THE 2023/22 MEETING REVIEWS
2024 MEETINGS
April: The Fatal Shore
Speaker: Phil Badcott
Subject Summary: The transportation of Devon convicts to AustraliaPhil is well known to AbbPast and delivered another of his excellently researched talks into a little known aspect South Devon history. This is one of those rather problematic stories of the 19th century and as always Phil gave us another evening.
March: Up the Khyber
Speaker: Graham Tombs
Subject Summary: The story of Pakistan and a trip along the Khyber Pass RailwayGraham worked on major dam building projects in Pakistan in the 1970s and returned in the 1990s. He gave us an amazing photographic view of teh country at those times and how the history of the region impacted ob the lives of the ordinary people that he came into contact with.
2023 MEETINGSJune: A History Tour of Torquay
Speaker: Phil Badcott
Subject Summary: Torquay history using 19th century magic lantern slidesUsing the 19th century magic lantern slides found at, and digitised by Torquay Museum, Phil took us on a tour of Torquay using the 'then & now' technique to bring Torquay back then to life.July: Viking Age Gold and Silver
Speaker: Derek Gore
Subject Summary: Viking hoards in DevonThe study of Viking hoards that have been found in Devon have opened up a whole new view of the Vikings as settlers in the South West. The reason for the hoards is a contentious issue with some appearing to be offerings in wet places and others being hidden and then never recovered .
September: The Roman Army
Speaker: John Smith
Subject Summary: What a real Roman soldier would have looked like and behavedJohn gave us a brilliant talk what a Roman soldier would have looked like by dressing as a soldier in authentic and fantastically well researched costum, debunking many of the myths created in Holywood films.
October: The Saxon Mint in DevonSpeaker: John Allan
Subject Summary: The story of money in Anglo Saxon DevonA fascinating talk on how the economy of 7th to 11th century Devon moved to an economy based on money rather than barter, using examples of coins found all over Europe.November: Wild Days & Medieval KnightsSpeaker: Andrew Cooper
Subject Summary: The creation of the Haccombe Valley over millions of yearsBeginning the days millions of years before the dinosaurs roamed the Devoin landscape Andrew described the geoolgy, history, wildlfe and fauna of the Haccombe Valley and how he is having an impact on it today.
May: Hogarth's Pictures of Industry & Idleness
Speaker: Nick Nicholson
Subject Summary: Hogarth's portraits of 18th century lifeAbbpast member Nicholson gave us a fascinating look at the lesser known Hogarth engravings that looked at the moral issues of what idleness and indusrty brought to two men in 18th century London.FOR ALL OTHER MEETING REVIEWS GO TO THE MEETINGS ARCHIVE PAGE