Programme

Budleigh Salterton Probus Club

Here is the programme for 2025/6.

For a look at the events that took place over 2023/4 click here, for 2022/3 click here and for 2024/5 click here.

Date	Title	Speaker
04-Sep-25	A Photographic Journey along the SW Coastal Path	Gary Holpin
18-Sep-25	The Battle of the Standard. 1138	Prof Dyno Keatinge
02-Oct-25	The History of Veitch Nurseries of Exeter and their plant hunters	Caradoc Doy
16-Oct-25	The Museum of Policing in Devon and Cornwall	Greg White
06-Nov-25	The Commonwealth War Graves Commission – an introduction, history and background to the CWGC	Austin Woodin
20-Nov-25	Winter lunch postponed
04-Dec-25	Big Cats in Britain	Alex Bowler
18-Dec-25	Devon Historical and Hysterical	Maggie Duffy
08-Jan-26	Icelandic Volcanoes- Dramatic but Dangerous	John Davidson
22-Jan-26	Make Mine a Morgan	Alex Sully
05-Feb-26	Climate and Ecological Crisis? What’s it all about?	David Ramsden MBE
19-Feb-26	Churchill’s Secret Army	Andrew Chatterton
05-Mar-26	Lido Days are Limited	Earl Connolly
19-Mar-26	Soldiers, Sailors and Air Force Association	TBA
02-Apr-26	Bungle in the Jungle	Peter Hearn
16-Apr-26	Silver Greyhound – Diplomatic Courier	Brian Porch
07-May-26	Albert, Wallace the Lion and Noah	Dr Francis Burroughs
21-May-26	Chairman’s lunch
04-Jun-26	A Life in Journalism	Timothy Lethaby
18-Jun-26	Hearing and the Brain	Curtis Alcock (Audify UK)

If you would like to come along to a meeting, do get in touch. No sign-up or commitment required, just come.

The 4th December 2025 talk was ‘Big Cats in Britain’ by Alex Bowler

Alex Bowler talked about the presence of big cats – leopards and pumas – in the UK and how he first became interested in this subject when he first sighted a big cat one windy night in Somerset. Since that first sighting he has heard many similar reports from people and has managed to not only capture animals on camera but also formally identify species from DNA analysis of scatt.

He explained that large cats were first introduced into the country during Roman times and more recently animals have been released by the public unable/unwilling to comply with stricter laws on the keeping of such animals. Many sightings go unreported to avoid scaring the public, but he stressed caution in frequenting wooded areas after dark even though there is a plentiful food supply in the form of deer and other wildlife making human attacks somewhat unlikely.

For further information see mybigcatsightings.co.uk.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission – an introduction, history and background to the CWGC

Austin Woodin, who himself is a retired Royal Marine living in east Devon, spoke about the work of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. In addition to the large memorial and cemetery such as Tyne Cot at Passchendaele in Belgium, the commission looks after many scattered graves in churchyards throughout the country. He showed a map of east Devon where graves are located and what is done to maintain the graves including the cleaning of the Portland stone that is done using only water and scrubbing brushes to preserve the stone. The commission has established a searchable database listing all of the graves and details of those who are interred (see https://www.cwgc.org).

16th October 2025 – The Museum of Policing in Devon and Cornwall

Greg White spoke about the history of the police force in Devon and Cornwall and the role that The Museum of Policing in Devon and Cornwall plays. The collection comprises archives, photographs, artworks, uniforms and equipment, as well as an extensive library relating to criminology and law enforcement. The “2D” archive of papers, photographs, documents, charts, map, etc. is housed at the Devon Records Office, just off junction 30 of the M5 at Exeter. The “3D” objects collection comprises thousands of individual items – uniforms, weapons, communications devices, vehicles, civil defence equipment, etc. The collection is housed at Okehampton Police Station. A hand-picked selection of Museum items is available to the public via the mini-Museum, which is open in the World Heritage town of Tavistock in central Devon. The mini-Museum opens on a Friday from Easter to the end of October. Full details can be found on the website www.dcpolicingmuseum.co.uk

2nd October 2025 – ‘The History of the Veitch Nurseries of Exeter and their Plant Hunters.

The talk embraced the details of the Veitch dynasty and their amazing influence on botany in Britain. The stories of the Veitch family and their appointed botanists, the Lobb brothers, their explorations in many lands and the plants they brought back held members spellbound. Details of the designs at Killerton and other local stately homes both local and country wide provided a fascinating insight into the magical world of plants, shrubs and trees.

4th September 2025 A Photographic Journey along the SW Coastal Path by Gary Holpin

At the meeting on 4th September we were treated to an extraordinary collection of landscape photos taken by one of the leading professional photographers in the south west – Gary Holpin.

A selection of the photos can be viewed here.

18th September 2025. The Battle of the Standard. 1138” presented by Professor Dyno Keatinge.

Prof. Keatinge gave an illustrated and lively talk on The Battle of the Standard, sometimes called the Battle of Northallerton, that took place on 22 August 1138 on Cowton Moor near Northallerton in Yorkshire. English forces under William of Aumale repelled a Scottish army led by King David I of Scotland. The site is marked by a monument placed near the A1.