Wednesday 11th December. Martyn Swain explained the reasons behind The Deceased Wife’s Sister Act of 1907 and its consequences, a little known Act of Parliament which proved to be a lot more interesting than the title sounds.
Wednesday 27th November. Geofrey Hosking explained How Ukraine became a nation.
Wednesday 13th November. Dave Munsen explained the peace treaties which followed the armistice of the First World War. The fighting in WWI took fifty two months to resolve. The final peace treaty took a further fifty six months to resolve after the armistice. Dave took us on a tour through the eight peace treaties to end the war to end all wars and explained why peace was so difficult to agree.
Wednesday 9th October. Sarah Boyce gave the second part of her talk on the History of Holidays, from the days of the Grand Tour to Butlins.
Wednesday 25th September. Ian Doyle gave a talk on the History of the Falkland Islands and in particular the Argentinian claim of their ownership which Argentina calls the Malvenas.
Wednesday 11th September. Andrew Rees gave a talk entitled ‘The pound in your pocket – a history of British Currency’.
Wednesday 24th July. Mario gave his long awaited talk on the Spanish Inquisition.
Wednesday 26th June. Truda explained the Antarctic rivalry between Captain Robert Scott and the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, leading to the tragic death of Scott and most members of his expedition.
Wednesday 12th June. Close to the 80th anniversary of D Day, Mike Bailey looked at the British involvement in the Normandy campaign, and how the British forces evolving from a relatively green force to a far more professional army capable of bettering the Germans.
Wednesday 22nd May. Sarah Boyce explained to us the History of Holidays, through the ages from holiday festivals of Ancient Egypt to Victorian and Edwardian excursionists. Part 2 of her talk followed in October.
Wednesday 8th May. Martin Swain gave a talk on the Newport Transporter Bridge, discussing the history of bridges crossing the River Usk at Newport, the problems with the Old Town Bridge in the late 19th century and the reasons for the construction of the Transporter Bridge, completed in 1906. Martin showed several wonderful old photographs of the Old Town Bridge and the construction of the Transporter Bridge. Martin concluded with a short explanation of the current building of a new visitor centre and the restoration work to the bridge before it reopens later this year.