All meetings begin at 7.30pm and are at France Lynch Church Rooms unless otherwise stated

 

21 May 2025 – Fore & Aft – The Purton Ships Graveyard, Paul Barnett

 

Purton on the River Severn is the unlikely resting place of one of Britain’s largest “graveyards” of nautical wrecks.

Paul, the third son of a merchant seaman, was brought up to love and respect the sea and served in both the Merchant and Royal Navies, finishing his career in 1999 as a hydrographic surveyor.

He then embarked on a course of private research into the forgotten shipwrecks of the River Severn that he had first come across in the 1970s as a boy. In this talk he will be detailing the story of the formation, development and eventual destruction of the largest ship graveyard in mainland Britain.  He is recognised as a leading authority on the subject having recently published a book, Lost Ships of the Severn Seas.

18 June 2025 – “Stand & Deliver” – Gloucestershire Highwaymen, John Putley

John will be tracing the origins and history of famous (and infamous) Gloucestershire highwaymen (and possibly women!), explaining how and why they plied their trade and debunking some of the myths that have grown up around them.

 

 

 

 

16 July 2025 – Guided walk of Old Bussage

 

Meet at 7pm outside Frith Youth Centre