Our Forbes meeting was commenced with the sad news that our friend Bill Richards had passed away the previous evening.

Bill was well known to our members as he had attended many of our meeting in Condobolin, Tottenham  and  West Wyalong. 

After a minute’s silence in remembrance of Bill’s contribution and the reading of the Ode the general business of the sub-branch was conducted by President Michael Whighton.

Past President, Bruce Howard, advised that the Norwegian, Joachim Roenneberg, the leader of a daring World War II raid to thwart Nazi Germany’s nuclear ambitions had died aged 99 years.  

In 1943, he led a top-secret raid on a heavily-guarded plant in Norway's southern region of Telemark.

Joachim Ronneberg, serving behind enemy lines in his native Norway during the German occupation, in 1943 blew up a plant producing heavy water, or D2O, a hydrogen-rich substance that was key to the later development of atomic bombs.

The operation was immortalised in the 1965 Hollywood film Heroes of Telemark, starring Kirk Douglas.

"He is one of our great heroes," Norway's Prime Minister Erna Solberg told NTB news agency. 

"Ronneberg is probably the last of the best known resistance fighters to pass away."

In addition Bruce reminded members of the little-known origin of the minute’s silence.

Information credits the idea to Edward George Honey, an Australian born in St Kilda, who served during  World War I and was the first to publicity suggest “silence” to hold the sorrow and loss of war and even thoughts of triumph. 

On 8th May 1919 Honey placed an article, regarding his idea of a five minute silence, in the London Evening News.

Sir James Percy FitzPatrick, a politician, took up the idea and eventually a rehearsal with The Grenadier Guards at Buckingham Palace was tried and as a result King George V formally decreed a two minutes’ silence. 

In a Probus bulletin dated November, 2007, Bob Lytton a local teacher mentioned “A two-minute silence”  for Remembrance  Day.

Those not in attendance missed a great presentation, with a power point  display,  by our guest speaker Neil Toole.     

Neil and his family in 2017  went to live briefly with the Masai people in Kenya. 

While there they were able to assist the local village children by building chairs, to replace the rocks normally sat on, and tables for class rooms.

Their currency and wealth is calculated by ownership of live stock, eg cattle and goats which also provide, together with beans, peas, maize, the main source of nutrition. 

Despite extremely dry conditions with none of the basic facilities that we take for granted, like shoes for instance, the Masai have a happy life based on century old traditions that are hard to believe still exist in what we consider the modern world.

But surprise, surprise, they all carry mobile phones which costs $0.50c per month.

February 17th will be our AGM at Condobolin, be there if you can.