A lot has happened at the
Bath Probus Club
At the AGM the Chairman Samy Ramasamy stepped down after three successful years of building the Bath Probus Club to avert extinction. The Vice Chair David Judd took over the position of the Chair. Kate Seely was elected as the Vice Chair. The Secretary Chris Walters stepped down and Janet Read was elected as the Secretary. Stephen Lusty was elected as a Committee Member to the post Kate Seely vacated.
Spike Parker presented the Club’s 2025-6 annual account which was unanimously agreed by the members.
What you can look forward to!!
September 2026
As usual our next meeting will be on Thursday 10th September 2026 at Bath & County Club, Queen’s Parade, Bath BA1 2NJ
We will gather at 11:00
The speaker Rob Jones a retired CID officer with 32 years investigative experience, is going to talk about a murder case and why after so many years it still has a special place in his memory! Happily, it concluded with an conviction but also an extraordinary coincidence that nobody could have imagined!
If members are able to attend please inform the Secretary.
Dress code will be smart casual
Secretary: Janet Read
Tel: 07890 995356
Email: janetread137@gmail.com
What you missed!!
August 2026
Due to holidays no Probus meeting was held
July 2026
At the AGM the Chairman Samy Ramasamy stepped down after three successful years of building the Bath Probus Club to avert extinction. The Vice Chair David Judd took over the position of the Chair. Kate Seely was elected as the Vice Chair. The Secretary Chris Walters stepped down and Janet Read was elected as the Secretary. Stephen Lusty was elected as a Committee Member to the post Kate Seely vacated.
Spike Parker presented the Club’s 2025-6 annual account which was unanimously agreed by the members.
June 2026
The speaker Stuart Burroughs gave a talk entitled 'Equal in Everything - Women at Work in the Present Day'. Stuart is the Director at the Museum of Bath at Work.
May 2026
Commander R J K 'Dickie' Burston gave a talk on 'Submarine Accidents in Peacetime and Submarine Rescue Systems'. There is no single tragedy that captures public attention quite like a submarine accident.
April 2026
Our own Vice Chairman David Judd gave a talk on “The Royal Flight”
David Judd spent over 22 years in RAF in the UK and in Malta. Worked as a security guard for the MOD and later joined the Civil Service supplying various equipments to the Royal Navy. He retired in 2012 and has been working recently as a volunteer at the local library in Radstock as well as a volunteer driver for Swan transport.
March 2026
There was a talk by Judith Lambourne, a linguist, fluent in Russian and Italian on the subject of
“A Haphazard Life”.
Judith travelled widely, experiencing life firsthand in Moscow, Ukraine and Milan
February 2026
There was a talk by Professor Rory Shaw on the subject of
'TB or not TB !'
Professor Rory Shaw was a consultant physician at St Mary’s Hospital London specialising in respiratory medicine. He was a professor in Imperial College when he undertook research into the immunology of the lungs, making contributions in the area of asthma and tuberculosis. Highly skilled, widely experienced, Rory has a lot to say about TB.
January 2026
There was a talk by Ian A Goodman M I E T about “Britain's Longest Military Operation”.
Ian worked with the Ministry of Defence from 1979 first as a technician, then as an Electrical Engineer, working through various Royal Dockyards, including Chatham.
December 2025
Christmas Lunch !!
A delicious Christmas lunch with all its trimmings.
We were 32 in total and all enjoyed the company and the atmosphere.
Bath and County Club did a wonderful job.
November 2025
There was a talk by Rod Puddock on the subject of 'How Safe is a Ship'.
October 2025
There was a talk by our own member Jay (Jonathan) Hart who spoke about "A Submarine Rescue". A fascinating account of international diplomacy and rescue.
September 2025
There was a talk by our own member Neil Kennedy entitled
"Something different"
An engaging account of David Mach's incredible full-size sculptures, produced from discarded materials such as rubber tyres, coloured matchsticks and bricks e.g. a Polaris submarine, a famous steam train and so on.
August 2025
As usual there was no meeting in the month of August due to holidays.
July 2025
Bath Probus Club held its Annual General Meeting. The Chairman reported the events that took place during the year. The membership had grown to approching 40 including 6 ladies. There was a Report by the Treasurer and it was agreed the financial account would be looked into further and a report would be submitted later.
June 2025
A talk by : Tony Haines, a retired teacher.
His talk was entitled:
The work of Street Pastors in Bath.
It covered the origins of Street Pastors as a national organisation, a typical night shift in Bath, including some rather strange encounters at 2 a.m. in the morning!
May 2025
A talk by:
Lt. Col. M.W. Whitchurch MBE, Member of Institute of Royal Engineers
British Defence Policy - an Introduction
The talk covered NATO, Defence capacity of Ukraine and expect the unexpected!
April 2025
Dr. Andrei Calin, Emeritus Associate Professor of Medicine at Stanford University, California, USA, and Consultant Rheumatologist, Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases, Bath.
The title of the talk: - RHEUMA has it: -
” A hitch-hiker’s guide to rheumatology, and biomedical / epidemiological research “
He would like to discuss some exciting memories from his global travel in remote corners of the world, develop our understanding of important diseases while avoiding being eaten by a tribe of friendly cannibals, in Amazonas, Brazil! He enjoyed the company of Pima, Papago, Apache, Navaho and Haida, Amerindians in the Sonoran Desert, Arizona USA & British Columbia, Canada……and the Ainu tribe in North Island, Japan. These trips were interspersed by time at Cambridge, Harvard and Stanford Unis.
March 2025
A talk by Dave Walsh.
The title of the talk was ‘Inland Revenue Investigation of Serious Fraud’.
Dave covered the 3 ways that serious fraud is evaluated as worthy of investigation, his 40 years of service ferreting out culprits and how he managed this ‘business’ on our doorstep in Bristol. Sounds like a riveting topic!
February 2025
A talk by Robert (Bob) Constantine
Bob Constantine began his career as a trainee journalist on a local paper and became news editor of the Bath Chronicle and political editor of ITV regional news.
Along the way, Bob, who lives in Bath, saw massive changes in the way news is produced. He will talk about these as well as some of the stories he has covered, from Fred West to the coughing major, the building of the Second Severn Crossing, the end of Concorde, and a famous run-in with David Cameron.
January 2025
A talk by Lieutenant Colonel M W Whitchurch MBE MInstRE on “ Realities of War and Ukraine"
December 2024 News
Christmas Lunch !!
A delicious Christmas lunch with all its trimmings.
We were 25 in total and all enjoyed the company and the atmosphere.
Bath and County Club did a wonderful job.
November 2024 News
A delicious lunch on Thursday 14 November at Bath & County Club, Queen’s Parade, Bath BA1 2NJ
A talk by Lieutenant Colonel M W Whitchurch MBE MInstRE on “Learning from 1944”
