MEMBERS of the Royal Forest of Dean Club celebrated its 1000th meeting.

Probus was originally set up for retired businessmen and professionals but now includes women among its members.

The 1000th meeting of the Forest club, was held on July 16.

It started with an interesting and informative talk about the Battle of Gettysburg, a turning point of the American Civil War, by Tim Brain who was Chief Constable of Gloucestershire between 2001 and 2010.

It was illustrated with photographs that he and his son had taken during a recent visit to the site of the 1863 battle.

Probus members were then treated to a buffet lunch with a special anniversary cake.

The Royal Forest of Dean Probus was formed by the merger of two previous clubs.

The club has a full programme of talks and visits arranged throughout each year.

They include talks on local subjects and history, world travel, military, industrial topics, music and broader historical subjects.

Trips include visits to local industries, museums and other places of interest.

For the last meeting in July members listed the Jet Age museum in Gloucester and previously the club has visited the Concorde museum in Bristol and the Morgan car factory.

The club also holds lunches and other social events with a special occasion every Christmas when wives and partners are invited to a lunch at Bells Hotel.

The last meeting hosted Police Community Support Officers Dawn Teague and Tom Oliver as guest speakers from the Forest of Dean Neighbourhood PolicingTeam.

If you are interested in joining the club, come along to one of the meetings which are held on the first and third Wednesday of the month from 10am until noon at Bells Hotel, Lords Hill, Coleford.

For more information, e-mail the secretary on [email protected]