Founded in 1897, the Society was originally known as the Nottingham Guild of Mechanical and Electrical Engineers, changing its name to the Nottingham Engineering Society in 1903, and then finally changing to its present title in October 1913.

In its earliest days it met at a public house in Basford, then the Rose of England on Mansfield Road, Nottingham, moving to the Welbeck Hotel on Milton Street in 1903. Since then it has met in various other venues, mostly within easy reach of the City centre.

From the start the Society was very active. Even before the Great War of 1914 -18 it arranged a weekend visit to Belfast, taking in a tour of the Harland and Wolf shipyard coupled with a trip to the Giant’s Causeway. In 1909, 330 members and friends travelled by special train to Portsmouth Dockyard and in a later year a visit was made to Newcastle-on-Tyne.

In the main, lecture subjects centred on steam and coal, some typical titles being ‘boiler explosions’, ‘brush steam turbines’, ‘defective boiler mountings’ and the ‘utilisation of exhaust steam’, all of these topics being listed before 1914. Meetings continued throughout the Great War with a Roll of Honour of serving members exhibited at meetings. In 1917 the Society formed a deputation to the City Gas Committee to obtain a concession in the price of gas for industrial purposes, followed by a deputation to the Town Clerk. The outcome of this activity is not clear from the surviving records.

The Society continued to flourish between the Wars under the leadership of a succession of local senior engineers. The list of Past Presidents contains many well known names in local industry.

In 1929 the name ’Weller’ appears in the records for the first time. In that year the Society appointed Alfred (Fred) Weller as its Secretary, and that was the beginning of Fred’s unique work for the Society. He served without a break as Secretary, Honorary Secretary, President 1943/4, Trustee and Honorary Life Member until his death in 1967 - a unique lifetime contribution to the Society, which without doubt, ensured its future into the 21^st century.

From his early days, Fred was helped and supported tirelessly by his wife Peggy. Their house in Perry Road was often full of Society members holding meetings, auditing accounts, sending out circulars etc. Even after Ray Marshall was appointed Secretary in 1955, Peggy continued to actively support the Society, particularly at social functions.

A great achievement was the organising of a conference in 1942 on Post-War Reconstruction held at the University College. Some 15 papers were given on the Sunday of the conference covering planning, buildings, services, transport and economics. These were given by delegates from the Society, the Illuminating Engineering Society, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, the Institution of Electrical Engineers, the Institution of Heating and Ventilation Engineers and the Institution of Fuel

The meeting was chaired by a former President of the Society, Ernest G. Phillips, and its papers were published and widely circulated.

Meetings and visits have continued without a break up to the present day with the lectures reflecting the developments of the time. Aviation, electronics, computers and space exploration have replaced steam, although a lecture in the 1990’s dealt with gas-fired power stations.

Furthermore, visits since 1945 have included Heathrow Airport (in its early days), Harwell Atomic Energy Establishment, RAF College Cranwell, Austin Motors Longbridge, Jaguar Cars Coventry, RAF Waddington (to see AWACS) and Radcliffe-on-Soar Power Station, with its desulphurisation plant.

Normally, ten lectures are organised each year from October to March, the first of which is a lecture by the President as his Presidential Address.

Up to the late 1990s, an Annual Dinner Dance known as the ‘Ladies’ Evening’ was held. A number of locations were used for this event, perhaps the most prestigious being the ballroom of the Portland Building at the University of Nottingham in the late 1960’s. Other venues have included County Hall, West Bridgford and Grange Farm at Toton.

The main social event of the year is now the Society’s Annual Dinner held in November. Venues for this have been the Victoria Hotel Nottingham, the former Albany Hotel Nottingham and County Hall. The current location is the West Bridgford Masonic Club on Melton Road, West Bridgford.

The Society celebrated its 100^th anniversary in the 1996/7 session under the Presidency of Richard Potter.

The Centenary Year had a number of major highlights, including the raising of over £11,000 from members and local beneficiaries, both corporate and municipal. The contribution by Past President Sir Joseph Pope to this achievement was considerable and fundamental to its success. These funds were used to finance two prestige lectures. The first was given by Ms. Sara  Parkin, a founder of the Green Party, on the subject of ‘sustainable development and the environment’ followed by a talk on ‘the contribution by industry to our national life’ by Sir Adrian Cadbury.

There was also a Civic Reception held by the Lord Mayor, Councillor Greensmith, in the ballroom of the Council House. Over 200 members, guests and friends of the Society were present.

Perhaps the most important and lasting highlight, was the remaining fund of approximately £9000. This was distributed by the Trustees, over a period of years, to applicants from Schools and Colleges of Further Education, in pursuance of the promotion of Engineering as a future profession for students.

All of the Society’s key records deemed to be of sufficient importance, are now held in perpetuity in the County Archives of Nottinghamshire.

The Society has now entered its third century and continues to maintain a modern and forward looking outlook in all its proceedings.

R.A. Marshall

Past President - 1971/72