Phil Clayton looks at the history, development, decline and revitalisation of our local canals, including the Birmingham Canal Navigations, Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal and the Shropshire Union Canal.

Photo: Brewood Wharf on the Shropshire Union Canal

To coincide with Olympic year 2024, David Tordoff takes us on a timely journey into Olympian history, charting its course from its origins in Ancient Greece, via the unlikely surroundings of a Shropshire village, and on to Athens and Paris.

Photo: The opening ceremony of the 1896 Olympic Games, held in the Panathinaiko Stadium, Athens

Mike Haynes looks at the way that our ancestors from the seventeenth century onwards fought to get both men and women the right to vote. Yet despite this eventual victory, over the past 50 years, many of us have become increasingly alienated from politicians and suspicious of their motives, he notes. While drawing on national trends, Mike will also use examples from the fight for universal suffrage in South Staffordshire and past elections in this area.

Photo: Suffragette Emily Davison, who fought for the right of women to vote. She is pictured wearing her Holloway brooch and hunger strike medal, c. 1910–1912. In 1913 she famously died after being hit by King George V’s horse Anmer at the Epsom Derby.

The story of Charles II hiding in the oak tree is well known but who was the other man with him? Elaine Joyce introduces us to Colonel Careless: a local Staffordshire soldier whose family had lived near Brewood for generations. This is the story of an ordinary man who showed extraordinary courage, loyalty and resourcefulness.

We will hear about his life from the point of view of nine people who knew him, as well as other brave Staffordshire men and women who risked their lives to shelter the fugitive King.

Please note: This is a change to our previously published programme. Elaine has kindly stepped in at short notice to give this talk to our December meeting, having originally been booked for April, as Dorothy Nicholle is suffering from flu. We hope to rebook Dorothy at a later date, to come and talk to us about the engineer Thomas Telford, his impact and legacy.

Photo: A painting by Isaac Fuller, who died in 1672, depicting King Charles II and Colonel William Careless in the Royal Oak.

Body snatching and grave robbing were not confined to London and Edinburgh. The Black Country (and West Midlands) were also plagued by this crime, although this is a history frequently overlooked. Kevin Goodman examines the robbers’ activities in the Black Country; who their customers were and what methods were used to deter them.

Photo: The front cover of Kevin’s book on the same subject (available for purchase on Amazon).

Doug Newlyn explores the origins of wigs, gavels and other items which are such a feature in the British courts, and examines the history of the jury system in England.

Photo: A caricature of a KC in court dress, from Vanity Fair, March 5th, 1870

Ned Williams joins us again to talk about the railway to Wombourne. It was one of the last additions made to the Great Western Railway's network and only provided passenger trains for seven years. This talk describes the line and its history and looks at what survives - the route of the line having become a very popular South Staffordshire footpath.

Photo: Wombourne railway station at The Bratch. It opened in 1925 and closed in 1932. Courtesy of Wolverhampton Museums, Galleries & Archives.