The Voyage of the Beagle Anniversary

"A Shrewsbury Rotary Club has donated hundreds of pounds to two good causes in recognition of the struggle they face under lockdown - as well as a very special anniversary.

The Rotary Club of Shrewsbury Darwin wanted to find a way to mark the 200th anniversary of the first launching of HMS Beagle, which would go on to later carry Shrewsbury man Charles Darwin around the world as he developed important scientific theories.

The remains of the dock it launched from, in Essex, are to be recognised as a protected site to mark the anniversary.

Graham Burns from the Rotary Club said: "We, as a club, are donating £200 to Lingen Davies Cancer Fund and £200 to the Severn Hospice.

"We also are aware that charitable donations are going to be hit badly as many fundraising events are cancelled due to the current pandemic.

We as a club are still meeting every week via Zoom with usually 25-30 members ‘attending’.

"We are concerned about how we can continue with our charitable donations given that we have already had to cancel a lot of functions and events this year, not least of which is the Border Randonnee cycle event which would have been run this weekend.

"Last year was its inaugural year and we raised several thousands which was donated to Prostate Cancer as well as local charities such as the Harry Johnson Trust and others. This year the primary beneficiary was due to be Lingen Davies.

"We, as a club, are concerned that many of these charities entirely rely on donations raised by functions and events and it is important that people are made aware that any donations matter now more than ever.

"We felt that a landmark anniversary needed to be recognised, especially given the name of our club."