Wetherby Mens Forum
The Forum’s meeting on the 8th of November was attended by 51 members.
The guest speaker was Gillian Waters, a part time teacher from York whose chosen subject was Guy Fawkes Yorkshireman, very appropriate for a meeting held three days after Bonfire Night.
Gillian introduced us to the key participants in the Gunpowder Plot including the leader Robert Catesby and Guy Fawkes who was invited to join the gang as a “gunner” because of his knowledge of explosives.
The plot extended beyond blowing up the House of Lords with King James and his sons to an armed insurrection in Warwickshire and the kidnap and installation of the King’s young daughter Elizabeth as a puppet Queen.
The cause of their dissatisfaction was the enmity in England between the Protestant and Catholic churches.
Guy Fawkes was born into a Protestant family but became a Catholic in his youth in York, it is believed as a reaction to the martyrdom of Margaret Clitheroe in York.
He then moved to the Netherlands where he received a Catholic education and joined the army of the King of Spain.
The plot was uncovered when Fawkes was found under the House of Lords after information obtained from a spy in the Catholic ranks.
Some of the plotters escaped to Warwickshire where they attempted an armed insurrection which was defeated. All the surviving plotters were executed in London by the process of hung drawn and quartering.
Mike Earle proposed a vote of thanks for an excellent talk complimenting Gillian on remembering the many participants without using notes.