CREDITON Probus Club members met on Wednesday, January 11 at The Red Lion, Shobrooke, for their monthly lunch.

There were 18 members present and everyone enjoyed a wholesome meal.

This was followed by an illustrated talk given by Mr Robert Hesketh on the subject of “Devon surnames and beyond”.

Mr Hesketh is an author of more than 40 books about Devon and surrounding counties, together with considerable experience of photography, much of which is to be found in his books.

His talk covered the various origins of surnames, which fall into a number of categories a) Occupations and trades, b) Place names, c) Nicknames and finally, d) Derivations of Fathers’ names.

He gave many instances of how some names came to be shown today, and how they might have been modified by previous spellings over the years.

The talk was detailed, and well received by the members who listened with great attention, causing a number of searching questions to be asked on the conclusion of the presentation.

The vote of thanks was proposed by Past President Brian Healey.

The meeting concluded with the President, Ken Down proposing a toast to absent friends and to “The Next Time”.

DD