WEM CIVIC SOCIETY: EVENTS 2021

	Events - subject to change.
Tuesday March 2nd 2021 7.00pm	41st AGM, Members Forum. This hybrid meeting involved paticipation via Zoom, e-mail and post. The position of existing committee members and officers was confirmed by the membership. Members' Forum discussed Millfields area and the improvement and greening of paths throughout Wem, both rural and urban.
Tuesday August 17th	What makes a Book Valuable. Antiquarian and Secondhand books Neil Robinson. Wem Towm hall - the main hall - downstairs.
Tuesday September 21st	Harris Barges, the Chester and Liverpool Lighterage and Warehousing Company and Whitchurch Warehousing - the story of a failed enterprise on the Ellesmere Canal John Pinfold.
Saturday September 25th 9.00am - 1.00pm	Wem Harvest Market Wem Jubilee Square, Wem Youth Club & Wem Town Hall
Tuesday October 18th 7.30pm	Airfields of northern Shropshire – Toby Neal - tbc
Tuesday November 15th 7.30pm	Severn Valley Railway Trust – Alan Reade
Tuesday December 20th 7.30pm	Christmas Social: Buffet, Quizzes and Raffle

Previous Meetings & Events:
Shropshire Postal History with reference to Wem, by Brian Atkins	Home Front Heroines - women of Oswestry from 1914 to 1922, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. It is a year long project ending end of April 2019, fully illustrated and all the time we are finding new stories of remarkable women. The first female postwomen began in WWI, Oswestry had several! A talk by Sarah Gathercole	Trips: 1. Shrewsbury and Crewe Junction Signal Boxes, 2. Lunch at Sparrow’s Café; followed by Battlefield Church tour led by Canon the Revd William Price
Local History Evening Flotsam and Jetsam: Horse Racing around Wem and Beyond- John Pinfold; The story of the Horse and Jockey, originally the Pack Horse - a pub from the 1780s - Oliver Richardson; Inside the old pubs of Wem - Roger Dakin; Introduced by David Smith.	Shrewsbury & Newport Canals, a talk by Alan Reade. The talk will be on the Shrewsbury & Newport Canals, which are being restored by the S&NC Trust as a long-term project. Although work is going on continuously at various points along the line of the canals from Norbury Junction through Newport to Shrewsbury, a particular project of current interest is the restoration of old warehouses at Wappenshall junction, just north of Telford. The aim here is to create a museum of Thomas Telford (the first museum dedicated to the great man) with a permanent exhibition, conference facilities, a café and gift shop which are hoped to open to the general public in the next few months. Wappenshall Junction	My career at Shelton Hospital, a talk by Ann Johnson. The Complete Owl, a talk by Michael Leach. Roman Wroxeter, a talk by Dr Roger White Harvest Images: Photographic Competition. HERITAGE Wem Weekend - Events
The Mosses, Ice Age to Modern Day. A journey of 10,000 years showing the Mosses’ importance in everyday life leading almost to the destruction of Great Britain’s 3rd largest lowland bog, its role as a habitat for rare animals; and its future. A new talk by Barry Probin.	800 years of history through timber: The Tilley Timber Project. Between 2014 and 2017, residents of the small hamlet of Tilley were awarded a HLF grant in order to undertake a dendrochronology project on thirty timber-framed buildings. In this lecture George Nash explained the success and results of the project	The background to the building of the Ironbridge. Who built it and why. A talk by Phil Revell, writer and journalist.
Local History Evening: Wem Churches by Tom Edwards; Wem Cinema by Sue Robinson & Shelagh Richardson; The Story of a Brewer by Roger Dakin; Introduced by David Smith 1940s and 1950s in Wem & Surrounds	Stained Glass – Coffee followed by a tutored visit to two churches (Shrewsbury) with Afternoon Tea. David Smith	My Life in Oil: Working and Living on Rigs. Martin Carruthers
Brewery History– with the Brewery History Society.	Shropshire Turnpike Roads & Milestones. Alan Readey	Photographic Competition: Stained Glass.n
Bells & Bell Ringing: an art and a science, an illustrated talk by David Smith	Llangollen Canal by Chris Platon	An Antiques Evening with Jeremy Lamond; talk followed by a valuation of Pottery & Porcelain
The Story of Brickmaking by Tony Mugridge (Master Brick Maker)	Looking at the fragile historic landscapes of North Shropshire: by Dr George Nash	Local Clocks & Clockmakers [Ellesmere area] - Christopher Jobson plus an update on the archæological work being carried out at Shrewsbury Orthodox Church.
The 1960s in Wem & Surrounds.	Visit to Welshampton Church, tour led by Christopher Jobson	Shropshire’s Country Churches by Dorothy Nicolle
Wem History Day (Victoria County History) Wem Town Hall	The view from above: recent archaeological aerial survey work in Shropshire, an illustrated talk by Andy Wigley: a talk by	Visit to Shrewsbury Orthodox Church, Church of the Holy Fathers of Nicea, off Oteley Road, Sutton, Shrewsbury following lunch at Sparrow's Café, Battlefield 1403
Some Shropshire Saints by Christopher Jobson	Maps: Power & Perception an account of how maps and mapping inform, direct, order and influence us all through time by Martin Carruthers	The Crewe to Shrewsbury Railway by Bob Yate
The Story of Pub Signs The Battle of Shrewsbury, 1403. Francis Frith, Victorian Photographer: a talk by Dorothy Nicolle	Memories of a Bygone Era: a talk by Idris Evans	A Brick Walk in Wem with Tony Mugridge followed by a Meal at The Castle, Wem.
Antarctic Antics – A Halley Base Doctor, 1987 – 1989 by Dr. Jeremy Owen	Visit to The National Memorial Arboretum, Staffordshire	Amazing Trees of Shropshire & Beyond by Rob McBride
The Story of the Silhouette factory - A talk by Nigel Hinton.	WWI – France & Flanders; a Wem & Surrounds perspective. The talk concentrated on the West European Theatre. Alex Williamson who has toured the battlefields of this area led this event.	Industries of Old Wem & Surrounds An illustrated talk by John Ruscoe
Ellesmere, the Dowry of Wales: The story of some of the Welsh Princes ranging from Cynddylan in the Dark Ages to Owain Glyndwr in the C15th. An illustrated talk by Christopher Jobson.	How far is an inch? An illustrated talk on maps by Roger Michell	Famous People of Wem & Surrounds: Frederick Alexander Barnett – The Brewer, Joel Stinchcombe - The Postmaster, Harry Strong– The War Hero, and not forgetting The Loppington Bear
Shropshire's Almshouses - A talk by Sylvia Watts.	Brick Works An illustrated talk on bricks, their use and manufacture by Oliver Richardson	The Story of Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings.
A day in the Life of a Signalman Paul Johnson	The Story of the Pubs and Brewing in Wem & Surrounds with Richard Earl and John Ruscoe.	Natural History Dr Alan Johnson
The Story of Hawkstone: A talk by John Ruscoe.	Birds of Wem & Surrounds: An illustrated talk by Dr Derek Sparkes	English & Welsh Wine Tasting. The Glass Gallery, Wem Town Hall
Local Geology: An illustrated talk by Martin Carruthers	Town Walk: Notable Buildings in Wem led by local historian Tom Edwards	Wildlife & Art in Shropshire: An illustrated talk by Ben Waddams
Life & History of the Drovers of North Wales: A talk by Idris Evans	Old farmyards of Shropshire Dr Nigel Baker	Loppington Church & Village, a guided tour by David Smith. Meal at the Dickin Arms
Visit to the Shropshire Regimental Museum, Shrewsbury Talk: 'Tracing your relatives in WWI' Battlefield1403: Exhibition, Sparrow Café and Farm Shop	The Home Front in WWI & WWII: Looked at the impact of the wars on the area - agriculture and food, and the role of women and children. A tasting menu of WWII food was available.	Remember Them: A WWI Exhibition The Royal British Legion, the Baptist Church and Wem Civic Society staged the Town Hall Exhibition.