January Meeting

HISTORY REPORT FOR 18 th JANUARY 2010.
History of Aviation.

In December 1903, the Wright Brothers made the first powered flight of a plane with a person in it .This then set in course a series of events with many years later the public taking it for granted to fly in planes holding 200/300 people, and man landing on the moon in 1969.

It all started in 1799 when Sir George Cayley first worked out the relationship of the 4 basic principals of aerodynamics- weight, lift, drag and thrust - which enabled him to build and fly the first glider with his coachman in. This then set in motion the events for Wright Brothers in 1903.

Julie talked about her grandfather George Bertram Cockburn who was an early aviator, and took part in the first flying competition held in Rheims, France in 1909. In 1911 he started to train future pilots at the Aero Club based at Larkhill on Salisbury Plain, and there is now a plaque there to commemorate this. He was a good friend of the pilot Mr Rolls (of Rolls Royce the car makers) who became a pilot but was killed in a flying accident in 1910.

In the early days flying was considered a man’s job -with no room for women- and it took many years for them to fly and gain recognition from the men. (There is now a woman pilot in the Red Arrows).
In America in 1925 the first woman pilot’s air race across the country was organised, but they could only fly inferior planes and a man had to be with them for the whole race. However it was not many more years before women were organising their own solo races.
Amy Johnson took flying lessons and became the first woman to be granted an Aircraft Ground Engineer’s Licence . In 1930 she became the first woman to fly solo from England to Australia.
In the second World War women took on the role of flying planes around the world from the factory to the airfields (with many losses).

Airships were around before planes, indeed in 1900 Count Ferdinand Von Zeppelin flew his airship for the first time, a short distance near Friedrichshafen on Lake Constance in Southern Germany. In 1915 a German Zeppelin crossed the Norfolk coast at night and bombed unsuspecting British towns, with 20 civilian deaths and 40 seriously injured. This first event heralded the bombing of civilians from the air in time of war, and went on to the massed bombing raids of WWII.

Michael finished off by recounting about his 3 parachute jumps in 1966/7 at Thruxton. The plane they went up in had no door and no seats. In order to jump he had to climb out of the doorway and onto the wing and hold the strut(at 3000 feet),he then let go and fell off, the parachute opened and he gently glided down to earth (what a great experience).

The next meeting will be on Monday 15th February and the topic will be “Native American Indians”.

Michael Page.

November Meeting

History Group Report - November 2009

It’s November again, and our last topic in another varied and interesting year was “Social Care”.

Barbara opened this session talking about the life and times of Doctor Barnardo , who was born in Dublin where he nearly died at the age of 4. He planned to become a missionary in China, and a doctor (which he did), but upon moving to London he became very distressed by the wretched plight of young ragged children (especially boys) forced out onto the street at a very early age to exist as best they could. He then devoted the rest of his life to their care, building homes and finding employment and a life for them. He then proceeded to do the same for girls, and in the middle of it all found time to get married. His wife fully supported and helped him in his crusade, and he died in 1905 at the age of 60, after a long and fulfilling life.

Julie talked about an autistic person who lived next door to her. When this person was in a special home with 24 hour care they lived as good a life as possible. It was only when the local authority placed them in the community that the care was nowhere near as good, with carers only popping in two or three times a day.

Lesley talked about Almshouses and what a wonderful service they have provided over the years, but whilst researching her family tree was surprised how many of her ancestors had lived in almshouses.

In Roman times if there was no male heir, then they would adopt an orphan boy to ensure the family line continued.

In Medieval times, the Church grew to be the main body looking after the needs of the ordinary people. However after Henry VIII ,this started to move to the state with the Poor Laws being brought in. Parishes then started to look after their own (but often moved strangers out of their parish so they would not have to help them!!!)

In the 19th Century Workhouses were introduced, and then at the beginning of the 20th Century Labour Exchanges, Old Age Pensions, Medical care for school children came in and finally the National Health Service came into being after World War II.

Our next meeting will be on Monday 18th January 2010 when we will be talking about “The History of Aviation”.

Michael Page.

October

HISTORY DISCUSSION GROUP REPORT FOR OCTOBER


At this meeting we talked about clothing and Michael started with the Iceman.
This was the body of a Neolithic hunter who died about 3,300 BC on a mountain ridge in the Austrian Alps and was found frozen in a gully in September 1991. With the body they also found fragments of clothing.
He had a belt and pouch of calf leather, a loincloth of leather (not fur), leggings (separate) tied on to his belt and stretching down to his feet, a cap of strips of fur sown together, an upper garment of strips of fur sewn together stretching from shoulder to knees but open in the front, and on top of all this was a grass coat made from grass lengths over 1 metre long- plaited together and thought to stretch from neck to knees- and probably again open in the front. His body is on display in a special cabinet in the Museum at Bolzano in Northern Italy, and Joan U. has seen it there.

Brian told us that in certain times in the past, ordinary people were not allowed to wear certain colours of clothing - purple, scarlet, gold, silver, deep blue- as they were worn only by high class people .

Myra showed us sketches of Tudor costumes she had made, pointing out the slits in the clothing through which you could see the expensive material underneath (this was the height of fashion).

Kathy talked about the evolution of bathing costumes and showed us pictures of them, and how when it first became fashionable the clothes worn were more like a full set of day clothes, and then gradually became more and more simplified until now when sometimes the costumes are sometimes a “bit too brief”.
Jean showed us a picture of a lady in Roman times wearing a bikini (who said they were not an advanced civilisation!)

Brian mentioned about cod pieces in Tudor times in which people often kept their money and jewels and sometimes a dagger. A cod piece was made of velvet, silk and satins for noble people and cloth for commoners. After Tudor times they went out of fashion.

Joan R. talked about ladies fashions from the 1920s onwards, and how their hem lines gradually rose to above the knees, about pin stripped suits, James Dean hair style, flower power and bell bottoms, but in contrast men’s fashions had not changed much.

Barbara talked about ladies’ fashions 1947 to 1950, and how women rebelled from the austerity clothing of WWII to colourful, flowing clothes (including underwear) of the 1950s. It made them feel so much better.

Pam talked about underwear and how it has only been around for about 200 years. The first was a chemise worn mainly to protect outer garments from body odour. The first “pants” or “drawers”, appeared about 1800, so called because each leg was separate and was drawn up, but was not joined in the middle until the Royal Drawer Maker decided to join them up and her name was Florence Gusset (the rest is History).

After more discussion, Marie and Jane handed around old photos. of past generations showing their fashions in clothing.

The next meeting will be on Monday 16th and the topic will be Social Care.

Michael Page.

September Meeting

HISTORY DISCUSSION GROUP

At our September meeting we talked about Women Inventors and the roll they have played in our society over the years.

Some of the women’s inventions include the circular saw by Tabitha Babbit in 1812, the windscreen wiper blade by Mary Anderson in 1903, the medical syringe by Letitia Geer in 1899, a permanent wave for hair by Marjorie Joyner in 1928, the chocolate cookie by Ruth Wakefield in 1924, the life-raft by Maria Beaseley in 1882, the fold away bed by Sarah. E. Goode, in 1885,a torpedo guidance system by Heddy Lamarr in 1942 and the rolling pin by Catherine Deiner in 1891( and many many more).

Ruth Handler invented an anatomically improbable moulded plastic statuette named “Barbie” . Since its debut in 1959,the Barbie Doll has become an American icon that functions as both a steady outlet for girls dreams and an ever changing reflection of society.

Mary Dixon Kies received the first U.S. patent issued to a woman (before that all women inventions had to be registered in a man’s name) for a process for weaving straw with silk or thread. The Patent Act of 1790 opened the door for anyone, male or female to protect his or her invention with a patent. However, because in many American states women could not legally own property independent of their husbands, many women did not bother to patent their new inventions.

Every year a conference is held honouring the best of women’s inventions. In 2009 Denise Anstey of Bristol won British female inventor of the year with her invention of the “slik stik“ . As a disabled lady she was dissatisfied with conventional walking sticks, and came up with the idea of a stick that folds away for convenient storage and portability, whilst maintaining a firm and rigid support when extended.

At the Korea International Women’s Invention Exposition last year Iranian women won 12 gold, 5 silver and 6 bronze medals, and gained first place among 25 countries participating.

One of the earliest known women’s invention was Sibilla Masters in 1715 in the USA, when she invented a process making cornmeal from maize.

It was a very interesting meeting, and shows how brilliant women have been over the years with their inventions, and how the world would be a poorer place without them!!!

The next meeting will be on Monday the 19th October at Kim House, starting at 10 am when the subject will be Clothing through the Ages.

Michael Page

July meeting

At our July meeting the theme was "Follow a House" and some members gave short talks on the following..

Lesley talked about the workers cottages at the Wilton Carpet factory.
Marie and Brian discussed Testwood House.
Kathy talked about the history of Sarehole Mill near Birmingham (near where she comes from).
Phyllis about the hotel they stayed in at Devils Bridge,Vale of Rheidol.
Michael the history of the Palace of Greenwich (Michael comes from the next borough of Lewisham)
Myra - Nappa Hall, Wensleydale, which was the seat of the Metcalfe Family.
Margaret talked about Dyrham House, where a relation of hers had worked for the National Trust.
Jack and Joan explained about the history of Avington House.
Pam talked about Blickley Hall in Norfolk.

It proved a very interesting meeting.

The next meeting will be on Monday 21st September when the subject will be Women Inventors.

Michael Page.

History report for May and June 2009.

History report for May and June 2009.
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On Monday 18th May, 18 members enjoyed a tour round Portchester Castle by one of the Portsmouth City Guides, whose enthusiasm and interest in this subject soon rubbed off onto us.

The castle was built in the late 3rd century as one of a chain of forts from the Wash to Southampton Water , as a protection against the Saxon and Frankish raiders on both sides of the Channel. They were placed under the command of a high officer called “Count of the Saxon Shore”, whence they are now commonly known as “Saxon Shore Forts”.

Under Roman occupation Portchester was not always in continuous use, and in 410 when the Romans finally went, it fell into disuse. There is evidence that the Saxons used it from the early 6th century, continuing for some generations. With the re-introduction of Christianity about a century later, several Saxon Shore Forts, including Portchester, made convenient mission-stations with ready made precinct walls.

In 904 King Edward the Elder made it into a fortified township (burghs) within the existing walls, to help provide for the defence of Wessex.

In Norman times Portchester was a convenient enclosure for assembling large forces, especially on their trips to Normandy. During the 12th century Portchester (already 900 years old) was transformed into a Royal Castle, only exceeded in grandeur on the south coast by Dover and Corfe. An Augustinian Priory was established within the walls in 1133 for some time before moving to Southwick.

The castle remained in use in many different ways, and had various improvements done until 1632 when it ceased to be a Royal Castle.
From then until early 19th century it was used on many occasions to house prisoners of war, often in squalid, overcrowded conditions.
In 1926 the heirs placed it in the guardianship of the Department of the Environment, and it is now run by English Heritage.

At our June meeting we talked about our trip, and all the different things that have happened to the castle. It is a tribute to the building skills of the Romans that after 1800 years it is in nearly as good a condition as when it was built.

Our next meeting will be on Monday 20/07/2009 when the topic will be “Follow a House”.

Michael Page.

April meeting - Celts and the Iron Age. 700BC to AD43

As with all the “periods” in history this era did not start exactly at that time but was a gradual process. The impact at first of iron would have been slight with most communities carrying on with making and using bronze articles. Gradually however iron spread across the land, firstly with imported articles and then making their own as the technology arrived.

A major difference that bronze and iron had on communities was that with bronze, traders travelled the land with lumps of bronze making articles on the spot as requested, but to work iron you have to have very high temperatures, so forges had to be set up as a permanent structure which became part of each community.

It is thought that the Celts originated in Central Europe , and expanded in all directions, conquering and eventually settling down, but the expanding Roman Empire gradually took over many of their lands, including, finally, Britain.

The Celts became skilled warriors, loved feasting , drinking and fighting. They were also skilled craftsmen in their own right, making beautiful articles especially in iron, bronze and gold.

Early Celtic culture did not have or need coinage as they were always on the move, and their most important possessions were their cattle and gold. But in the 1st/2nd century BC they started to come into contact with Rome through trade and so coins started to circulate, firstly as tokens and then as actual currency.

In trading with the Romans, they imported large quantities of wine and in return ,supplied them with raw materials and slaves which the Roman Empire always needed. It is thought that the Celts renewed their inter tribal warfare in order to get and sell slaves for this trade.

The Iron Age has always been associated with “Hill forts”, however this term is very misleading as they had been around for a long time before and had been used for a variety of purposes, i.e. gathering and meeting places to conduct business of all sorts, as well as places to live in. It is thought that the Hill forts of the 1st century BC were indeed the final, “super” variety with many layers of earthworks, complicated gateways and large communities living in them. The Romans however overran them with great ease.

The Iron Age was the last “period” in Pre History (i.e. before the Romans came) and after initial uprisings the Celts settled down to become Romano-Celtic citizens, or as we know them “Ancient Britons”.

The next History Group event will be the outing to Portchester Castle on Monday 18/5/09, meeting at 10.30 am in the car park.

Michael Page

March Meeting

ALFRED THE GREAT
Alfred the Great - His name rings down through history as one of our greatest kings.
He was born in 849 at the royal estate of Wantage to his father King Aethelwulf and mother Osburh. The king already had 4 sons and a daughter by his previous wife.
Within months of Alfred’s arrival a great Danish army of some 350 long ships entered the mouth of the Thames, stormed Canterbury, put to flight Beorhtwulf, King of Mercia and his levies, and then went south into Surrey where they were halted and defeated in battle by Alfred’s father.
Alfred came to the throne in 871 after his 4 elder brothers, and by then he was a seasoned warrior, and it seemed at that time that fighting battles was the usual thing.
In 878, after a great defeat Alfred and a small group of loyal supporters were forced to hide at Athelney on the Somerset Levels. He was lucky because their fortified hideout- although visible to the Vikings from distant hills - was surrounded by water and so they were safe whilst carrying out guerrilla attacks on the Vikings. It was here that Alfred drew on his strength and resolve to carry on to win back Wessex.
In May of that year, he came out from the levels, gathered a mighty Saxon army and defeated Guthrun and his Viking army at Edington.
A treaty was made, the Vikings withdrew to beyond a line from the Thames, River Lea and then across to Chester. This gave Alfred time to reorganise, fortify and start to win back Wessex.
He went on to rule till his death in 899, and his son Edward carried on his important work.
Some of Alfred’s greatest achievements were the reform of the Saxon army so that there were always men available to fight; encouraging his nobles to learn to read to read and write so that they would be better rulers; building a series of fortified towns to defend Wessex from the Vikings; inventing the candle clock; starting the writing of the Anglo -Saxon Chronicle.

Mike Granger mentioned that, that he had heard that the foundations of Alfred’s statute in Winchester are made of sugar! anyone for a cuppa !
The next meeting will be on Monday 20th April, when the subject will be “Celts and the Iron Age”. …

Michael Page.

History Group - February Meeting.

At this meeting members picked a famous event in history at which they would like to have been.
Several members had researched the Great Exhibition of 1851, organised by Prince Albert and opened by Queen Victoria. The Iron and Glass Crystal Palace contained exhibits from around the world including sculptures, Swiss watches, sewing machines, typewriters, steam ploughs and so much more. Stalls were selling all sorts of food including Soda water, Lemonade, Ginger Beer, savoury cakes, pies, potted meats and the latest thing ‘Jelly’. Also there were Public Toilets where you could “spend a penny” to use them,( but the men’s urinals were free!)
Phyllis talked about the tank from WW2 on Slapton Sands in Devon, which is a monument to all the servicemen who lost their lives there whilst practising for D-Day (German E-boats got among the landing craft).A local called Ken Small discovered this tank under the sea near the beach and had it dragged out, but he then spent 40 years battling with the Ministry of Defence to get it officially recognised as a WW2 memorial.
John talked about when the River Thames froze over and people could walk all over it without fear of falling through. People had stalls on it selling all manner of things- fairs were held- and ,believe it or not, people could light fires on the ice!
Pat said how wonderful it would have been to be in Holland in 1593 when the first tulip bulbs arrived from Turkey. The were highly prized and bought and sold for very large sums of money. Prices reached their highest in 1657, but in 1739 the market crashed and many people were ruined.
Joan talked about Mary Allen who was a leading figure in the Suffragette movement, and in the First World War persuaded the Senior figures in the Police Force (all men) to allow women constables, although their roles were limited.
Rona said she would have liked to have been in Israel on 14/5/48 when the State of Israel was declared, as the U.N. had decided in 1947 that this should be the Jewish homeland. What joy there must have been as people danced, sang and celebrated this wonderful event- made very special because of all the hardships, misery and persecution Jews had endured over the years.
Mike said how exciting it would have been to see Dr.Roger Banister do the mile in just under 4 minutes. It took place in Oxford in 1954 at a local track and just a few people present to witness it. When you think that runners, equipment and track conditions were not what they are now, this truly was an historic event.
The next meeting will be on Monday 16th March at Kim House, when the topic will be “Alfred the Great and the Anglo Saxons”.

Michael Page.

19th January 2009

Our discussion on Monday 19th January 2009 -postponed from November 2008- was about Disease.
We talked about many of the major diseases, such as Malaria, Yellow Fever, Plague and Smallpox.It is thought that the oldest disease known to man is Malaria, as we are descended from apes and monkeys who are known to have had this disease. So it must be assumed that we aquired the malaria parasite from our ape ancestors.
All other epidemic diseases are thought to be late-comers to the bodies of people, and are usually the result of certain critical numbers of people coming together. So it is usually claimed that while man was a widely scattered hunter-gatherer, he was free of most of the major communicable diseases other than malaria,but when he settled down in groups to live and farm the land he became prey to these infectious diseases.In the past when doctors did not know what these diseases were, or came from, they would blame such factors as God's punishment for a terrible act. In 16th C Italy they called one such disease "Influenza" which means "attributed to the influence of the stars".
Since early times, in wars, victories often turned to defeat as diseases spread through the ranks killing many thousands, and sometimes before a battle had even been fought.
A final thought on this topic, and one which cannot be answered, is why sometimes a virus suddenly strikes, runs its course and then goes just as quickly without any apparent reason. We also dicussed changes in treatment and prevention of disease over the centuries.

The next meeting will be on Monday 9th February and the topic will be "Wish I had been there!".
N.B. This is the 2nd Monday in the month to avoid half-term. We will return to 3rd Monday in March as usual.

Michael Page

January Meeting

Next meeting which is on Monday 19th Jan. The subject is "Disease".

Before the Potato.

At our October meeting we talked about Agriculture in the Middle Ages - Before the Potato.

As our discussion progressed, it became evident that a wide range of foods was available, such as barley, wheat, rye, oats, bread, pottage (oats, peas, beans), onions, leeks, garlic, cabbage, apples, pears, cider, ale, wild fruits, fish (river and sea) and eggs.

A lot of people were able to keep a cow, sheep, poultry or pig from which came eggs, butter, cheese and meat. Of course, not necessarily everyone was able to enjoy all these, as it depended on their yearly harvest, weather, money and the amount of land they were able to cultivate.

At the start of this period, they laboured on the Lord's land, as rent for their strip of land and a place to live, but as time went on, it evolved to working their own land and paying their Lord a rent in either cash or produce.

We all know of the term Peasant to cover a large portion of the population, but this included Serfs, Villeins, Free Tenants, Cottars, Cultores, Labourers, Husbandmen and Yeomen. In addition many wage earners and craftsmen could be included because they gained a substantial part of their living from a holding of land.

The next meeting will be on Monday 17th November, when we will be talking about Disease!

Michael Page