Below is a list of previous evening events organised by the Docklands History Group. Where the speakers have agreed, reports of some of the above talks, marked R , are available on this website. Please click here to go to the Reports of Previous Talks page to access these.
Please click here to return to Programme of Events page.
Wednesday 3rd February: Talk -
Wednesday 2nd March: Talk -
Wednesday 6th April: Talk -
Wednesday 1st June: Talk -
Wednesday 6th July: Talk -
Wednesday 3rd August: Visit to the Geffrye Museum
Wednesday 7th September: Talk -
Wednesday 5th October: Talk -
Wednesday 2nd November: Talk -
Wednesday 7th December: Christmas Social and Evening Talk -
Discovering a Lost Thames Pierhead Painter by Des Pawson
Wednesday 1st February: Talk -
Wednesday 1st March: London’s Lea Valley -
Wednesday 5th April: My years on the River by John Window R
Wednesday 3rd May: Forgotten Parish of Denton by Christopher Bull
Wednesday 7th June: Oars Oars, Sculls sculls: Constructing the Thames Waterman in the Eighteenth Century by Hannah Stockton
Wednesday 5th July: The Hempen Jig -
Wednesday 2nd August: WALK Refugees, Railways a River and a Ram – Historic Wandsworth led by Diane Burstein
Wednesday 6th September: An Archivist’s Eye View of Morden College by Elizabeth Wiggans
Wednesday 4th October : The Final Days of Rotherhithe Ship Building: The Clipper Ships by Andie Byrnes
Wednesday 1st November. Blockade Running in the American Civil War with special Reference to London-
Wednesday 6th December: The Thames Discovery Programme: Community Archaeology on London’s Foreshore
by Nathalie Cohen, Head of Community Archaeology, Museum of London Archaeology
2017
Wednesday 1st July
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING followed by TALK
WW1 – Bombing The Docks
by Chris Everett. Chris is an officer of the DHG and was one of the speakers at the DHG’s recent World War 1 Conference.
Wednesday 5th August: Talk -
by Richard Buchanan R
Wednesday 2nd September: Visit -
of Mike Putt, sail-
Wednesday 7th October: Talk -
by Tony Taylor. R
Wednesday 4th November: Talk -
by Eric Reynolds. R
Wednesday 2nd December: Christmas social/ and Talk:
The Right Stuff -
By Chris Ellmers, our President who focused in a lighthearted way on a writer very little known to most members.
4th February: Talk -
4th March: Talk -
1st April: Talk -
6th May Walk: Fighting Fascism led by David Rosenberg. This told the storey of Moseley’s attempted incursions into the East End in 1936 and Bermondsey in 1937 and the way he and his forces were met with successful grassroots resistance on both occasions. David has written a book -
3rd June: Talk -
2018
Wednesday 7th February: The Cubitts and the River Thames
By Chris Everett our Conference Co-
Wednesday 7th March: The Lea Valley’s Electronic Secrets (The story of the post-
Wednesday 4th April : The Strangest Ship that Never Sailed the Sea
By Chris Ellmers our President
Wednesday 2nd May: Telling the Story of an East End Family at War. by Jane Cox
Wednesday 6th June: DP World London Gateway by Matt Abbott, Communications Manager.
Wednesday 4th July: The Thames Fisheries by Roger Williams
Wednesday 5th September: Captain James Cook, 250 Years by Derek Morris
Wednesday 3rd October: Dived in but was Drowned: Tales of Waterways Heroism from the Watts Memorial by Dr John Price FRHistS, SFHEA
Wednesday 7th November: Historic Gravesend by Christoph Bull
Wednesday 5th December
Christmas Social and talk Victoria Cross found on Thamesside by Sallly Mashiter.
2019
Wednesday 6th February:
EVENING TALK
Old Rotherhithe
By Darren Knight, of the Port of London Authority.
Wednesday 6th March:
EVENING TALK
Riverine/riverside Archaeology and Finds
By Jane Sidell PhD MCIfA who is an Inspector of Ancient Monuments. She states it is likely to be “a bit prehistoric”.
Wednesday 3rd April
EVENING FILM SHOW
The Living Thames
A film made by the Thames Estuary partnership.
Wednesday 1 May:
EVENING TALK
Lascars in Shadwell 1780-
By Dr John Seed, Honorary Research Fellow, Department of Humanities, University of Roehampton.
Saturday 18th May
ANNUAL CONFERENCE
The Medieval Port of London.
Wednesday 5 June:
EVENING TALK
Rotherhithe and Bermondsey
By Pete Smith well known to some members for the walks he leads for London City Walks.
Wednesday 3 July:
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING FOLLOWED BY A TALK
“A Very, Very, Naughty Boy – a Late 18th Century London Maritime Tale”
By Chris Ellmers, our president.
Wednesday 4 September:
EVENING TALK
Talk "Drinking the Thames -
Wednesday 2 October:
EVENING TALK
Running the West India Docks
By Andy Slater M&E Supervisor, who leads a team that maintains all the automated assets of the Canal & River Trust throughout London
Wednesday 6 November:
EVENING TALK
Conrad and the docks and the river
By Robert Hampson Chair of the Joseph Conrad Society (UK) and author of three monographs on Conrad and other Conrad-
Wednesday 4 December:
EVENING TALK
Thames Sailing Barges, A History and a Future
By David Gibson from the Sailing Barge Trust.
Wednesday 5th February:
EVENING TALK
The Name of the Isle of Dogs
By Dr Laura Wright, Reader in English Language, University of Cambridge.
Wednesday 4th March:
EVENING TALK
Fed by Water: How London’s River delivered its daily bread.
By Di Murrell
2020