The u3a History group aims to provide a varied and informative programme, broadening and developing our interest and understanding of both past and present issues.

Talks are given by members of the group and the wider Whitby u3a membership and draw on the speaker's areas of interest, expertise and research. Visiting speakers also contribute talks from time to time.

Topics cover a wide range of local, UK and international historical topics and the talks last between 60-80 minutes on average, with a mid-talk break for social interaction over a cup of tea/coffee for this thriving and friendly group.

Meetings are weekly on Thursday afternoons in the Eastside Community Centre from the end of September through to the end of May, excepting during school holidays. 

Forthcoming events

24th September 2026
2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
History

'The Dark Ages were brighter than you think', David Bradley

David writes: "The Dark Ages Were Brighter Than You Think" is a light-hearted gallop through the years between the Romans leaving Britain in 410 and the Normans arriving in 1066. I am exploring the reasons for calling the period 'Dark', the written works of Caedmon and the Venerable Bede, and the significance of some Anglo-Saxon finds in Staffordshire and Suffolk."

All very welcome / class fee £1.00

Venue: Eastside Community Centre

1st October 2026
2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
History

'The Extraordinary Life of William Mogg’, Fiona Barnard

Fiona writes: "The Adventurous Life of Captain William “Billy” Mogg, 1857-1933, whaler, explorer, Arctic walker. How a pair of carved walrus tusks donated to Whitby Museum led me to the eventful life of their owner, from childhood in Devonport to old age in Seattle. On the way I learnt a lot about interactions between whalers and local populations, and how to overwinter a ship in the Arctic. In autumn 1905, Amundsen’s ship the Gjoa became trapped near Herschel Island and Mogg guided him overland 700 miles to Eagle City to telegraph the King of Norway that he had found the North West Passage."

Venue: Eastside Community Centre

All very welcome / class fee £1.00

8th October 2026
2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
History

'A Visit to Holy Island' Carol Wilson

Carol is a keen botanist and expert on wildflowers, She has spoken to us before about the Knights Templar in Westerdale. She recently visited Holy Island. and her talk this time will describe some of the wildflowers of Holy Island accompanied by some of the island's history

All very welcome / class fee £1.00

Venue: Eastside Community Centre

15th October 2026
2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
History

'The Battle of Britain in North East England ' Denis Fox

Born in Seaham in 1944, Denis studied at Durham and Newcastle Universities and now lives in Durham City. He retired from teaching art at Emmanuel College in Gateshead in 2011. Four years ago, Denis developed a series of paintings connected with a famous air battle that took place over the North-East coast. Denis talks about the eight RAF squadrons that took part in the victory over the Luftwaffe on 15th August 1940. He also includes the role women took in helping to defeat the enemy.

All very welcome / class fee £1.00'

Venue: Eastside Community Centre

22nd October 2026
2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
History

 ‘Balloonatics: Some pioneering Yorkshire hot-air balloon ascents' Mark Davies

Two of the most significant early hot-air balloonists who made pioneering ascents from Yorkshire were Vincent Lunardi, a charismatic Italian who had become the first person ever to fly in Britain in September 1784. He made ascents from York (the gardens adjacent to the Minster) and Leeds.

Windham Sadler, who was the son of James Sadler, an Oxford pastry cook and pioneer aviator, became the first Englishman to fly, one month after Lunardi in October 1784. Windham's Yorkshire ascents were from York (the same York Minster location), from Pontefract and Doncaster in August 1814; and from York again, Leeds and Sheffield in 1823.

Venue: Eastside Community Centre

All very welcome / class fee £1.00'

5th November 2026
2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
History

'Nobel Chicanery' Rick Harwood

The purpose and award of the several Nobel Prizes has often provoked discussion and controversy over the years. Indeed the original implementation was particularly controversial. This talk covers aspects of the history of the institution, notable and distinctive awards over the years, and the personal stories of some of the award winners.

Venue: Eastside Community Centre

All very welcome / class fee £1.00'

12th November 2026
2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
History

'Henry VII and Elizabeth of York: the marriage that built Britain.' Aimee Fleming

Get to know Elizabeth and Henry and learn how their marriage brought peace and prosperity, and had a lasting legacy right up to today!

Venue: Eastside Community Centre

All very welcome / class fee £1.00'

19th November 2026
2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
History

'Some good things to come out of Middlesbrough' Marian Brockway

All very welcome / class fee £1.00'

Venue: Eastside Community Centre

26th November 2026
2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
History

'The Farmer Vaccinator' Dave Welford

It is 1774 and smallpox is spreading rapidly in rural Dorset. Farmer Benjamin Jesty is desperate to protect his family from this dreaded disease, only to find that his methods (forerunners of a branch of modern medicine) make him an outcast in his own community. Overlooked by the medical establishment of the time, how would history come to regard this bold pioneer?

Many people are aware of Edward Jenner's contribution to the birth of vaccination, but one suspects very few have heard of Benjamin Jesty. Dave Welford's carefully researched work of biographical fiction, "Scratch beneath the Surface", seeks to get better recognition for Benjamin Jesty, a true pioneer in the use of cowpox to protect against the more deadly smallpox.

All very welcome / class fee £1.00'

Venue: Eastside Community Centre

3rd December 2026
2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
History

'History via Cycling's Grand Tours' Ruth Harwood

This talk consists of a variety of cameos and stories of people and places inspired by last summer's cycling Grand Tours, the Giro d'Italia, the Tour de France and the Vuelta Espana. Along with occasional cycling stories will be a raft of historical stories of people and places, some well-known but others very much less so. Do you know, for example, where the longest escalator in Europe is? I certainly didn't until the Giro went there!

The 2026 Tour de France began by the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona and finished near the Sacre Coeur in Paris, but do you know the dark story behind the Basilique de Sacre Coeur?

All very welcome / Class fee £1.00

Venue: Eastside Community Centre

10th December 2026
2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
History

Smorgasbord a variety of short talks by group members

Venue: Eastside Community Centre

CHRISTMAS BREAK - 5 weeks

14th January 2027
2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
History

'Who were the Vikings? A case study from Cumbria.' Rachel Newman

We think we know who the Vikings were (Danes, Norwegians...), but the physical evidence suggests that things were a bit more complicated than ' the Danes settled in Yorkshire and the Midlands (the Danelaw) and the Norsemen in Scotland and Ireland' - which was what I was taught in school. Using evidence from a rare cemetery found 20 years ago in northern Cumbria and other evidence, such as place names and documentary sources, we'll examine what the grave goods which accompanied the bodies can tell us about the backgrounds of the interred.

All very welcome / class fee £1.00'

Venue: Eastside Community Centre

21st January 2027

2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
History

‘From Grape Lane to the Edge of the World’ - Cook’s three voyages of discovery' Richard Appleton

All very welcome / class fee £1.00

Venue: Eastside Community Centre

28th January 2027
2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
History

All very welcome / class fee £1.00

Venue: Eastside Community Centre

4th February 2027
2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
History

‘The DDR Revisited’ Malcolm Brooke

All very welcome / class fee £1.00

Venue: Eastside Community Centre

18th February 2026
2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
History

‘’  tbc

All very welcome / class fee £1.00

Venue: Eastside Community Centre

25th February 2026
2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
History

'The Black Bridge Path' Graeme Aldous

Venue: Eastside Community Centre

All very welcome / Class fee £1.00

4th March 2027
2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
History

'Linnaeus - the father of taxonomy' Alan Ritson

Venue: Eastside Community Centre

All very welcome / Class fee £1.00

11th March 2027
2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
History

'To Svalbard and Beyond' Fiona Barnard

This talk will look at the history and natural history of Svalbard (Spitzbergen), and will include some holiday photos from the Barnards' recent visit, some of Scoresby's drawings and maps, and some historic voyages further north, including a mention of Amundsen's balloon expedition.

Venue: Eastside Community Centre

All very welcome / Class fee £1.00

18th March 2027
2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
History

EASTER BREAK ; 3 weeks

8th April 2027
2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
History

15th April 2027
2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
History

22nd April 2027
2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
History

‘The Cases of the Young Professionals: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the typewriter, the engineer and the solicitor’ Catherine Wynne

All very welcome / Class fee £1.00

Venue: Eastside Community Centre

29th April 2027
2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
History

'The Sea Route to India' Fran Sandham

All very welcome / Class fee £1.00

Venue: Eastside Community Centre

6th May 2027
2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
History

13th May 2027
2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
History

20th May 2027
2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
History

27th May 2027
2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
History