TALKS

On 27 September 2019 an audience of around 20 gathered in the Wincanton Memorial Hall for this presentation by Brian Garton. He introduced us to the life and activities of Captain Sullivan of the Royal Navy whose book “Dhow Chasing in Zanzibar Waters and off the Eastern Coast of Africa” was something of a best [...]

On Friday 25th October 2019 over 60 people attended The Wincanton and District Museum and Heritage Society talk by Brig. Richard Folkes, entitled “From Nowhere to Normandy”.The Glider Assault on Pegasus Bridge in Normandy 1944. Brig. Folkes talked about Operation Deadstick, which was the codename for an operation by airborne forces of the British Army. [...]

From her father’s personal record of his time as a crew member on the historic ship Pamir, liberally illustrated with his own photographs, Susan Maltin conveyed the highs and lows of this 128-day iconic voyage. Fresh from the Royal Navy her father became one of the hardworking crew of a windjammer, following in the traditions [...]

Forget the high-powered, flashy car chases and drama fuelled scenes from TV or cinema. Mr Jenkinson dialled down to the steady, methodical, unglamourous side of huge squads working round the clock in teams that change personnel and vehicles often to avoid being spotted while they observe and trail those giving cause for concern. He also [...]

A friendship in a small, “sleepy” town in Wiltshire led Mr Hooley to a treasure trove of documentary records about one of the most important events of the 20th century – the Nuremberg trials of 1945. The son of a successful German industrialist, Wolfe Frank’s path was set by witnessing an instance of early Nazi [...]

Reconvening after the summer break, a goodly turnout of members old and new were treated to an engaging insight into the origins and uses ancient and modern of the wonderful old medieval buildings known as tithe barns, of which we are lucky to have a plethora in our part of the country. Joe Rogers’ interest [...]

Making the most of things was the big message underpinning Gill D’Arcy’s talk. To find out what life has been like in Wincanton and how it has changed in the years since the end of WW2, the audience settled down to listen to Gill d’Arcy’s presentation of her life and times in her home-town.   [...]

Battle of Britain – How the West Country was defended An attentive audience was enthralled by John Smith’s presentation of the pivotal actions in the skies overhead during nearly 20 weeks in the summer of 1940. A particular frisson was added to the event by the attendance of Mark Dowding, a grandson of Air Chief [...]

  A wartime legacy hardly used during WW2 A bookshop in Alnwick, a laboratory in Bedfordshire, and a slew of merchandise that has proliferated since 2000 are all connected – by what?  By the well-known war-time phrase “Keep Calm and Carry On” – except that phrase was barely used during WW2, we learnt from Paul [...]

An attentive gathering was treated to an enthusiastic tale by Emily Utgren of her journey from growing up in Sweden on the edge of the forest, to studying and working in Britain and to journeying around the world to absorb the thinking behind Japanese gardens. Historic houses in Sweden have only small, formal gardens, in [...]

A wet, miserable evening was forgotten as a gathering of some 50 or so were warmed, cheered and entertained by the pictures of 17th century country life drawn in words by Mistress Agnes and Master Christopher from North Devon, dressed in costume, as ordinary folk of the day. Numerous anecdotal comments and descriptions of what [...]

Community Action for Transforming Cale Habit A gale of enthusiasm blew into the Balsam Centre on Wednesday 26 April in the form of Gary Hunt, one of the founding members of CATCH, “a community group committed to returning [the Wincanton stretch of] the River Cale to a self-sustaining ecosystem that is rich in bio-diversity and [...]