Events for Members

6th Annual General Meeting 2003

 Monday 20 October 2003  7.00 for 7.30pm

You will see from the accompanying papers that this year’s Annual General Meeting will be on Monday 20 October at Mawgan Village Hall, commencing at 7.00 for 7.30pm.  This is a most important event in our calendar, giving your Executive Committee opportunity to check our ambitions and progress with the democratic views of our membership.  But, as usual, our aim will be to get the official business over as quickly as possible so that the event can be enjoyed as a social occasion.  Also, in Martin Matthews our guest speaker whom many of you will know, we are guaranteed an informative and amusing illustrated talk on aspects of Helston and the Lizard’s history, drawing on his many years experience as Curator of the Town’s very successful museum.  Please make every effort to attend and join us in  making this an enjoyable occasion.

Christmas Social event

Tuesday 2 December 2003  7.30pm

Halzephron Inn at Gunwalloe.

£7.50 per person to include a glass of wine or mulled wine and a buffet meal.  In the past this has proved to be a very convivial occasion with dynamic conversation. Please use the enclosed booking form to secure your place at this much sought after event. Numbers are limited

Possible visit to Highgrove

We have applied to the Prince of Wales’ office for a group visit to the Prince’s private garden at Highgrove in Gloucestershire and completed a questionnaire on Friends of the Lizard sent to us in response.  While no assurance has been given about a visit, our application will be considered and we will be notified well in advance.  However, it is known that security will be extremely tight and that a maximum of 25 people in the group would need to arrive in a single vehicle.  Accordingly, we envisage an organised coach trip.  Also, full names would need to be submitted in advance, to include only full Members of some duration.  This would necessarily exclude new Members or friends of Members.  We will keep you informed as soon as we have any news but it is unlikely to be in the near future.

THE LIZARD BUS IS 100 YEARS OLD

When the Chairman of the Great Western Railway, Lord Cawdor, announced at a meeting of the company on the 13th August 1903 that they were purchasing five motors which would each carry twenty-two passengers he was also announcing the coming of the motor-bus era which is generally regarded as commencing this year with these and the municipal services of Eastborne Corporation.

On the 17th August 1903 two of these vehicles, Milnes-Daimler wagonettes, inaugurated a service between Helston Station and the Lizard. The service was seen as an experiment to determine the amount of traffic along the route and whether it would be a viable proposition to construct a railway-line, as well as acting as a public service to feed the existing Great Western Railway line. The Milnes Daimlers were not acquired new, but were formerly owned by Sir George Newnes who had operated them earlier in the year between Ilfracombe and Blackmoor to serve his Lynton and Barnstable Railway.

The Great Western Railway scheduled three trips to be run daily along the eleven mile route, each of which took seventy-five minutes, the through fare being one shilling and six pence. The buses also served Ruan Crossroads (for Cadgwith), Penhale (for Mullion), Cury Cross Lanes and Dodson‘s Gap (for Gunwalloe). However they had to be withdrawn in 1904 because of the state of the roads which Helston Rural District Council had refused to roll. The service was resumed in April 1905 after the Great Western Railway had loaned the County Council a steam-roller for the purpose. Thereafter when services were advertised they bore the proviso ‘conditions of roads permitting‘. Although the cost of the operation was high the results were encouraging enough for new services to be operated in areas where light railways had been considered.

With thanks to the Bus & Coach Enthusiast and Helston Folk Museum