Even though it was a very cold morning,  the January coffee morning was very well attended, Mac Joseph gave a very interesting presentation and talk about ‘Birmingham, ‘Then and Now’. This bought back many memories – especially from the “overspill” members.

We are organising a trip to Tutbury Castle, on Tuesday 24th May, the cost will be about £20. We would like numbers and a £5 deposit by the March meeting. Places are limited.
The trip will include the coach to Tutbury, soup and a roll for lunch and a talk by Lesley Smith.
Lesley performs such diverse roles as Margaret Thatcher, Nell Gwynne, Elizabeth 1 and Mary, Queen of Scots. Please see Pam or Diane for further information.

We received a charming letter from Nigel Govier of the Salvation Army thanking us for the donation of £65 following the auction in December.

Does anyone recognise this elderly couple?
We are always on the lookout for photographs, from any era.
We are not printing them all, we have over 5 thousand and storage is becoming a problem. We are copying any we are given (or lent) and storing them on the computer.

In our archives we have a visitors book from Gilpins dated 1947, there are many interesting entries, from as far afield as New Zealand, Canada, the Ivory Coast.

The February coffee morning speaker is Melanie Williamson on ‘The History of Shoes’.

In March Dave Battersby is giving a talk on the Conduits

A main feature of the Society Great War project was completed on 11^th November when the digitised cemetery burial records were handed over to the Parish Council.

The pictures show 1) Kath Williams, Chairman of the Parish Council receiving the digitised records from our Secretary, Diane Tolley and 2) the Society team with Gavin Williamson, our M.P. at the event. Also in attendance were Fred Pritchard, our Society Hon. President, the Chairman of South Staffs Council, Parish Council members and members of the public. It started a hectic period for the Society.

On 19^th November, a very informative and entertaining coffee morning was held. The address was given by Bob Williams outlining the aims and objectives of the Hatherton Canal Trust and their on-going efforts and achievements. The picture below shows Bob in conversation with members

Our annual event / open day was held on November 21^st at Harrisons Sports and Social Club. A sizeable audience enjoyed the varied displays around the main theme of ‘Cradle to the Grave’. Special thanks to the Museum of Cannock Chase for participating and providing exhibits plus Daz Butler from Cheslyn Hay Society for his specialism and skills with the digitised burial records display. Colleagues from Cheslyn Hay and Bridgtown Societies are also thanked for attending and their enthusiastic support.

Our new book ‘Our Village’ was also launched at the Annual Event / Open day and our picture shows Diane and Trevor awaiting prospective buyers at the event.