Next Meetings

November 16 2018 WW 1 the final German Perspective

In this presentation Prof. Chistoph Mick will analyse the reasons for the German defeat, the November 1918 revolution and the transition from war to peace. It will cover the first few turbulent years of the Weimar Republic and the attempts to come to terms with the outcome of the war. 

Christoph Mick is Professor of History at Warwick University. From 1987 to 2004 he held research positions at the University of Tübingen in Germany, with research secondment to Universities at Warsaw in 1998 and Constance until 2005. He has been at Warwick since 2005. He is member of a number of academic associations including "International Society for First World War Studies". His specialism is C20th. German, Polish, East European and Russian studies.

December 14 2018 Huggable Teddy Bears 

The story of the teddy bear is the story of the twentieth century. This talk places the teddy bear in its social context and shows how it has survived to become an enduring   and huggable - success.

Dr Gillian White is Former National Trust Curator at Hardwick Hall. She has previously spoken to our Society on Mary Queen of Scots and of Bess of Hardwick Hall.

January 18 2019 Two Titans, One City

This presentation concerns the stories of Joseph Chamberlain & George Cadbury, 

Two of the most famous and powerful men of the late Victorian and early Edwardian era, Joseph Chamberlain (1836-1914) and George Cadbury (1839-1922), both shared strong connections to the city of Birmingham  Chamberlain amassed a fortune from engineering before entering politics. He became the first great middle-class statesman of modern Britain and the leading Radical of the age. 

Taking control of the confectionery business established by his Quaker family, Cadbury built it into one of the first great global brands. The wealth he created allowed Cadbury to introduce far-sighted benefits for his workers, including the visionary model village of Bournville which was his response to the jerry-built slum housing of his workforce. 

The two men were uneasy neighbours, especially as Chamberlain was Party Political and Cadbury was pacifist. They disagreed greatly over the Boer War.

Our Speaker is Andrew Reekes. Andrew graduated in 1970 in Modern History from Exeter College Oxford. From 2003 he has been Sub Warden of Radley College. He is an expert on West Midlands History. His recent publications include Two Titans, One City; Speeches that changed Britain; and the Birmingham Political Machine.