Previous years Programmes

Our 2024 programme was
Jan 24^th                   AGM and social
Feb 28^{th                H}ow big is the Universe? By Eddie Asquith
Mar 27th           Kent Spring and Summer customs by Geoff Doel
April 24^th           The Rother Levels by Melvin Smith
May 22^nd           History of Aviation in Kent by Guy Bartlett
July 11^th             Visit to Cobham Hall
Sept 25^th           Pocahontas by Christoph Bull
Oct 23^rd             Marden Wildlife by Ray Morris
Nov 27^th             A Magic Lantern Tour of Kent  by Gerlad Cramp

In 2023 our programme was:
22^nd February: “Flags in Britain” by Commander Bruce Nicolls OBE.
22^nd March: “Thirty Years of Bother on the Hover” by Brian Lavercroft-Smith.
26^th April: “The Bayeaux Tapestry” by Imogen Corrigan.
24^th May: “The Titanic” by Eddie Asquith.
21^st June: Summer Outing to the Wildwood Trust near Herne.
27^th September: “Hampton-on-Sea, For the Want of Five Shillings a Village was Lost” by Geoff Turner.
25^th October: “The Old Vicarage” by Toby Spanier.
22^nd November: “Tom Crean, unsung hero of Antarctic Exploration” by Michael Smith.

In 2022 we were able to run a full programme:
23^rd February: “50 Days in a Red T Shirt”, by Jon Hill
23^rd March: “Anti-terrorism at Scotland Yard”, by Geoff Lewry
27^th April: “A Policeman’s Lot can be an Interesting One”, by Neil Sadler
25^th May: “Medical Detection Dogs” by Bridget Wood and Millie Harries
22^nd June: Summer Outing to Provender house.
28^th September: “Hopping in Kent and the Hartlake Disaster”, by Geoff Doel.
26^th October: “All about orangutans and why they are endangered” by Alison Bristo.
23rd November: “Sentinels of the Sea, the Amazing History of Lighthouses”, by Mark Lewis.

The 2021 Programme was limited by COVID and did not start till September:
Wed 22nd September: “The story of Captain Oates” by Michael Smith
Wed 27th October: should have been “Punch and Judy” by Jacqui Sparks but she was unable to make it as the A21 was closed.
Wed 24th November: “Marden Wildlife” by Ray Morris

The Programme for 2020 was very limited due to the COVID lockdown and there were only two meetings

• Wed 22^nd Jan: AGM and Social
• Wed 26^th Feb: “Back to their Rootes” by Steve McArragher

The Programme for 2019 was:

• Wed 23^rd January: AGM and Social
• Wed 27^th February: “English Sparkling Wine” by Nick Hall
• Wed 27^th March: “The Darker Side of Dickens” by Geoff Doel
• Wed 24^th April: “A Schoolgirls War”  by Mary Smith
• Wed 22^nd May: “History of the Red Arrows” by Guy Bartlett
• Tues 25th June: Medway river trip with afternoon tea and tour of Allington Castle. cost £30
• Wed 25^th September: “History of Canals” by Chris Woodward.
• Wed 23^rd October: “The Four Minute Warning – What would have happened” by Guy Bartlett covers the post-war threat of Nuclear war.
• Wed 27^th Nov: “Don’t Sneeze at the microphone” by Wilf Lower

The Programme for 2018 was:

• Wednesday  24th January: Annual General Meeting.
• Wednesday 28th February: Cancelled due to bad weather
• Wednesday 28th March: ENSA or “Every night Something Awful”
  by Delia Taylor 
• Wednesday 25th April: “Walking the Saxon Shore Way” by Ian Balmer.
• 23rd May: “The Bits that Don’t Fit” by Steve Hopkins, a miscellany of items.
• Wednesday 27th June: Summer Outing. A 45 minute afternoon trip on the Bewl Belle, followed by a cream tea.
• Wednesday 26th September: “The Life of Edith Cavell” by Melanie Gibson-Barton.
• Wednesday 24th October: “Handbells Talk and Demonstration” by Mary Douglas.
• Wednesday 28th November: “The History of Mote Park” by Simon Ginnaw,

The Programme for 2017 was:

• Wednesday 22nd February – at the Village Club – My Life as a Tillergirl by Jackie Simmonds
• Wednesday 22nd March – at the Village Club – The Wars of the Roses by Keith Beckford
• Wednesday 26th April – at the Village Club – A Walk in the Clouds by Kevin Reynolds
• Wednesday 24th May – in the Vestry Hall – The Wealden Iron Industry from the Iron Age to the Early 19th Century by Jeremy Hodgkinson
• Wednesday 28th June – Summer Outing – Little Mill Farm; Afternoon Wildlife walk and cream tea with Peter Hall
• Wednesday 27th September – in the Vestry Hall – Teston and the Anti Slavery Movement by Dawn Page
• Wednesday 25th October – in the Vestry Hall – Ordnance Survey Ancient and Modern by Colin Brown
• Wednesday 22nd November – in the Vestry Hall – Why is Shale Gas Different – and will we see drilling rigs in Marden? by Peter Kershaw

• The programme for 2016 was:

• Wednesday 24th January – Annual General Meeting 
• Wednesday 24th February – Finding a Family – Tony Farnham Tony was adopted as a child and this is the story of tracing his birth parents.
• Wednesday 30th March – The Vikings are Coming – Imogen Corrigan Their conquest, art, culture and much more about these feared warriors.
• Wednesday 27th April – The Coal Mining Industry in Kent – Jim Davies Jim was a miner in the East Kent coalfields.
• Wednesday 25th May – The Huguenot Museum – Amy Dimmock A brief history of the Huguenots in Kent, why they came, where they settled and what they did.
• Wednesday 22nd June – Summer Outing – visit to Lullingstone Castle and the World Garden
• Wednesday 28th September – Medway: Tales from the Dividing River Wilf Lower returns with tales of ordinary people doing extraordinary things on the River Medway
• Wednesday 26th October – Gavelkind – Imogen Wedd Imogen is a local speaker talking about the medieval practice of inheritance.
• Wednesday 23rd November – Our County Regiment – Col. Peter Cook Peter is another local speaker reviewing the history of Kent’s Regiments.

The programme for 2015 was:

•  ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2015 WEDNESDAY 25 JANUARY
• WEDNESDAY 25 FEBRUARY – Wilf Lower – “Lost Empires”  The last days of Music Hall & Variety
• WEDNESDAY 25 MARCH – Simon Ginnaw – “Wildlife of Mote Park”
• WEDNESDAY 22 APRIL – Chris McCooey – “Despatches from the Home Front WW2”
• WEDNESDAY 27 MAY- Tom Whittle – “The PLUTO Pipeline” A section of this passes through Marden
• THURSDAY 25th June – Summer Outing – 3 hour Medway Cruise on Kentish Lady
• WEDNESDAY 23 SEPTEMBER – Victoria Golding “ Kent’s Coronation Meadow”
• OCTOBER – Brian Rance – –“Walking Through Kent and East Sussex”
•  WEDNESDAY 25 NOVEMBER – Steve McArragher – “Seashells in Bearsted” The life of Sir Marcus Samuel
•  ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2016 WEDNESDAY 25 JANUARY

The programme for 2014 was:

• 26 FEBRUARY – Mike Apps – “Fingerprinting” Its development and uses
• 26 MARCH – John & Peggy Scott – “Pearly Kings & Queens” All there is to know about the traditions!
•  23 APRIL – Dr Ann Knief – “The Bevin Boys” How they were enlisted for war service in the mines
• 28 MAY – Kevin Reynolds – “Best of Kent” A talk on our historic County of Kent
• 25 JUNE – “Outing to a local place of interest”
• 24 SEPTEMBER – Gillian Ellen – “A Talk about the MEDWAY QUEEN”
• 22 OCTOBER – Angela & Mike Cartwright – “Being an Olympics Volunteer” A talk on their experiences as Volunteers
•  28 November – Edith Davis – “In the steps of the Ancient Greeks” – A Cruise
• 28 JANUARY 2015 – Annual General Meeting

The programme for 2013 was:

• Wednesday 22 January 2014 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
  Followed by Cheese & Wine Social
• Wednesday 27 February – Dr Roger Eltringham on “Safe Anaesthesia Worldwide”. The history of the Charity in developing countries
• Wednesday 27 March – Rod le Gear on “Underground Kent”
  This interesting speaker is paying a third visit
• Wednesday 24 April – Paul Hal on “The White Cliffs and Samphire Hoe”
• Wednesday 22 May – Helen Allinson on “The Story of Toys”
• June – Outing to Brattle Farm Museum
• Wednesday 25 September – Ian Porter on “East End Murders – 1811 1911”
• Wednesday 23 October – John Reuter on “Bugs, Plagues and Pestilences”
• Wednesday 22 November – Maureen Clayton on “The Story of Charity”
  From Piety to big business and glitz

The programme for 2012 was:

• 25th January: AGM and cheese & wine social
• 29th February: Robin Ambrose on Pendenden Heath : Executions, punishments, rebellion meeting point – the history of the Heath and some local inhabitants and well known rogues or dignitaries.
• 28th March: Peter Ewart on Smuggling in Kent : Heyday of smuggling in 18th and 19th centuries. Methods adopted by these ‘honest thieves’
• 25th April : John Buckingham on “Birds of Southeast England”
• 23rd May : USS Richard Montgomery : Why was it wrecked on Middle Sands off Sheerness? Why is the current cargo a potential danger as the ship deteriorates.
• 27th June : Outing to Horlands Farm
• 26th September : Albert Glanville on The Mary Rose : Historical background and the time in history. His own personal involvement in its salvage.
• 24th October : Peter Golding on “The Maidstone Dinosaur” : The world’s first semi-complete dinosaur skeleton was found in Maidstone.
• 28th November : Norman Hopkins on Reformers & Martyrs in Kent : Sir John Oldcastle of Cooling, a Lollard in the 1380s. John Frith of Westerham, a Reformer. John Rogers of Riverhill, a translator and martyr. Edward Dering of Pluckley, a Puritan.

The programme for 2011 was:

• 26th January 2011: AGM and cheese & wine social
• 23rd March: Chris Doel on ‘All round the year – customs’
• 25th May: Anthea Bryant on ‘Canterbury – the hidden city. Saints and pilgrims including the sailing of the Mayflower’
• 28th September: Chris McCooey on ‘Kent scandals – sensational, salacious and sad’
• 23rd November: Colin Breed on ‘Zeebrugge – the story of the Herald of Free Enterprise disaster of March 1987, including the police investigation and Old Bailey trial’

The programme for 2010 was:

• 27 Jan: Annual General Meeting
• 24th March: D J March on ‘The story of English cheeses’
• 26th May: Ted Hobday on “The Brogdale Fruit Collection”
• 22nd June (Tuesday!): Tour of the Marden vineyard and winery
• 22nd September: Angela Mutana on ‘Benjamin Harris – Ightham grocer & archaeologist’
• 24th November: Chris Wade on ‘A walk around the Saxon Shore Way’ (part 2)

The Programme for 2009 was:

• ? March: Graham Johnson on “Kent – an Unusual view”
• 27 May: Chris Wade on “A Walk around the Saxon Shore Way”
• 23 September: Shirley Thomson on “The World of Bats“
• 25th November: Richard Filmer on “Old Ashford”