East Devon Luncheon Club welcomed Dr Todd Gray, renowned Devon historian, to its meeting this month.

Dr Gray gave a fascinating talk entitled "Slavery in Devon".

He told the 86 members and guests present that the topic was often a difficult subject to discuss, but was much more complex than many thought.

The talk was full of facts and figures as Dr Gray stated his role as a historian was to present the evidence and not have opinions one way or the other.

He gave a broad picture of slavery, including black slaves taken by black peoples, white slaves taken by white peoples, showing how multifaceted the issue was.

The audience was enthralled by the talk and it was agreed by many attending that a further lecture by Dr Gray in a future programme would be well received.

Chairman Simon Card said: "Dr Gray's talk was absolutely fascinating, thought provoking and full of interesting information.

"Although he has now spoken to the club twice over the years his encyclopaedic knowledge on so many subjects makes him a must for our future programme."