THE chairman of an Ilkley club for retired professional men and businessmen aims to portray the average member in a book celebrating more than 30 years of the society.

Retiring chairman of The Probus Club of Ilkley, Ron Shaw, has written a history of the club which has been published to coincide with its 32nd anniversary, on May 14.

A high-achieving head of a three or four generation family, who lived through the Second World War, and listens to the club speaker - although occasionally closes his eyes for a few winks - could be a member of the club, says Mr Shaw, 71.

His new book, Probus Man of Ilkley, cites some of the most interesting and humorous events from the club's history, meticulously researched from the club's records, and aims to encapsulate the atmosphere of Probus Club membership, as well as the essential characteristics of typical members.

For his research, Mr Shaw trawled through the minutes of more than 600 meetings, many beautifully hand-written in old Woolworths jotters.

He said: "One of my colleagues had kept the archives, all the minutes of all the meetings, and I thought I'd like to know a bit more about the club, so I borrowed the records. There was quite a wealth of information, and as I started to look through the records, I picked out the interesting bits and talked about the members rather than the historical facts."

As well as focusing on some of the club's lighter moments, Mr Shaw has drawn up what he believes is an accurate profile of the typical Probus Club member, based on his own

knowledge and the club's records.

Mr Shaw moved to Ilkley in 1972, and ran his own textiles company. After he retired in 1992, he asked a friend to propose him as a member of the Probus Club of Ilkley. Potential members proposed and accepted for the club are then put on a waiting list.

The name of the club comes from the words 'professional' and 'businessman'.

Although most of the club's members are familiar with the club's more recent history, says Mr Shaw, many know less about the earlier years of the club. He retires from his one-year term as chairman on Wednesday, and wanted to create the book to coincide with

the occasion, and to celebrate the club's birthday.

The book features a list of the club's 100 members as of March this year.

l The book costs £5, and is available from Mr Shaw at Dunderdale Cottage, 9 Gilstead Way, Middelton, Ilkley.