The Great Western Society has local groups which organise meetings and events in the Bristol, North West (Warrington), Oxford, South West (Torbay), Swindon and Taunton areas. The groups also support the Society by undertaking practical work at Didcot or locally and through the vital elements of fundraising and local publicity.
Chairman: Robert Heron
Secretary: Robin Jordan E-Mail>>
Bristol Group Meetings are held on Tuesday at, BAWA, 589 Southmead Road, Filton, BRISTOL, BS34 7RG (Phone: 0117 987 3244, Web: www.bawa.biz) 19:30 for 19:45 and all are welcome.
| Tuesday 8 November | ‘Steam Specials & Devon General Buses in Dawlish & Teignmouth’, followed by Western Region Quiz | Robin Jordan |
| Tuesday 13 December | GWR 175 Updated … Plus GWS 50 | Bristol Committee |
| Tuesday 10 January | Great Western Miscellany – Accidents & More | Brian Arman |
| Tuesday 14 February | The Andrew Hook Memorial Meeting The Steam Railmotor Project includes Group Annual Meeting |
Frank Cooper |
| Tuesday 13 March | An Evening with the Chairman | Richard Croucher |
| Tuesday 10 April | Branch Line Britain | Peter Triggs |
| Tuesday 8 May | The East Somerset & Cheddar Valley Railways | Richard Harman |
| Friday 15 - Sunday 17 June | Mini-Roadmotor Outing |
See the Group Web Site for more details: Great Western Society Bristol Group
The Great Western Society is not responsible for the content of external web sites.
Chairman: David Burns
Secretary: Peter Hanson
North West Group Meetings are held on Friday at, St. Hilda’s Clubroom, Slater St., Latchford, Warrington at 19:30 and all are welcome.
| Friday 21 October | The Last Year of Steam | Barrie Rushton |
| Friday 18 November | And Across the Channel (English) Again | Colin Ellis |
| Friday 27 January | From the Slums to the Sidings | D. Armstrong |
| Friday 24 February | Group Annual Meeting, followed by Members’ Quiz | |
| Friday 23 March | The L&Y in the LMS Period | Noel Coates |
| Friday 20 April | Forty Odd Years of Preservation | P. Hanson |
Chairman: Ken Bampton
Secretary: Margaret Pargeter
Oxford Group Meetings are held on Friday at, Pauling Human Sciences Centre, 58 Banbury Rd., Oxford at 19:30 and all are welcome.
| Friday 28 October | By Rail to Victory: Allied Military Steam Locomotives of World War II | Mike Hudson |
| Friday 25 November | A Colour-Rail Journey | Paul Chancellor |
| Friday 9 December | Members’ Christmas Evening & Quiz | |
| Friday 27 January | The Great Western Trust Photographic Collection | Laurence Waters |
| Friday 24 February | Group Annual Meeting | |
| Friday 30 March | The 82xxx Steam Locomotive New Build Project | Chris Proudfoot |
| Friday 27 April | Winston Link & the Norfolk & Western Railroad | Bob Gellatly |
| Friday 25 May | TBC |
Chairman: Colin Stone
Secretary:
South West Group Meetings are held on Saturday at, The Parish Centre, Church End Road, Kingskerswell, Torbay at 18:30 and all are welcome.
| Saturday 19 November | Monochrome to Fujichrome | Peter Skelton |
| Saturday 17 December | Christmas Meeting – Quiz, followed by, Richard Salter, good food & ‘London & the Home Counties,’ Peter Triggs | |
| Saturday 28 January | Eastern European Steam in the 2000s | Les Folkard |
| Saturday 18 February | Group Annual Meeting, followed by ‘The Steam Rail Motor’ | Graham Drew |
| Saturday 17 March | Locomotives of the South, Eastern & Chatham Railway | Terry McCarthy |
| Saturday 21 April | Last 30 Years of U.K. Steam | Hugh Ballantyne |
| Saturday 19 May | Travelling Around Britain Chasing Steam | Peter Dole |
Chairman: Rodney Bagshaw
Secretary: Candy Castle
Swindon Group Meetings are held on Friday at, Lawn Community Centre, Guildford Ave., Off Windsor Rd., Lawn, Swindon, SN3 1JE at 19:30 and all are welcome.
| Friday 11 November | ‘The Summer of ’95’ followed by ‘Railway Infrastructure in Preservation & Network Rail’ | Joe Turner |
| Friday 9 December | A Railway Observer’s Journey,’ Bernard Pearce, followed by Christmas Meeting, including Members’ Slides. | |
| Friday 13 January | ‘Echoes of the G.W.R’ plus a B & R DVD presentation by Trevor Young & Peter Tough | |
| Friday 10 February | Group Annual Meeting, followed by a Quiz |
Joe Turner |
| Friday 9 March | British Steam Home & Abroad (sound cine film) | Terry Nicholls |
| Friday 13 April | Aspects of the Great Western Railway Part II | Peter Lugg |
| Friday 11 May | Swindon Works Part II, plus supporting programme | Pete Tough |
Chairman: Stuart Trott E-Mail>>
Secretary: David Hartland - Tel. 01823 336262
Group meetings are held on the third Friday of each month, throughout the year, at Stoke St Mary Village Hall, near Taunton. TA3 5BY (unless otherwise indicated) commencing at 19.30, and all are welcome.
| Friday 21 October | Wandering Wessex in the 1960s | Amyas Crump |
| Friday 4 November | End of Steam – Start of Preservation | Peter Harrison |
| Friday 18 November | The Last Ten Years | Brian Garrett |
| Friday 6 December | Didcot “A Great Awakening” | Richard Antliff |
| Friday 20 January | Steam, Steam & a Little Exhaust | Peter Triggs |
| Friday 17 February | Group Annual Meeting, followed by ‘More 1960s Steam’ | Alan Reeve |
| Friday 16 March | Railways in south Wales During World War II | Terry McCarthy |
| Friday 20 April | Railway Past & Present | Peter Skelton |
| Friday 18 May | Steam in the North | Gavin Morrison |
| Friday 15 June | Narrow Gauge Slate Railways of North Wales | Julian Birley |
| Friday 20 July | Roaming with a Cornishman | David Letcher |
Friday 17 August |
Railways of Cornwall | Peter Gray |
The Group also arranges a programme of events almost monthly which include an Annual Dinner, day trips to locations of railway interest, a weekend trip and an occasional longer holiday which in the past has included Ireland, the Isle of Man, and Switzerland - details of all these events can be obtained from by e-mailing Carl Honnor.
We also operate a restored Pump Trolley on various railways and this has in the past raised funds for the Group, the Society and other charities.