PROBUS CLUB OF MALVERN

THE meeting on Monday, April 6 was opened by our Chair Bill Major who welcomed everyone including Guy Dowell, our latest new member.

Jokes were called for and these were quickly followed by a number of business matters. The Chair was pleased to note that Bill Sharp had agreed to stand for the post of Welfare Officer.

Members were then reminded that our next meeting on Monday, April 27 will begin with the AGM.

Our guest speaker, Ray Sturdy then introduced us to the remarkable and fascinating history of Brunel family Isambard Kingdom Brunel was born in Portsea, in 1806. He was the only son of Marc and Sophia Brunel but for many it was a revelation that his father, Marc Isambard Brunel (1769-1849) had been a French naval officer who had left France in 1793, worked as an civil engineer in New York, arrived in Britain in the spring of 1799 where fortunately he married Sophia Kingdom and chose to remain in Britain!

Marc had invented a series of machines for making pulley blocks for ships but his greatest accomplishment and biggest project was the tunnel he constructed beneath the Thames between Rotherhithe and Wapping, the first tunnel under a navigable river in the world. He was knighted in 1841 for his contribution to British engineering. Encouraged by his father, Isambard had worked for several years as an assistant engineer on the tunnel project narrowly escaping death when the tunnel flooded. Following this his remarkable career included the invention and construction of bridges, railways and ships.

In his vote of thanks, John Davies thanked Ray for reminding us what a remarkable engineering genius Brunel had been, deriving satisfaction from building structures rather than bank balances!

At our next meeting on Monday, April 27, immediately following the AGM, Arthur Elliott will illuminate proceedings with a talk based upon his experiences in Blackpool!

We meet in the Abbey Hotel. Refreshments are available from 10am and the meeting begins at 10.30am. Guests are very welcome to join us.

Our programme for the first half of 2015 is still available in Malvern Library, in the small cabinet on the right hand side as you enter the main library. For further information please e-mail t.batesworc@btinternet.com.

TONY BATES