Meeting – ‘Another Man’s Shoes’ – Tuesday 2nd September 2014
There will be no meeting in August but there will be the usual walk on Sunday, 10th August (see home page calendar). Our next meeting on Tuesday 2nd September at 8pm, sees Ellie Targett presenting ‘Another Man’s Shoes’. She tells the extraordinary story of her father’s flight to freedom from the Nazis, after she and her sister retraced his steps and reclaimed the shoes he wore on the epic 200-mile trek.
Commences 8pm at St Saviour’s Church Hall, DY9 0NS. Visitors £2, including refreshments. Annual membership £10.
Newsletter – July 2014
Oliver Cromwell – you either love him or hate him but you can’t ignore him. Like Richard III, history has treated him badly and he is generally remembered as the Puritan killjoy of vulgar convention. However, historians are beginning to realise how much the Protectorate and Cromwell in particular did for British cultural life. But the legend of the philistine Puritan, hostile to art and culture, dies hard in popular imagination.
It is the rehabilitation of Oliver Cromwell which was at the heart of the presentation by our speaker, this month, Howard Robinson. We should, he said, see him as a man of the people with a great cause, an inspirational leader and amazing battle strategist. Under his leadership, Parliamentary supremacy over an arrogant and increasingly tyrannical monarch was established.
To illustrate his points, our speaker debunked some of the myths which have surrounded Oliver Cromwell. For example, he did not ban Christmas nor close theatres. This had already been done by the Puritans before Cromwell came to prominence. The desecration of cathedrals had already taken place during the Dissolution of the Monasteries under his namesake Thomas Cromwell. Members may now see him in a different light.
Hagley Parish Magazine DVD
A DVD containing searchable images of almost all the ‘Hagley Parish Magazines’ from 1862 to 2013 has been produced which, apart from general interest, will also be a valuable resource for anyone undertaking research into Hagley life in the future. It is priced at £10 or can be ordered online or from our Vice Chairman on 885964.
Our next meeting on Tuesday 7th October at 8pm, sees a return of The Master, Lord Leycester Hospital, Warwick, presenting ‘State Ceremonial’. Those who remember the Master’s previous visit in 2011 will need no reminding of this charming and eloquent speaker. Visitors are most welcome at all our events – see hhfs.org.uk for details and contacts.
Hagley: A Village at War 1914 – 1918
The Society has now launched a new book entitled ‘Hagley: A Village at War 1914 – 1918’, researched and written by local author and member, Pat Dunn. It is based on the ‘Hagley Parish Magazines’ of the period and describes how the people of Hagley dealt with the problems presented by the Great War on the Home Front. The people and places featured on the front cover of June’s issue of the Hagley Village News feature in the book along with many others.
The book is priced at £4 and can be purchased at Happy Families, the Hagley Parish Office at St. Saviour’s Church (Mon, Thu & Fri, 9am – 1pm) or ordered online. Click on the book cover below to view the first few pages.
