Programme of Meetings 2021-22

PRESENTATIONS FOR 2021-2022 PROGRAMME YEAR

With effect from January 2022 our monthly meetings will return to the Crawford Hall, Bidford on Avon, commencing at 7.30pm

To maintain COVID security there will be distancing of seats, ventilation, control over entry and no refeshments. Please do not arrive prior to 7.20pm for the talk.

PROGRAMME SPEAKERS FOR 2021-2022 PROGRAMME YEAR, (until end April 2022)

Meeting date	Speaker	Subject
17 Sept.	Prof.Sarah Richardson	The Women who won the Vote in Warwickshire Just over 100 years since women first gained the vote, Professor Sarah Richardson will be exploring the history of suffrage and of the women who fought for the vote in Warwickshire. Speaker: Professor Richardson is the Deputy Head of the Department of History at the University of Warwick and the author of articles and publications on women’s suffrage, gender and the role of women in society.
15 Oct.	Dr Nick Humphris	Chedworth Roman Villa - a guided to Chedworth Roman Villa was one of the 10 largest and most opulent villas in Roman Britain. A small Iron Age settlement was taken over early in 2ndC; the villa went through several development phases extending well into the 5thC; and the site was still in use in medieval times. Speaker: Dr Nick Humphris, engineer and scientist had a varied career in science, industry and as a university lecturer. He joined the National Trust at Chedworth Roman Villa in 2012 as a volunteer site guide and outreach speaker
19 Nov.	Sean Callery	Titanic: Marvels, Myths and the Midlands Learn how the world’s most famous ship - and wreck - was built and sailed. This tragic story of how the great liner Titanic sank on its first voyage is awash with marvels, mysteries and myths. Titanic had many surprising connections with the Midlands and Cotswolds. Find out why the ship had a fake funnel, discover the irony that it had two ice-making machines, and meet the heroes and villains of the sinking. Speaker: Sean Callery, Blue Badge tourist guide and author of four books about the great ship
17Dec.	Sam Loveday	Seven Wonders of the Peak District “Of the High Peak are seven wonders writ. Two fonts, two caves, one palace, mount and pit “. So wrote the philosopher Thomas Hobbes in 1636 at a time when the Peak District was considered a strange and sinister place. Hobbes’s list of seven wonders became a tick list for early visitors to the region, who came in search of wild and sensational experiences Speaker: Sam Loveday is Blue Badge tourist guide who lives at the foot of Kinder Scout in the middle of the Peak District National Park.
21 Jan.	Jackie West	Alice and the Adventurer Around 400 years ago the story of Alice Leigh and Robert Dudley was on everyone’s lips. It was a tale of the rich and famous, politics and religion, bigamy and family love, legal battles and generosity. Hear how they lived in Warwickshire and the local places involved.
18 Feb.	Dr. David Abrutat	A History of GCHQ Dr DAVID ABRUTAT is a former Royal Marines Commando and RAF Officer. He joined GCHQ in 2002 and was recently appointed the GCHQ Departmental Historian. His talk includes fascinating stories of its amazing people from its formation in 1919, right through to the present day.
18 Mar.	Lorna Almonds- Windmill	The Founding of the SAS 'Gentleman Jim' Almonds, a Guards Commando, was one of the SAS "originals" who helped to found the SAS in the Western Desert in 1941. Initially set in wartime Britain, the Western Desert, Italy and France, using rare photographs, Lorna Almonds-Windmill will recount her father's role in the founding of the SAS alongside Lt Colonel Sir David Stirling. Almonds was the only founder to keep a contemporaneous diary and lived to 91, dying in 2005..
22 Apr.	Andrew Reekes	In Defence of Neville Chamberlain In 1938 rapturous crowds greeted Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain when he proclaimed “Peace for our time” on his return from meeting Adolf Hitler in Munich. Yet today Chamberlain is vilified as a naïve appeaser. In this talk, Andrew Reekes reveals that Chamnerlain was the most successful social reformer of interwar Britain.
20May	David Howe	Partners of Prime Ministers What influence did wives or female friends have over the lives of four twentieth century Prime Ministers.?
17 June	Roy Smart	Abdication of Edward VIII. 1936, A year of three kings. Is there a deeper truth to Wallace Simpson or did she simply ensnare a feckless Prince Edward. Roy Smart has previously delivered two lively biographies to our Society.