All Change at the Top…

Keith Underhill, Teignmouth Probus Club’s new Chairman, is a Town Councillor and Chairman of the Teignmouth Chamber of Trade, who has just been installed by the outgoing Chairman John Pearce. 

Keith retired from a ‘dream’ job as a Director of a West Bromwich stainless steel firm to take over Bella’s Emporium in Teignmouth, (with his wife June).

His supporting team for the year is:  John Polley continues as (Secretary) who will be Chairman in 2027 swapping with Keith Underhill who will take over as Secretary, Steve Shore (Treasurer), Chris Inch continues as Speaker finder, Steve Williams as Committee Member No. 1, David MacVeigh as Committee Member No. 2 & Deputy Speaker Finder, Chris Inch (Speaker Finders), David Kirk (Past Treasurer) as Account Examiner, Rick Purnell continues as Press Officer and Webmaster, Dave Clark & John Kay as Registrars.

Our 1st Speaker of the new year was Dr. David MacVeigh who talked about “Super Explosions” from the biggest non-nuclear event – the Halifax Nova Scotia harbour catastrophe of 1917 obliterating  ½ mile radius of the city with equivalent of 2.9 kilo ton of TNT to the 1944 Hanbury in Staffordshire disaster occurring in a disused gypsum mine beneath Upper Hayes Castle Farm near Fauld where an underground store of 4000tons of high explosive bombs and 500million rounds of rifle ammunition blew up 1 million tons of debris leaving a crater of about three quarters of a mile in circumference and a hundred feet deep with 70+ killed plus injuries.