The Dursley & Cam Society

The Dursley & Cam Society is a local history society which began after an open invitation in 1981 to local residents for anyone interested in the possibility of forming "A Civic Society for Cam and Dursley". Much interest was gathered and an inaugural meeting to discuss the proposals was held at Dursley Community Centre on March 3rd 1982. It was chaired by Ken Hall and the programme for the evening consisted of a slide show by David Evans entitled "Old Cam and Dursley Illustrated", a talk on how such a society could operate, given by Matt Welsh, and an open discussion on the general idea of forming a society. It was all agreed and the first committee came into being with David Evans as Chairman, Alan Pearce as Treasurer and Jill Davis as Secretary.

Since those early days the society has gone from strength to strength and in 2007 it celebrated its Silver Jubilee with a commemorative evening in the Town Hall, now its regular meeting place. From September through to July the Society holds an illustrated talk on the second Tuesday of each month, starting at 7.30pm. All are welcome, members and visitors alike. For further details of Society events or membership please email me.

In 2004, the Society also began publishing its very successful annual journal, "The Dursley Lantern", a high quality publication containing articles of local interest. These are available free to members of the society and are also available for sale to everyone else. Most editions of "The Dursley Lantern" are still available and a brief description of each is given below.

Copies of "The Dursley Lantern" can be purchased in the Dursley Heritage Centre or by post. Payment by cheque only and postage & packing charges are dependent on the quantity ordered (1 - 90p, 2 - £1.40, 3 or 4 - £1.90: to UK destinations).

To order copies, please email for further details.
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	Picture Gallery (Click on picture for larger view)

			Dursley Lantern 2007 Contents: King’s Hill Dursley Parish Church Memories of Dursley and Cam Cold War Cam and Dursley A Memory of Castle Farm Dursley Town Centre Newsagents HMS Dursley Galley One Lamp Cam Cam - Then and Now Turnpike Trusts in the Dursley Area A4, 44 pages - £4 + P&P

			Dursley Lantern 2006 Contents: Dursley goes International The Stiff Families of Dursley and Cam Memories of Life in Lister’s Foundry 70 Years Ago A Boat named Dursley The Curate and the Battle of the Balls A Tour of Dursley in 1883 Dursley’s Adopted Warship - HMS Trident The Bailiffs of Dursley The Summer of 1976 Remembered “Almost a Centenarian” - Ignatius Dark and the Cam National School A4, 44 pages - £4 + P&P

			Dursley Lantern 2005 Contents: Rope Making in Dursley Aircraft Down! Tales of Crashes in Cam and Dursley The Fire Bell on Dursley Town Hall Dursley - Then and Now Coal Gas in Dursley A Look through the Log Books - School Life in late Victorian Days Dursley Lanterns The Gazette - Part of the Community The Past in Pictures - Station Road, Cam The Curious Case of John Venn Night Out for Ninepence - Memories of Picturegoing in Dursley A4, 40 pages - £3 + P&P (OUT OF PRINT)

			Dursley Lantern 2004 Contents: Cruelty at Dursley Union Workhouse The Rangers House Racing Horses on Stinchcombe Hill The War Memorial Gates and the Story of Dursley’s VC Early Advertising in Dursley Destination Dursley - Wartime Evacuation to a Cotswold Town Climbing Boys Temperance in Cam and Dursley Reminiscences of Dursley and Cam A4, 32 pages - £3 + P&P