Events

Regrettably the Ravenmeols Community Centre is no longer available to us and we have moved most of our meetings to the Methodist Church in Elbow lane unless specified

Members are encouraged to invite friends and family to join them for our TalksVisitors are always very welcome.

We ask for a small voluntary donation of £2 for each visitor

We hope to see you plus any friends and family you may wish to bring on these dates.


March 6th, the presentation that evening will be by FCS member Bernard Nevin entitled “BLITZ! I was a Sefton ARP Volunteer!”

Bernard has recently unearthed the original diaries of a WWII Air Raid Precautions volunteer, James Barrow, a Crosby resident. Bernard has extracted excerpts from these beautifully written diaries and formulated them into a talk that brings to life James Barrow’s personal experiences in the Sefton suburbs as he fought to save residents from German bombs in 1939-1941. The talk centres on Crosby but his account applies to ARP activities across all Sefton and beyond. Remember, we had a dedicated APR in Formby, too, and still have a Formby Times cartoon of some of them.

This talk will cover the preparations for the Home Front from 1938, particularly the role of the ARP Service, their training and meticulous organisation. Bernard will retell James’ real-life harrowing experiences in 1940. Being so close to Liverpool Docks, the whole of the Sefton coastline was targeted by German high explosive bombs, incendiary bombs and devastating parachute mines. He will also mention the role of ‘Operation Starfish’ that aimed to divert bombing away from the Germans’ chosen targets in Liverpool into more rural Formby. Contemporary maps and photographs from Sefton Libraries will be used to illustrate the topic.

James Barrow’s physical Diaries will be on display for people to view as well as WWII artifacts from the British Legion.

The talk will finish with a rewarding, yet unexpected conclusion 20 years after the War had ended.


Local Walks

There are 4 local walks in formby which can be viewed by clicking HERE