Inaugural Address by President
Harold Stokes
at the Annual General Meeting,  31 March 2011

I was born and brought up in Birmingham and educated at King Edward VI Grammar School.  Naturally, I am an Aston Villa supporter although I am told that some people up here support Manchester United, but I suppose there’s no accounting for taste.

The war had started when I left school and I found a job with a firm making lorries for the Army.  This was at Adderley Park, an area well known to the late Vic Middleton.  One incident springs to mind: the blitz had started and in the middle of one morning we had an air raid alert so everyone had to make for the shelters which were across a piece of open ground.  On our way, a German bomber, a Heinkel, popped out of the cloud base but thankfully popped back in again.

Shortly after this I moved to the LMS railway and, after few happy months with them, went into the Army.  I served for some five years, mostly with the Royal Tank Regiment.  Surviving the Normandy Campaign, obviously, I finished up in Germany.  Immediately after the cessation of hostilities I was one of a detachment sent to clean up the Camp at Belsen.  Something best forgotten.

After Demob I returned to the LMS and then later British Rail, working all over the system until retirement.  At this point Doug Willey suggested I might like to join the Probus Club which I did and have never regretted.  I understand that I am the oldest serving member at 30 years or so, but not the oldest member!  I was surprised to be asked to take on the office of Vice President and now am very privileged to serve as your new President.  I am conscious of serving a long line of distinguished predecessors but I will do my best to maintain this standard and am looking forward to the coming session which I am sure will be most enjoyable.

I will do my best to serve you as President.  Thank you.