We welcome recommendations from our members, but are happy also to 
respond to offers from professional speakers. Our members get a lot of social and intellectual satisfaction from participating in the various interest-groups, and the monthly meeting best demonstrates our commitment to the u3a principle of life-long learning.
All interests are catered for, be it Our Place in Space, Bronze Age Dartmoor, the Pre-History of Malta, the Future of Local Journalism, Plymouth under the Blitz or The Building of Exeter Cathedral – to name just a handful of past topics.
Previuos and future speakers
Thursday 19th March 2026
Rebekah Pearson will be telling us about the lives of the Devonshire Landgirls during WWII
Thursday 16th April 2026
Anton Horwich
Nightingales UK
Nightingales UK is a group of like-minded medical professionals in Milton Combe, a small village near Plymouth in Devon. The war in Ukraine with its terrible humanitarian crisis has compelled us to fundraise in support of the Ukrainians. We have already substantial experience with personally raising
and delivering life-saving medical and humanitarian aid to the Eastern Ukrainian Hospitals in Uzhhorod, its shelters and orphanage for vulnerable children. The Uzhhorod’s people’s humble appreciation, resilience and modesty have left a deep impression and strong motivation for our continuing support.
Thursday 21st May 2026
Mick Harrison
How to better protect yourselves from on-line criminals
Mick is a retired Metropolitan Police Officer now working for Devon and Cornwall Police as a Cyber Protect Officer
Thursday 18th June 2026
Rob Flavin
Writing for Comedy
Rob lives local to Tavistock and is currently studying comedy writing. This will be an interactive event, helping the audience think about how comedy works and how different types of comedy have their impact. It should be fun!
Thursday 16th July 2026
Sue Spackman
Tavistock Abbey
Tavistock abbey ruins play an important part in the urban landscape of the town and have done for so for a thousand years, yet what we know about it as a Benedictine abbey, a centre of commerce, education and agriculture is found in limited publications and from minimal archaeological investigations.
Sue Spackman is a retired conservation architect who ran a practice in Tavistock. Over the last ten years she has worked on bringing the abbey to the public’s attention and has been the main instigator of forming a group to work with the Tavistock Heritage Trust and the Town Council to obtain funding to repair the Stillhouse and Betsy Grimbal’s Tower, for further archaeological investigations and interpretation.
For further information about our Speakers or to contact the Speaker Secretary speakers@westdartmooru3a.org.uk
