Club News
Chairman, Roger Gourd, welcomed 16 members to our October lunch plus guest speaker Stuart Robinson. £32 was collected for the Chairman’s charity and the raffle raised £19.
Please notify lunch changes by 10.30am the prior Tuesday for Thursday 3rd Nov. meeting to chris@moniz.co.uk T: 020 8660 6063. Please notify Member News to Secretary, Ian Payne T: 01737 554449. Please email vincent@fosdike.com with articles/news for the Newsletter.
Read more: November 2022Chris Moniz reminded members that 1st December will be our Christmas/Ladies lunch and that Purley members will be invited.
Extraordinary General Meeting held 6th October 2022
‘In Principle’ proposals for merger with Purley Probus had been distributed with September’s Newsletter. Progress was reported by Chairman Roger Gourd, Andrew Banfield and Michael Southwell. After a short discussion, the motion was put that Coulsdon and Purley Probus merge in accordance with the proposals. The motion was carried unanimously.
Today’s Speaker: Christian Wolmar: ‘The Crossrail Story’
1st December: Reverend Malcolm Newman: ‘Christmas Theme’
October Speaker: Stuart Robinson — Curiosities of the City of London
Our guest took us through some of the more outstanding points of the history of the City of London looking at four areas of time and place which can still be readily identified.
Initially the Romans developed the famous square mile into a major trading area from about 345 AD building on the existing Celtic settlement although the first government was formed in about 60AD. Remains of the governors’ tomb can still be seen having been used to shore up the city walls! Evidence of the sacking of the city by Boadicea can be found in the ground in the form of a layer of scorched earth and ashes. The Romans left in the 5th Century to be replaced by other invaders up until the Norman Conquest, which proved to be the last successful one.
Moving on to 1666 – the great fire of London – we learned not only of the fire itself, but of the accusations levelled against not just Thomas Farrinor the Baker in whose shop the fire originated, but against Robert Harbert who falsely confessed to causing it and was hanged despite not even being in London at the time! Strangely Thomas Farrinor AKA (Farynor) was on the jury!!! Popish plots were cited and at various times were inscribed on ‘The Monument’ itself having been removed and then re-instated at a later date. Today this part of The Monument is free of such allegations, but the stonework bears the scars if you know what to look at. The date even gave rise to allegations that it was God’s punishment due to the triple six the “mark of the beast”.
The Cholera outbreaks and the work of John Snow M.D. in discovering a source of contagion is commemorated in Soho by a replica of the pump which had a contaminated supply. He proved his point when he disabled it and the rate of infection declined dramatically. He had noticed that those who only drank beer did not contract Cholera due the sterilisation of water in the manufacturing process.
Equally dramatic was the history of executions. Those to be hanged (old style suffocation, not the breaking of the neck), were solemnly transported by cart from Newgate prison to Tyburn/Marble Arch through crowds of gawping onlookers enjoying a day out. Curiously some sayings survive from this practice: ‘Going West’ – travelling to Tyburn from Newgate on the final journey; ‘One for the road’ – the last drink allowed to the convicted man at a pub halfway to Tyburn; ‘On the wagon’ – the prohibition of the cart driver drinking on the outward journey; ‘Money for old rope’ – selling sections of the fatal rope used to hang a famous person.
On a more humane note, we heard about the Monument to self-sacrifice, which commemorates those who lost their lives saving others within the city. Altogether a very engaging talk.
Andrew Joseph Kellard 1932–2022 – Grumpy
Andrew, born 25th January 1932 in Croydon, attended school in New Malden until he was evacuated to the safety of a farm in Warwickshire during the Second World War. Andrew loved his time on the farm, having the time of his life.
Andrew trained as an accountant – which career lasted until his retirement aged 60. However, his accountancy training was briefly interrupted by National Service, which he served in the RAF based in Amesbury, Wiltshire. Andrew thoroughly enjoyed his two years in the military.
Andrew met his wife Mary at the Young Conservative Club, and several years later, they married in July 1956 at St. Andrew’s Church in Streatham.
Son Roger arrived in 1960 and daughter Jennifer in 1962. Andrew was a natural dad, encouraging and enthusiastic, but not overbearing, allowing the children to make their own mistakes and learn by them. Andrew became a Scout master of Roger’s troop. He also qualified as a referee, taking charge
of many of Roger’s football matches. Every year the family would enjoy holidays in Devon or Lowestoft. Sadly, in 1980, Jennifer passed away unexpectedly whilst studying physics at Exeter University. Neither Andrew nor Mary really recovered from the tremendous loss.
Andrew had a great love of classical music and opera having a vast record collection. He also enjoyed the Game Of Thrones owning and re-watching the entire set on DVD. Another pleasure was gardening and he was able to name any plant. Following retirement, Andrew and Mary would spend lots of time visiting garden centres and tending to their garden. Sadly, Mary passed away from cancer in January 2003
Following Mary’s death, Andrew threw himself into the grandchildren, Harvey, Maisie and Simone, spending lots of time attending different events and watching them play sports. In later life Andrew qualified as a cricket umpire and was in great demand locally, continuing to umpire for 10 years.
For over three decades Andrew lived in Tollers Lane in Old Coulsdon. There was a wonderful sense of community amongst his neighbours and a very supportive and friendly local social network, which he enjoyed and was very much a part of. He joined Coulsdon Probus in 2004. He was Vice Chairman and Auditor in 2008 and Luncheon Secretary for 10 years becoming Almoner in 2018. Andrew’s nickname was Grumpy which he loved, even answering the phone to that name. But he was far from Grumpy except when he admonished members for late lunch bookings or cancellations. He was loved by everyone at Probus.
Andrew was a kind and caring person who can genuinely be described as a true gentleman. He passed away on 31st August 2022, age 90 and will be greatly missed by all those that knew and loved him, especially by his son Roger and his grandchildren.