TALKS
The Society arranges talks at fortnightly intervals during the months of October to April.
The venue is the assembly hall at
Hythe Bay C of E Primary School,
Cinque Ports Avenue, Hythe. CT21 6HS
All talks are on Tuesdays: Doors open
at 7pm for a 7.30pm start.
Visitors are welcome.
Donations are invited: £1 from members, £2.00 from non-members.
Many of the talks have a particular relevance to Hythe, the local area and the county of Kent, but our programme is pretty eclectic and we try to cover most categories of interest such as the arts, biographies, technology, etc.
Talks last about an hour with an opportunity for questions at the end.
Talks Programme 2018-2019
2018
9th October Peter Osborne
The Mirrors
A forerunner of radar, acoustic mirrors were built on the south and northeast coasts of England. The ‘listening ears’ were intended to provide early warning of incoming enemy aeroplanes and airships. With the development of radar and faster aircraft which would be within sight by the time it could be located, the mirrors were finally rendered obsolete.
____________________________
23rd October Andrew Ashton
The Crystal Palace
The History of the Crystal Palace and the Great Exhibition.
The Crystal Palace was, for a while, the largest glass structure in the world. This talk looks at the fascinating, often incredible history of the Palace from its creation
to its tragic end.
__________________________
13th November Imogen Corregan FRSA
The Cathars
Who or what were The Cathars? Why did the Church not just treat them as heretics but persecute them? The unhappy tale of an extraordinary sect.
__________________________
27th November Bronwyn Sadler
William Wilberfore and the abolition of Slavery
How William Wilberforce M.P. and a group of like minded people set out to abolish slavery in the British Empire…thus leading the world.
PLUS
A short talk on why the Californian did not go to the aid of the Titanic.
_________________________
2019
9th January Patsy Erskine-Hill MA. MSc.
The Fire Takes Hold
Printing, literacy and bookselling in early Renaissance Venice,
book capital of the world for a hundred years.
________________________
22nd January Frank Turner
The Radio Pirates
For those of us of a certain vintage ‘Radio Caroline on 199’ brings back nostalgic memories of the sixties but the story is much bigger than that.
______________________
12th February Len Howell
The Cinque Ports
A description of the privileges and duties of The Cinque Ports in their heyday.
their rise and decline, their structure and officers.
_________________________
26th February Geoff Hutchinson
Rudyard Kipling … His Life in Verse
With his enthusiasm for local historical characters and his passion for drama, Geoff Hutchinson’s talks are always informative and entertaining. He will take us back to 1933 and invites us to spend some time with Rudyard Kipling with tales of his eventful life through his books and verse.
_________________________
12th March Melody Foreman
Women Pilots of WW1
This talk examines the role of women who flew military aircraft during WW11
from the Air Transport Auxiliary to the ‘Night Witches’ of Russia……
_________________________
26th March Miss Gillian Rickard BA, Dip.Loc.Hist.
The Lives of Vagrants, Gypsies and Travellers in Kent
_______________________________
9th April Dr. Juliette Pattinson
The Liberation of France in 1944
This talk examines the Liberation of occupied France from the Nazis. It considers the triumphs as well as the darker side when old scores were settled.
_____________________________
23rd April Sheila Boyd
Queen Victoria’s Dreadful Uncles
A look at some of the family relationships behind the throne of our
second longest reigning monarch.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
A review of last season’s programme can be seen Here
