The inaugural meeting of the Military History group was held on 11 January when seven enthusiasts became its founder members and heard a talk from a Falklands War veteran about an SAS raid in that conflict.
Group leader Barrie Friend writes: “Our aim is to broaden our personal knowledge and understanding of warfare and its impact on people. We also want to have some fun whilst learning, researching and sharing our knowledge.
“We will cover warfare in both the UK and abroad from pre-1066 to today. As a group we will decide what themes we will study – eg, English Civil War, Napoleonic War, Great War – and for how many meetings.
“Our learning approach is for one or more members with an interest and some knowledge in the subject to present this to the group and for a discussion to follow this. Group members will have read around the subject in their preparation for the meeting. We will support our understanding with a visit to a relevant battlefield, museum or site of interest.
“At our inaugural meeting Matt Martin, who had fought in the Falklands War as a Para, give a stimulating illustrated talk on the SAS raid on Pebble Island. This was such an exciting talk that we all agreed that at our next meeting on Tuesday 2 February at 10.30am in the Lincoln Arms we will continue the story of the Falklands War (1982).
“You probably still have mental images of the departure of our troops from Portsmouth by aircraft carrier, ‘I counted them out and I counted them in’, the sinking of the Belgrano with the controversy of The Sun’s ‘GOTCHA’ headline and Margaret Thatcher’s denial that the Belgrano was outside territorial water.
“This is military history. Come and join us, hear more of the Falklands War and contribute your thoughts.”
Contact details are on the group’s web page.