Our club (official title “Probus Club of Locks Heath”) was formed in 1981 and has developed over the years. We now have a membership of fifty which is the maximum we can accommodate at our venue. As such, we do have a short waiting list, but encourage those on it to attend meetings periodically when space permits!
We meet at 12.00pm. on the first Thursday of every month 4at Sarisbury Green Community Centre when we have a short business meeting and a Ploughman’s Lunch followed by a Speaker and finish around 2.00pm. A pay bar is available.
We arrange group holidays, recent examples include a cruise to the Norwegian Fjords from and back to Southampton with Fred Ölsen Cruises, a visit to Lake Como in Italy and two river cruises in Europe, one travelling part way by Eurostar, as well as a cruise around Britain.
We organise outings, for example a visit to Greenwich and visits to the Chichester Festival Theatre as well as local events such as an annual Summer Event (Hog Roast, Garden Party, etc.,) for members, wives and guests. A Ladies Day formal dinner is held in November.
Photos from recent events and holidays can be seen in our Photo Gallery.
Probus members visiting Southampton or Fareham (Sarisbury Green is situated roughly half way between them on the A27) are most welcome to attend one of our meetings.
Contact Us
For further information, please contact us by email at probuslocksheath@gmail.com or contact
- Colin Smith, Club Secretary, oceanswest@gmail.com, Tel: 01489 582633
Venue
Sarisbury Green Community Centre
The Green
Sarisbury Green
Southampton
SO31 7AA
www.sarisburygreen.org.uk
Probus Club of Locks Heath Origins
The origins of Locks Heath Probus are somewhat unclear but the President’s chain of office records it’s first owner in 1982 when the holder is identified as G R Strauli.
Moving on just over a decade, there were forty members in 1995 when Roy David (to whom we are grateful for his time and patience in providing this background) joined the Club at around the same time as Golly Carless. George King was president at that time. His proposer was Tony Thrower. Tony Lee produced the monthly Newsletter documenting meetings, trips, etc – a tradition which continues up to today.
It was the members themselves who gave the talks based on their own experiences. Every new member was expected to give a talk, not just a two minute intro as we do today – Roy remembers giving his on Model Aircraft. War stories and personal hobbies were the number one topics.
Like today, the venue was the Sarisbury Green Community Centre, with the members themselves having to set up tables and chairs prior to the meeting. Food was limited, often just soup.
Soon after joining Roy became Assistant Secretary organising trips almost every month, much like today this covered a variety of destinations from the Poole Lifeboat to Woolwich Arsenal and Brooklands. There were no coaches, members took their own cars and their wives went along too.
In 1999-2000, the year of the Millennium, Roy became President. The annual Ladies Lunch (a tradition which continues today although at different venues) was held at the Warsash Sailing Club although a number of the wives met up regularly on “Probus Thursday” organising a lunch of their own.
Today, we have a club of around fifty members but much of the old “tradition” remains and whilst new members are not expected to give presentations on their favourite topics, if they do have a special interest a talk on that would be most welcome! There are regular trips (including Chichester Festival events), annual holidays as a group and an annual “Garden Party”.
To achieve the aims of Probus, members attend meetings regularly in so far as their circumstances allow and play an active part in the club according to their abilities by, for example, giving talks, undertaking secretarial and committee duties, and by helping with the organisation of club functions.
The Club does not engage in fund raising activities as such but the Club and its members give active support to local charities in many ways.
Ron Harrop advises:
Back then I was head of the Locks Heath Rotary Club’s Vocational Committee. The incoming president Keith Phelps charged me to form a probus club. I used all the information that GB&I head office provided.
Eventually I found six men willing to take on the running of the Club. The first meeting was in my lounge at home . I then handed it over to the those original members.
The rest is history until I joined the Club in 2013.
For further information look through the rest of the website and use the contacts provided.
Probus
Probus is the association of retired and semi-retired men and women who join together in autonomous clubs throughout the U.K. and the world.
The word PROBUS is an abbreviation of the words PROfessional and BUSiness but membership is not restricted to these two groups. It embraces any person who has had some me asure of responsibility in any field of endeavour.
The basic purpose of a Probus Club is to provide regular gatherings of persons who, in retirement, appreciate and value opportunities to meet others in similar circumstances and of a similar level of interest. Membership provides self-generating goodwil, a sense of belonging and a diverse background of interests. The activities of the club are directed primarily to providing fellowship with the opportunity for development and acquaintance.
Probus Clubs were developed with the help of Rotary and many Probus cubs retain close ties with their local Rotary organisations.
Probus Clubs have a local rather than a national membership with numbers generally around fifty but with some approaching two hundred. A Club’s activities depend upon the wishes of its Members. Most Probus Clubs invite visiting speakers to many of their meetings. These may be held in the morning or afternoon or over a lunch, which may consist of one, or of many courses. Many clubs organise local rambles, visits to the theatre and places of interest: some arrange frequent coach trips to UK or continental destinations.
Members may join more than one Probus club if they wish and the rules of the clubs allow. Ladies may join any Probus Club if the members so decree.
Nationally a group of members has formed an informal Probus Information Centre which produces Probus regalia and supplies, publishes a directory of Probus Clubs and an occasional news bulletin. Our secretary has details and holds a stock of Probus ties.
Useful Links
Further information on the history of Probus in the UK can be found on the Probus Online website.
There is a general introduction to Probus on Wikipedia.
There are lists of all UK Probus Clubs available on Probus Online and on the UK page of probus.org.
Finally, Probus Global provides a range of information including details of Probus Clubs around the World and access to worldwide Special Interest Groups, including Photography and Travel. You can also see their latest Newsletter as well as Newsletters from Probus Clubs around the world here
Happy Web Browsing!