Coming up…
5th December, 7pm
Society Christmas Social – Members and their guests only
Please email the Society Secretary (secretary@bdlhs.org) or call 01842 816100 for details.
PAST EVENTS…
7th February, 7pm, Bridge Hotel, Brandon
AGM – election of new officers – followed by a short talk from Leigh Driver about National Events Reflected in Local Documents
7th March, 7pm, Bridge Hotel, Brandon
Guest Speaker: Eddie Mallett – Metal Detecting in the Brandon Area
4th April, 7pm, Bridge Hotel, Brandon
Guest Speaker: Leigh Driver – Q&A: Researching and Writing Local History for Publication
Local historian and heritage travel writer Leigh Driver answers questions about the research behind and writing of her books The English Village , The Lost Villages of England and work in progress Barnardo and Bob which took her and her partner Paul on a bumpy trip across Great War battlefield-site mud in Belgium in a Mazda 6, as well as a 4000+km dash across Canada and the northern US.
2nd May, 7pm, Bridge Hotel, Brandon
Guest Speaker: Keith Eldred – Semi-detached to Scheduled Monument
Situated on the edge of Thetford Heath, this Scheduled Monument to the Cold War is adjacent to a nature reserve which is a breeding ground for the Stone Curlew.
Keith and Margot Eldred purchased the site in March 1966 from the Ministry of Defence having seen an article in the Thetford & Watton Times.
Keith will talk about the history that led to the purchase of the Estate, the Cold War and why the estate was built to store and maintain atomic weapons, including Blue Danube, the first operational British nuclear weapon.
http://www.gorseindustrialestate.co.uk/military-history.html
6th June, 7pm. Venue – The Engine House, Brandon Country Park, Bury Road (B1106), Brandon,Suffolk IP27 OSU
Guest Speaker: Mike Willett – Flint in the Brecks
An illustrated talk by Mike Willett on the ‘Flint In The Brecks’ Project
undertaken by the Breckland Society in 2014
Flint mining, flint knapping, gun flint manufacturing, flint mine sites & the amazing LIDAR images.
4th July, 7pm, Bridge Hotel, Brandon
Guest Speaker: Paul Bingley Ridgewell, Chairman of the Ridgewell Air Field Commemorative Museum
A talk about the history of RAF Ridgewell and the USAF in Britain.
1st August, 7pm, Bridge Hotel, Brandon
Study evening: Local maps through the ages – what can they tell us?
Plus…
Planning for the B&DLHS’s future, potential project partnerships, participation in community events and training needs.
5th September, 7pm, The Engine House, Brandon Country Park, Bury Road (B1106), Brandon,Suffolk IP27 OSU
Guest Speaker: Jo Caruth – Evidence of life in death: 20 years of research into the Anglo-Saxon community living at RAF Lakenheath between 450 and 750AD
Jo will be talking about what we can tell about Anglo-Saxon life on the Suffolk fen-edge from the 400+ burials found between 1997 and 2008 at RAF Lakenheath.
20th September, Musical Mayhem
BDLHS will have a stall at this event on Market Hill, Brandon
2.30pm to 8.30pm
From the people who brought you Ferry Tales and last year’s Fire and Flint festival join us in Brandon on Saturday 22nd September for Musical Mayhem, a music festival with a difference.
Brandon Musical Mayhem brings together a musical talent from across the region for a day of unexpected happenings. Market Hill will be taken over with interactive musical activities and themed stalls for all the family to enjoy. There will be surprise performances from a variety of musical acts including school and community choirs and orchestras. After the sun goes down the Town hall will once again become the canvas for a visual extravaganza including a finale musical performance commissioned especially for Brandon that you won’t want to miss.
There will be body paint, lip sync battles, and a lot of musical surprises. Come along to enjoy the atmosphere, bring a picnic or enjoy local food stalls, and get involved in the musical madness, there will be something for everyone!
3rd October, 7pm, Bridge Hotel, Brandon
Study evening: Plotting communities – UK Census Data and OS Maps
This is a change to the previously advertised programme. Guest Speaker, Bob Charles, will now give his talk In Search of Secret Norfolk as part of our 2019 programme.
7th November, 7pm, The Brandon Centre, Bury Road, Brandon
Guest Speaker: David Empson – The Brave Men of Ipswich (WW1)
A talk based on medals and medal research by local historian & collector David Empson. Please bring any family medals along.
