ONE of the two Kidderminster Historical Society Saturday morning meetings arranged this season so that people who are at work during the week can attend is upcoming.

On Saturday, March 9 at 11am, Doug Smith will give a talk entitled The Birmingham Tramways in the First World War.

Light refreshments will be provided.

Doug will tell the story of the Birmingham Tramways covering the periods before and during the First World War.

He will also talk about some of the 243 men from the Transport Department who died in the war.

These will include a man who is claimed to be the influence for Bruce Bairnsfather's famous cartoon character Old Bill and a man who invented a way of improving the trams and was awarded the military medal when he died.

Yes, there is death, says Doug, but also humour as we honour these men who drove the trams, collected the tickets and died for their country.

Doug is a retired history teacher with 40 years of experience.

He has written four books From Trams to Trenches - the story of the men from Birmingham Transport Department who died in the First World War, Who’s For the Game - the story of the men from Moseley Rugby, Moseley Golf, Ashfield Cricket and Moor Green Football Club who died in the First World War, Cheer Boys it’s Hartlebury and Most Poorly and Cowardly - Hartlebury Castle and the civil wars in north Worcestershire. He was awarded an MBE for services to education in 2012.

Meetings are held at the Museum of Carpet, Stour Vale Mill, Green Street, Kidderminster.

For this meeting there is a small charge of £5 for visitors who are most welcome.

More information about the society can be found on the website at kdahs.org.

The society's next meeting is this Thursday, February 22 when Nina O'Hare will talk on Small Pits, Big Ideas: Investigating Worcestershire's medieval villages.

Nina, community project officer at Worcestershire Archive and Archaeology Service, ran a project to dig 96 test pits in six locations across Worcestershire, including Wolverley and Bewdley, on behalf of Worcestershire Archaeological Society.

In this talk she will tell what they have revealed about the county's medieval villages.

It is at the Museum of Carpet with a 2.30pm start.