Birth of Frimley Green Working Men’s Club – Part 2
In 1962 the club had been converted to all electric and was put on to the off peak tariff. All the collection boxes had been cleared and checked by Mr. D. Bird sr. And the sum handed over to the treasurer was £4.50 shillings. The lighter fuel box (fuel for lighters and sale of cigarettes) had 13 shillings an d sixpence. The money was sent to the Union convalescing homes.
In 1962 the new tables had been ordered, to be in red and a different selection of chairs from Direct Furniture Sales. The chairs were to be upholstered in black. Cleaning allowance was increased to £3.10 shillings. Remember at this time ladies were not encouraged to join or to order a drink at the bar, this was reserved only for male members! It was proposed by Mr. W. G.Greenfield and Mr. E. G. Woodhouse to purchase a new Sack Barrow for the
Steward.
A special meeting was held for a building programme to be set up to extend the club. The total count of members
welcomed into the club was at three hundred plus. In 1963 a report from the architect for a new brick building was dropped to a timber structure at an estimated cost of £4,500. This was for the new extension to the hall. Committee proposed that a TV be put on the wall in the games room, it was to supplied and rented from
Hayes and Walker LTD. The first payment to this was £12. 13 shillings. Questions for a new car park and cycle cover to be laid out and the cost of £119, but this was rejected. The club invested in a new fruit machine the old Mills 777 was out of date and to be replaced by a new electric one it was called “ Fruit Cocktail at a weekly charge
of £8 per week.
Members and committee would often announce for a moments silence for those members who had passed on. The front room parlour ( Darts Room) was used for mothers and their children to sit. Part of it was curtained off to house the clubs secretary’s office. Complaints were made by members that private club business chat was overheard and embarrassed members so that year the upstairs boardroom was used, from then onwards meeting were held up stairs. In December 1964 the entertainment committee reported that the children’s parties had been arranged and booked in for Saturday 15th February, with a film show and party games for the younger children also a record player with pop music to be played for the older children. The club now started to use their own facilities instead of using St Andrews Church as in the previous years. ladies were to have their annual night out to see The Black and White Minstrel Show on the 18th February. On the night of the ladies night out, Mrs Hardy missed the coach but Mr. W. Tracy had his car and with Mr. T. Sharp overtook the coach, thus enabling Mrs Hardy to enjoy her evening. What a good example of “ Clubmanship !”
In 1966 the club started to shake off its old fashioned attitudes, people were waiting to join and the committee found it difficult to keep up the demand by personally vetting, so they relaxed into word of mouth of the older members on the character of applicant, this got them in to trouble as one committee member had a few rogue friends that joined on his recommendation. This went back to the good old fashioned way of an interview. A valuation that year of the clubs premises/ furniture and fitting were accounted.The figures they received were £13,500 for the freehold land and the furniture and fittings £2,000. Friday nights new project was to start a “Live Band Night” and a Jackpot raffle. The cost of these bands would be £7.00 and the price of a Jackpot ticket was one shilling. The committee at this time were: A. Budgen, W. Greenfield, R. Terry, A. Phillips, H. Dawes,
E. Woodhouse, W. Stewart, C. Riches, J. Whitticker, J. Sharpe and E. Maxted.
The club purchased the Union Sign and it was to be placed on the outside wall.
Cottages 6-7 Sturt Road were purchased by the club on the Northern side strip. Mr J. Searl of Joyce Cottage and Mr. Moth. They were still to be rented out for the time being.
Cottages 6 and 7 Sturt Road.
In 1965 a new radiogram arrived and twelve new LP’s were purchased at the delight of the younger members. In 1965 it was proposed that they bring back the original Benevolent Fund as a gift to members during sickness.
(More on theses gift in part 3) The club had its own Whist Drive entertainment and the prizes were £1.00 First prize and 2nd prize of 15 shillings and two of 10 shillings, this became very popular with St. Andrews Church joining in. In 1965 Butlins at Bognor Regis was to be the Clubs summer destination, at the cost of 15 shillings, this
covered the members family. Trumans donated a Crate of beer for the outing. Mr G and J Craddock requesting that he be allowed to use the clubs car park for his mobile veterinary van, but this was rejected. The stewards wages in 1966 were £15.00 a week and his wifeʼs wage was £5.00, this was based on 77 hours per week and the wife’s hours of 55 hours a week! In 1967 the Building fund stood at £2750. A new change machine was purchased for changing up 6 penny pieces, it was to relieve the bar steward from spending too much time changing up money for the fruit machine players. The club window cleaners bill was £1.00 and 10 shillings inside and out. Almoners reports committee members regularly visit the sick members with gifts of eggs and fruit. In previous years it had been half a bottle of Rum. A new “KEG” beer was bought in to try out by Courages it was called “Tavern Kegʼ If this beer should sell well they will supply a cooling apparatus.
45 new members had joined in January and February a further 35 members also joined. Ever popular as the land surrounding Frimley/ Frimley Green was being built on new housing was going up at an alarming rate. Building committee report for plans to be drawn up for a new hall to be built. Budd and Jones had prepared outline drawings for this. The management committee was Mr. Tracy, Mr. Woodhouse, Mr. Riches, Mr. Bond, Mr Ray Parker, Mr. Goddard, Mr Kilpatrick and M. Kavanagh. A notice went up to see how many men would be interested in an Angling Club, letters had been sent to the CIU to see if they had any suggestions regarding available waters the club could use.
Club ledgers report: The Angling Club was showing great response even though the inclement weather. A new trophy was donated by Trumanʼs for the Angling Club and the lease for Potters Pool Frimley Green had been set up for them to fish. The money from each fund pot was counted out as follows: Halifax Building Society a sum of £2500, Guildford Rural Council: £1000 and the Building fund for general maintenance around the club stood at:
£3742. The club wrote to the council for the permission to demolish the cottages and all mains gas/ water be cut off. The Camberley News ran an add “Re-Tender Demolition of Cottages.” It had always been the clubs rule to look after the sick and CIU club money could pay for convalescing members at a cost of £5 weekly or £10 fortnightly.
In 1969 the new extension for the hall was held up due to the loss of the buildings deeds. Complaints about the TV and card players got very heated at times both clashing, TV users and card players got in each others way. (T V and cards in the same room.) Great news for the ladies! we could be served at the bar! But before all of us ladies get excited it was only when the small bar was closed. Because 1969 was getting ready for the decimal coinage in the next few years, the half penny coin was discontinued so all beer had to be rounded up to the Penny. It was proposed and carried that a letter from Camberley Welfare asking if the club be responsible for the TV licence each year for the Old peoples flat-let’s in Mytchett.
So that concludes the 1960s. Next see how the entertainment became popular. 1970s and new committee members.
Written by Debbie Hutson.
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