You are welcome to attend our meetings as a guest, before applying for membership if you wish.

Meetings are held on the third Tuesday of each month, starting at 8.00 p.m., at the Broughton and North Newington Sports and Social Club, near Banbury. The meetings vary in topic each month and usually take the form of a film or speaker on various aspects of preservation or associated topics, and the chance to get together for a drink and a chat. We also hold an annual photographic competition, social events and outings which can involve the whole family.

Read about our recent meetings

Directions to our rally site and the Broughton and North Newington Sports and Social Club
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Forthcoming meetings and other events

15th August 2006
Paper night - bring along any adverts, handbooks etc appertaining to your hobby.

Our recent meetings and affiliated events:

July 2006
Visit to Bloxham Museum and Church

June 2006
Rally preparation on the rally site at Bloxham.

May 2006
Sheila Hallam on the subject of the Amish community. A fascinating talk on the history and customs of the Amish community, based on Sheila and husband Mike's experience visiting Lancaster community.

9th April 2006- The Road Run (affiliated event)
19 tractors followed a route along very minor roads, planned by Brian Wells. Back at the clubhouse, there was a display of stationary engines, tools, cars, and a traction engine, plus a raffle and 3 course lunch. The event raised £280 for the Katharine House Hospice.

April 2006
Alternative Hobbies Night, when members demonstrate what else they get up to. Our vintage enthusiasts also enjoy drawing, embroidery, geneology, collecting and meccano, amongst other things.

March 2006
George McDonald and Colin Holwell on the subject of Minneapolis Moline products. George talked about his life in farming, teaching agriculture, and as Esso's agricultural representative, and the history of MM and its products.

February 2006
This was the much awaited talk on the Aviation History of the Cotswolds by Graham Pitchfork, who had served in the Royal Air Force for over 30 years. Graham's talk covered many local bases, including nearby Shenington, Edge Hill and Byfield. We learned that the first jet aircraft was tested from Shenington, (which vindicates my grandmother who said she saw a plane without props as she farmed nearby, but no-one believed her), and that Byfield is the only ‘Battle Of Britain Airfield’ because in its first few weeks of operation during the Battle of Britain, a squadron of Spitfires stationed there shot down a stray enemy bomber.

January 2006
January saw the return of Bill Davies who this time told us about the Battle of Trafalgar which took place on the 18th October 1805, with a stirring account of the battle and the death of Nelson. Bill then introduced us to Captain Hardy (alias Tony Webster) and proceeded to give us a PC version of the famous England Expects message that was flown before the battle, it was very amusing. Bill followed with a history of HMS Victory, which was used for a time as a prison ship, and in 1920 was put up for disposal by the Admiralty. Mr Wyllie, a painter, was very concerned about this and painted a very large painting of the battle, which is now on display in Portsmouth, from which, he raised £5000 which saved the ship and it was later taken over again by the Admiralty as a national monument which has secured it for the future.

2 January 2006
Brian Wells hosted the annual Organ Gathering at the Broughton and North Newington Social Club. Proceeds to the Katharine House Hospice.

December 2005
This was our annual photographic competition and as usual organised by Ted Sutton. There were a good turn out of photos in all three categories which gave our judges, Mike and Barbara Morgan, some problems in deciding which were the winners, who are; Digital 1st & 2nd Alan Tanner, 3rd Roy Herring. Preservation; 1st Graham Baseley, 2nd Robbie Robinson, 3rd Pete Groves. General; 1st Andrew Boulter 2nd Christine Wells, 3rd Robins Woodcock. The best overall photo was won by Graham Baseley. Many thanks to Ted, Mike NAS Barbara and to all those who entered photos.

November 2005
Our annual AGM

September 2005
Alan Ford, the well known Wall of Death Rider came along and gave us a informative look at the most dangerous of fairground attraction. He explained how he became a rider using a BSA Bantam motorcycle in the early 1970s while working for Messhams Wall of Death and later with Altens and Woan The walls are usually about 32 foot diameter and are 20 foot high, various type of riding were done, riding no handed or dip and diving (going up and down the wall) and also go-carts and side cars were used. The most favoured bike was the 1920s Indian as it is most suited. Alan has his own wall and used to take it around the fairs but it is now sat in a field in Wales awaiting its fate. There would sometimes be several walls at a fair or show so they had to think of something special to get the public into their wall and one owner, Tornado Smith, had a lion which would ride in a little car with him. The lion would complain like mad if the show went ahead without him. Alan then showed us some photos which showed how the wall was erected and explained that it had to be level otherwise it would not go up right and that it weighed about 20 tons, in one shot it showed that the wall was resting on large beer barrels on one side to level it up, not something that would be allowed today. We also saw a Globe of Death which was about 15ft across and he used a James motorbike with a Villiers engine and also a BSA Bantam in the globe. After the break Alan showed us slide of vintage fairground attractions which included Walsers or sliders, Helter Skelta, Gallopers, Dive Bombers, Coconut Shy’s, Ghost Trains, Speedway, Lady in the bottle and many many more. As well as the attractions we saw the machinery that the showmen were using, most of the vehicles would now be welcome to any rally in their own right, the paint works was fantastic and the whole evening was great. Alan is currently writing a book about his experiences and the Wall of Death and I am sure that it will be a good read once it is published.

August 2005
Chris Bazeley gave a very interesting illustrated talk on the Great Central Railway. He told us about the line and how it was first built from Manchester, Lincoln and Sheffield and was know as the MS+L until it was extended to London and became the Great Central Line mainly used for coal movements. Eventually the line went south to Dover and there were ideas to build a channel tunnel. In 1959 the rival company GCR took over the line. We started off at Marlborough Station, now home to the Chiltern Line, with various photos of the station and engines coming and going including one of the Football Engines taken in 1948 and named the ‘Sheffield Wednesday’. At Neesden we saw a photo taken in 1937 of the engine ‘Valour’ which was a memorial to all the GLR employees killed during WW1, this engine was later scrapped, which was a great shame considering what it represented. On to Northalt Junction where the Great Western joined and on to West Wycombe with great photos of all these landmarks as well as engines. There was two interesting photos of Brackley Viaduct, the first taken during construction with its own line from the brickworks and the second during the demolition of the viaduct. It was planned to demolish it by blowing it up, unfortunately it was built a lot stronger than they had realised and this failed to reduce it to a pile of rubble and eventually they had to be demolished brick by brick. Another great photo was of the official opening ceremony at Brackley Station on 9the March 1899, another was of Woodford Halse which was a major industrial area which included a wagon repair works. Unfortunately time beat us again and Chris was unable to complete the journey for us, maybe next time.

July 2005
Our outdoor meeting, this year at the Oxford Bus Museum in Long Hanborough, and what an eye-opener it was (writes Robbie Robinson). The museum is in two parts, the first being the Bus display, and the second part of the museum is dedicated to Morris, the well known Oxford car maker. About 40 members attended. We started with the Morris exhibition and what a display it is with hundreds of photos, drawing and plans of the factory to look at. I was most interested to look at the photos as I worked in the Morris factory from 1965 to 1974 and as an office boy I got to most parts of the factory and could recognize a lot of the places in the photos. Also included are Morris vehicles including a sectioned Morris Ital Estate. After that we visited the Bus display and again the items on display are extremely good, with a nice selection of buses used within the county from an early charabang undergoing restoration up to the recent Thames Mini Buses. All too soon our time was up but I will be going back to have another look when I will be able to spend a lot longer at the museum.

June 2005
Rally site preparation

May 2005
The much awaited visit by Len Crane who gave an interesting talk on the Bratch Pumping Station near Wombourne. Built at the turn of the century, it has two triple expansion engines named Victoria and Albert, each capable of pumping one and a half million gallons of water a day. Last run in 1957 and 1960, Len has returned one of the engines to working order. Len also talked on the subject of his second steam engine "Endurance"

April 2005
Graham Clifton and youngsters from Steeple Aston church, on the subject of bell hanging - with hand bell ringing on some 100 year old bells.

April 2005
Annual road run, which is organised by some of our members, with proceeds going to the Katharine House Hospice. The run left the club house at about 11am, returning in the afternoon for lunch. There was a short run for the two steamers followed by a commercial as "support", and about 23 miles for the 25 tractors. Ted Sutton, immaculately turned out on his 1982 Honda CX500 motorcycle, acted as despatch rider. There was also 12 stationary engines, a tool collection and a 4" steamer back at the club house.

March 2005
The anticipated talk by Graham Pitchfork on the aviation history of the Cotwolds sadly did not take place due to a mix up over dates, but Chris Wells stepped in at the last minute with a collection of slides - some taken by herself, some collected or donated by others, and some that even she had no idea what they were and took suggestions from the floor! Many members were able to fill in the missing Who, What and Where, and we have not often has so much audience participation!

February 2005
Colin Holwell came along to give us part two of the David Brown story

January 2005
Tony Robinson gave a talk on some of his large collection of hand tools. The tables groaned under the weight of the multitude of glass cutters, saw sets, screwdrivers and turnscrews, hammers, plumb bobs, spirit levels and saws, as Tony explained their uses and history.

January 2005
Club member Brian Wells organised his annual Gavioli gathering at the club house. A large number of people turned up to enjoy the Wells family's 1895 89 key, Dan Shorey's 1896 87 key, Kevin Gamlin's 89 key and Geoff Shackle's 87 key taking it in turns to play. The event raised £175 which will be donated to the Katharine House Hospice.

December 2004
Annual photographic competition. This years' winners were:
Preservation: 1st Pete Groves, 2nd & 3rd Robin Woodcock
General: 1st Pauline Osbourne, 2nd Elaine Parkhill, 3rd Jean Baseley
Digital: 1st Mrs Dix, 2nd & 3rd Alan Tanner
The prize for the best overall photo was awarded to Pauline Osbourne. Tony Robinson also organised a "Guess the Tool" competition, which was won by Brian Wells. Many thanks to our judges Mike & Barbara Morgan, to Ted and Tony for organising the competitions, and Jenny Chris and Brian for the mince pies and refreshements.

November 2004
Annual AGM

October 2004
A talk by Peter Love on various vintage vehicles including commercials.

September 2004
An illustrated talk on David Brown tractors, by Colin Holwell. Starting from the very first David Brown and progressing in chronological order, Colin knew all the details of every model in his collection of slides. Indeed we only got half way through so will be inviting him back to hear the rest!

August 2004
Our video night had to be cancelled as some rather noisy people from the BBC were using the club room for filming, and we were relegated to a tent on the pitch! Tony Robinson stepped in at the last minute, and gave a talk on woodworking equipment - a very interesting talk in difficult circumstances.

July 2004
Our traditional outside visit - this year to Hook Norton Brewery. We were told the fascinating history of the brewery, which began in 1849 when most people drank beer as it was safer than water. The 25hp Buxton and Thornley steam engine and Class B Nadler and Nadler barley cracker were particularly impressive. Both were installed in 1899, and are still doing the same jobs today. It was a very interesting visit, and the sampling of the beer at the end of the tour was very good too. Many thanks to Gerrard for organizing the event.

June 2004 - one week later than usual
Meeting at the rally site to help set up for the show.

May 2004
John Wooley on the subject of the Great Train Robbery.

March 2004
Bill Davies with a talk on his 40 years in the Navy. Anecdotes included 18 months spent as a soldier in Ghana after their independence.

February 2003
Alternative hobbies night. After the success of the last alternative hobbies night, a second chance to display your alternative collections or activities. Members exhibited various collections, model train layouts, and a family history display.

January 2004
Video night. The first video was a 1950's video showing first the transport of a large transformer, and then a railway locomotive being delivered to the Science Museum in London. After the break, we saw a history of the road trains of Australia. These transport necessities to sparsely populated areas, and weigh in at 110 tonnes. An even larger road train is dedicated to the transport of zinc ore from the Gulf Mine to their processing plant 50 miles away - this weighs in at 200 tonnes.

December 2003
Ted Sutton's annual photographic competition. This year there were 3 categories, preservation, general and digital. Prizes went to: General - 1st Robbie Robinson, 2nd James Blenkinsop, 3rd Rod Flint, 4th Alan Tanner, 5th Ben Baseley. Preservation - 1st James Blenkinsop, 2nd Fred Harris, 3rd Pete Groves, 4th Carol Baseley, 5th Fred Harris. The digital prize was won by Robbie Robinson.

November 2003
The club's annual AGM. Follow the link for details of the 2003 prizewinners and election of officers.

October 2003
Fred Harris with an illustrated talk on his life with Supreme, her restoration and her recent homecoming to Witney. Fred got to know Jack Wharton when he worked at the High Street Forge in Witney. It took 12 years to restore Supreme to the original specification as detailed in the original letter from Mrs Deakin ordering the engine. On completion the engine was photographed in the Fowler yard recreating the one taken when new, even down to a bicycle leaning against the wall in the background. Supreme is now owned by Jack's son John Wharton and was brought from Dingles Museum, where it has been on display for a couple of years, to Cooks yard by low loader, where they had a small do and was then towed the 7 miles to The Great Dorset Steam Fair by King George. She was on static display at the show after a great deal of polishing and fettering by Fred and his crew. Since then Supreme has been in steam and driven around the yard and is waiting for the boiler inspector to pass judgment

September 2003
A bring and buy sale with barbeque, with Dave, Les and JP cooking up a great selection of sausages, burgers and lamb koftas (known to the members as "that lamb thing on a stick"). A bottle of chilli sauce masqueraded as ketchup in the dark, catching most people out over the course of the evening! The Wells' fairground organ added to the atmosphere.

August 2003
Robert Herring showed two videos of the Great Dorset Steam Fair, one from the 1990's and the 2002 official video. They both showed a good variety of exhibits, including lots of footage of "Watford Gap" and the Herrings' "Chuggaboom" giving rides around the playpen.

July 2003
A visit to the BMW Mini factory at Cowley, which was organised by Gerrard Herring. About 18 people turned up and congregated in the reception area, with free drinks available. We then put on coats and earpieces, put blue tape over our rings, and turned down our sleeves to cover any watches etc. We had a briefing before getting on a bus, with broken air conditioning in the heat, to be taken to the body assembly shops. Inside were a large number of robots most of which were dual function, not only correctly positioning the pressings but also spot welding them together as well. It was fascinating to see. It was then back on the bus to the assembly shops where the cars were assembled. What a difference from when I used to work at Cowley in the late 60s and early 70s making the Austin Maxi. It is clean and airy with cold water available and small rest areas close to the work stations. It takes 28 hours from when the body pressings arrive at the plant until a finished car runs of the production line.
We were told that every car is made to order, so each car on the assembly lines was a different colour with a different specification, and as there are over 1 million variations no two cars need be the same. For example there are 23 different wheel combinations.
We were not allowed into the paint shops for health and safety reasons but from my experience it would have been even hotter than the other shops. Two guides showed us around and kept us informed using the earpieces we were wearing, but to my shame I forgot to take a note of their names but many thanks to them for a really informative visit.
Robbie Robinson.

June 2003
One week later than usual, setting up the rally field. A good number of members helped out in various tasks around the site. Robbie would like to give his personal thanks to James and Nigel who helped him mark out the third field.

May 2003
Chris Wicks came along to talk about his life working on the River Severn. He started out working on a Shell Oilmaker petrol tanker, carrying petrol from Swansea to Worcester. The great temptation was to steal a few gallons to sell on the black market - if caught you would get the sack, but you could get your job back the next week! After a spell with the Gloucester Fire Brigade, he returned to the river working on a grain barge, and later a mud hopper taking the silt from Gloucester Docks to Sharpness. A very unusual and interesting evening.

April 2003
The much awaited talk by John Wharton, showing the glass slides of the late Dick Jolly. The slides were from the early 1950's and showed engines at early rallies. John explained each one in detail and with great expertise even though he had not seen them before! A very interesting and well attended meeting, but unfortunately time ran out before we could see all the slides.

13 April 2003
The club's annual road run. A selection of tractors, lorries, vintage and classic cars covered the 30 mile course around local roads, stopping for lunch at the Broughton and North Newington Sports and Social Club. It was also the first outing for Helen Wells and James Need's recently restored 1972 Hillman Avenger.

March 2003
Annual members' dinner at the Cherwell Edge Golf Course.

March 2003
Jeff Farrow gave an interesting talk about the construction and operation of the Thames Water ring main around London, which serves 7.5 million customers with 2,500 million litres of water per day.

February 2003
Robbie Robinson talked us through history of lawnmowers, from the pre-mower era when the grass was cut with scythes, through the investion of the first mower (inspired by the rotary blades used to cut the nap off wool cloth), mowers pulled by ponies, and finally the development of motor mowers.

January 2003
Unfortunately John Wharton was unable to attend due to illness, so we held a video night instead, featuring videos of the 1972 Marsh Gibbon rally, Minneapolis Molines, and the building of the London Underground.

December 2002
Annual Photographic Competition, organised by Ted Sutton and judged by Mike and Barbara Morgan. Members were invited to enter 5 prints on a preservation theme. The winners were; 1st Jean Baseley; 2nd Tony Webster; 3rd Jean Baseley; 4th Dave Heritage; 5th Andrew Boulter. The prize for the best set of photographs was won by Chris Wells. Next year there will be a new category for digital photos.

November 2002
The Banbury Steam Society's AGM - the first monthly meeting to be held at the Broughton and North Newington Sports and Social Club.

October 2002
Bill Davies, a veteran of 40 years in the Navy, gave a talk on the Mary Rose. He described her conversion to a battleship, her sinking in Portsmouth Harbour, the raising the wreck 20 years ago, and details of the artifacts found on board.

September 2002
Club President Robert Herring gave us a slide show of his memories of Banbury. In fact it was a collection of slides which spanned many years, too many to be counted, and which were well received. Some of the photos included characters from the club who are sadly no longer with us, and also one or two holiday snaps crept in! But these were also welcome, especially the snap of a red squirrel looking straight at the camera. A most enjoyable collection of slides which everyone enjoyed. Many thanks must go to Robert for a nostalgic evening.

August 2002
This was the much awaited visit to Silverstone race track. We were shown around by the Operations Manager, Brian Pallett. First of all we went round the circuit in the coach at a much slower pace than the formula cars do, and Brian gave a running commentary. We were then split into two groups to visit the Race Control Suite. We saw the Timekeepers Office where the timing is controlled from, and then onto the Race Control. Here there are 26 TV screens, one for each camera around the circuit, and also a video recorder for each camera as well so that all is recorded in case it is needed later. There is no part of the track that is not covered by this system. We also visited the podium where all the race winners stand and spray champagne and on into the Champions Room where the TV interviews are done after the podium ceremony. We had a chance to look around the pits and garages while we waited for the other group to catch up, and we then went to the Medical Centre. This is for both the drivers and also for the general public, although they have different parts of the centre for each. The centre includes a fully fitted theatre and burns unit which happily have never been used. We also saw where they parked the Paraffin Budgie, their pet name for the helicopter. After the medical centre it was off to the cafe for tea and biscuits. It was a good evening, it certainly came up to my expectations and it gave us an insight as to what is needed to stage the Grand Prix. Many thanks to Gerrard for organising the visit.

July 2002
Barbeque at the Beauchamps club, cooked by Les Heritage and Dave Ratledge, with entertainment provided by the Wells family's Gavioli fairground organ. Great weather and a good evening.

June 2002
Preparation for the rally at the rally site - with a plea for more members to turn up next year - there's a lot to do......

May 2002

Presentation featuring the engines of Charles Burrell & Sons of Thetford, England, by Steve Dean. The slides were a collection of old photos that Steve bought at the Sir William McAlpine auction. While it was very interesting seeing these engines, it was also sad as most of them had been scrapped; even some that had been at the early rallies ended up that way. The presentation also included the Crofton Beam Engines at the Crofton Pumping House. One of these, a 1812 Boulton & Watt, is said to be the oldest working steam engine in the world. They were used to pump water to the summit of the Kennet & Avon Canal.
After the break we saw slides of the Helmshore Textile Museum by Blackburn. This was built in 1789 by the Turners to finish woollen cloth, and continued working until 1967. The 500hp steam engine that was used to drive the looms is still in place in the Queen Street Mill, as well as over 100 looms in one very large room, all run from overhead line shafting and belts. The mill worked for almost 90 years and was closed in March 1982. Steve concluded the evening with slides of his new barn, in which he has installed a 3 1/2-ton Lancaster boiler front, and which also houses his fairground animals and boards. Many thanks to Steve for a very informative evening's entertainment.

16 April 2002
Video night, featuring members' videos of past Banbury Rallies.

14 April 2002
Our first attempt at organising a road run was well supported, with many members and friends taking part. Two lorries participated; Helen Wells and James Need with ERFIE, and also a 1954 Jenson Lightweight 6ton Flatbed Lorry. Cars were represented by Hugh Billingham with his Ford Corsair 2000E 1969, a 3ltr Bentley 1927 Speed Model driven by Peter Wilson (which went to Malaysia in the 1930s, came back in the 1960s and is pretty much an original machine) and also an 1925 Austin Heavy Twelve Four. The impressive turnout of 21 tractors included Brian Wells driving his Fordson Major, suitably dressed in a smock and looking the part of the local yokel. Mr Adamson displayed the Banbury Steam Rally advertising signs on his trailer. Michael Davis was also there with his Case, David Adkins with his Alis Chalmers, Jean Baseley with her Fordson Dexter and Don on a Ferguson. Rob Freeman came along with his 6nhp Marshall 'Sparks' of 1886, which is the second oldest Marshall Traction Engine known to exist. He was towing a trailer with Ted Freeman and Richard Playdon sitting very comfortably on a garden seat that was lashed to it. Ted Sutton was unable to attend but loaned Robbie his 1957 Triumph Tiger Cub, on which he acted as a dispatch rider. It was a great day out and the weather was kind to us; we had a collection and raised £105 for the Catherine House Hospice. Many thanks to all who participated and contributed to the collection. We are hoping to do a repeat performance next year.

5 April 2002
Annual Dinner at the Beauchamps Club.

March 2002
Wally Walgrave on recovery vehicles.

January 2002
A video on the Ironstone Railways from the 1960's. These steam engines carried the ironstone from six counties to the smelting works, and were used at local sites Wroxton, Byfield and Charwelton. The evening finished with a short film of Banbury Rally in 1990. It was surprising to see how much the rally scene has changed since then: although sadly a lot of the changes are of the nature of "less hair" and "more weight".

December 2001
The Annual Photo Competition was organised by Ted Sutton, with Mick and Barbara Morgan judging. The winners were, in order, 1st Jean Baseley, 2nd Michael Davies, 3rd Robin Woodcock, 4th Alan Tanner, and 5th Pauline Osborne. The best set of 5 prints was won by Pauline Osbourne.
Other competitions were won by Hugh Billingham (guess the names and functions of tools) and Margaret and Joy Robinson (wordseach). Many thanks to Ted for organising the Photo Competition, Chris Wells for the wordsearch, Jenny Groves for the excellent mince pies, and the club members who lent the photos.

November 2001
The club Annual General Meeting. Follow the link for the full AGM report.

October 2001
A video of the 1998 Irish Cooley Vintage Rally was shown, and it was very interesting to see how they organised their rallies in Ireland. Over 25,000 people attended the event and saw a good collection of cars, motorcycles, a horse and carriage driving competition, a very good working area, pig roast, a large farm kitchen display, ploughing demonstration (including horses, donkeys and tractors), and for the first time in 100 years a pair of Fowler ploughing engines.

September 2001
The Harvest Festival Auction. Auctioneer Rod Flint presided over the produce, with proceeds going to the club.

August 2001
A very pleasant musical evening at the Beauchamps Club, with Brian Wells' 89 key Gavioli, a barbeque, raffle and Tony Webster's miniature steam wagon.

July 2001
A trip to the Milton Keynes Museum of Industry and Rural life. About 20 members braved the torrential rain to attend and we were given a tour of the museum, including the Telephone Exchange where we got to "play" with the phones. We also saw displays including the schoolroom, forge, washing room and wheelwright's workshop. The newest display was a street of shops including a chemist, cobbler, ironmonger, a pub and dentist. The shops were loaded with all kinds of items and we were able to enter the shops and have a good look round. There was even a small chapel (where the Lawnmower Club hold their AGMs) and the business end of a cinema with a very large projector. The main barn had a vast array of agricultural equipment, and the transport shed had a good display of bicycles, lawnmowers and a double decked tram. Hopefully we can return soon in better weather.

June 2001
Illustrated talk by Brian and Christine Wells on their recent 17 day trip aboard the Canadian Pacific Railway from Toronto to Vancouver. The trip was just over 3,000 miles east to west, on a train with three engines and 27 coaches, all in a 1950s style on modern rolling gear. Of particular note was the climb through the Rockies, which is so steep they built a spiral track inside the mountain to lessen the gradient. The trains are so long, when you exit the tunnel at the top you can see the end of the train going into the tunnel below! Other slides and anecdotes covered Niagara Falls, multiple statues of dressed-up mooses (moosei?), and a flight on a 1952 De Havalend Beaver Sea Plane. Never has looking at someone else's holiday photos, which were of a very high standard, been so enjoyable.

May 2001
"Flying Scotsman" night with two videos of this very famous steam locomotive. Built in 1927 to a Sir Nigel Gressley design, and running from London to Edinburgh until 1963, it was saved from the scrap man by Alan Peglar, who bought it for £3,000. He took the engine to the USA where the engine did over 2800 miles, including a non-stop run of 422 miles. Now owned by Dr Tony Marchington, it has been totally overhauled at a cost of £750,000 over a 3½-year period. Seventy club members went to the yard in November 1998 to see the work being carried out, and it was a rare opportunity!
The second video was about the trip Flying Scotsman made to Australia, and there were a lot of other interesting engines in the video as well. Many thanks to Robert Herring and Pete Groves for bringing the videos and once again to Rod Flint for the use of his equipment to show them.

April 2001
The Rally Reunion meeting, featuring a video of the 2000 rally. As befitted the 2000 rally, with it's focus on "exhibits in action", there was lots of footage of the working area. The video was generally considered to be of better quality than previous years, as less time was devoted to watching the engines or tractors go round the arena, and more time going from section to section giving a better overall picture of our rally. There were also a number of photos of the rally on display, and thanks goes to all those who brought them along.

March 2001
Dick Blenkinsop showed slides and photographs including Isle of Wight paddle steamers, the restoration of his Aveling and Barford Roller, early Stourpaine rallies, and various BSS members in their younger days. Dick also gave away the secret of his brilliant steam train photos; that is, to ask the drivers to produce a lot of smoke at just the right place, in exchange for a copy of the resulting photo!

9 March 2001: Annual Dinner
This year's dinner was held at the Beauchamps Club in Bloxham, and the service and food was excellent. The guest speaker was Jonathan Garman, who entertained us with stories of his first engine, a Marshall Roller that he paid £45 for, and his time with Arthur Napper at Radley College and early rallies.

February 2001
Trevor Daws illustrated his talk with photographs from the mid 1930's up to the present day, and Brian Wells managed not to incinerate them with the club's ancient epidiascope. A stream of interesting and unusual pictures covered Trevor's farming days, working for the London Brick Company, restoring a 1929 MG Midget, the Thornicroft Steam Brewery Wagon "Dorothy", the last two steam engines that operated Tower Bridge, the Isle of Man Railway, the Severn Valley Railway, and finally the restoration of Trevor's roller!

January 2001
Video night, with two videos being shown. The first was about the Supermarine Spitfire, which is regarded as the most famous fighter aircraft ever built. The video took us through the development and manufacture of the aircraft. We then saw the Spitfire in action during the Second World War and right up to the end of their operational service in 1952.
The second video comprised four films that Tom Gascoinge lent to the club for our archives. The first was of the1967 Andover Rally, followed by footage from Hartlebury and Rousham and the 1969 Bloxham Rally as well as the 1970 Stourpaine Rally. This was fascinating to watch; many members present were included in the films, and some who are sadly no longer with us. I managed to recognise Jack Wharton and also Michael Davis; that was my lot, but many names were mentioned by those who have been in the club a lot longer than I have. It was interesting to see the games that were played then, like 'tug of war' between an engine and as many able bodied men as could get on the rope (but naturally the engine always won). Of course any one of the vehicles being used then as every day transport would be welcome as an exhibit in their own right today! Many thanks must go to Tom Gascoinge for providing the films for us and also to Rod Flint who once again brought along the equipment to show the videos.

December 2000
The Annual Photo Competition.

November 2000
The club Annual General Meeting.

October 2000
Illustrated talk by Mike Hallum, on the subject "A seeing eye with a knowing look": seeing what's around you in the country, and understanding it.

September 2000
Annual produce auction, raising £120 for the club.

August 2000
An evening of videos, mainly on the subject of Austin cars in the 1930's.
"This Progress", released in 1933, was one of the first films to use synchronised sound and "state of the art" graphics. The film showed how all the models at Longbridge were manufactured and assembled.
Tony Webster showed a video of the 1996 Dort in Stoom Rally. A highlight was our very own Robert and Gerrard Herring discussing their rack saw and portable engine, with Dutch subtitles.
Third we saw "Men Who Work", again about the Longbridge factory.
Next, "Non Stop Utility" demonstrated how the Austin engine could be used to run diverse applications such as a fire pump and a miniature steam engine.
The final film, "When the Solder Sets", demonstrated the assembly of radiators, which included dipping them into baths of molten solder, and then manually shaking off the excess!

July 2000
Evening visit to Didcot Power station. A very knowledgable guide described how the power station operates, which was followed by a fascinating tour which took us to all areas of the power station, including the control room and the massive generators.

May 2000
Part two of an illustrated talk by Ian and Clare Critchley, on the subject of diving. Ian and Clare described the considerable planning that is required before every dive, and the dive they are planning on the Main, which was sunk in 37 metres of water in 1917. We also saw a video of the dive on the Thistlegorm, a supply ship, with much of its cargo still in place.

April 2000
Rally reunion meeting. This was attended by club members and exhibitors from the rally, and featured an entertaining, professionally produced video covering all aspects of the annual show. Rod Flint presented an original sales film made by Minneapolis Moline, about "the farmers' lot" in the USA.

January 2000
Michael Davies presented a video of of the repatriation of his Fowler Z7 ploughing engines from Mozambique in 1977. The engines had been left to disintegrate where they stood when they finished their last day's work. Negotiating to import these magnificent engines was only the start of the hard work.

December 1999
Our annual photographic competition.

1998
Robin Gardner gave a fascinating lecture on the events leading up to the sinking of the Titanic, and his disturbingly plausible conspiracy theory surrounding these events.