At the January meeting of the Pembrokeshire Prospectors Society, winners of the Finds of the Month were: coins pre-1649 (Henry VII half groat, 1490) - Steve Richards; coins 1649 onwards (William III shilling, 1696) - Kevin Higgs; ancient artefacts (copper goblet, late medieval) - Kevin Higgs; modern finds (Victorian gun barrel cleaner) - Steve Richards.
The remainder of the evening was devoted to the re-election of the committee. A proposal was put forward by Bill Bloomfield that all existing members be re-elected en bloc. This was seconded by Dave Williamson, and carried unanimously by the members.
The chairman thanked all officers for their efforts in the year 2008 and said he looked forward to another successful year in 2009. He also made special mention of Adrian Young, who made replicas of ancient artefacts for inclusion in the club raffles. Also thanks to Steve Richards for setting-up, and running the club website.
The secretary reported that the membership was full at present and that there was a small waiting list of people wishing to join.
Eleven rallies were held throughout the year and the club's thanks goes out to all local land owners who have given permission for them to search their land, especially in light of the very changeable weather in the past year that has given them many problems with land management.
Assistance was given to members of the public who had lost car keys, rings etc. The club's most unusual request was to search a horse paddock for something that was causing injury to the horses. One of the members found a length of barbed wire eight-feet long and fixed to a wooden stake buried in the ground. The wire was covered in long grass and was obviously the cause of the injuries and promptly removed. There has been no further report of any injury since.
Approximately £350 was raised for the Wales Air Ambulance by the society and a cheque will be presented to their representative at the next club meeting on February 5, commencing 7.30 pm at Haverfordwest Cricket Club, Dale Road.