A meeting of Narberth and District Probus Club was held on May 29, and once again Evan Davies, president, was faced with the cancellation of his programmed speaker; with only four hours to find a replacement, urgent phone calls were made to the committee. John Wretham, a founder member of the club, came riding to the rescue with a superb talk entitled 'Magic in War'. Launching his talk with an introduction to the main characters, Winston Churchill, Professor Lindeman, his scientific adviser, and the two 'magicians', Jasper Maskelyne and Frank Fox, John described how Lord Gort became enthused by the latter two outstanding experts in the art of camouflage. Out in the Western Desert where the Afrika Corps had pushed the Allies back to El Alamein, Maskelyne and Fox began their art of deception so beautifully conceived that it outwitted and completely confused the Afrika Corps on the ground and in the air. Maskelyne was asked if he could disguise the Suez Canal. He replied that he could not, but he could move it a mile out of its position. This was so successful that he was asked to disguise the harbour at Alexandria. Building a dummy lighthouse and submarine and a merchant ship disguised as a cruiser, he moved the ships around at night when simulated street lighting was constructed two miles from the harbour to trick bombers to drop their bombs in the wrong place. Carrying the deception further, an old searchlight was fitted with 24 reflectors driven around the lens by an engine and throwing multiple beams so confusing to aircraft that a Spitfire sent up to evaluate its effectiveness crash landed. Bringing his talk to an end, John Wretham told how Maskelyne was asked by Monty, before the Battle of Alamein, to trick the enemy into believing that his main thrust would come from the south whilst in reality it would come from the north; all knew the outcome of that. Thanking John most profusely, Evan Davies, the president, asked Peter Wills to present a vote of thanks on behalf of the members. Peter, using a verse from Rudyard Kipling's 'If', praised John for his timely rescue, his erudition and his excellent presentation. The secretary informed members regarding an outing to Newton House at Dinefwr Park on Thursday, July 8, with details to be sent out later. Wishing all members a safe journey home, the president, Evan Davies, reminded everyone that the speaker in June would be Phil Thomas, of Ty Hafan.
