20th March 2025

Now an established event in our calendar, the annual springtime debate this year was held today. On this occasion, the motion was ‘This house believes that the former railway line (occupied by the Monsal Trail) should be reinstated between Matlock and Manchester.’ Leading the discussions were club members Kim Rainsford who supported the proposition and Ainslie Kelly who opposed it, with Chairman Christopher Jewitt overseeing the proceedings. A preliminary vote among those present indicated a clear majority against the motion.

Opening the debate in favour of the motion, Kim Rainsford related the history of this main line railway linking the East Midlands direct with Manchester. It was opened throughout in 1863, downgraded under the Beeching proposals, and closed by Barbara Castle, Minister of Transport, in 1968. In the 1980s, a group of enthusiasts proposed re-opening the section between Buxton and Matlock, an idea which evolved into the preserved Peak Rail, a popular tourist attraction known to us all. Extending Peak Rail’s operation through Bakewell to Miller’s Dale and Buxton would greatly enhance the attractiveness of the preserved railway. With negotiation and planning, the route could also carry trains from the national network, thereby restoring its usefulness as a much-needed direct through route. Reinstating this railway would provide a more economical and environmentally friendly option for transporting limestone from the quarries around Peak Forest than both existing lorry haulage and the roundabout routes which have to be taken by rail at present.

Opposing the debate’s motion, Ainslie Kelly concentrated on the beneficial effects of the Monsal Trail which uses the section of the closed line between Coombs Road Viaduct (Bakewell) and Blackwell Mill (Wye Dale). This was taken over by the Peak District National Park Authority in 1981 as a recreational facility for use by walkers, cyclists and horse riders but its full potential was not realised until 2011 when the numerous tunnels were reopened, thus creating an 8½-mile uninterrupted route. Its popularity with tourists and local residents is enormous, and many of the district’s businesses rely heavily on it. Proposals to reinstate the railway have raised their heads on several occasions, most recently by MEMRAP (Manchester and East Midlands Rail Action Partnership), all of which have been greeted with strong opposition from the tourist businesses, many local residents and environmentalists (fearful of the noise, vibration and pollution that would accompany the reinstated trains). Ainslie reinforced his arguments by pointing out the failure so far by MEMRAP to identify an acceptable alternative walking, cycling and disabled-user route for those who would be displaced from a closed Monsal Trail. He also questioned the strategic need for this reopened rail link bearing in mind the recently upgraded Hope Valley line.

Following these two presentations, the debate was thrown open to the meeting and a lively discussion ensued. Finally, a closing vote on the motion of the debate resulted in an even larger majority against it than at the start of the meeting.

Kim Rainsford, Christopher Jewitt and Ainslie Kelly

6th March 2025

“We take them for granted, like our parish churches, the country houses seem always to have been there, since time immemorial, part of the fabric of our heritage. They stir the heart with emotion, for in a sense, the historic houses of this country belong to us all.” In this talk, club member Peter Stubbs was quoting Dr. Roy Strong, the then Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum in his introduction to the now celebrated 1975 exhibition entitled ‘The Destruction of The Country House’.

As Peter explained, in 1880 the landowners were the richest men in the country but, over the following fifty years, due to agricultural competition from the USA in the form of imports of corn, and the introduction of Death Duties, many country estates became unviable and country houses of architectural and historical importance were lost. The great landowners whose ancestors had been on the Grand Tour of Europe and had bought paintings by the great masters saved themselves and their estates by selling art to the newly rich Americans. But others, who did not have a fine art collection to fall back on, were in real trouble. They found themselves faced, each generation, with Death Duties to pay, and in many cases managing an estate with a reduced income but with the same running costs. Over eight hundred country houses were recorded as lost – many through demolition because buyers could not be found.

The greatest houses, such as Chatsworth, Blenheim and the like survived, as did many other great houses thanks to The National Trust which, after a change in the law in 1937, was allowed to accept not only a great house but also the endowment of its contents and land in lieu of the payment to the Treasury of Death Duties. The Trust needed the endowment to provide for future maintenance and management costs. Although the greatest houses may have been saved in this way, other more modest estates with still beautiful historic country houses at their heart remain in a precarious financial position, with their future insecure.

Peter Stubbs and Christopher Jewitt

20th February 2025

In times of war, secrecy in planning a military operation is an obvious requirement but there are also occasions when it is deemed necessary to suppress any information about the operation long after it has been completed. An example of this was given today by club member Phil Spillane, who related the story of World War II’s ‘Operation Tiger’ and its aftermath.

Setting the scene, Phil described how, in planning the 1944 D-Day invasion of Normandy by the Allied forces, it was essential for rehearsals to be carried out and, with its similarity to the likely conditions to be expected on the Normandy beaches, a section of the South Devon coast (known as Slapton Sands) was selected for the purpose. Hence, in 1943 orders were issued for the evacuation of all civilians, their livestock and equipment from the hinterland of the Sands, and the whole area was placed under strict British and American military control.

Landing exercises started in December 1943, with Operation Tiger taking place in April 1944. The rehearsal was to cover all aspects of the invasion, culminating in a beach landing from nine tank-landing ships (LSTs). Thirty thousand American troops prepared for their mock landing, which also included a live-firing exercise. As a result of communication failures between various elements of the military, some of the landing ships came under fire from the land-based forces and suffered many casualties. The next disaster occurred when another flotilla of LSTs was attacked by enemy gunboats. In total, almost 750 American servicemen were killed during Operation Tiger but, due to wartime security, the whole episode was suppressed and ‘forgotten’.

But, as the speaker explained, this was not the end of the story. In 1974, a Devon beach-combing resident, Ken Small, uncovered evidence of the events of 30 years earlier and his attention was drawn to a large underwater object, lying in 60ft of water, ¾ mile offshore. This turned out to be an American Sherman tank. After years of trying, he succeeded in buying it from the US government and arranging its salvage. It now serves as a permanent and official memorial to those who lost their lives in Operation Tiger.

Christopher Jewitt and Phil Spillane

6th February 2025

Such have been the advances in aircraft technology since the beginning of the twentieth century that it is sometimes difficult to realise that there are people living today who were once acquainted with the pioneers of aviation. One of the earliest British aviators and designers was Sir Geoffrey DeHavilland, and it was the story of this man and his achievements that was the subject of this talk by club member Brian Barry, who in the late-1950s was an apprentice at the DeHavilland factory in Hatfield where he occasionally found himself in the great man’s presence.

Opening his talk with a brief outline of his own early career, Brian continued by describing that of DeHavilland who was born in 1882 and, after serving an apprenticeship in the emerging motor industry, started to make aeroplanes in the first decade of the new century. Unfortunately, his first attempt, completed in 1909, crashed on its maiden flight but, undaunted, DeHavilland learned from this experience and went on to design and manufacture some notable aircraft types such as the Tiger Moth (of which almost 9,000 were built), and the Mosquito (a combat aeroplane introduced during World War II).

After the War, came the DeHavilland Comet which was the world’s first commercial jet airliner. The prototype first flew in 1949, and the production models entered service in 1952. Initially commercially promising and successful, within a year of their introduction, no fewer than three of these aircraft were lost in mid-flight. Subsequent investigations concluded that the cause of these accidents was metal fatigue – a little-understood phenomenon at the time. The entire fleet was withdrawn from service and, following extensive testing, the aeroplane was re-designed and manufacturing processes were improved. These culminated in the Comet 4 series which was introduced in 1958 and remained in commercial service until 1981. Adapted for military use, the type continued in the role of a maritime surveillance aircraft, the Nimrod, which remained in service with the RAF until 2011.

It was while the Comet 4 series was in production that the speaker worked in the DeHavilland factory, and he showed a number of photographs of aircraft under construction taken at the time.

Brian Barry and Christopher Jewitt

21st January 2025

It is highly likely that, when asked, most people would be unable to offer an explanation for the connection between a tiny hamlet in North Derbyshire and one of England’s major cities but, in fact, the connection is James Brindley, the eighteenth century engineer responsible for many miles of Britain’s canal system. Brindley was born in the hamlet of Tunstead, and his name lives on in Birmingham’s Brindleyplace, the canal-side development of shops, bars, restaurants, offices and residential areas which form the UK’s largest such scheme. At this meeting, club member Peter Donaldson spoke about the life and achievements of this local man.

James Brindley was born in 1716, and although receiving only a basic education, from an early age, showed an interest in the workings of water and windmills to the extent that, in his late teens he was apprenticed to a millwright, Abraham Bennett, near Macclesfield. Overcoming early difficulties and mistakes, Brindley was soon able to develop his natural aptitude for mechanics and his attention to detail, combined with an excellent memory. On completion of his apprenticeship, he set up his own business as a millwright in Leek but, in time moved to the Potteries where he became acquainted with a number of local industrialists, including Josiah Wedgwood, who were proposing the construction of a canal that would provide access to their markets at home and overseas. Thus was born the idea of the Trent and Mersey Canal, linking Runcorn on the River Mersey with Shardlow on the River Trent.

At this time, Brindley was employed as a consultant for the Duke of Bridgewater who was building a canal to transport coal from his mines at Worsley into the markets of Manchester and, in the other direction to Runcorn and, hence, Liverpool. Agreement was reached for the Trent and Mersey to link into the Bridgewater scheme, thereby providing a northern outlet for the former. Construction of the Trent and Mersey was started in 1765. Not only was it a lengthy undertaking of 100 miles in total, but it also involved a tunnel nearly two miles long at Harecastle, near Kidsgrove. This was a major undertaking on a scale never previously attempted but, in spite of all the difficulties encountered it was completed in 1775.

With his reputation enhanced by his early successes, Brindley was in huge demand by the proponents of dozens of canal schemes. In total he was responsible for the creation of 350 miles of canal, for which he carried out the initial surveys and design, also supervising much of their construction. A man of enormous vision, integrity, relentless energy and enthusiasm, he finally wore himself out and died, at the age of 56 in 1772.

Paul Davies and Peter Donaldson