LEWDOWN Young Farmers' Club is celebrating its 40th anniversary in style with a dinner and dance — and no wellies in sight!

The dinner and dance — with 'a proper band' — will be at the Eagle House in Launceston tomorrow, April 19.

Club member Jane Stacey said that for the past six months they had been researching the history of the club and its former members, and the treasurers, secretaries and chairmen from the past 40 years had all been invited to the celebrations.

'It will be a big reunion,' she said, adding that everyone — particularly past members — was welcome to attend the dance, which is due to start at around 10pm.

The speaker at the dinner will be James Morrish of the Devon Rural Stress Network.

It is planned to have a board displaying old photos and other snippets of the history of the club, for which contributions would be welcomed.

Jane stressed that as it was a special night, they were asking people to be smart — 'no jeans or trainers'.

'It will be nice to see all the boys out of their overalls and wellies and for us to be smart for one night,' she said.

Unlike some other YFCs, the Lewdown club does not do a lot of stock judging, but Jane said they were heavily into fundraising instead, having raised considerable amounts for charity over the years.

Jane is the second generation of club members.

Her father, Roy, was one of the first members of the club 40 years ago.

He said it was started at the instigation of the then vicar, the Rev Dickinson — who was the first president — and a local farmer, Harry Vigers — who was the club leader.

'There were about 30 members then and we did quite a bit of proficiency test work.

'I've got certificates for ploughing and poultry picking and plucking from those days,' Roy said.

Roy added that Young Farmers' Clubs were known as 'the countryside marriage bureaux' and Lewdown was no exception.

'Over the period of time there have been a lot of marriages between members,' he said.

Anyone wanting more details of the dinner and dance, or who has old photos or information concerning the history of the club, can contact the club secretary, Alison Bellamy, on 01566 783266.