Thursday 18 June was a self drive trip to the Bovington Tank Museum, just west of Wareham in Dorset. Organised by Chris Perkins MVO, in his usual professional manner, this was a splendid visit augmented by the use of a guide for our tour.
This expansive modern facility has examples of tanks and other armoured vehicles from the introduction of the first tank in 1916, which changed warfare from mounted to mechanical, through to the latest Challenger 3 tank currently being developed by Nato. The museum claims to house the only German Tiger tank in working order.
Founded in 1979 the Probus Club of Basingstoke has elected a new president and committee at its 46th AGM on 9th June 2026.
As the Probus name suggests its membership is made up of retired professional and businessmen who enjoy meeting regularly for lunch where they have a range of interesting speakers as well as a social monthly pub lunch accompanied by their wives or lady friends. Mixed specialist lunches are taken several times each year and organised outings are arranged to interesting venues. The next, later in June, will be to the Bovington Tank Museum.
The new president is Sherfield on Loddon resident, Paul Klinger, a retired solicitor, while the other officers are a mix of working experiences. In fact, the glue holding the club together is the spread of members working across the spectrum of all the local commercial and industrial employers as well as medical, nuclear, police and military services.
Stephen Thair hands over the chain of office to new president Paul Klinger
Paul Klinger President for 2026 -2027
President Paul Klinger and elected committee (missing is Gareth Lewis – Lunch Steward)
An excellent month for support from our local magazines and from the Basingstoke Gazette.
Nine publications ran with the trip on the Basingstoke Canal, including that rarity. the Loddon Valley Link, while the ever late Kempshott Kourier ran with our previous report about Black Broadcasting.
It was good to see that the Chineham People and Hook Focus carried our report. There was no report from the CommunityAd stable of magazines due to calendar variances with their publishing dates.
The Probus Club of Basingstoke held its Spring Ladies’ Lunch at the Test Valley Golf Club where the guest of honour was Alison Wood, President of the Basingstoke Ladies’ Probus Club. Thirty nine dined well and enjoyed good company. Organised by Vice President/Lunch Steward Paul Klinger ensured that everyone received their chosen menu selection although it appeared the most popular main course was the roast lamb. A brain testing puzzle had been also set by Paul Klinger leaving attendees with a range of words to add to their lexicon.
The ladies were pleased to receive a spray of flowers.
President of Basingstoke Ladies’ Probus Alison Wood with Probus President Stephen Thair
With nine publications in May means it is one of the best months for coverage about the Probus Club of Basingstoke in the local printed media.
With differing publishing dates means that we have three different subjects this month and we have more eastern area coverage with the Hook Focus giving us a full page, while the CommunityAd for Church Crookham carried our Military Medical report which was a very local subject for their readership
It was also good to get coverage in the Chineham People magazine where they have a style of splitting up a report across several pages.
A warm, fine sunny April day greeted our group of twenty-three members and partners of the Probus Club of Basingstoke for a cruise on the Basingstoke Canal from Odiham to Church Crookham. A number of us met up beforehand and enjoyed a good lunch and chat in the Waterwitch Pub alongside the canal.
The first plans for the development of the Basingstoke Canal were drawn up in 1776, as a means of transporting agricultural produce from central Hampshire. Approved by an Act of Parliament the construction contract was awarded to John Pinkerton, and his local family of contractors: his memory lives on to this day with one of the barges bearing his name. The waterway was completed in 1794 and connected Basingstoke with the River Thames at Weybridge via the Wey Navigation.
It has had mixed fortunes ever since, not least tunnel collapses, bankruptcies, falling demand and constant limited water supply. It was never a commercial success and, starting in 1950, a lack of maintenance allowed the canal to become increasingly derelict.
In 1966 the Surrey and Hampshire Canal Society (now renamed the Basingstoke Canal Society) was formed by a group of local enthusiasts, with a view to reopening the derelict canal. Restoration commenced in 1977 and on 10 May 1991 the canal was reopened as a fully navigable waterway stretching for 32 miles.
Today, the Canal provides a superb facility for water activities, a haven for wildlife (it is an SSSI), an amenity for recreation and well-being, and a heritage asset. It is run by the Basingstoke Canal Authority (BCA), using public money from the Surrey and Hampshire County councils and from local councils along its restored length. Notwithstanding modern-day financial constraints, the Society works with the BCA to make the most of opportunities to promote the Canal with its owners, users and the General Public.
All told, it was a wonderful afternoon on the canal aboard the “John Pinkerton”. The crew of four volunteers, led by ‘Skipper’ Tony Welsh, were extremely friendly and well informed, pointing out points of interest and wildlife en-route. An on-board galley served hot and cold drinks including alcoholic along with snack items. They were well priced too. The weather was absolutely perfect and the boat was beautifully presented and comfortable too. It was indeed a very pleasant and relaxing afternoon and a most calming experience for all of us.
Members of the Probus Club of Basingstoke were treated to a fascinating slice of little‑known wartime history when speaker Guy Caplin explored the covert world of “black broadcasting” during the Second World War.
Most people recognise the chilling call sign “Germany calling, Germany calling,” made infamous by William Joyce—better known as Lord Haw-Haw—who broadcast Nazi propaganda in English from Germany. Joseph Goebbels, one of the most senior figures in the Nazi Party, understood the power of radio, and his propaganda machine was relentless. In response, Winston Churchill authorised Britain to develop its own clandestine broadcasting operation.
The BBC already produced German‑language programmes but refused to engage in subversive work. As a result, a secret unit was formed under the leadership of Dennis Sefton Delmer. Born in Berlin to an Australian professor, Delmer was fluent in German and had worked as the Daily Express newspaper’s foreign correspondent. His close contact with rising Nazi figures—including a 1931 interview with Hitler—made him simultaneously suspected by the Germans of being a British spy and by the British of being a German one.
Sefton Delmer broadcasting to German audiences in 1941
Delmer’s acquaintance with Commander Ian Fleming, then deputy head of Naval Intelligence and later creator of James Bond, likely helped secure his role. Delmer’s mission was to broadcast in German, blending accurate news with carefully crafted misinformation designed to sow doubt and anxiety within the German military.
A Network of Deception
The first of several covert radio stations was established at Wavendon Towers near Bletchley Park. These stations mimicked genuine German broadcasters with remarkable skill, using up‑to‑the‑minute news, recordings of Hitler’s speeches, and snippets of local detail supplied by agents to create an air of authenticity.
At Fleming’s request, a dedicated station was created to target the German navy and U‑boat crews operating in the North Atlantic. Styled after pre‑war commercial stations like Radio Luxembourg, it played popular German songs, British orchestras performing German music, and American dance band tracks—much to the irritation of German authorities but to the delight of listeners. Interspersed among the entertainment were subtle pieces of misinformation.
One of the British operation’s greatest advantages was speed. German broadcasts were slowed by layers of internal checks, while British stations could leap ahead, airing news before the enemy could. Agents even supplied local football results, and a popular presenter known as “Vicki” took music requests, further enhancing the illusion of legitimacy.
Influencing the Axis
Fleming also oversaw the creation of Radio Livorno, an English‑run but Italian‑language station. Its propaganda proved so persuasive that, fearing the British advance through southern Italy, the Italian navy surrendered its fleet to the British in Malta.
Aspidistra the world’s most powerful radio transmitter
Another major asset was the Aspidistra transmitter at Crowborough in Sussex. Named after the Gracie Fields song, it was the most powerful medium‑wave transmitter in the world at 500 kW. Its ability to switch frequencies instantly allowed it to replace German stations knocked off the air, convincing listeners they were still tuned to their local broadcaster.
Unusual Tactics
The British also experimented with more unconventional methods. The RAF dropped boxes containing homing pigeons and questionnaires, encouraging civilians to send back information—though many pigeons, sadly, ended up as food during shortages.
A daily newspaper summarising the previous day’s broadcasts was also printed and dropped over Germany, reinforcing the disinformation campaign and gradually eroding public confidence.
German language newspaper dropped by RAF
After the War
Following Germany’s defeat, Sefton Delmer was sent to help rebuild the German newspaper industry. With little support, he eventually returned to the Daily Express. In recognition of his wartime service, he was awarded the OBE in 1945, being described as a section head in the Foreign Office.
A good month for publicity with the Basingstoke Gazette carrying our report on The Pen is Mightier… and the Hook Focus giving us space for the first time while the Chineham People magazine proves elusive
The Kempshott Kourier- traditionally publishing later in the month, and the Basinga, who just held things back, ran with the Military Medical report from the previous month.
Nigel Thorley, guest speaker at the Probus Club of Basingstoke, took members on a lively journey through the evolution of writing instruments.
Collection of mainly Parker fountain pens owned by the speaker
He began with the Egyptians, who 3,000 years ago wrote on papyrus using shaped reeds dipped into ink made from natural materials and insects. These early tools eventually gave way to quills- strong feathers from large birds, slit at the tip to allow ink to flow smoothly without blotting.
Blotting itself changed dramatically in 1801, when blotting paper was invented by accident, replacing the sand traditionally used to dry ink.
By the mid-1850s, the metal nib had been refined for dip pens. A narrow slit in the nib allowed ink to flow by capillary action, and Birmingham became a major centre of production, with one company alone employing two thousand workers. Dip pens remained a classroom staple into the 1950s, when school desks still featured ceramic ink wells refilled daily by the designated “ink monitor” a prized position. Today, steel nibs survive mainly in the hands of artists and calligraphers.
Specialist metal nibs for dip in pens today are used by designers and calligraphers
The arrival of fountain pens marked a turning point. Although early versions were made of metal, the invention of Bakelite in 1907 by Leo Baekeland revolutionised production. This mouldable plastic type material allowed pens to be fitted with a lever mechanism that compressed a rubber sac, drawing ink into the reservoir.
In 1921, the American company Parker launched the now-iconic Duofold and later solved the problem of slow-drying ink with the introduction of Quink-quick drying and fountain pen friendly. Parker’s advertising dominated in the 1930s, and in 1941 the company unveiled the “Parker 51” named to mark the firm’s 51st anniversary and to signal that the pen was a decade ahead of its rivals.
With eight patents and a lifetime guarantee, it became a symbol of innovation. Its fame was sealed when General Eisenhower held up two Parker 51s in a victory gesture after signing the documents that ended the Second World War.
This must be the ideal product endorsement
The ball point pen, however, would change every day writing forever. Hungarian inventor Laszlo Biro and his brother created a thicker, fast drying ink that didn’t smudge. Granted a patent in London in 1938, the brothers later fled to Argentina during the war. The RAF quickly recognised the value of their invention, ordering 30,000 pens because fountain pens leaked at altitude.
Manufacturing of this ball pen took place from 1945 in USA where a New York store placed an order for 50,000 and sold 30,000 in the first week of this new style pen that did not need refilling for two years. Originally priced at $12.50 today it has become a throwaway pen costing pennies.
In the meantime Parkers continue with fountain pen manufacture together with their roller ball and propelling pencil variants marketed as a luxury item to be treasured and second-hand versions fetch good money on auction sites.
There was a bit of catching up this month with three magazines featuring the Nuclear career of Susan Fletcher-Mallinson while four all gave good coverage to the Military Medical Improvements we heard at our last meeting. The full pages have had to be shrunk to fit on top of the front covers.
Probus Club of Basingstoke 
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