Goring, East Preston, Rustington, Ferring, Angmering, Littlehampton & Durrington
Welcome to Ferring Probus Club
Enjoy two meetings every month at Ferring Probus Club
Thank you for visiting the Ferring Probus Club’s website. We are a West Sussex Probus Club whose membership consists of retired and semi-retired ladies and gentlemen who enjoy regular opportunities to meet and share time together through various activities. Please come and join us at one of our Coffee Mornings held on the first Tuesday of each month in St Andrew's Church Centre, Ferring, where you will find a warm welcome. Gordon Uphill, President
Ferring Probus Club
Ferring Probus Club, founded in 1982, meets for a lunch and a coffee morning every month for members to socialise, enjoy fellowship, make new friends and develop their interests. Our members come from all walks of life. The Club welcomes speakers who give talks on a wide variety of interesting subjects. In addition to members enjoying a wonderful lunch, followed by a talk, at Worthing Indoor Bowls Club and our coffee mornings, social activities include afternoon tea outings, playing games (eg Shuffleboard) and entertainment (eg films, Bell Ringers).
Learn more about our Club
If you are interested in learning more about our Club please come to a Coffee Morning or contact Gordon Uphill by email: Gordon Uphill
Our NEW WEBSITE
Member Ian Goodall created & maintains this Ferring Probus Club website.
With thanks to David Gibbs and Gordon Uphill for their substantial contributions
which make this website so informative.
NOVEMBER LUNCH - change of speaker
Artificial Intelligence is constantly in the news, but much of the conversation is full of technical jargon and alarmism. There's a change of speaker for our November lunch talk when Sally Crathern will give her talk "Demystifying AI: Practical Tools for Everyday Life". A talk not to be missed!
Talk at Worthing Indoor Bowls Club Lunch, May 2026
PROBUS AFTER-LUNCH TALK: Britain’s V Bombers
Probus (Ferring) Club members were given an interesting and insightful talk entitled “Britain’s V Bombers” at their Lunch held at Worthing Indoor Bowls club, on the 20th May 2026. The speaker was Mr Andy Richardson, a retired Bomber Pilot who had served for around 20 years in the RAF.
Andy told the club members that the V Type Bombers (called V type because of their Names: Victor, Valiant and Vulcan) were commissioned after the 2nd World War by the Labour Government as a Nuclear Deterrent. They also wanted a plane that could drop Bombs accurately if required to do so.
We were informed that 107 Valiant Bombers, 88 Victors and 136 Vulcans were manufactured. Thankfully only 1 Valiant Bomber ever dropped a Nuclear Bomb, and that was only in a test.
Despite their large size they were able to fly high and fast. The fuel capacity was 10,000 gallons, and the planes used on average 1,650 gallons an hour in flight. The cockpit was very cramped and the plane had a crew of just 5. Interestingly the crew at the rear of the plane were not provided with an ejector seat!
To be part of the aircraft crew, there was a 3 day selection process, and then two years of training before trainees were ready to join a V Bomber team.
Every RAF V Bomber was a prime Soviet Target. The team always had to be on alert. The “Readiness state” was just 15 minutes, from being called to being ready to take off.
In July 1982 the last Vulcan Squadron was scheduled to be disbanded, but then the Falklands War happened and it never happened.
Sadly, the V Bomber force was never awarded any medals for their service. It took 67 years for Bomber Command to be finally recognised.
Our thanks go to Andy Richardson for providing us with an enjoyable talk.
Ferring Probus Club President for 2025/26
david gibbs, 2025/26 PRESIDENT
At the Club's AGM in March David Gibbs, pictured, handed over responsibility to Gordon Uphill, our new 2026/27 President.
OUR NEXT MEETING
6 October 2026: Coffee Morning with a talk about the school by James Cox, headmaster of Ferring C of E School