Annual Event 2017, will be held at Harrison’s Sports and Social Club on Saturday November 18th.

The talk this month was by Rachel Cooksey who gave a very interesting talk about the Staffordshire Military Appeal Tribunals. Most records throughout the country were destroyed, this makes the Staffordshire collection particularly significant.

After a vote at the last coffee morning, we are reverting back to having our ‘OPEN MORNING‘ on the FOURTH THURSDAY, as this seemed to suit more people.

One of our members has a box full of copies of The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Aeroplanes, free to a good home. Anyone who is interested please see Diane Tolley.

I still have many photographs that have not got any description. This one just says “Nursery”. Does anyone know who these little cuties are? Any help is greatly appreciated.

We have had quite a busy month, on the 16th we attended the 50th birthday celebrations at St. Andrew’s church.

 

 

 

 

 

On the 23rd we were at Harrison’s Sports and Social Club for the celebration of St. George’s Day. Although it was quite cold there was a good crowd – at least the rain kept off!

Forthcoming attractions:-
May 19th  – The Highwayman Lee Timmins
June 16th  – Battle of Waterloo Tim Burgan
July 21st  – AGM and display boards

There are leaflets available with all speakers listed until May 2017. See Diane or any committee member.

Our Speakers at the coffee morning were Gerry Hindley, Mike Hewitt and Pam Clarke,  who gave an interesting talk on the history of the  water conduit in Cannock. The Conduit Trust was formed in 1735 to bring fresh water to Cannock. The trust is still active today, they have restored two of the original pumps, and placed plaques as near to the original sites of the pumps as possible. Pam told us how the plaque commemorating the generosity of Dr. Byrch came to be in a wall in Appledore Close.

The Senior Citizens centre is open on the FOURTH WEDNESDAY of every month, for members to view our archives, photographs and other ephemera. Why not pop in for a cuppa and a chat, we are open from 10:30am until 1:30pm, it is very informal, just come for an hour, if your time is limited.

We were sorry to see the demise of the Robin Hood. It has been a landmark at Churchbridge for nearly 200 years.

 

Does anyone know who this jolly looking couple are?


Where was it taken?

Speakers for next three months:-
April   Rachel Cooksey   Spies, Lies and Aliens
May    Lee Timmins        The Highwayman
June    Tim Burgen          Battle of Waterloo

Melanie Williamson, from the Museum at Shugborough, gave a very enlightening talk on the history of shoes. She also talked about the history of the Lotus Factory, and brought with her a display of the equipment and tools used in shoe making.
From this month the Senior Citizens centre is open on the third WEDNESDAY of every month, for members to view our archives, photographs and other ephemera. Last month 14 people attended, some helped archiving some documents, others did their own research.
We are open from 10.30 until 1.30, it is very informal, and you can just come for an hour if your time is limited.

The coach trip to Tutbury is now full. We have started a ‘reserve list.’ It was decided that we would ask Lesley to perform as Mary, Queen of Scots.

According to our records this photograph is of Great Wyrley Secondary Modern in 1959, on a school trip to the Wedgewood Factory. Can anyone give us some names?

We have in our archives a book entitled “A short history of Wesleyan Methodism at Wyrley”, printed in March 1925. It gives the history of the chapel that was on the corner of Benton’s Lane and Gorsey Lane, before the one on the Walsall Road was built.

The speakers for the next three months coffee mornings are:-
March – Dave Battersby – The history of the Conduits
April – Rachel Cooksey – Spies, Lies and Aliens
May – Lee Timmins – Highwaymen

Even though it was a very cold morning,  the January coffee morning was very well attended, Mac Joseph gave a very interesting presentation and talk about ‘Birmingham, ‘Then and Now’. This bought back many memories – especially from the “overspill” members.

We are organising a trip to Tutbury Castle, on Tuesday 24th May, the cost will be about £20. We would like numbers and a £5 deposit by the March meeting. Places are limited.
The trip will include the coach to Tutbury, soup and a roll for lunch and a talk by Lesley Smith.
Lesley performs such diverse roles as Margaret Thatcher, Nell Gwynne, Elizabeth 1 and Mary, Queen of Scots. Please see Pam or Diane for further information.

We received a charming letter from Nigel Govier of the Salvation Army thanking us for the donation of £65 following the auction in December.

Does anyone recognise this elderly couple?
We are always on the lookout for photographs, from any era.
We are not printing them all, we have over 5 thousand and storage is becoming a problem. We are copying any we are given (or lent) and storing them on the computer.

In our archives we have a visitors book from Gilpins dated 1947, there are many interesting entries, from as far afield as New Zealand, Canada, the Ivory Coast.

The February coffee morning speaker is Melanie Williamson on ‘The History of Shoes’.

In March Dave Battersby is giving a talk on the Conduits