Chairman’s Delight

John Godfrey

The Solent Branch held its first meeting since February 2020 on 15th September 2021. Prior to the main presentation an interim annual general meeting was held. The committee members elected to serve for the coming year were John Godfrey (chairman and secretary), Peter Ifold (treasurer), Dave Doulton (internet), and John Goodrich (ordinary member).

The subject of the main part of the meeting was “Chairman’s Delight” in which John Godfrey gave us a nostalgic look at his 35mm slides, some of which dated back to the early 1970s. A large geographical area was covered ranging from Devon to Scotland. In our local area of Hampshire we were reminded of Southampton Maritime Freightliner Depot when Class 47s in a variety of liveries could be seen before Class 66s and 70s took over, and Class 73s on Bournemouth line expresses in the period between 4 Reps being withdrawn and Class 442s being introduced. Elsewhere we were treated to the sights of Peaks, Westerns, and Deltics, and Sprinters in their original Provincial Services livery.

The branch has made a number of visits to railway depots and installations over the years. Those illustrated included the trips to Marchwood Military Port, Northam Depot, and Merehead. The “team photos” reminded us of how we looked 20 + years ago, and of members who are sadly no longer with us.

Thanks to John for an evening that brought back happy memories to us all.