'Always Ready, Always Willing': Fires and firefighting in the city of Oxford from 879 to 1974
2026-03-09 19:30 - 21:00 (Europe/London) | Radley Church, Church Road, Radley, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX14 2JN
Speaker: John Lowe
John tells the story of how major fires and efforts to tackle them over more than ten centuries affected Oxford, including the tragic fire that led to the formation of the Oxford Volunteer Fire Brigade in 1870. John Lowe served as a firefighter in the Oxford City and Oxfordshire brigades for more than 30 years. John’s fee for the talk will be donated to the Fire Fighters Charity.
Visitors are very welcome to attend our meetings (suggested donation £3).
Doors open at 7 pm

My Polish father’s experiences in WW2 from Gulag to Normandy and Scotland
2026-04-13 19:30 - 21:00
Speaker: Hubert Zawadzki
Hubert’s parents came to Britain with the Polish Armed Forces during WW2. Hubert describes his father’s time in a forced labour camp, his service with the Polish Army during the Battle of Normandy in 1944 and his return to Scotland where Hubert was born. Dr Zawadzki, a former history teacher at Abingdon School and a member of Wolfson College Oxford, is the joint author of A Concise History of Poland and has appeared on BBC programmes involving Poland.
Visitors are very welcome to attend our meetings (suggested donation £3).
Doors open at 7 pm

Tracks to trenches
2026-05-11 19:30 - 21:00
Speaker: Mike Hurst
Mike describes the range of railway activities in southern England and France during WW1, including the transport and care of the wounded back to Blighty with examples from south Oxfordshire and west Berkshire. Mike is a committed railway enthusiast and volunteer for local heritage railways.
Visitors are very welcome to attend our meetings (suggested donation £3).
Doors open at 7 pm

Garden archaeology: 'not that kind of digging'
2026-06-08 19:30 - 21:00
Speaker: Stephen Wass
Stephen explains how recent discoveries in historic gardens using archaeological techniques have allowed a better understanding of their construction and development. Stephen Wass is a freelance consultant specialising in historic gardens and a member of the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists.
Visitors are very welcome to attend our meetings (suggested donation £3).
Doors open at 7 pm

Alice and the Dodo in Oxford
2026-07-13 19:30 - 21:00
Speaker: Victoria Bentata
Victoria links people and places in Oxford to the happenings and thinly disguised characters such as the Dodo in Lewis Carroll’s famous book, Alice in Wonderland. Victoria lives in Radley and is an Oxford Green Badge Tour guide and member of the Oxford Guild of Tour Guides.
Visitors are very welcome to attend our meetings (suggested donation £3).
Doors open at 7 pm

Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough: taking the waters in Bath, Scarborough and Windsor Great Park
2026-09-14 08:00 - 17:00
Speaker: Melanie King
Melanie shares some of the Duchess of Marlborough’s adventures in the 18th century while visiting various famous English spas. Melanie lives in Oxfordshire and is a freelance writer specialising in historical non-fiction. Her talk draws on her research for her 2021 book, The Secret History of English Spas.
Visitors are very welcome to attend our meetings (suggested donation £3).
Doors open at 7 pm.
The talk will follow the short Annual General Meeting. If you’re coming just for the talk, please arrive before 7.30 when the AGM starts.
