PREVIOUS TALKS
The long list of talks here gives an indication of breadth of topics covered. If you have a particular interest - and especially if you know all about it and are willing to give a talk - please let us know.
2013-14
September 2013
Criminal Ancestors 1787-1868: Transportation to Australia (Don Cochrane)
October 2013
The Story of the Seaside (Lisa Jayne Smith)
November 2013
Smedley’s Canning Unit in Evesham (Michael Smedley)
January 2014
Defford Airfield in WW2 (bob Shaw)
February 2014
Memories are Made of This: Songs from the 1940s-1950s (Robert barber)
March 2014
King Richard III: Murderer? Loyal Brother? Or England’s Greatest King had he lived Longer? (Max Keen)
April 2014
Margarine and Mock Turtle: The Victorians and their Diet (Chris Upton)
May 2014
Elgar’s Countryside (Brian Draper)
2014-15
September 2014
300 Years of the John Martin’s Charity (John Daniels)
October 2014
The Bell Tower Appeal (Stan Brotherton))
November 2014
Shopping over 200 Years: The History of Kays of Worcestershire (Bernard Mills)
December 2014
The Archaeology and History of Rabbits, Pillow Mounds and Warrens (Deborah Overton)
January 2015
The Real Dad’s Army: the Reality of Britain’s Home Guard (Malcolm Aitkin)
February 2015
Humble Homes: Vernacular Architecture in different parts of England (Richard Churchley)
March 2015
The Lord Leycester Hospital, Warwick (Gerald Lesinski)
April 2015
Archaeological Work and Worcester Castle (Mike Napthan)
May 2015
The Archaeology and History of Bredon Hill (Deborah Overton)
2015-16
September 2015
The Evesham Bell Tower: New Work on its Architecture and History (George Demidowicz)
October 2015
James Lancaster: Elizabethan Admiral or Pirate? (Ron Gallivan)
November 2015
WW1: The Last 100 Days (Nick Lloyd)
December 2015
Merrie England’s Folklore Calendar: Through the Year in Custom and Song (Richard Churchley)
January 2016
Medieval Life in Rural Worcestershire: Hard, Brutal and Short (Deborah Overton)
February 2016
Titanic: The Things you Didn’t Know (Mike Watkins)
March 2016
The Battle of Worcester 1651: The Last Battle of the English Civil Wars (Bernard Mills)
April 2016
Ancient Greek Olympic Games: Pictures, Prose and Poems from Greece and Roman Sources (Ray Aspden)
May 2016
On a Wing and a Prayer: the Cathedral Builders (Keith Cattell)
2016-17
September 2016
Robert Dudley, Queen Elizabeth and the Kenilworth Entertainment of 1575 (Dr Gillian White)
October 2016
Gold, Ghosts and graveyards: the Story of the Goldfields of Western Australia (Ron Gallivan)
November 2016
War Diary: The Sory of a WW1 Soldier (Wilma Hayes)
December 2016
A Tudor Christmas (From Time to Time)
January 2017
Bell Foundries of Evesham (Chris Povey)
February 2017
Clementi: Born in Rome, Died in Evesham (Tim Porter)
March 2017
The Empress of Ireland: What Really Happened (Mike Watkins)
April 2017
Overlooked Treasures of the Bell Tower: the Art of the Medieval Mason (Carmel Langridge)
May 2017
Growing Up in Norway During the German Occupation (Tore Fauske)
2017-18
September 2017
Light Fantastic: 1,000 Years of Stained Glass (Keith Cattell)
October 2017
Rural Industries Before the Railways (E Worcs and W Warcs) (Richard Churchley)
November 2017
“Embroidered with Woodbine and Eglantine”: Elizabethan Textile Furnishings (Dr Gillian White)
January 2018
Moats, Mills and Fishponds (Deborah Overton)
February 2018
The Anglo-Zulu War 1879, and Two Local VC Heroes (Max Keen)
March 2018
The Battle of Passchendaele: 100 Years On (Nick Lloyd)
April 2018
Evesham Abbey (Stan Brotherton)
May 2018
Saxons in Worcestershire (Discover History)
2018-19
As a spontaneous invitation, our programme of talks for the 2018-2019 season was extended to June, to tie in with the ongoing development of plans for the Evesham Abbey site.
September 2018
Medieval England and the Arrival of the Black Death (Ron Gallivan)
​
​October 2018
Boundaries, Borders and Landmarks (Richard Churchley)
​
November 2018
Evesham's Military Heritage: Writing the Book (Stan Brotherton)
December 2018
Worcestershire Treasures (Paul Hudson)
January 2019
Oppression and Resistance: Worcestershire’s Experience ​during the English Civil Wars (Malcolm Aitkin)
​
February 2019
Medieval Craftsmen: A Window on their World (Tim Porter)
​
March 2019
The English House (Keith Cattell)
​
April 2019
Vernacular Architecture of the Almonry Museum (Ian Lloyd-Oswell)
​
May 2019
A Stitch in Time: Tudor Clothes and Home Crafts (From Time to Time)
​
June 2019
​Evesham Abbey Trust (Barrie Baldelli)​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
2019-20
​​
The programme of talks for the 2019-2020 season started with high hopes in September. But after the February talk we were hit by the restrictions necessitated by the coronavirus infections and the subsequent programme was cancelled. Most of the later talks were re-scheduled when the restrictions eased.
September 2019
Of Sons and Skies (WW2 Aerial Warfare (Robert Arley)
October 2019
From Edburga to Elvis: Unusual Saints and their Churches (Richard Churchley)
November 2019
The Land Army Life: Memories of Service in the Women’s Land Army during WW2 (Robin Hill)
​
December 2019
A Victorian Christmas (From Time to Time)
January 2020
King John: The worst King but the Greatest Legacy? (Max Keen)
February 2020
Archaeology of Pershore (Deborah Overton)
2020-21
​
Our 2020-2021 season of talks was restricted by the coronavirus pandemic. Indeed we were unable to hold any meetings in 2020. However the programme resumed in 2021, starting with a couple of talks via the Zoom internet facility.
January 2021
Sir Francis Drake: England’s Greatest Mariner? (Max Keen)
​
​
​
​
​
​
February 2021
Medieval Pilgrimage: with reference to Worcester and Evesham (Richard Carter)
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
March 2021
Canals and Waterways (Roger Butler)
​
​
​
​
​
​
April 2021
Shelsley Walsh: the Story of a Village (Max Hunt)
​
​
​
​
​
​
May 2021
Evesham Turnpikes (David Ella)
