Unfortunately, the December speaker had to cancel due to Covid – but North Notts Association of National Trust Members was lucky enough to find a replacement speaker at very short notice. Adrian Gray, a well-known historian, particularly noted for his talks on the Pilgrim Fathers, provided a rather different talk entitled ‘East Coast Mainline Disasters’.
His talk covered the history of the railway between Kings Cross and Edinburgh, with particular regard to the safety of the staff and passengers during the period from the 1850s to the early 2000s.
Adrian spoke about the number and type of accidents which occurred over the years, often described in the newspapers at the time in extremely gory detail. Surprisingly, seeing photos and artists impressions of some of those accidents, the death rate was far less than you might expect! Many were due to human error (including drunken drivers), the type of carriages, signals and rails of the time. Health and safety regulations gradually improved and the whole railway system became so much safer, giving passengers better comfort and safety.
January’s talk was ‘Beavers at the Idle Valley’, by Janice Bradley MBA, and this month’s talk is on Wednesday 15th February and is entitled ‘A History of Derwent Dams’.
Talks take place at the Crossing on Newcastle Avenue, Worksop; doors open at 7.00pm, with talks starting at 7.30pm.
Membership is £30.00 single or £55.00 joint, and covers seven talks from October to April. The summer outings are all paid for separately as and when they take place. National Trust members are welcome as visitors and pay £6.00 per talk.
Forthcoming talks
- 15th February: A History of the Derwent Dams – Andrew Beard
- 15th March: A Brief History of Pantomime – Dr Ann Featherstone
- 19th April: The Mary Rose; One Moment in Time – Kathy Powis
For more information, email NthNottsNTAssoc@gmail.com, visit www.NthNottsNTAssoc.org or follow the group on Twitter @NthNottsNTAssoc.