TORQUAY MUSEUM SOCIETY

President, David J Wills MABP

Torquay Museum Society was formed in 1844 as the Torquay Natural History Society. The Society had raised enough money by 1875 to build the Natural History Society Museum, the iconic building where the Society is still based and where its Public Lectures are held in the Pengelly hall, named after the Society’s famous founder, William Pengelly.

There are two Public Lecture seasons every year: the autumn/winter season, which runs from early October till the end of January, and the spring season, which runs from the beginning of February until Easter. Lectures take place twice a week, on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, from 10.45-12 noon, throughout both seasons. Admission is free to Society members. For members of the public admission cost is £5, payable on the door.

Throughout the summer months and into the early autumn the Society hosts informal gatherings – conversazione – at which members and guests enjoy short talks, discussion, debate and light refreshments. The hallmarks of the conversazione are informality and variety.

Humanities & Team LeaderChris Nicholls

Literature & ArtsKen Beevers

Local HistoryPhil Badcott

Natural History Bill Hudson

Science Roger Hamilton

Lecture ReceptionAnn Shaw

TORQUAY MUSEUM SOCIETY

PUBLIC LECTURESSPECIAL CENTENARY SEASONOCTOBER 2018 - JANUARY 2019

ESSENTIAL INFORMATIONTHE LECTURES TEAM

BECOME A MEMBERBecoming a member opens up a host of potential activities and opportunities to become active within the Society. As a member you are entitled to free admission to all the Public Lectures. Membership also entitles you to join in with the variety of other Society groups and activities, e.g. the Botany Field Trips, the Ornithology Field Trips, and the Friday Rambles Group. Other initiatives at the planning stage include a proposed Field Archaeology Research Division, aimed to encourage the involvement of young people.

Individual membership is £60 per annum, joint membership is £100 per annum.

Pick up a membership form at the Museum.Torquay Museum Society is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation

(CIO). Registered Charity Number 1161126.

To identify who has organised a lecture match the colour codes above with the colour-coded lecture information inside. The organisers welcome your comments, criticisms and suggestions.

Every Tuesday and Wednesday 10.45 - 12 noon

Non-members £5 payable on the door

WALKING: The Museum is a couple of hundred metres up Babbacombe Road from the Mallock Clock Tower.BY BUS: No 22 bus stops directly outside the Museum.PARKING: Pay-and-display opposite the Museum or at the Harbour Car Park. Two hours free parking on some nearby streets.

THE MUSEUM GIFT SHOPA number of our lectures conclude with book-signings in the Museum Gift Shop. The shop carries books and many other items relating to current exhibitions and local history. We also sell an array of Agatha Christie merchandise, including DVDs, rare and out-of-print editions of her novels, and high-quality photographs taken from the Museum’s ‘Mistress of Crime’ archive.

THE MUSEUM CAFÉServes hot and cold drinks, cakes, snacks, sandwiches, and a select range of hot lunches. A great place to relax before and after lectures.

ACCESSThere are lifts, disabled facilities and step-free access throughout the Museum.

FURTHER ENQUIRIESchrisnicholls01@yahoo.co.uk or carl.smith@torquaymuseum.org

HOW TO FIND US

Torquay Museum 529 Babbacombe Road, TQ1 1HG Tel 01803 293975 www.torquaymuseum.org

OCTOBER 2018 TUESDAY 2nd WHAT HAPPENED AFTER WOMEN GOT THE VOTE? Dr David Thackeray Dr Thackeray explores women’s political activity in the decade between achieving limited suffrage in 1918 and the Equal Franchise Act in 1928.

WEDNESDAY 3rd CHARLES CAUSLEY: A LIFE THROUGH POEMS Malcolm & Sylvia Wright With the help of some rarely-seen photographs Malcolm and Sylvia explore the life, work and legacy of this much-loved Cornish poet.

TUESDAY 9th PEARLS BEFORE POPPIES: THE STORY OF THE RED CROSS PEARLS Rachel Trethewy Torquay author, Rachel Trethewy, tells the extraordinary story of the 1918 appeal to the women of Britain and the Empire to donate a single pearl to the British Red Cross in memory of a life lost or changed forever by the war.

WEDNESDAY 10th A BRIEF INSIGHT INTO SEAHORSES AND THEIR ECOLOGY Neil Garrick-Maidment Torbay-born naturalist Neil, Executive Director of The Seahorse Trust, shares the knowledge gained during his more than forty years studying seahorses.

TUESDAY 16th THE BIRTH OF THE RAF, 1918 Professor Richard Overy In his superb new book Professor Overy discusses the creation of ‘The World’s First Air Force’, a highly contested development fiercely resisted by both the Army and the Navy and a source of bitter controversy well into the 1920s.

WEDNESDAY 17th CAPTAIN AND MRS JONES: LOVE, ROMANCE AND ESPIONAGE IN WAR-TORN FRANCE Chris Robillard This is the story of Sydney Jones, whose wartime career in the SOE was only revealed in 2016 when his son received an unexpected package from MI5.

WEDNESDAY 24th GEORGE BUTTERWORTH: SOLDIER & COMPOSER Laurence Green George Butterworth’s biographer outlines the tragically brief career of the brilliant composer, professional Morris Dancer and Military Cross holder killed at the Battle of the Somme, aged 31.

Book signings and author talks

TUESDAY 30th BUCKFAST ABBEY Mark Cottle In the 1880s, a group of Benedictine monks set about the task of restoring the ruined medieval abbey. Historian Mark Cottle, tells the awe-inspiring story.

WEDNESDAY 31st HOW DID THE ALLIES WIN WORLD WAR TWO? Professor Jeremy Black Expect another virtuoso performance from the man voted Speaker of the Year in our 2017/18 audience poll!

NOVEMBER 2018 TUESDAY 6th CHARLES LAYCOCK’S HOUSE: 1207-2018 Ian Mortimer Charles Laycock, prolific collector of old Devon farmhouse artefacts, lived in his Moretonhampstead house from 1903 until his death in 1943. The current owner is Ian Mortimer, historian and celebrated author of the Time Traveller’s Guides.

WEDNESDAY 7th FAMILY GREAT WAR STORIES Society members share their family stories of the First World War. Local violinist, Tim Trewin, will provide musical accompaniment. Members of the general public are warmly encouraged to attend. No entrance charge will be made for this event.

TUESDAY 13th THE GOLDEN AGE OF CINEMA IN TORQUAY Colin Roulestone Colin takes a light-hearted look at the rise and fall of cinema in Torquay, from its origins via its Golden Age heyday to its slow demise with the onset of television in the 1950s and 60s.

WEDNESDAY 14th THE SCIENCE AND BEAUTY OF BIRDSONG Tony Whitehead Tony Whitehead – naturalist, birder and artist – is also a gifted speaker, certain to thrill and enchant the audience with his evocation and analysis of birdsong.

TUESDAY 20th SHAKES AND CONES AND SAUVIGNON BLANC! Pat Wilson No, not a hipster bar in Shoreditch but an exploration of the unique topology and geology of New Zealand by a woman who has long been fascinated by this earthquake-prone land.

WEDNESDAY 21st BRITANNIA VOICES: THE BRITANNIA ROYAL NAVAL COLLEGE ORAL HISTORY PROJECT Dr Richard Porter Dr Porter, Senior Curator and Archivist at the College, talks about this unique record of life at RN Britannia. The project’s ‘listening post’ will be installed in the foyer of the Museum throughout the week.

TUESDAY 27th HELICOPTER OVER THE RAINFOREST: ELEPHANTS AND TERMITES IN GABIN’S IVINDO NATIONAL PARK Anthony Nanson When researching his novel, Deep Time, Anthony visited the forests of Gabon where he assisted an entomologist from the Natural History Museum. Here he discusses his understanding of the changes in its ecology over time.

WEDNESDAY 28th THE SECRET LIVES OF BUTTERFLIES Richard Fox Richard Fox, who has worked for Butterfly Conservation for over twenty years, reveals new insights into butterfly ecology and behaviour, including the smelly world of cabbage whites and where Painted Ladies go in winter.

DECEMBER 2018 TUESDAY 4th TORQUAY MUSEUM SOCIETY ANNUAL OPEN FORUM AND CHRISTMAS SOCIAL Society members debate matters of interest or concern. Non-members are most welcome to attend. The forum is followed by the annual Christmas Social.

WEDNESDAY 5th THE EXETER CATHEDRAL YARD FIRE AND EXETER’S ANCIENT BUILDINGS Dr Todd Gray Todd Gray, local historian and author, considers the impact of the devastating fire including the renewal of public interest in the city’s remaining historic buildings.

JANUARY 2019 TUESDAY 8th TRAINING THE AFGHAN ARMY Alexander Allan Alexander, author of Afghanistan: a Tour of Duty, recalls his time as an officer in the Guards in Afghanistan. Expect stories of courage and enduran.

WEDNESDAY 9th HORSES IN ART Roger Hamilton Society member Roger Hamilton, follows up his last year’s Pigs in Art with this engaging talk on the horse, an enduring subject in both fine and folk art.

TUESDAY 15th LYDFORD AND THE STANNARY LAWS Simon Dell MBE The Dartmoor National Park Guide and author discusses the tin mining laws and evokes the harsh lives of the Dartmoor tinners.

WEDNESDAY 16th DEVON HEDGEROWS Roger Avery Society member, Roger Avery, shares his knowledge of and enthusiasm for this hugely important and defining feature of the Devon landscape.

TUESDAY 22nd FLAGS: HISTORY IN THE WIND Andre Coutanche Flags are powerful symbols of communal identity and objects of huge historical significance. Andre explores the ways in which flags embody historical narrative and shows how a flag may be ‘read’.

WEDNESDAY 23rd COLD WAR WARRIOR Sir Jonathan Tod Anyone present at Sir Jonathan’s hugely entertaining talk last year, How to Drive an Aircraft Carrier, will not want to miss these further tales of his progress from cadet to Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Fleet, all delivered with panache, humour and style!

TUESDAY 29th CLARKSON ROSE: FIFTY YEARS OF SEASIDE ENTERTAINMENT Brian Freeland In his one-man show Brian brilliantly captures the high tide of seaside entertainment in his evocation of Clarkson Rose and his partner, Olive, who delighted audiences with their show, ‘Twinkle’, for almost 50 years.

WEDNESDAY 30th PAIGNTON PICTURE HOUSE: THE FIRST HUNDRED YEARS Anthony Hill Paignton Picture House, one of the oldest purpose-built cinemas in Europe, closed in 1999. Anthony tells the remarkable story of its 85 years as a working cinema.