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Meeting date |
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2026 August 21st |
8000 years of activity: The archaeology of Milestone Ground, Broadway Between the summers of 2024 and 2025, Worcestershire Archaeology undertook a large excavation at Milestone Ground, Broadway. Recent works have identified a landscape in use for up to 8000 years, from the Mesolithic period to the modern day. Hunter gatherers, Neolithic, Bronze age, Iron age and Romano British evidence. A fascinating talk of what has been beneath our feet. Speaker: Jamie Wilkins |
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September 18th |
The Real War Horse The First World War was the last major conflict in which British forces relied substantially on horsepower. In this talk we look at how horses were recruited for army use, what conditions were like for them once enlisted, and what happened to them at the war's end. Speaker: Robin Hill |
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October 16th |
SS Great Britain: from launch to ‘re-launch’ SS Great Britain, the second of Brunel’s three great ships, was the first ocean-going steamship with an iron hull, and the first driven by a propeller. This extraordinary ship, launched in 1843 as the largest and fastest afloat, transformed shipbuilding and sea travel for ever. Speaker: Ian Caske |
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November 20th |
Development of the canal system This colourful talk looks at the unique history and heritage of our canal network - only the Church of England and the National Trust have more listed buildings! Features include huge warehouses, sweeping aqueducts, unusual cottages and quirky landmarks - as well as the distinctive Roses and Castles artwork. The talk includes local archive scenes from the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal. Speaker: Roger Butler |
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December 18th |
1346: Crecy In July 1346 King Edward III launched an invasion of Normandy. In the following months, Edward would lead his army to the very outskirts of Paris before turning northwards towards Calais. But between the English and the sea lay a French army and, out-numbered and out-manoeuvred, Edward was forced to stand and fight at Crécy. This talk tells the story of the campaign, the battle and the struggle to control a channel port that followed. Speaker: Dr. Gillian White
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2027 January & February |
No Meetings |
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March 19th |
In Praise of Evesham Detail to be provided Speaker: Carmel Langridge, Chair Vale of Evesham Historical Society |
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April 16th |
Eleanor of Aquitaine Eleanor was probably the most important woman throughout the whole period of medieval Europe. In her life she was Duchess of Aquitaine, Queen of France, Queen of England, Duchess of Normandy, Main & Anjou and Regent of England. She produced 10 children, 9 of whom became Kings & Queens or married into Royalty & power. 3 of her sons were crowned Kings of England. Speaker Julie Howard |
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May 21st |
The Siege of Tobruk 1941 In 1941, a remote Libyan port became one of the fiercest battlegrounds of the Second World War. The Siege of Tobruk pitted Axis forces under 'Desert Fox' Erwin Rommel against a determined Allied garrison who held out for 241 days before relief finally broke through in December. Isolated, bombarded, and short on supplies, this is the story of how the defenders, dubbed the “Rats of Tobruk”, helped to win one of Britain's first land victories against Germany in the Second World War. Speaker Dr. Spencer Jones. Dept. of War Studies, University of Wolverhampton |
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June 18th |
Fortifying Mercia: constructing West Midland defences in the Anglo Saxon period Ethelred, the last male ruler of the kingdom of Mercia, and his wife and successor Ethelflæd (King Alfred’s daughter) set up a network of fortifications ('burhs') across the western midlands in the late ninth and early tenth centuries (including at Worcester, Winchcombe and Gloucester). This network has always been assumed to have been based on the well-known ‘burghal system’ that Alfred had established in Wessex. However, archaeological evidence from Tamworth, Hereford and Winchcombe, combined with other sources, shows that a Mercian king – almost certainly Offa or Coenwulf – had already created such a system throughout the kingdom of Mercia in the late eighth or early ninth century. Speaker Dr. Steven Bassett BA PhD FSA |
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July 16th |
Watershed: Mahatma Gandhi & the First World War In 1914, Mahatma Gandhi considered himself to be a patriotic British Subject, one who would form the Indian Volunteer Ambulance Corps that year in support of those fighting on the Western Front. As late as the summer of 1918, Gandhi supported the largest recruitment of Indian soldiers of the war, to fight on behalf of the Empire. Yet by the summer of the following year, he had become an implacable foe of the Raj, aiming to undermine its endeavours at every turn. Why was that? This talk looks not only to understand Gandhi’s transformation, but also make sense of India’s role in the Great War and its legacy. Speaker: Stephen Barker, Heritage Advisor |