Swansea Branch Programme
Swansea Branch Programme 2024-25
Branch Contact: Liz McSloy, Secretary historyliz1565@yahoo.com
Venue: National Waterfront Museum, Oystermouth Rd, Maritime Quarter, Swansea SA1 3RD
All talks take place on the third Saturday of each month (unless otherwise stated) and start at 11am
Associate membership: £10 per year, Concessionary (part time workers, retired, unwaged) and Student membership: £5 per year, Family (household) membership: £15 per year.
All talks are free to attend and no booking is required. Please check the branch website for any changes to the published programme.
Branch website www.haswansea.org.uk
History Blog: https://swanseaha.wordpress.com
History Blog newsfeed link: https://swanseaha.wordpress.com/feed/
Facebook: facebook.com/histassocswan
X (formally twitter) twitter.com/histassoc_swan
Saturday 20th July 2024
Elizabeth Andrews: Working Class Warrior
Non Thomas, Branch Community Outreach Speaker
This talk will discuss how, through her political affiliations and guided by her Christian principles, Elizabeth Andrews dedicated herself to improving the lives and living conditions of women in coalfield communities and beyond, emphasising the importance of education and political influence as instruments of change, and she truly is an unsung, undervalued hero of Welsh social history.
Saturday 17th August 2024
The Sid Kidwell Memorial Lecture – Music, Place and Identity: The Morriston Orpheus Choir 1935 - 1985
Keith Roberts, Alumni Swansea University
The talk will contextualise the social and cultural landscape in which the Choir was formed and it will highlight the importance of ‘Music’ and ‘Place’ as vectors and signifiers of its evolving identity.
Saturday 21st September 2024
The President’s Lecture - Remembering the Reformation
Professor Alexandra Walsham, National President, Historical Association.
We are delighted to welcome Professor Alexandra Walsham to the Branch who will be talking about how the Reformation ruptured memory and shifted perceptions of the medieval past and how it in turn is remembered.
Saturday 19th October 2024
The Anniversary Lecture – Ghostly Tales
Debra John, Honorary Branch Fellow
Welsh folk tales with a ghostly theme
Saturday 9th November 2024
FDR – The President who transformed America
Professor Iwan Morgan, University College London
The talk will examine how FDR transformed the US presidency from a relatively limited institution into the modern office we know today as the driving force of American politics and government.
Saturday 14th December 2024
Swansea and the Second World War
Bernard Lewis, author and Alumni, Swansea University
The talk will cover issues such as Kindertransport arrivals and child evacuations, the Home Guard, anti-invasion and anti-aircraft defences, the conscription of men and women for the war effort, the Blitz attacks on Swansea, rationing, crime and the arrival of American forces in the town.
Saturday 18th January 2025
The origin and meaning of place names
John Richards, Honorary Branch Fellow
Saturday 15th February 2025
Alexander Hamilton: The Forgotten Founding Father
Elizabeth McSloy, Branch Community Outreach Speaker
Alexander Hamilton was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America but the least well known. This talk takes a look at Hamilton’s remarkable life and his legacy.
Saturday 15th March 2025
Mysteries of the Brunel Family
Glyn Williams, Branch member
Saturday 12th April 2025
The Role of Women in Agriculture in 19th Century Wales
Peter Rees, Branch Community Outreach Speaker
Saturday 17th May 2025
Springtime in Folklore
Debra John, Honorary Branch Fellow
Lent/Easter traditions, along with spring-themed stories from Wales to Ancient Greece
Saturday 21st June 2025
Reconstruction Drawings and other work for The Friends of Neath Abbey Iron Company
Chris Jones-Jenkins, Illustrator