Linda Benton came and gave us a talk about her career in the metropolitan mounted police.

When she started the horses had not received specific training for police work and were not fitted with the safety items we expect today, for example they were not fitted with eye shields/blinkers, and the officers did not have safety hard hats, nor did they have truncheons.

They were initially used in crowd control, like football matches, demonstrations etc. As one mounted officer would have the same effect as a dozen officers on foot.

She told us of how these things changed through her career, she brought along some items of memorabilia, which we could look at on the table after her talk.

George Collins came and gave us a talk on Military Hats along with many examples. George showed us the hat, explained its history and use then passed it around the audience to examine and if wished they could try the hat on.

He moved on from hats that were likened to helmets to soft hats and bearskins ending with some caps and berets.

Shelter Box Boat Trips

Paul Weatherill gave us a very interesting talk and presentation on his recent trip. This was arranged at very short notice as Hazel Gillingham had to cancel her talk on Mary Seacole due to ill health.

Paul’s first trip was a three-day trip on the Norfolk Broads. Paul built the boat around a green plastic crate called a SHELTERBOX.  These boxes hold tents, cooking equipment, clothing etc to support people around the world that have lost everything due to local disasters.

His recent trip was from Stratford to Tewkesbury covering 43 miles and negotiating 16 locks in 3 days.

Paul brought along a Shelter box and its contents for all to see. His talk was illustrated by photos of the trip taken by his support team.

The Watton Society was pleased to give to the Shelter Box charity over £120.00 from the evening’s takings on the door, raffle money and a collecting box for members to add donations

Gavin Bickerton-Jones came and gave us a very informative talk entitled “Norfolk Wildlife Through the Lens” He showed us images he had taken of many birds and animals that live in the area, from owls to hares, foxes, badgers. He showed us many images some of which had taken him hours of wating for and some by his own admission by luck. He finished his presentation with some interesting facts like how to tell a male from a female kingfisher and images of kingfishers feeding their young.

Watton Society March Meeting

Uncle Sam’s Roots in Eastern England

Roger Pugh who gave us a talk on the creation of the military tank at Elveden, returned to tell us about the links between the many people living in this region who had been involved in the creation of what we now call “The United States of America”