jason in ‘Only Fools and Horses’. The first series was not well received but then it blossomed and eventually had an audience of 10 to 15 million. His character ‘Boycie’ made him internationally famous. The last never-to be-forgotten final episode in 1996 ended with the famous watch which raised £6,200,000 at the auction. It attracted a television audience of 24.3 million, a record for a British sitcom.
He then had his own series ‘The Green Green Grass’ and last appeared in ‘the pantomime ‘Peter Pan’ in 1918.
In addition, he has also written several books which sold well after his talk.
By Bernard North
5th March 2019 Time for a Change
The Rev Sylvia Turner
Sylvia Turner referred briefly to her 25 years work in museums before entering the church.
In the first phase of her lecture she outlined the early campaign for women’s ordination started in
1897.Many years earlier women had been active as non-ordained deaconesses and Church
Mission Society Missionaries in the Protestant Church.
Members of Parochial Church Councils rejected ordination for women in the UK, partly on the
grounds that membership might be swamped by women! It was the view that ‘God did not intend
them to have such a role’ and that feminine women would not wish to behave in that way.
Lady Stansgate, in 1916, approached the Archbishop of Canterbury, but following a dinner at
Lambert Palace the Archbishop opposed her campaign based on two millennia of tradition.
In 1935 a Commission on the Ministry of Women included a note from the Dean of St Paul’s that
“arguments against the eligibility of women to the priesthood are without value”, but adding that it
would not be expedient to proceed at once.
A long delay followed, with opposition including those campaigning to unite the Anglican and
Catholic Churches after World War 2. Through out the 50’s and 60’s women continued to play
a greater role in study groups and regional gatherings and in 1975 the General Synod expressed
no fundamental objection to women’s ordination yet fears of division’s continued to delay progress.
In 1978 a motion to the Synod sought to bring forward legislation but the motion was lost in the
House of Clergy.
Sylvia began the second part of her talk by referring to the upsurge in public profile that the
Founding of the Movement of Women brought from early 1975. Spirituality and liturgy remained male, formal and traditional at that stage, but in 1988 the General Synod voted in favour of a measure to ordain women whilst financially safeguarding clergy who might resign. Archbishop Runcie again spoke in favour but voted against, leading to much media reference to “chaos and turmoil” in the Church. Not until November 1972 did the final decisive vote take place with Royal Assent following in 1993.
Living in Norfolk Sylvia took part in debates in Bungay and East Dereham in the lead up to the
vote. Just 11 days later she went to a selection conference to enter Theological College in
Cambridge, becoming a curate at Whitstable, Kent in 1995. Her experiences in the ministry
were wide ranging, experiencing much warmth, sometimes excessive expectations and working
with those suffering tragedies, including farmers effected by the foot and mouth epidemic in 2001.
Her view was that men and women were equally capable of responding to the needs of the parish.
The key was being resident in the parish and willing to respond to a phone call at any time.
She devoted the third and final section of her talk to a discussion on the present state of the Church.
Two trends are apparent, firstly the decline in church attendance over the last 50 years, and secondly the rise of the evangelical wing of the C of E.
Thus in 1983 40% of the population claimed to be C of E, by 2017 it was just 17%. Congregations
consist mainly of the elderly, with less income fewer clergy are employed and more churches with
fewer services.
When Sylvia moved to the diocese of Wigmore in 1999 the liberal wing led the way, middle of the
road and concerned about social issues. But change has seen evangelicalism become the accepted norm.
More inward looking its focus is on mobilising congregations with a narrower definition of what a
true Christian is.
She could see no easy way forward.
Sylvia’s talk was most thoughtful, elegant and engaging on a large subject. The dashes of gentle
hummer was well appreciated.
By Michael Haines
22nd January 2019 WHO DO I THINK I AM?
David Trotter (Club Member)
Inspired by the television programme of not quite the same title, David began looking into the 4 family names of Trotter, Sparnon, Merchant and Henley, family names of his own relatives.
Trotter can be traced to the far North East of England and the Scottish Borders. Preston Tower, near Alnwick, Northumberland was where David first learned of the history of the Trotters. It is one of 96 Pele Towers that existed in the Borders, an area of lawlessness for 300 or so years. The Trotters were Border Reivers, cattle rustlers and outlaws whose Clan Leader was killed at the Battle of Flodden Field in 1513.
Del Boy’ Trotter is famous worldwide but regrettably has no connection although David did show a photo of himself standing next to the yellow Robin Reliant used by his namesake.
The 1901 Census proved a fruitful source revealing the Trotter family living at Usworth Colliery, Washington. Co. Durham. Here in a 2-up-2 down miner’s house lived his Great Grandfather John (Born 1847), a horse-keeper at the local pit, his wife and 6 children. The Census shows there were 5 other children living there, the offspring of his sister. After their parents’ deaths they were placed in the workhouse at Chester-Le-Street. On one Good Friday John and his family had walked the 6 miles and brought them back to live with them.
Thomas Trotter (Born 1890), son of John, was David’s Grandfather. He and married Rachel Sparnon and served as a stretcher bearer in WW1. They had 2 children, one of whom, also named Thomas, was David’s father. After Rachel’s premature death from TB at 33, he remarried and fathered 3 more. Photographic evidence reveals he served in the Home Guard during WW2.Thomas, David’s father was born on Boxing Day 1911 in a flat-roofed terrace in Usworth, at age 14 he followed his grandfather in working with horses at the pit. He earned 5s/6d for his first week’s work at Usworth Colliery. Miraculously, his first pay-slip survives. Sadly, his eyesight deteriorated so much that he had to seek a place on a Government re-training programme in London. He qualified as a welder and found employment at the Sadia Water Heater Co. in Northolt, Middlesex.
An Uncle, also called David, joined the Army in 1938, serving in the 3rd Royal Tank Regiment as a gunner. He served with distinction throughout WW2, earning the Military Medal for his actions in North Africa in 1943. He also served in France, Greece, Holland and Germany and later in Korea.
Sparnon was the maiden name of David’s Grandmother. Her father, John Sparnon (Born 1851) was a tin miner near Redruth in Cornwall, When the mine closed, he walked to Wigan where he married Rachel Ashcroft and worked in a coal mine. Another journey on foot took him to Sunderland where their daughter also named Rachel, David’s Grandmother was born. Sparnon, a rare name means ‘thorn bush’ in Cornish.
William Merchant (Born1878) was David’s Maternal Grandfather,
The family originated in Milford Haven. A compositor, he moved to work at Roath in Cardiff where he married Anne Henley. Her family had moved to Roath from Somerset. William and the family later moved to Llanelli where he worked on the Llanelly Journal until it closed.
Probus Club members were fascinated to learn how much migration took place within the UK as men sought employment to feed and house their families. A most enjoyable talk and the Vote of Thanks showed how much members appreciated David’s informative and enjoyable presentation.
By Martin Thomas
By John Challis
John is still best known as ‘Boycie’ from his famous role in ‘Only Fools and Horses’.
He loved to mimic people at a very early age and later took part in school plays. He poked fun at his chemistry master by imitating his difficulty pronouncing his ‘s’ s. The headmaster was named Arthur Foot, but John called him ‘six inches’
John started work in an estate agent but soon got sacked. He bought a copy of ‘The Stage’ magazine, applied for a job and got it. He toured in repertory for five years, and then had small parts in the West End before joining The Royal Shakespeare Company where he had parts in ‘As You Like It’ and Richard III. He played in Henry V in 1966 while those actors and others not on stage watched the World Cup football underneath it while the play was going on!
He nearly joined ‘The Magical Mystery Tour with The Beatles’ but after telling John Lennon he preferred The Rolling Stones’ he did not get the job. However, both John’s liked imitating the Goons together.
He had small parts in ‘Coronation Street’ and ‘Open all Hours’, Then he played the evil henchman Scorby with Tom Baker in a six-part TV series of ‘Dr Who’ called ‘The Seeds of doom’ – one of the most popular of the ‘Dr Who’ series. He then went to the States with a part in Tom Stoppard’s play ‘Dirty Linen’ on Broadway.
Back in the UK John was contacted by John Sullivan, the playwright, to join David Jason in ‘Only Fools and Horses’. The first series was not well received but then it blossomed and eventually had an audience of 10 to 15 million. His character ‘Boycie’ made him internationally famous. The last never-to be-forgotten final episode in 1996 ended with the famous watch which raised £6,200,000 at the auction. It attracted a television audience of 24.3 million, a record for a British sitcom.
He then had his own series ‘The Green Green Grass’ and last appeared in ‘the pantomime ‘Peter Pan’ in 1918.
In addition, he has also written several books which sold well after his talk.
By Bernard North
5th March 2019 Time for a Change
The Rev Sylvia Turner
Sylvia Turner referred briefly to her 25 years work in museums before entering the church.
In the first phase of her lecture she outlined the early campaign for women’s ordination started in
1897.Many years earlier women had been active as non-ordained deaconesses and Church
Mission Society Missionaries in the Protestant Church.
Members of Parochial Church Councils rejected ordination for women in the UK, partly on the
grounds that membership might be swamped by women! It was the view that ‘God did not intend
them to have such a role’ and that feminine women would not wish to behave in that way.
Lady Stansgate, in 1916, approached the Archbishop of Canterbury, but following a dinner at
Lambert Palace the Archbishop opposed her campaign based on two millennia of tradition.
In 1935 a Commission on the Ministry of Women included a note from the Dean of St Paul’s that
“arguments against the eligibility of women to the priesthood are without value”, but adding that it
would not be expedient to proceed at once.
A long delay followed, with opposition including those campaigning to unite the Anglican and
Catholic Churches after World War 2. Through out the 50’s and 60’s women continued to play
a greater role in study groups and regional gatherings and in 1975 the General Synod expressed
no fundamental objection to women’s ordination yet fears of division’s continued to delay progress.
In 1978 a motion to the Synod sought to bring forward legislation but the motion was lost in the
House of Clergy.
Sylvia began the second part of her talk by referring to the upsurge in public profile that the
Founding of the Movement of Women brought from early 1975. Spirituality and liturgy remained male, formal and traditional at that stage, but in 1988 the General Synod voted in favour of a measure to ordain women whilst financially safeguarding clergy who might resign. Archbishop Runcie again spoke in favour but voted against, leading to much media reference to “chaos and turmoil” in the Church. Not until November 1972 did the final decisive vote take place with Royal Assent following in 1993.
Living in Norfolk Sylvia took part in debates in Bungay and East Dereham in the lead up to the
vote. Just 11 days later she went to a selection conference to enter Theological College in
Cambridge, becoming a curate at Whitstable, Kent in 1995. Her experiences in the ministry
were wide ranging, experiencing much warmth, sometimes excessive expectations and working
with those suffering tragedies, including farmers effected by the foot and mouth epidemic in 2001.
Her view was that men and women were equally capable of responding to the needs of the parish.
The key was being resident in the parish and willing to respond to a phone call at any time.
She devoted the third and final section of her talk to a discussion on the present state of the Church.
Two trends are apparent, firstly the decline in church attendance over the last 50 years, and secondly the rise of the evangelical wing of the C of E.
Thus in 1983 40% of the population claimed to be C of E, by 2017 it was just 17%. Congregations
consist mainly of the elderly, with less income fewer clergy are employed and more churches with
fewer services.
When Sylvia moved to the diocese of Wigmore in 1999 the liberal wing led the way, middle of the
road and concerned about social issues. But change has seen evangelicalism become the accepted norm.
More inward looking its focus is on mobilising congregations with a narrower definition of what a
true Christian is.
She could see no easy way forward.
Sylvia’s talk was most thoughtful, elegant and engaging on a large subject. The dashes of gentle
hummer was well appreciated.
By Michael Haines
22nd January 2019 WHO DO I THINK I AM?
David Trotter (Club Member)
Inspired by the television programme of not quite the same title, David began looking into the 4 family names of Trotter, Sparnon, Merchant and Henley, family names of his own relatives.
Trotter can be traced to the far North East of England and the Scottish Borders. Preston Tower, near Alnwick, Northumberland was where David first learned of the history of the Trotters. It is one of 96 Pele Towers that existed in the Borders, an area of lawlessness for 300 or so years. The Trotters were Border Reivers, cattle rustlers and outlaws whose Clan Leader was killed at the Battle of Flodden Field in 1513.
Del Boy’ Trotter is famous worldwide but regrettably has no connection although David did show a photo of himself standing next to the yellow Robin Reliant used by his namesake.
The 1901 Census proved a fruitful source revealing the Trotter family living at Usworth Colliery, Washington. Co. Durham. Here in a 2-up-2 down miner’s house lived his Great Grandfather John (Born 1847), a horse-keeper at the local pit, his wife and 6 children. The Census shows there were 5 other children living there, the offspring of his sister. After their parents’ deaths they were placed in the workhouse at Chester-Le-Street. On one Good Friday John and his family had walked the 6 miles and brought them back to live with them.
Thomas Trotter (Born 1890), son of John, was David’s Grandfather. He and married Rachel Sparnon and served as a stretcher bearer in WW1. They had 2 children, one of whom, also named Thomas, was David’s father. After Rachel’s premature death from TB at 33, he remarried and fathered 3 more. Photographic evidence reveals he served in the Home Guard during WW2.Thomas, David’s father was born on Boxing Day 1911 in a flat-roofed terrace in Usworth, at age 14 he followed his grandfather in working with horses at the pit. He earned 5s/6d for his first week’s work at Usworth Colliery. Miraculously, his first pay-slip survives. Sadly, his eyesight deteriorated so much that he had to seek a place on a Government re-training programme in London. He qualified as a welder and found employment at the Sadia Water Heater Co. in Northolt, Middlesex.
An Uncle, also called David, joined the Army in 1938, serving in the 3rd Royal Tank Regiment as a gunner. He served with distinction throughout WW2, earning the Military Medal for his actions in North Africa in 1943. He also served in France, Greece, Holland and Germany and later in Korea.
Sparnon was the maiden name of David’s Grandmother. Her father, John Sparnon (Born 1851) was a tin miner near Redruth in Cornwall, When the mine closed, he walked to Wigan where he married Rachel Ashcroft and worked in a coal mine. Another journey on foot took him to Sunderland where their daughter also named Rachel, David’s Grandmother was born. Sparnon, a rare name means ‘thorn bush’ in Cornish.
William Merchant (Born1878) was David’s Maternal Grandfather,
The family originated in Milford Haven. A compositor, he moved to work at Roath in Cardiff where he married Anne Henley. Her family had moved to Roath from Somerset. William and the family later moved to Llanelli where he worked on the Llanelly Journal until it closed.
Probus Club members were fascinated to learn how much migration took place within the UK as men sought employment to feed and house their families. A most enjoyable talk and the Vote of Thanks showed how much members appreciated David’s informative and enjoyable presentation.
By Martin Thomas
5th February 2019 Chapters in the discovery of Earth’s History.
Some of the Heroes and a Couple of Villains
Tony Martyr
Tony’s talk was not so much on the detail of Earth’s history as perhaps a critique of how close mindedness of scholars/philosophers held up the understanding of how the earth changed geologically over the millennia.
Devout Christian men of the age of Enlightenment were brought up with the creation story as explained in Genesis, and it would be difficult for them to countenance any other story. This held back the advancement of geology for many years. It was not until James Hutton a Scottish farmer, naturalist, geologist and polymath by studying the rock formation at Siccar postulated that rocks had formed successively over a great time. He was one of the founders of modern geology. Sir Charles Lyell’s book “Principles of Geology” introduced to the public Hutton’s concept of an ancient earth to the general public. Lyell’s description of the evolving earth was the foundation for Darwin’s evolution theory of life forms.
Certain clever, good geologists became rather full of themselves and would accept no theory that ran counter to their own. A particularly nasty character was Murchison, a Scotsman, who would ruin the career prospects of any geologist who proposed theories that seemingly countered his own. Apparently, there was a scientific “class war” between some of the respected members of the Royal Geological Society and amateurs who developed theories that questioned or advanced the current geological understanding. Geology really started to advance from about 1915 when Wegener a German meteorologist proposed the theory of continental drift and the pre-existence of ancient continents of shapes quite different from the present. Although his theory was rejected because he was not a geologist and there was seemingly no mechanism to support the movement of land masses, it was finally accepted after Prof. Arthur Holmes through radiometric studies postulated that the earth’s mantle contained hot mobile fluid convection cells that enabled the earth’s crust to move. This was the beginning of the modern theory of continental plate subduction and the building of mountains (orogeny). Since about the 1960s geological knowledge has accelerated at an ever-increasing rate.
We are now in the Anthropocene era in which man’s behaviour is influencing the nature of the planet and its climate.
By Frank Baker
Some of the Heroes and a Couple of Villains
Tony Martyr
Tony’s talk was not so much on the detail of Earth’s history as perhaps a critique of how close mindedness of scholars/philosophers held up the understanding of how the earth changed geologically over the millennia.
Devout Christian men of the age of Enlightenment were brought up with the creation story as explained in Genesis, and it would be difficult for them to countenance any other story. This held back the advancement of geology for many years. It was not until James Hutton a Scottish farmer, naturalist, geologist and polymath by studying the rock formation at Siccar postulated that rocks had formed successively over a great time. He was one of the founders of modern geology. Sir Charles Lyell’s book “Principles of Geology” introduced to the public Hutton’s concept of an ancient earth to the general public. Lyell’s description of the evolving earth was the foundation for Darwin’s evolution theory of life forms.
Certain clever, good geologists became rather full of themselves and would accept no theory that ran counter to their own. A particularly nasty character was Murchison, a Scotsman, who would ruin the career prospects of any geologist who proposed theories that seemingly countered his own. Apparently, there was a scientific “class war” between some of the respected members of the Royal Geological Society and amateurs who developed theories that questioned or advanced the current geological understanding. Geology really started to advance from about 1915 when Wegener a German meteorologist proposed the theory of continental drift and the pre-existence of ancient continents of shapes quite different from the present. Although his theory was rejected because he was not a geologist and there was seemingly no mechanism to support the movement of land masses, it was finally accepted after Prof. Arthur Holmes through radiometric studies postulated that the earth’s mantle contained hot mobile fluid convection cells that enabled the earth’s crust to move. This was the beginning of the modern theory of continental plate subduction and the building of mountains (orogeny). Since about the 1960s geological knowledge has accelerated at an ever-increasing rate.
We are now in the Anthropocene era in which man’s behaviour is influencing the nature of the planet and its climate.
By Frank Baker
19th February 2019 Stalking Mrs Briggs
Keith Pybus,
Keith, a very interesting speaker, (this is his second lecture to Ludlow Probus Club), took a degree in economics. He wanted a commission in the Army and the recruiting officer, despite Keith's protestations as to the unsuitability of his degree for such work, insisted he must join the Pay Corps, or get no commission; so, the Pay Corps it was! He travelled as far as Singapore and then eventually, after the Army, joined Dunlop. With this firm he travelled extensively, his two children being born in Sweden. After leaving Dunlop he went to Royal Doulton, left there eventually for another firm and then retired soon after to pursue his hobbies which include local social history detective work. "Stalking Mrs. Biggs" is subtitled "A Shropshire love story across the social divide" Keith said that the story intrigued him not only because it was unusual for the time, but because there was little or no documentary evidence. What evidence there was came from gravestones, war memorials and face to face interviews with a few old people who were involved and/or had recollections of the events. Hence, Keith gave the story another subtitle; - "Face to face encounters across the Social Divide "
Hilda Baxter was born in 1876. The family was middle class and wealthy. Her father was the Vicar of Sibdon, his elder brother being the owner of Sibdon Castle, another brother being a banker who when he died left, the equivalent of £13.5 million in today's money. Apparently, the family money came originally from a sugar plantation in Antigua. At some point the family, certainly the mother and Hilda, moved to Halford, now a sleepy parish with an electorate of just 34. Here they lived in a small house called "Tremynfa", but even so her mother had a chauffeur who lived in a nearby terraced cottage. At the age of 32 in 1908, Hilda married William George Biggs. His father was a railway guard and hence they lived in a terraced Railway owned cottage (Newington Terrace). William was a railway fireman. From Hilda's gravestone in Sibdon Churchyard, lying next to her parents, we know that William died in 1918. His grave is in the Hortaki Military cemetery, Salonica. Many died there from Malaria but his death coincided with the second wave of Spanish 'flu in that area, so who knows? Hilda never remarried. She had 10 years of marriage and remained true to William for the 44 years of her widowhood. Her last days were spent in another house called "Tremynfa", a small 1940s or 50s house built near to the site of the original one in Halford. We can only guess today at the opposition that their marriage could have generated, crossing the social divides as it did. What is sure is that William was no ordinary railway fireman, as can be seen on his tombstone in Salonica, he had risen to Regimental Sergeant Major, the highest rank that a non-commissioned officer can attain.
By Jim Oakley
2nd April 2019 A Pictorial History of 24 Squadron
Howard Goslyn
Howard presented a pictorial history of the aircraft flown by his old squadron covering the period from its inception in 1915 to modern times.
The 24 Squadron was formed in Hounslow where in 1915 and deployed to France where they flew no less than 9 diverse types of aircraft between 2015 and 1918. These included the Curtiss JN4 (Jenny), The French built Caudron G111 which used “wing warping” instead of ailerons.
This was followed by the Avro 504 which had a Lewis Gun mounted over the upper wing.
Then the BE2C was built by the Royal Aircraft Factory then the Bleriot XI (which was the first heavier-than-air aircraft in a war)
The Bristol Scout was one of the first aircraft to be used as a fighter plane.
Farman built the Longhorn and Shorthorn aircraft these were “pushers” and allowed the Observer to shoot from the front seat without interfering with the propeller. Biggles allegedly learned the fly in one of these.
One successful aircraft that was not commissioned by the Squadron was the Sopwith Camel which is credited with shooting down 1300 enemy aircraft.
In1916/17 the Airco DH2 a single seater “pusher” was deployed. The front mounted gun enabled pilots to successfully take on previously superior Fokkers.
The first CO of 24 Squadron was Major L G Hawker VC, DSO, 1890-1916 was shot down by Manfred von Richthofen “The Red Baron”. His name is inscribed on the Arras Memorial.
The Curtiss SE5A was the fastest aircraft of WW1, 1917-1919. It was followed by the Bristol Bulldog which was in service up to the beginning of WW2. It was in one of these aeroplanes that Douglas Bader crashed losing both of his legs
24 Squadron was given a new role between 1920-1927 becoming a Comms, VIP and Training squadron. For the next two decades the squadron flew no fewer than 35 aircraft types including
the Avro 504N, the Westland Wapiti single engine biplane, the Fairy 111F, the Hawker Tomtit a trainer also the Avro Tutor and the Tiger Moth both used by the squadron as trainers.
In 1938 the twin engine Avro Anson multirole aircraft emerged and was in use until 1968.
Beryl Markham the British born Kenyan aviator and race horse trainer was the first person to fly across the Atlantic east to west in a Vega Gull single engine four-seater plane. A type flown by 24
Amelia Earhart was flying a Lockheed Electra when she disappeared over the Pacific whist trying to circumnavigate the world in 1937. This twin engine all metal monoplane was in service with the Squadron.
The de Havilland DH.95 Flamingo a twin-engine high wing monoplane which cared 20 passengers with a crew of 2 was used for transport and communication duties.
Neville Shute, the author, was involved with the Airspeed Envoy a little twin-engine transport aircraft in use with 24 Squadron.
Heston Aircraft Company produced the Heston Phoenix a high wing plane and the first to have a retractable undercarriage,
The Dakota DC3 1940-1945 was the most numerous and successful aircraft with a range of 1500 miles. The price was the equivalent to that of a Rolls Royce car and was also the first passenger plane with Global capability
General Aircraft’s GAL 42 two-seater aircraft with enclosed cockpit was used to train pilots. Guy Gibson, of Dam Busters fame, was a trainer.
In 1941 the Squadron got hold of some unusual aircraft a Heinkel HE 111 a Fokker XXII and a Messerschmitt Bf 108.
24 flew the American built Lockheed Hudson a six-seater light bomber 1941 and the
Barnes Wallace designed Wellington XVI, 1943-1944 which was mainly used as a night bomber
The Avro York transport aircraft, a derivative of the Lancaster bomber,1944-1945, took part in the Berlin Airlift in 1948. It was retired from active service soon after.
Douglas’s DC4 Sky master,1944-1945, was also involved in the Berlin Airlift.
An Avro Lancaster C2 (1946-1949) flew from UK to New Zealand in 3 days.
The Vickers Valetta,1950, twin-engine military transport aircraft replaced the DC3 and was involved in operations during Suez’s and Malaya emergencies.
Handley Page’s Hastings, a troop and freight carrying aircraft, was also used in the Berlin Airlift.
It was superseded by the Hercules G130, a remarkable workhorse and used extensively, by the Americans in the Vietnam War. This was superseded by the Hercules C130J in 2001 which is still in service today.
Boeing’s C17 Globemaster III the largest aircraft in the RAF started service in 2001 and is still in use.
The Airbus A400M Atlas has been in use since 2014, it has not replaced the Hercules but compliments it.
No. 24 Squadron is now the Air Mobility Operational Conversion Unit (AMOCU). Based at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, 24 Sqn is responsible for aircrew training (C-130J Hercules and A400M Atlas) and engineer training (C130J Hercules, A400M Atlas and C17 Globemaster). The Sqn also provides training support, management and governance to the entire Air Mobility Force.
Howard concluded with a trailer for his next talk on the history of the C130 Hercules.
By Martyn Wray
16th April 2018 Spring Lunch
Thirty members and their guests sat down for an excellent lunch at The Canmore Lakeside Hotel.
30th April 2019 Cyder-Reviving a Herefordshire Tradition
David Flory
David aided by his very able assistant Terry, explained why it is Cyder and not Cider which refers to the commercial product sold today. Terry then proceeded with a reading from The History and Virtues of Cyder follow by an appropriate music hall song which to much applause!
He then explained that true cyder has only one ingredient-apples. Under UK law cider must contain at least 35% apple juice (fresh or from concentrate) and the additions to the commercial product are mainly to ensure a constant taste and long shelf live. These companies aim to turn the apples into their product and have it on the supermarket shelves within six weeks-not the way the traditional maker, home brewer does it.
There are three main types of apples, cooking, eating and cider apples and there are four types of cyder apples, all of which taste terrible! The resulting product varies in colour, dryness or sweetness and strength with this being achieved in the commercial world by variations in the process. David does not sell any of his production, so can allow his cyder to turn out ‘as it comes’
Meaning that each individual barrel will vary from the next because of the different yeasts in each,
Cyder apples are collected from the ground, including bruised fruit, and taken to the mill for crushing, the first stage of the process. The resulting ‘mush’ known as pomace; this is built up into a cheese with this operation usually continuing from September to Christmas. Pressure is applied to the piles of cheeses and the resulting juice placed in vats or casks where the fermentation occurs. The pressed pulp is used as winter fodder to farm animals or composed. David’s hens should but don’t like it. The bulk is racked off in the new year and secondary fermentation goes on until the summer.
At this point Terry rendered another witty ditty with actions.
David also produces ‘proper perry’ using only pears. Perry is more expensive than cyder to produce due to the fruit having to be hand picked using what is known as a ‘panker’. Plus it takes many more years for a pear tree to bear fruit than an apple. Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire are the centres of perry production in the UK.
In answer to a question about mistletoe, David explained that it does not seriously damage the tree except that if allowed to become too large in the head of the tree it can make it vulnerable to topping in winter storms because mistletoe is evergreen. Also, as it continues to be transpiring throughout the year it does put some strain on the root system of its host.
We were then given a photo tour of ‘where it all happens’ going through the process from gathering the apples on the ground in an orchard to crushing the fruit, building the ‘cheeses’, fermenting the wort and in due course sampling the product.
Terry brought the talk to a close with another appropriate music hall turns.
By Andrew Stedman
14th May 2019 Then & (Possibly) Now
Iain Field (Member)
Iain began with a short history of his early life. Born Glasgow in 1933 where his farther worked for John Bowen shipbuilders and before entering primary school in Wolverhampton had lived in Warrington and London. He passed the 11+ and went to Wolverhampton Grammar School.
From early in life he wanted to become a ships captain in the merchant navy. At sixteen he left school and joined a pre-sea training school in the Commercial Road, London.
He discovered that becoming an apprentice with a shipping company was not that easy, but he persisted and joined John Holt of Liverpool. Not Alfred Holt’s, Blue Funnels who sailed to the Far East, but John Holt’s Red Funnel line trading to the white man’s graveyard, West Africa. Which meant he had to have numerous injections against tropical deceases.
So, two weeks after his 17th birthday he was sailing down the Mersey aboard the SS Jonathan Holt on the evening tide. The ship had been in Brunswick Dock for 5 weeks where six dockers in the hold and three on deck had removed the cargo and refilled it with trade goods. His job was to dispose of the rubbish over the side into the sea,
J Holt and Co started in 1897 trading in Nigeria in palm oil, palm kernels, some rubber and cocoa. Subsequently hard wood logs which was appropriate as the Brunswick Dock was originally developed for the timber trade.
There were two previous SS Jonathan Holt’s. The original built in 1910 sunk in June 1917, the second built by Cammel Lairds in 1938 was sunk in the Iceland gap in February 1941 with a loss of fifty lives. The one Iain sailed on was built in 1943 and also built by Cammel Lairds, the gun emplacements were visible without the guns.
Everything onboard was new to him and he recalled that whilst ‘rationing’ was still enforced at home there was no such thing on board.
They sailed along the Welsh coast and dropped the pilot off at Point Lynass Anglesey and thus began the first of his twelve voyages to West Africa as an apprentice deck officer. They carried twenty-five passengers, but this was reduced to eight to comply with maritime regulations.
He could purchase 500 Export Woodbine every two weeks, but beer was rationed so for his 21st birthday he had to get the captains permission to buy more. They also had a daily allowance of lime juice plus Paludrine to combat malaria.
First port of call was Dakar in French Senegal the approach around Goree Island, formally where slaves were held. Here they recruited 60 to 80 workers known as Krooboys who slept under tarpaulins hung from a derrick. Their duties were unloading and loading cargo but at sea they had the tedious job of chipping the rust from the steel plates and red leading them. Occasional they would call at Bathurst in Gambia
From Freetown in Sierria Leone onto Takoradi in the Gold Coast. Which had the luxury of an outdoor cinema which was fine if the moon was not to bright!
Then sailing down the coast from port to port. Accra, capital of the Gold Coast was a surf port. They would anchor a mile or so out and surf boats paddled out to unload/load cargo. He showed pictures of the cargo being checked before being hoisted by sling into the waiting surf boats.
Apapa was the main port at Lagos Nigeria. To get there they sailed upriver past the Governors House, with its brightly uniformed sentries. It was very humid and noisy. On to Warri, in the mangrove swamps, The home port of the SS Jonathan Holt. Other swamp ports were Burutu Forcadoes and Sapele. Additional calls to small colonies and to Matadi in the Belgium Congo.
Navigation was easy you sailed along the coast through blue seas and when the water turned brown you altered course to port and sailed 40 miles up the Congo river to Matadi. The furthest south sailed was to Angola.
On the return journey they collected sacks of palm kernels ground nuts together with some cocoa hard wood logs and palm oil. The Krooboys were both skilled and courageous loading the logs and would be paid of in Freetown. The ship usually returned to Liverpool. After the tropics the UK was bitterly cold. Occasionally it docked at Hull, Rotterdam or Hamburg where interestingly the charts had minefields marked!
The weather conditions crossing the Bay of Biscay could be horrendous.
Returning home, a distress signal was picked up from the SS Flying Enterprise, she was 200 miles away and therefore we were unable assist them. At the time the ship was hove to, facing the oncoming rollers, with our most experienced seaman at the helm. Her bows into the approaching wave, the fo’c’s’le and number one hatch submerged, she would agonisingly lift herself up as the wave passed beneath her until both ends were barely supported and you feel the hull creak and groan! Unfortunately, she sank but all the crew and passengers were rescued except for one male. Mystery surrounds her cargo, but speculation has it she was carrying zirconium though it was not in the manifesto.
The SS Flying Enterprise was an American built liberty ship, with welded plates not riveted together as Cammel Lairds ships were. They had a live expectance of five years.
After two years he was transferred to the Camel Laird built Florence Holt a steam powder ship capable of up to 15 knots. Similar in size to his previous ship so it could navigate through the mangrove swamp creeks. She had radar, gyroscope compass and Decca Navigator, one cabin for the owner and he was the senior of four apprentices.
Having completed his four years apprenticeship, he was paid off in London and took the examination for a second mates’ certificate of competency, which he passed only to fail the eye colour eye test. Which lead to a complete change of career.
How things have changed John Holt no longer have offices in the Liver Building. At the time there was talk of the government of the day nationalising shipping, so they hived of the shipping side to put the merchandising arm of the company beyond reach.
Most cargo is now transported in containers on much larger ships that dock at the container port dock river at Seaforth docks.
Brunswick Dock is no longer used for commercial shipping and the Albert dock is an entertainment centre.
The Clyde shipyards have long since been abandoned and all round the country ship building has all but disappeared
He worked for a company which owned its own fleet, carrying goods for its trading posts, which were manned with company employees and signed crews on in Liverpool and other British ports. My how things have changed
By Clayton Lee
28th May 2019 What a difference a Month makes or The Forgotten Mutinies.
Tony Paulden
While looking into Italian records, the speaker came across that in 1943 British soldiers, veterans of the North African Campaign had refused to carry their assignment to be replacements during the initial stages of the allied invasion of Italy. They had been led to believe they would return to the UK to join in the preparations for D- day and added to this was the complete lack of organisation they found on reaching Salerno. 192 soldiers were charged with mutiny, shipped back to French Algeria where all were found guilty. The sentences, including death (sergeants), 12 yrs hard labour (soldiers) were subsequently suspended.
Tony then decided to investigate what happened in the Far East.
The background: The WW2 conferences in Casablanca (1941), Teheran (1943), Potsdam twice (1945) were convened where the leaders of the ‘big three’ discussed post war arrangements. Therefore, when the war ended in 1945 with the defeat of Germany the preordained carve up of Europe was implemented.
There was no such agreement for the Far East so when the Japanese surrendered the old colonial rules expected to retain there colonises. The Dutch, weak as they were, hoped to retain their Indonesian colony so for this they needed, British and Allied help. Britain ruined by war, looked for a liberal commonwealth still wishing to keep, in some way, their original colonies. The USA totally against old style colonialism wanted new friendly, independent countries with whom to build trade. The US also needed to move into the Far East as a bulwark against the USSR (cold war) and to expand a trade base in the new capitalist China (Chiang Kai-shek) A small British and Indian force were massacred near Surabaya (Indonesian 2nd city). What followed was the last pitched battle of WW2. A combined force of 24,000 British, Ghurkha, Indian and Japanese some of whom joined the British until 1949, fought Indonesian guerrilla fighters and city militias. The battle was won but with 10,000 Indonesians dead against 600 Allied troops.
British troops began to regard themselves as the forgotten army. Depression, rowdiness and debauchery was common. They renamed the South East Asia Command (SEAC) as Save our East Asia Colonies. British troops returning from a tough jungle campaign - without American support - watched Errol Flynn in the film ‘Objective Burma’ in which the Americans were doing all the fighting, burnt down the cinema. Troops often sympathised with and joined Nationalist groups. The problem was caused by foot-dragging in not returning the troops home.
In 1946, SEAC ordered all arms of the service to return to Peacetime Regulations - i.e. spit and polish and square bashing. The Parachute Regiment in Malaysia rebelled saying this was impossible. There were convictions but these were eventually quashed.
This led to strikes throughout the region, India (Cawnpore) 5000 RAF personnel, throughout SE Asia, the Middle East, Cairo and Gibraltar. At its height some 50,000 RAF serviceman had joined in. All convictions were quashed.
SAND DAMS
John Glennie
Members were shown a film ‘Walking on Water’ about dry lands in rural Kenya which receives all its rain for the year in two months. The volume of water is enough for all needs, these seasonal rivers quickly disappear. Sand dams are a wall built of reinforced rubble and cement on the dried up river bed. There the water/sand collects behind the dam; surplus water follows over it. The sand absorbs the water from where clean water can be collected from pipes along the dam wall.
Before a sand dam, children could walk for two hours to fetch water and the women perhaps all night. Many have grooves on their skulls caused by the rope used to carry the water containers.
A dam can be created by erecting walls on either side of a hill. The sand does a good job in preventing evaporation and filtering the water.
Now land around sand dams is productive area with trees, fruit and crops. The next phase is terracing the land to cut down erosion, the work being done by community self-help groups
By Graham Till
11th June 2019 National Botanic Gardens of Wales Organised by Paul Hayward
On Tuesday morning 34 members and their guests boarded the train at Craven Arms Station to travel along the Heart of Wales Line to Llandeilo station where a coach awaited to transfer them to the gardens at Middleton Hall, Llanarthne.
25th June 2019 On the Trail of the Mortimer’s—Ancestors of the Yorkist Kings
Philip Hume
Philip started his talk by showing a glass, intended for cider drinking, on which a potted history of the Mortimer was engraved. However, there were at least two inaccuracies. He then spent the next 70 minutes or so outlining their Mortimer ancestry and explaining its significance. Edward lV was the first English Monarch linked by birth to the family.
The family name Mortimer, can be seen all over east wales and parts of western England, stretching from Cleobury Mortimer in the east to Pilleth in the west, i.e. the area now known as The Marches, indicating just how great the Mortimer family influence was. It was a name derived from Mortemer Castle in Normandy and used as a family name by the first Roger, who came to this country with William the Conqueror. In all there were at least seven Rogers, and several Ralphs and Hugh’s, it being the practice to name ones grandson with one’s own name, although this sequence occasionally broke down.
Soon after the conquest, the first Ralph put down a rebellion and was awarded land which included Wigmore Abbey. Over the years, by supporting the King in various wars and by marriage, the family acquired more and more land and titles, the main one being Earl of the Marches. The Roger with most influence (and notoriety) appears to be the IV who married Joan de Geneville, thereby acquiring Ludlow Castle.
I tried to follow Philip’s lecture, but I must admit I couldn’t keep up with all the detail and fascinating facts, interspersed with many anecdotes and side explanations. All this was presented without notes.
Philip has written a book on the family and research is continuing. The Mortimer Historical Society is very active so anyone can readily go into this fascinating period of English history in much more detail than that outlined in this annal.
By Barry Treves
9th July 2019 Downton a Successful Experiment
Barney Rolf-Smith
Mr. Barney Rolf-Smith’s talk was centred not on the description of Downton Castle but on the thought processes of its owner Richard Payne Knight in designing the castle and its surroundings.
Payne inherited the Downton estate form his grandfather Richard Knight, (1659-1749) who owned the Bringewood Forge about a mile up-river from the castle. Payne Knight (1750-1824) rebuilt the house. He was a Greek scholar and travelled to Italy. It was the buildings there that influenced how he would design his home. He did not want to ape the current fashion of grand houses that adopted the neo-classic style. He wanted his house to reflect the way buildings in Italy were not symmetrical, bits were added as required. He did not want his building to dominate its site but to be in harmony with the countryside surrounding it. He eschewed the idea of a formal garden, instead the land from the house sloped down to the river and Castle bridge positioned at the head of Downton Gorge.
Unlike mansions such as Stourhead which had gardens designed by Capability Brown with temples and statues dotted around in prominent places on the estate, Payne erected or made use of current buildings that were hidden along the path that he made following the river Teme and what is known as the Downton Gorge. The idea was that as one followed the path one would be surprised to see these points of interest. So, travelling along the path from Castle Bridge one would come across a stone wall, and then the Switchback Tunnel, emerging from the tunnel and a little further on the Cold Bath Pool building would appear together with its Warming House. Yes, if you felt so inclined you could have a cold dip here! William Owen painted it in 1780. Proceeding further the Hay Water Mill would come into view and finally at the end of the gorge was the Bow Bridge. Payne had several drawings of the estate made by Thomas Hearne.
In 1824 the estate was inherited by Charlotte Knight, Payne’s niece and wife of Sir William Edward Rouse-Broughton. She bequeathed it to Andrew Rouse-Boughton Knight, her second son. He died in 1947. The estate was then taken on by the Lennoxes of Woodhead who in1979 sold the castle to a Greek gentleman.
By Frank Baker
6th August 2019 Hearts of Oak
Kit Smith
Kit explained that Oak trees are a major feature of Shropshire. They take 100 years to mature. The famous Bowthorne Oak in Lincolnshire was planted 50 years before the Battle of Hastings over 1000 years ago, perhaps England’s oldest oak. Another famous oak is the Mawley Oak near Clow’s Top in Shropshire. The best-known species are Quercus robur, the Sessile and American oak.
The most famous use of oak is in HMS Victory, launched in 1758 and which took 6000 trees to make and cost £6376 (now £18M). So many trees were felled at this time the country was becoming denuded. An oak-planting mania resulted, and Thomas Barnes MP organised the planting of 100,000 trees.
Kit described the felling, cutting, planking, maturing, framing and jointing of oak throughout the ages.
Oak has been used to build ships, church steeples, hammer beam roofs, tithe barns and Tudor houses, also barrels, gates, railway sleepers and pit props.
Oak bark was used for tanning leather, and oak galls, with the addition of rusty nails, were used to make ink, as used for the Magna Carta.
Unfortunately, there is now a disease affecting oak trees caused by the processionary moth which is also dangerous to humans.
The oak tree helps biodiversity, since a tree can be host to 2000 different species. We should give grants to farmers to plant more oaks, and we must plant them in townscapes and landscapes, in our housing estates and on our avenues. We must preserve our trees and our heritage.
By Bernard North
20th August 2019 POWER FROM THE SEA
Jim Halcro-Johnson
The aim of the lecture was to put into context the role of Marine energy within the broader aspect of other renewables. The interest was on energy from waves and from Tidal flow. Both are affected by geographical features such as rotation of the Earth and Ocean currents. We in North Western Europe are admirably placed to benefit from both aspects.
The speaker is a native of Orkney and has a keen interest in the subject. Moreover, Orkney is admirably placed to utilise both tidal and wave power. Consequently, it is being used as a test centre to investigate these. The body entrusted with overseeing and facilitating the experiments is the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC), based on Orkney. This is the first and only centre of its kind in the world to provide developers of both wave and tidal energy converters with accredited open-sea facilities. EMEC also has an onshore hydrogen production plant on the island of Eday, where green hydrogen is produced using surplus electrical energy from tidal and wave power. EMEC was established in 2003 following a recommendation by the House of Commons Science & Technology Committee. Funded initially by Scottish Government, Highlands & Islands Enterprise, The Carbon Trust, UK Government, Scottish Enterprise, European Union and Orkney Islands Council, it became financially self-sufficient in 2011.
The Paris Agreement on Climate Change set goals which we in the UK agreed to, but subsequently we opted to aim for an 80% cut in Carbon emissions by 2050 (using 1990 as a baseline). Now all participating countries, including UK, have an aspiration to achieve zero emissions by 2030. The Committee on Climate Change report now that we have achieved a 38% decline (1990 - 2017) which is above our target. However, projected energy contributions, as estimated by said Committee, put little emphasis on Marine power, most being put on Carbon capture and other methods.
The experimental projects that EMEC are running includes a facility in the Pentland Firth known as Meygen, which is utilising tidal power. It consists of several 1.5-Megawatt tidal turbines producing a total of 86 Megawatts. It seems to be successful as they have now just opened a 6-Gigawatt installation using new 2-Megawatt turbines.
Some of the Companies that have been or are still involved include; -
Orbital Marine Power
Open Hydro (Went into liquidation in 2018)
Andritz Hydro, Hammerfest
In all, over 30 different tidal devices have been tested by EMEC.
Wave power for energy production was first investigated in the 1970s when the Wave Energy Converter, the so-called Nodding duck was invented. It was never used in practice, probably due to the influence of vested interests (financial and/or political). Later, an experimental wave energy project was tested of Cornwall. Four different devices were tested, but the results were inconclusive.
In 2008 a tidal turbine was built in Strangford Lough. This is like a wind turbine but is turned by the tide. It only revolves at 15 revs/min and so is said to be harmless to Marine life. Its success is due to the geography of the site, with its narrow entrance/exit and high tides. Roughly similar devices are to be found in Nova Scotia and South Korea. There is also a Wavegen Limpet wave device producing electricity on the Isle of Islay.
On balance it appears that submersible, floating, tidal flow devices look the most promising for harnessing Marine energy as wave motion is intermittent and variable, being wind dependant, while sunken fixed tidal flow devices have big maintenance problems.
Environmental Issues that must be considered with the use of Marine renewable energy devices include;
1.Collision can affect, seals & porpoises, but effect seems small scale.
2.Noise. Apparently, noise from construction seems to be more invasive than operational noise.
3. Magnetic fields are known to affect fish, sharks etc. but there is no definite evidence connecting this with Marine energy devices.
4.Introducing physical structures into the environment. Certainly, this has an effect, but there appears to be little adverse effect. In other places definite positive effects can be seen, eg: sites of sunken wrecks.
In conclusion; -
Marine energy resources are massive, but much capital will be needed to take advantage of them. In the short-term Marine energy contributions to our overall energy requirements will remain small. Our targets will largely be achieved by higher Carbon taxes and making locally produced fuel more attractive. Energy storage in the form of Hydrogen will increase. Hydrogen appears to be high on Government agendas as it will help manage the national grid and reduce our carbon footprint.
By Jim Oakley
3rd September 2019 The Elan Valley Scheme
Professor Michael Rosenbaum
Michael explained at the outset that his talk was concerned primarily with the construction of the several dams, but the reasons for the scheme formed the initial section.
In the mid-Victorian period, the city of Birmingham’s population was increasing rapidly as the scope size and of its industries grew. By 1860 the demands of some 650,000 inhabitants were chiefly reliant on bore holes for drinking water as there was an absence of a major river in the city.
Manufactures were compelled to dig deeper and deeper, and effectively fresh water became rationed. Local water companies were private and sought to retain their profitability but were unable to provide the massive investments needed to provide the City with enough water.
Typhoid and cholera, waterborne diseases were major causes of death in the population. So, in
1871 Birmingham City Council appointed Robert Rawlinson, who had already produced reports on sanitary conditions in several towns in England, to compile a report and recommendations on providing sufficient water supplies to the City. After studying the areas surrounding Birmingham, he concluded that only to the west was there enough potential to meet the City’s needs.
Rawlinson advised John Lawson and James Mansergh be appointed as consulting engineers ‘to make such surveys as required’. To the west including areas beyond the Severn and Teme rivers.
Parliamentary powers would be required to purchase land on the scale involved.
Mansergh had already worked on the Mid-Wales railway, so knew of the Elan and Claerwen rivers. The area was sparsely populated and had substantial rainfall; additionally, it was considerably higher than Birmingham. Which meant that the water could flow downhill so avoiding the need to be pumped.
By 1876 Joseph Chamberlain as Mayor created the Birmingham City Corporation Water Department to oversee the construction scheme, including buying out the local water companies. The necessary legislation was passed by Parliament to enable the compulsory purchase of the necessary land. Landowners received compensation although tenant farms did not. About 100 occupants had to move.
Construction began in 1893, with a railway line built to transport workers and materials; it reached the uppermost dam Craig Goch on the Elan River. Caban Coch dam was built at the point of the confluence of the Claerwen and Elan rivers and water is extracted from that reservoir for the Welsh Water treatment works.
Michael Rosenbaum provided several diagrams to illustrate the scale and especially the techniques used by Mansergh to achieve the quality of water required. The Elan Valley was opened on the 21st July 1904, enabling water to flow at an average gradient of 1 in 2270 along the aqueduct to Frankley reservoir to the west of Birmingham at about 2mph average.
The second phase of the dams construction on the river Claerwen was delayed by the 1st and 2nd World Wars, by which time building machinery and dam construction methods had advanced sufficiently for just one large dam to be built rather than three smaller ones, Just 470 people worked on the project which lasted from 1946 to 1953 when Queen Elizabeth 11 performed the opening ceremony. Clear dam is stone faced to harmonise with the older ones. The masonry work was carried out by Italian stonemasons who had been prisoners at the end of the second World War.
Michael’s detailed explanation of the scheme benefited greatly from his clear illustrations and the interest of the members was further evidence by the questions following. We enjoyed the fitting tribute to the achievements of Victorian engineers and their workmen as well as their more recent successors.
By Michael Haines
17th September 2019 No Interest Loan Scheme (NILS)
Lisa Watkins
This scheme was sent up a few years ago as a result of the floods which occurred in Tenbury Wells. It is a Registered Charity and gives grants in the form of essential goods such as cookers, washing machines up to a value £400 to needy or vulnerable people such as single mothers, elderly, depressives or homeless, 97% of whom receive state benefits.
Having started in Tenbury Wells, the scheme now covers Worcester, Shropshire and Hereford. It is run by two paid staff and many volunteers and administered by a Board of Trustees. They have offices in Ludlow, Leominster and Tenbury.
Applicants have to be interviewed before any grant is made with the aim of setting up a rapport between NILS staff and the beneficiary. This can create a sense of obligation for repayments to be made on time and enables subsequent grants to be made. Goods are bought locally, usually at a discount and after paying a 10% deposit the grant is repaid over an agreed period of 12-24 months. There are no administration fees and no penalties to be paid.
The Charity works with other organisations such as those based at the Library and Rock Spring Centre (who may provide monetary grants), DWP, local Churches, CAB, The Illegal Money Lending Team (who act against loan sharks and the like) and the Police.
NILS is funded by local shops which provide the goods at a discount and local donors. The Benefits of the Scheme are that hand-ups, not hand-outs are provided, applicant confidence is improved so that it becomes self-perpetuating and remains local to the three Counties.
The goals are to increase the number of recipients and necessary loans, increase the number of volunteers and to raise funds to cover the running costs.
By Barry Treves
8th October 2019 Autumn Lunch
On Tuesday the 8th October 27 members and their guests visited The Baron at Bucknell for a most enjoyable leisurely lunch.
15th October 2019 Comings and Goings Around Here
Mike Wise, Martin Thomas & Andrew Freeman
Two members and a guest speaker each gave a short presentation of the history of the local area.
Mike introduced the topic of the area in and around Ludlow in the time before the Christian Era
He produced a map of ‘The Old Field’ at Bromfield. This is the location between the rivers Onny, Teme and Corve. It is a sandstone area containing the Bromfield Necropolis.
To the west of the B4365 there are a series of twenty-three earthwork mounds of the Prehistoric Period or the Bronze Age 2,500BC to 500BC, reminding us that the Stone Age predates this period and the Iron Age post-dates it.
Pottery finds provide evidences that this is early Bronze Age. The road to Culmington has many sites of this time. Excavation was undertaken at some sites during the Victorian period, but sadly not to modern standards, and even then, to outdated standards of the time leading to some loss of archaeological knowledge. However, at one site of a Barrow a pottery vessel containing bones was found and this helps date the structure.
A bronze knife which had been deliberately broken was found at another Barrow on the site of the Old Field Golf Course. The original dimensions of these barrows were 14ft high by 60ft diameter.
A cremated Bronze Age burial ground has recently been found. Part of it is a necropolis and another is a cemetery. The location at the confluence of the three rivers is thought to be important in that it appears to have been an offering to the Gods.
Between Bromfield and the current railway line there is the site of a Roman Fort lying on the route of the road to Wroxeter. To the north there was a Roman Camp located between Stokesay Castle and the A49.
We know that Roman Camps across the Empire were a fixed size with rounded corners and constructed to a standard design. A Camp for just one night involved digging a ditch and bank around the perimeter and wooden posts were installed along the bank for defensive purposes. When the camp was broken the next day, the wooden posts were removed to be used again but the ditch and bank were left in place.
Martin Thomas widened the geography to include the Marches, an ancient name meaning the Margins. The Marches were the borders of the highlands to the west and the agricultural lands in the east. The Marches have been the most heavily fortified part of the country down the centuries. Ludlow was in effect a Norman New Town – the jewel in the Norman Crown. The most important family in the area were the Mortimer’s, based at Wigmore Castle. The family held 14 Lordships in the 14th Century supporting the Church and building many fortifications.
Andrew Freeman moved the presentation to the Industrialisation of Titterstone Clee. The whole area is littered with geological workings of clay, limestone, Dolerite, coal and iron. Construction and consumer materials including tiles, bricks, roadstone, glass and clay pipes were produced down to and including the Industrial Revolution when the Turnpikes arrived in 1757. This brought more people to the area where today we see former Squatter Cottages.
By Martyn Wray
29th October 2019 The Red Island
Vic Harnett
Madagascar, an island situated off the east coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean at 1000 miles long north to south and 300 miles at its widest east to west, is the fourth largest in the world. Its flora and fauna are unique the reptiles, amphibians and half of the birds are endemic to the island
i.e. found nowhere else in the world. Descendants of the originals, as well as isolated evolution underwent dwarfing over time. Madagascar broke away from Gondwanaland, the earliest great land mass.
It was colonized by man late, around 500 to 800 AD. These were Indo -Polynesian people of which 18 tribes are known who were displaced as rulers with the arrival of the Portuguese about 1600 AD.
Pirates, (e.g. Captain Kidd) used the island as a base or port of call. Two Welsh missionaries and the London Missionary Society, standardised the written language and printing was introduced. In the 18th Century much of the island was ruled by the Merina family wanting to extend their rice fields. Help in the form of arms, ammunition, training and uniforms etc., was given by the British. During the 19th Century the country was ruled by a series of Queens including Ranavalona 1.
(n.b. the Flashman novels) whose rule is characterised by wars, brutality, rebellions and Christian persecution.
Madagascar became a French protectorate and then Colony and finally an independent Country in 1960. The Island is very poor with poor living conditions and suffered devastating damage in 2000.
Vic and his wife’s visit to Madagascar was one of nostalgia for him having been impressed on learning about its unusual flora and fauna in his reading as a boy. To encourage tourism, Hotels share the cost of airfares to the Island. The Island geography is one of dry central highland forests, North and West coastal sedimentary rocks, east coast escarpments and rain forest and southern red desert.
There is one main tarred road and the rest are dirt tracks along which old Jeeps and carts travel weaving in and out on and off. He noted bags of charcoal which is used as fuel, lining the road and which people bought. Everywhere you saw wildlife as, for example, brightly coloured chameleons and many forms of lemur for which D.N.A analysis shows many different species. He had a picture of fishing vessels on the quay displaying the days catch to be sold on the spot, and a sailor displaying a broad face and nose indicative of his African descent. There are no social facilities etc. Here you must look after yourself.
There was picture of the ‘travellers palm’ which produced water to drink and fruit to eat. They met a young lady making embroidery for a living having been taught the art by an English lady.
Vic and Gill completed their very hot journey at a group of 20+ buildings of 2 storeys each and saw lemurs by the main pool. Here they also saw the only predatory animal on the island, the Fossa which was shaped and about the same size as a Labrador dog. Lastly, two sightings of the very rare in the world a ‘white tailed sea eagle.
By Graham Till
12th November 2019 Aspects of Hong Kong
Bernard North
For this talk, as on previous occasions, Bernard was able to use his professional life as a civil engineer as the backdrop to its setting in Hong Kong. His work kept him there for several years, giving him and his family an experience of much more than simple tourist visits could offer.
Bernard’s first illustration showed green countryside as a contrast to the popular view of city thronged with people, skyscrapers and bright lights. Throughout the talk we were treated to a great variety of personnel pictures covering many aspects of buildings, historical sites and daily life.
Hong Kong became a Crown Colony of Great Britain at the end of the First Opium War in 1842. The Kowloon Peninsular was added in 1860 as part of the settlement of the Second Opium War and finally the British and Chinese’s governments signed a 99-year lease agreement in 1898 for the control of the ‘New Territories’ consisting of many islands surrounding Hong Kong. The lease agreement stated that all these lands would be returned to China after 99years.
His first visit was in 1957 before the skyscrapers, whose construction began in the mid 1960’s but were relatively low in height until the late 20th century. The population had increased slowly in the colony’s early years, but gathered pace following the second World War, during which it was occupied by the Japanese from late 1941 till 1945.
Kowloon Walled City provided for many years one of the most densely populated settlements in the colony. Cramped housing containing up to 50,000 residents in about 6 acers of land which was controlled by local Triads became by the 1950’s a centre of prostitution, gambling and drugs. No European would venture into it and even the police normally left it alone! In the 1990’s the population was gradually evicted, so it could be demolished, the site becoming the Walled City Park.
Lantau Island, much larger than Hong Kong Island itself, but mostly mountainous terrain has seen a new town developed in recent years on the north western coast. Where both the Hong Kong International Airport and Hong Kong Disneyland have been built.
A notable aspect of modern Hong Kong is the presence of some 200,000 female domestic workers, mostly employed by the city’s wealthy families. Most of the immigrants come from Indonesia and the Philippines. By law they have twelve hours of free time each Sunday, so they tend to gather in public places such as railway stations, squares and parks where they enjoy each other’s company playing cards and eating.
Another aspect highlighted by Bernard was the huge proliferation of public transport needed to serve the 8 million or so population. Ferries ply at regular intervals between all the islands with settlements; electric tram routes, light and heavy rail routes, including a mainline link to the rest of China plus small buses, all feature.
The final part of Bernard’s talk dealt briefly with the transfer of the colony to the Peoples Republic of China on July 1st, 1997. Under the Joint Declaration signed on December 19th, 1984, China undertook to implement ‘One Country, Two Systems’ regime in Hong Kong for 50 years. Events over the last few months, have however thrown doubt in some quarters that Hong Kong’s present status will continue for that period. Most of the talk was concerned with the country as he knew it when living there it seemed to neatly match a significant period of Hong Kong’s development. Its continued great prosperity may prove its future saviour.
By Mike Haines
26th November 2019 My Adventures in the Diplomatic Service
Sir Leslie Fielding.
Our Chairman introduced Sir Leslie by listing his academic career, followed by a résumé of his time in the Diplomatic Service – and what times they proved to be!
Sir Leslie opened by thanking the Chairman for the loan of his spectacles, and then told us that, after National Service as a subaltern in the Royal Regiment of Artillery, he went up to Emmanuel College, Cambridge, where he read History – taking a first – and then came second in the open competition for entry to the Foreign Service. At that time a second language was required and there were already in the Service enough speakers of the more common ones, so he read Persian at the School of Oriental and African Studies. This proved invaluable later in his career when it enabled him to overcome a potentially difficult situation when a group, of which he was a member, was ambushed.
He spent seven years in the Foreign Office in London and his overseas postings included Tehran, Singapore, and Cambodia where he was awarded the title of “Number one Twister of Cambodia” by the Head of State, in recognition of his dancing proficiency in the, then current, popular dance.
His career took him to the political section in Paris, Brussels as a Director in the European Commission, Tokyo as EU Ambassador, and then back to Brussels as Director-General for External Relations.
He retired in 1987 and became Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sussex and had been a Visiting Fellow at St. Anthony's College, Oxford in 1977/8 – when he met and married Sally Harvey who was a medieval history don at St. Hilda's. They have two children.
In 1988 he was made a Knight Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. George.
He was a Lay Reader (Church of England) for over 30 years and has also found time to have ten publications to his name – the latest being a novel.
His presentation was excellent, with funny stories and witty asides, and those members who were not able to attend missed a really good talk.
By Andrew Stedman.
10th December 2019 End of Year
For the final meeting of the 33 members and guests were treated to mince pies and seasonal entertainment. Everyone entered the spirit of the event and had an enjoyable time.