Club News
June Lunch:
Chairman, Andrew Carver, welcomed 22 members and our guest speaker Andy Richardson. £44 was raised for the Chairman’s Charity, Cystic Fibrosis Trust. The raffle raised £30.
New Member Induction:
Chairman Andrew Carver presents Paul Sandford with Badge, Tie and Constitution. Paul is President of The Bourne Society.
News of Members:
Tony Farrell reported: John Crumplin is still looking after his wife, Eileen, who suffers from dementia. Martyn Pyle has long Covid.
Birthdays in July:
John Crumplin, Chris Moniz, Paul Sandford.
Outings:
Please Contact Terry Ribbens on tribbs42@gmail.com for ideas on outings.
Speaker today:
Steve Bird ‘Wellington’s Military Career’.
7th August 2025:
Member Paul Sandford ‘The Bourne Society’.
Welfare Officer:
Please contact Tony Farrell if anyone knows of a member in difficulty: tonyfarrell1953@gmail.com
Lunch changes by 10.30am the prior Tuesday. Please email vincent@fosdike.com with articles for the Newsletter.
June Guest Speaker: Andy Richardson
‘The Aviation Hall of Fame’
Andy has an RAF background and is a fellow Probus member from Walton. His aim was to cover some unusual names but also lesser known facts about people we know. I counted 52 names in all – aviators, war heroes, inventers, test pilots, record breakers, airline founders and space explorers. He illustrated his talk with images of people, planes and a few videos.
We started with pioneers: The Wright Brothers, Louis Bleriot and Charles Lindberg, but lesser known John Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown who in 1919, eight years before Lindberg, crossed the Atlantic from Newfoundland landing in an Irish bog because it looked so green. Bessie Coleman was an early American show pilot but her colour forced her to learn to fly in France. She died in an accident caused by a spanner.
Tommy Sopwith (Camel) invented airplanes with synchronised machine gun and propeller. War aces included Albert Ball VC and The Red Baron. Famous women pilots were Amelia Earhart (solo around the World, crashed), Jacqueline Cochran (sound barrier), Amy Johnson (solo London-Australia), Jane Harrison (flight attendant hero of BOAC Flight 712 evacuation – posthumously awarded George Cross).
Harry Hawker (test pilot and Hawker engineering), RJ Mitchell (Spitfire), Barnes Wallace (bouncing bomb), Frank Whittle (jet engine), Alliott Verdon Roe (AVRO, Lancaster, Vulcan), Willy Messerschmitt, William Boeing, Joe Sutter (747), James McDonnell (Douglas), Roger Pierson (Airbus), James Martin (ejector seat), Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky (helicopters), Larry Bell (X-1 rocket).
Speed: Howard Hughes (352 mph 1935, engineer, film producer etc.), Peter Twiss (1,132 mph 1956), Chuck Yeager (sound barrier). Low cost: Fredie Laker (Laker Airways), Michael O’Leary (Ryanair): Tim Clark (Emirates). Space: Yuri Gagarin (1st), Neil Armstrong (Moon), Tim Peake (British).
And many more including Chesley Burnett “Sully” Sullenberger III, captain of US Airways Flight 1549, who landed on the Hudson River after both engines were disabled by a bird strike. All 155 people aboard survived. Thank you Andy.
Chairman’s Charity, Cystic Fibrosis
by Andrew Carver
Why did I nominate this charity? My cousin’s grandson was born with this condition just over three years ago. A lively little chap, like all three year olds, but can’t join in groups. His parents are always finding ways to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust. Money is so desperately needed for the pioneering research.
What is Cystic Fibrosis? You can’t catch C.F. you are born with the condition. The faulty gene is carried by 1 in 25 people. 1 in every 2,500 babies are born with C.F.
It is a condition that causes a sticky, thick mucus build up, often in the lungs and digestive system. It once meant a shortened life. Today with medical advancements, many live longer with the illness, but C.F. can bring many complications that can affect the quality of life. People with the condition often have:-
Frequent chest infections
Wheezing or shortness of breath, a severe or prolonged cough, abnormal bowel movements, difficulty gaining weight and maybe infertility.
To treat the condition the sufferer will need:-
- Antibiotics to fight infection in the lungs.
- Physiotherapy to help shift the mucus that builds up, in and around the organs.
- Enzyme supplements with food.
- A special diet to get the nutrients the body needs.
- Drugs to thin the mucus.
- If conventional treatments are no longer effective, a lung transplant maybe needed.
- People with C.F. spend a long time each day doing their treatments.
C.F. is a serious condition that needs careful management , but with the right care and treatment, these people can lead a full life.
There are over 11,300 people living with C.F. in the UK and each week four people are diagnosed with the condition. There is no cure, Yet.
Huge strides are being made with treatment due to charitable donations, which enable sufferers from the condition to live more normal lives, particularly children.