Hope you enjoyed our ‘Open Day’ on 22nd October 2022, at our Centre, The Senior Citizens Centre, Broadmeadow Lane. Previous years, before Covid, we held our open days in join with Cheslyn Hay & District Local History Society’s Open Day. This year we decided to branch out on our own and held our own History Open Day. We find now we can’t put on a big show like we used to do. We’d like to, but there isn’t enough of us to do it. So we choose to minimised the day to something we could manage.

It was a great success and every one that came loved it. We met new and old friends, people near and far came to join in on our day. On display at our Open Day we showed photos from the Jubilee parties, that were held across the village. The burial records and photo cupboard were also opened up for viewing, it proved a great success.

I hope you all had a good time with the Jubilee, that weekend was great and then Queen Elizabeth II passed away. It is hard really to think she’s gone, she’s always been with us. But now we have a new monarch, King Charles III. Will be great to see what he brings to the throne. We can now look forward to his Coronation next May, but it still remains a funny old sort of a year. We had some bad news at the beginning of October with the passing of John Palmer. He gave talks to us on the ‘History of Punch & Judy’ and ‘The Art of Marionettes from Abroad.’ John was in his 70’s when he died, our condolences to his family. (His story will be in the spring edition of our magazine).

Hopefully our heating bills won’t be too crippling in 2023, so on behalf of the Committee we wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a peaceful and prosperous New Year.

We shall be having an outing 2023. so we’ll keep everyone informed.

Latest magazine available to buy for non-members. Members get 4 magazines per year with their subscription. Please contact Gary Smith for your copy or to be come a member. winsongary@aol.com

It’s lovely to see the village getting into the festive spirit with the land post hanging decorations. If the others villages have them, we can have them too. It is only the second years that this as been done. The villages loved the lights so much last year, they choose to bring the lights out again. Give us 20 years and we could be bigger than Blackpool haha.

With the rapidly growing energy costs, it’s nice that we can still have Christmas lights around the village. Let’s hope it will continue for many years to come, as we love the bit of sparkle in the village.

Never have I been more glad to see a year like this one go out, it started with slight trepidation of a new variety of Covid strain, but it wasn’t to be. The doomsayers were sure we were in for another lockdown, but thankfully it never happened and I hope this is the last time I shall write of that scourge. At least we have the Coffee Mornings back up to strength, what with our visit to the Iron Works at Oswestry, the Jubilee and the Carnival, we thought we would try having the Events Day at the Centre this year. I thought it would be better for the Society as a whole, small and compact, like us on the committee and to see what our members thought of it.

It always gives me deep sadness when I have to report the passing on of a member, Alan Horton, himself and his wife Jean had been staunch members for quite a few years, Alan had worked in the print trade all of his life and at one time worked at the Walsall Observer as a Compositor, when it was a real newspaper. We had lots of conversations about the newspaper industry, as I worked for the Evening Mail for many years. Alan had been unwell with that nasty complaint I don’t even like talking about. Sadly he passed away at the Manor Hospital, so all of our condolences to his wife Brenda. On a brighter note. didn’t we have a fantastic July and August, reminiscent of 1976, but hotter, hitting record levels of 40oC, 38oC in Great Wyrley.

The gardens for a time looked beautiful but they certainly needed watering. From all of us at Great Wyrley Local History Society, members and committee, in sorrow we announce the passing of Our Queen, Elizabeth ll on the 8th September 2022. She was liked and well respected across the world and be sadly missed. We now await King Charles the third.

The suns out, the flowers are blooming and a natural feel to the summer, this time last year we were slowly dragging our way out of the infection. I keep on telling myself to put the last two years to the back of my mind, but something always keeps nagging at me, we’ve had our fourth jab, or nearly all of us, those face flannels that we’ve had to wear are hopefully consigned to the dustbin, at least we’re getting back to normal, so let’s all enjoy the coming 70th Jubilee of our Queen.

There was a ‘Party in the Park’ in the village together with a huge screen relaying what was going on in Hyde Park, London, on Saturday 4th June on the Great Wyrley Academy school field, or better known at the rear of Old Wyrley Hall, followed with other celebrations that took place throughout the village, the Society was asked to put on a display at the Community Centre with photos and memorabilia from this present reign and others before it, we displayed a number of boards for the four days over the Jubilee weekend. Then came Carnival weekend, so June was shaping up to a good month to look forward to, all we wanted was decent weather.

We had a very interesting talk from Elaine Joyce about the life of Colonel William Careless, a loyal and courageous friend to King Charles Il. He was with the King during his escape after the battle of Worcester, when he hid in the oak tree at Boscobel.

I received this charming note from Elaine the next day

Hi Diane,
It was really good to meet your history group. I was very impressed by their responsiveness and their friendliness. I’m sorry the slides were not shown because of the technical problems but people seemed interested anyway. I think Charles 11 was impressed by the warm welcome that Staffordshire people gave him and I felt something of the same! Please pass on my thanks to them all and I wish you well with all future activities.

Best wishes,
Elaine Joyce

Ray Franks, good friend of the Society, has donated a great many photographs and documents, I am slowly going through them, some we already have on file, so far I have about 30 new ones. Thank you very much Ray.

Future Speakers
March 17th Steve Booth – Dukes and Duchesses of Sutherland
April 21st Sue Bray – Medicine in the 18th Century
May 19th Phil Griffiths – History of Coins
June 16th Kate Oakley – Planting for hope Uganda
July 21st Mary Bodfish – The Duchess of Windsor