Radcliffe Probus Club

Before our guest speaker was introduced, it was announced that our club would be making a donation to the tsunami flood disaster. Our guest speaker also donated his fee, and our vice-president and members thanked him for this very kind gesture.

Our vice-president then introduced Jack Shaw, whose subject was The Somme.

Jack stated that the Battle of the Somme commenced on July 1 1916. This was not the largest battle of the 1914-18 war, but it was certainly the bloodiest. Twenty-thousand men were killed on the first day and 40,000 more were wounded. Jack has visited the battlefields on the Somme on numerous occasions and he presented a slide show showing some of the military cemeteries and gravestones.

We also saw movements to various requirements with inscriptions such as the Salford Pals, the Manchester Pals and the Accrington Pals. The monument erected to the Accrington Pals was actually built with Accrington bricks. The Welsh memorial was depicted with a red dragon.

We saw a photo of two gravestones side by side, one read "Sergeant Lee" and the other, "Corporal Lee", the relationship was father and son.

There were nine gravestones specially marked with the inscription "For Valour", for men who had been awarded the highest military award, the Victoria Cross.

The most impressive war memorial is Thiepval - here 73,000 British and South African men, who have no known grave, and who fell on the Somme between July 1916 and March 20, 1918, are commemorated.

Jacks knowledge of the Somme was first-class, and his slides excellent. It may be of interest to some of our new members that Jack was president of the Radcliffe Probus Club in 1989-90.

Our vice-president thanked Jack for a most interesting talk and hoped he would return at a future date.

Our next meeting will be next Wednesday, January 19, when our guest will be Bernard Slattery. His subject will be Lantern Magic. All new members welcome.

TN