The Pen and Camera Club of Methodism
The Pen and Camera Club of Methodism
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What follows is a reprint of John Morton's history, which accompanied his "Wilf Harrison" lecture of 1974 entitled "The first Seventy Years" (edited by Rodney Deval).
FOREWORD. (To the 1974 edition). It is a great pleasure to
introduce this "History' by John E.Morton, Associate of the Royal
Photographic Society. Within the compass of a few pages John Morton outlines the
history of one of the earliest, if not the earliest, Postal Photographic Clubs. Known for his great enthusiasm
for photography, especially Flora and Fauna and Landscapes, the author has been
zealous in research and there is no one better qualified to write this history. As Secretary from 1947 to 1971
and as President since 1970 he has had an opportunity of knowing the Club in all
its various sections ‑monochrome prints, colour prints, colour slides and
Free‑lance work. Under his guidance the Club has grown and developed among
Methodists in a way that, at times, has been almost embarrassing. John Morton,
over the last twenty‑five years, has used every opportunity to collect and
index details about the life of this unique Club. With changing conditions and
ever increasing numbers, the original aims have been firmly held: To see and
develop a love for the beautiful and to translate it into Photographic
Pictorialism, and to further Christian fellowship among its members. OXTON,
‘THE FIRST SEVENTY YEARS'. Compiled by John E.Morton ARPS,
1974. Edited by Rodney Deval ARPS,
1993. 'The heading to be found on the
criticism sheets of the monochrome circle indicates that our Club was founded in
the year 1904. The Founder was the Rev.H.Mudie Draper who, acting in conjunction
with the Rev.W.Blackburn Fitzgerald, then the General Secretary of the Wesley
Guild, began the circulation of the folios that were to continue to this day,
seventy years later. When in 1953 I began preparations
for our fiftieth Anniversary, I got in touch with Mr.Draper, then living in
retirement at Angmering‑on‑Sea, a little village on the When in 1956, my work took me to
live in Littlehampton I found that Mr.Draper was in the list of Supernumeraries
for our Circuit and it was not long before I Sought him out. His daughter gave
me great help in the preparation of this part of my record and from material she
supplied I discovered that the year 1904 was his last in Douglas for, during
that year Mr.Draper went to Bradford, Otley Road, Circuit and by 1905 was
already editor of the "Bradford Methodist'. As a photographer he was a most
gifted man, we have a photograph of his in the permanent collection of some
pillars in Chichester Cathedral. The negative from which this print was made
must have been exposed before 1902 for he left the Chichester Circuit to go to During one of our conversations,
Mudie Draper told me that his interest in photography dwindled somewhat and
eventually he gave up the hobby except for the occasional snapshot, using a box
camera. This is borne out by the fact that he ceased to be a member of the Club
in 1907. Of the co‑founder, the
Rev.W.B.Fitzgerald, I know next to nothing. He died in 1931 and apart from the
fact that he received the folio during his term as Guild Secretary, I find no
mention of him ever entering a photograph, and the same is true of his
successors! The folio has, until
recently, always gone to Guild Headquarters. but as the influence of 'The Guild'
magazine dwindled and finally died, the appearance of our folio there vanished
also. After Mudie Draper the Secretary Was a Mr.W.Pye of Gainsborough who
continued the working of the folio in much the same way as his predecessor. We have a notebook which was
started in 1905 and was evidently a book which
went round with each folio. In it there are little articles, many and
varied comments, and an agonised moan asking where the folio had been and a
great many signatures. The owner of one of the signatures, in particular, earned
world‑wide fame as one of the greatest photographic chemists of all time.
He was the great Kenneth Rees, twice winner of the Progress Medal of the Royal
Photographic Society. During the Society's centenary celebrations in 1951 I had
the privilege of meeting this great man and found him to be a most likeable and
congenial character. He presented the Club with two lovely Dye Transfer Prints
to add to our permanent collection so that we could see that the old member was
still able to sake prints. However Kenneth Mees' membership of our Club was
limited to three or four years and so he became no more than a passing name. Much more groundwork was done for
the Club by Mr.Pve: taking over after the Club had been in existence for only
three years. It was he who laid the real foundation stone of the Club's
insistence on the furtherance of Christian Fellowship amongst its members. From 1910 when the first notebook
ended there is a gap in our knowledge until 1913. Then a note in 'The Guild*
Magazine mentioned the fact that Mr.W.Pye was Secretary and acknowledged the
appearance in that issue of several pictures by members of the Club. Mr.Pye's
contribution was a lovely woodland scene called 'Bathed in Sunlight'. Another
set of pictures of children provides us with the first link with those far off
days. They were the work of W.A.Bramwell. During the year 1910 there joined
the Club another whose name was to become well known, not only in our Club, but
to the photographic world as a whole. Our own Arthur Marshall who, during the
closing years of the First World War, was the Secretary. Arthur told us, during
a talk he gave, that before 1914 he had won the Beginners' Plaque and the
Mounting Plaque. He relinquished the Secretaryship in 1918 to James Halliday of For example, where are the
records of the monthly competitions that are such a feature of our Club life?
None was passed to me when I became Secretary but as I relinquished the running
of the folio to Rodney Deval I passed on to him the records of that Circle's
competitions. I do hope that all our Circle Secretaries will, in due course,
pass on their records to their successors or to Ruth Mudford, our Records
Secretary. We must, at the same time, remember that the early Secretaries were
very such on their own and, in fact, they were a dictatorship! It was left
entirely to them to run the Club for the benefit of the Members. It was not
until a great many years had passed
that, very gradually, a more democratic kind of government was instituted. In 1923 we pick up the threads
again with James Halliday still as the Secretary. There now begin to appear
names that are very familiar to our older members. Besides W.A.Bramwell and
Arthur Marshall there are T.W.Davies (Scottie), Eric Sowden and the
Rev.J.Charlton Blackburn. In 1930 there was another change
of Secretary. Eric Sowden took over from James Halliday, although the latter
still remained a member. It is at this time that we have our first recorded
reunion. This was at Scottie joined the Club, as we
have said, in 1923 and in 1973 we celebrated his fiftieth year as a member and
that is a great record. A Club that had a group of members like Scottie,
Braswell, Marshall, Sowden, and Halliday was surely very rich indeed from a
pictorial and fellowship standard. In 1927 a certain Mr.Duckett
joined the Club. When Wesley Garratt was Minister of our I had many conversations with
Wesley about the early days of his membership and most interesting those talks
were. There was another meeting of the members; when, exactly I do not know, but
it was at The decade from 1930 saw the
entry to the Club of those we have known and loved: John Bissett, Bill Harvey,
Harry Lovatt, Wilf Harrison, G.Beeves, George Gaisford, Archie Crawford, the
Rev.R.Leonard Jennings, R.P.Rowell, and S.Smith. What a Club to join' These have
all been names to conjure with indeed, and when Harry Lovatt took over the
Secretaryship in 1937 he took over a Fellowship that was growing in greatness
all the time. S.Smith was a truly great
character, already retired from business when he joined the Club, he took to
picture‑making like a duck to water. He had a remarkable aptitude, not
only for picture‑making but what was more important still, for writing
about one's pictures. His comments were always well worth careful study and were
never, in the slightest degree, offensive. At what was a wonderful old age (I
believe he was in his eighties) he won a competition organised by 'TheGuild'
magazine which was judged by Wilf Harrison and myself. Just after the war I went
to The Rev.Leonard Jennings was
another very fine photographer and critic. When he retired from the active
Ministry he went to live in Sandown and, while on holiday there, I renewed his
acquaintance and persuaded his to rejoin the Club as a member of the R.P.Rowell, in whose memory we
have a plaque that is competed for each year, was one whose pictures were always
worth very close scrutiny. He was very keen on making his pictures tell a story
and he had a rather witty way of making his comments. Perhaps the picture from
his camera that I like the best is the one of the tiny tree in a windswept
landscape. It was always a matter of deep
regret that I was never able to meet Archie Crawford, for he was always ready
with a quip and joke. Laurie Featherstone knew him well and tells many a story
about him. The one I love best is told by Arthur Marshall. He related how when
he and James Halliday were to give a lecture to a certain Wesley Guild, Archie
recruited a number of members from his Guild and they cycled over to encourage
Arthur and James. They cycled seventeen miles there and seventeen miles back, as
Archie weighed seventeen stones you will understand the enthusiasm of the man.
When I became Secretary I tackled Archie about his laxity in putting prints in
the folio. I told his that if only he would enter prints regularly he would be
an advanced worker in a very short time. To this Archie replied that it was just
because he did not want to become an advanced worker that he did not enter
prints! G. Gaisford was another member
who became quite a name in the photographic world. At one time he was President
of the Sheffield Club and the first member of that Club to be awarded the
coveted ARPS. It was in 1936 that the Rev. C.
Gordon Balhatchet was introduced by S.Smith and became a member
of the Club. If we could elect a Padre for the Club he would be
the first nomination! but a great deal about Gordon later. In the late 1930's Annie Hebden
and Eric Smith joined us and were closely followed by myself.
Annie's role in the Club was recently honoured by the bestowal
of Life Membership, so will deserved. Those who went to
Barton‑on‑Sea in October '74 will remember
Annie talking about her work as a Medical Photographer. When Harry Lovatt began
his period of Secretaryship (1937) he launched a campaign for
new members. First with a note in
'The Guild' magazine and then by notifying the change
of Secretary in the Journals and also in the 'Amateur photographer’
My boss
at the time urged me to obtain more knowledge of the Art and encouraged me
to Join the Pen and Camera Club. I also joined the Kentish Town Working Men's
Institute because that was the nearest evening institute with a course in
Photography. The relationship here will become evident later in the history. When I joined the Club I was put
in the Beginners' section but, as in that year I was awarded my ARPS for
Biological Photography, Harry Lovatt promoted me to the Intermediate Class on
account of my 'Technical Ability'. There I stayed for another nine years. You may be interested to learn
how the Club was run at this time. At the end of the year we sent to the
Secretary our entries for the coming year's competitions. From Beginners, prints
were of any size mounted on Whole Plate mounts. From the Intermediate and
Advanced, the prints were of any size on a 12' x 10" mount. The annual
subscription was 2/6d. and there was a fine of one penny a day for every day we
kept the folio over the allotted time. A new member joined the Beginners'
section and earned his advance by winning the year's competition. Advancement
from Intermediate to Advanced was terribly difficult for one had to win the
competition for two years in succession. Harry was most insistent on keeping strictly to this rule for
in his opinion a worker must win his advancement by his work in the Club and not
by what he had done before he joined us. The marking system was thus: only
the Advanced workers were allowed to vote on the Advanced Section's Prints. This
they did by the points out of ten system. All members voted on the
Intermediates' and Beginners' Prints and this they did by a simple one, two and
three method of marking. Only the winner of the whole year was counted. This
gives some idea of the difficult task that faced the Intermediate worker. Eric
and I had battles royal before we were advanced. First he would win, then I
would win! When I was about to take over the Secretaryship from Harry, Eric was
first that year and I was second so we were both promoted. This was so that I
would not have to worry too such about competition and so that Eric could join
me and give other members a chance to have a go. During the years of the 39/45 war
the Club continued in face of many difficulties such as shortage of materials
and postal problems. The number of folios in the year was cut to one each two
months and we reduced the size of all prints to a limit of Whole Plate. The
great thing was we carried on and, due to the tremendous enthusiasm of Harry
Lovatt, were able to keep the fellowship alive during those dark days. I myself
had great difficulty for we were bombed out of our house twice. From 1942 to the
end of the war we slept under a Harrison Shelter in our lounge. A night without
an air‑raid warning was an event to be celebrated. You can guess how such
time I was able to spend with the folio; but its appearance was a ray of light
in the darkness. I well remember the thrill of opening the box and holding a
meeting with the rest of the members of the Pen and Camera Club. Another
innovation that I believe was started during the war and has continued since,
was the 'snowball" method of collecting the prints. Instead of sending our
prints to Harry, there now began the three sets of prints. The set to be voted
upon, the new prints and the returned prints. This was a much more convenient
way of working and it has continued to be a success. I cannot stress enough the value
of the work that Harry put into the Club during those war years and in the years
that followed. His example as a Photographer was magnificent and there was never
an entry of his that was not stamped with his personality. The words 'Lovatt
Quality" were an honour that we all longed to see on the criticism sheet of
our own efforts. I feel sure that every one of us who were in the Club during
this period will echo my words and agree with me that the work of Harry Lovatt
lifted the whole effort of every member. Shortly after the war ended we
resumed the old size of prints; that is, any size print on any size mount up to
12' x 10'. Beginners kept to Whole Plate size mount and we also continued the
1,2,3, method of voting for the Beginners' and Intermediates' sections of
prints. During the 1946/7 competition
year I received a letter from Harry asking if he could meet and discuss Club
business with me. A Specialist had urged him to drop all responsible jobs as
soon as possible, and he asked if I was prepared to take over the task of
Secretary during the next year. I began my apprenticeship during 1946/7 as Harry
gradually relinquished control, and 1947/8 saw me established as your Secretary. The membership of the Club at
this time was as follows: ADVANCED SECTION. Arthur
Marshall, Harry Lovatt, C.G.Gaisford, Wesley Garratt and Gordon Balhatchet. INTERMEDIATE SECTION. Eric Smith,
Annie Hebden, George Seymour, Chris Clark, Wilf Harrison, John Bissett,
R.P.Rowell, D.Dodsworth, Archie Crawford, Harold Waite, Jack Alvey, Arthur Hamer,
Cyril Medway, Gilbert Lawson, Bill Harvey, Charlton Blackburn and myself. BEGINNERS SECTION. Harold Drewry,
Arthur Riley, Harry Beecroft, Tom Collins, Dennis Skelton, J.E.Hodgson and ADDED to these names were those
of four non‑contributing members or, as we would call them today
'Associates'. These were: T.W.Davies (Scottie), James Halliday, W.A.Bramwell and
S.Smith. When Harry Lovatt became
Secretary the name of the Club was changed from 'The Wesley Guild Pen and Camera
Club' to the simple title 'Pen and Camera Club' and under that heading we
continued until some years after I became Secretary. When the 'The Guild' magazine
altered its name to ‘Youth' I really did think that we should consider an
addition to our name that would link us more effectively with the Very early in my span of office I
began to arrange meetings with those of us who lived in or near Wilf Harrison and I took to
meeting after work for a cup of tea at the It was from the meetings in We were still just one monochrome
folio and our membership had risen to about forty. In the first folio of 1954 we
conferred Life Membership upon Harry Lovatt, never was an honour more deserved. So the year 1954 began a new era
in the life of the Club. From now on, instead of relying on the memory of the
older members we have documentary evidence about our doings. I began a series of
'Specials' that related the events of the annual reunions and in 1961 the
'Specials' were replaced by the 'News Bulletins' which have continued to this
day . The first gathering at Willersley
was fantastic' The joy of putting faces to those who, until now, had been just
scribbled names on our folders was really out of this world. To meet Arthur
Marshall, Scottie, Joe Needham, John Bissett, Gordon Balhatchet, Arthur Riley,
Eric Smith, Harold Waite, Annie Hebden, John King and dear old Gilbert Lawson
just to mention a few who were there. Gilbert and I soon became very dear
friends, not only was he a great photographer but he was also, like Wesley
Garratt, an artist in other mediums as well. He joined the Club in 1949 and his
sample of prints that went with his application for membership convinced me that
he was no beginner. He was one who would soon make his mark an the Club's life.
So in spite of the rule that said he ought to start in the Beginners' section, I
put him immediately into the Intermediate section. In his first full year
Gilbert was second to George Seymour. In the following two years he walked away
with the Intermediate competitions with the highest number of marks ever
recorded! He was, so far as I remember, the only member to gain advancement so
quickly and it took George another three years to qualify. What a place is Willersley! The
Staff were tremendous, nothing was too much trouble and everything went like
clockwork. Gordon and Annie took our first Service in the Cromford Church on
Sunday, May 2nd., and at this Service we sang the hymn that we have adopted as
our own, 'Love Divine, all loves excelling' which we sing at all our reunions.
Our one disappointment was that Harry Lovatt could not be with us, his illness
had taken a turn for the worse and, in fact, before we could meet again he had
passed away. During the first 7 or 8 years of
my Secretaryship I tried to get the work of the Club better known by Guilders.
The first attempt was called the Guild Folio of Pictorial Photography. I believe
every member contributed a print on 12"x10* mounts for the sake of
uniformity and I concocted a commentary illustrating the various point of
interest in each picture. This was to be read by whoever was displaying the
prints. 'The Guild' magazine advertised the venture which was so successful that
a second folio was organised. These two folios were later joined by a parcel of
prints on 20"xl6" mounts, all of exhibition standard, and from these
the basis of our Permanent Collection was formed. Our second reunion was at the
Links, This year was marred by the
passing of that wonderful old man, W.A.Bramwell, who was loved by all who knew
his for his kindly, generous nature and his loyalty to the Club he loved so
well. When, in the first flush of enthusiasm, in my appointment as Secretary I
asked if he would loan us some prints for inclusion in the folios to show
members, he sent me twenty‑four lovely pictures. These we entered for him
monthly. When the Guild exhibition folder was organised he helped again with a
print that is now in the permanent collection. He also presented the Club with a
plaque which he had won in 1913 and which we now compete for annually. We still
have a connection with W.A.B. for he introduced George Hall into the Club and
through George, Frank Lawton. In 1956 we returned to Willersley
and made it a rule that in even years we would meet at Willersley and in odd
years me would meet at North and South Guild Holiday Centres. I journeyed to
this reunion with Bob Edwards and we had a most enjoyable drive through
enchanting scenery. This year was a most important one for the Club. It saw the
founding of our first The lecturer at the evening
meeting was Gordon Balhatchet, the theme of his Talk being 'The Role of a Critic
in a Postal Portfolio'. This talk was an excellent resume of the points needed
to help one to comment on other members' work and it provoked, what I consider
to have been, even after all these years, one of the most delightful and
constructive discussions I have heard. That evening we also saw a combined
display of colour transparencies by Rod Deval and Bob Edwards which promised
well for the new circle. We finished the evening by watching a Cine Film by
Scottie which he promised us would contain pictures of the 1954 reunion. He
informed us that unfortunately our bit of "fillum" was at the end of
the reel! As the showing progressed he got a little disturbed and said 'I hope
this isna the wrong fillum". A few seconds later, in the midst of a
pregnant silence, he concluded his part of our entertainment with 'Sorry boys,
it IS the wrong fillum". So we never did see what we looked like in 1954. I
think it was this year that we saw the first of the Riley Colour Talks called
"A Trip down the Derwent". In 1957 we were at Abbot Hall for
the first time and, at the AGN under the Chairmanship of Eric Smith, Arthur
reported that the response from Club members to the On the Saturday evening the Lecture was given by Arthur
Marshall. This was the first time that Arthur had shown his slides to the Club
and the packed audience was enthralled. There was not only the beauty of his
pictures , all of which were in the now outdated 3.25" square format, but
there was also the wonderful way Arthur put his talk across. Here is an extract
from my report of that night: 'While Arthur talked my mind, although taking in the
pictures and hearing his words, began to wander a little. How many people I
wondered, really understood what they were seeing and hearing' Indeed, if it
came to that, how many even of our own members could realise the fact that they
were
watching and hearing history.' Human beings are so apt to forget
the greatness that is in their midst and perhaps only a very few of us knew that
Arthur was one of the really great in Pictorial Photography. His name was one
that was known in the days of Dudley Johnson, Alex Keighley, Bertram Cox,
Horsley Hinton, J.Craig Annan, R.W.Robinson, and the other great name in slide
production F.H.Sutcliffe. All those names are now of the past yet here was
Arthur still virile, still able to cast a spell with his pictures' At the 1960 reunion at Willersley,
Tom Collins proposed that each year we should have a 'Wilfred Harrison Memorial
Lecture' in memory of that delightful character. Tom and I had talked about this
some months before the meeting and I was thrilled to know that Wilf's name would
be kept green among us. Wilf had been my very first confidant and friend when I
became Secretary. He it was who passed the folio on to me and we met on numerous
occasions and during the tragedy that struck his son he was often in our
thoughts. Wilf was a great pictorialist and his pictures were always worth the
closest scrutiny. To hear his lecture was a revelation! He often came to my
photographic class and helped me put over the meaning of pictures. The way, by
means of cut‑outs, he could form a landscape on the easel was great. Arthur Marshall delivered the
first of these Lectures at about the time of his fiftieth year of membership. To
mark the event Gilbert Lawson had been commissioned to paint a picture of a At the 1960 meeting I retired as
Secretary of the folio in favour of Rod Deval. However, I was not allowed to do
nothing for the meeting elected me as General Secretary, a job that was to
become more important to the Club as time went by. We decided Rod and Arthur
should take care of the folios and that I should be responsible for anything
outside that term of reference and for the organisation of the annual reunion.
Also for the acceptance into the Club of new members. The Annual Subscription of
5/‑ was raised, at this meeting, to 10/‑. In 1960 we elected the first set of Officers:
President,
Arthur Marshall. Harold has continued from that
day to this and has nobly upheld the traditions of that office, even though at
times I am sure his patience must have been sorely tried. Always a wise
councillor and friend, his fairness in conducting the meetings so that all
points of view could he expressed must greatly have impressed us all. To me he
has always been one to whom I could turn and be sure of getting, not always what
I expected or wanted, a sound, reasoned appraisal of the problem and an
understanding of the situations involved. In 1962 the Club suffered a
severe loss by the passing of Arthur Marshall who had been a tower of strength
in many ways. His vast photographic experience and knowledge of procedure had
made him an ideal President and his death left a large gap in our ranks. In 1926
he won the Championship of all In 1963 we decided to leave the
Presidency of the Club vacant for a year. This would give us time to think about
a nomination to fill this office. This year also, I think, saw the turning point
in the Club's life. For some time past I had been very worried about two things
that concerned the Monochrome Folio, and in a way the At the 1964 reunion 1 had to
report that the 1964 was our Diamond Jubilee year
and we celebrated it in right royal fashion. Our Hosts were the Rev.Joe and
Mrs.Needham and for the first time we had as our quest and speaker
E.W.Tattersall and his wife. He later became a founder member of Circle 'B'. We
had a Birthday Cake, portions of which were later sent to those members who were
not fortunate enough to be with us. We listened to two talks. I spoke on the
Friday evening about 'The life and Times of Arthur Marshall" This was in
fact a memorial to him. The second was delivered on the Saturday by Ted
Tattersall when he told us of his thirty years as a Photographic Journalist in
Fleet Street. This was the "Wilf Harrison Memorial Lecture”and
was copied and sent round to members. Also on the Saturday we planted two trees.
We had decided, first of all, to plant one as a memorial to Arthur Marshall but
when the opportunity came to plant two we proposed that the second should be the
Diamond Jubilee Tree. Gilbert Lawson, who had been elected our new President,
did the honours and the ceremony was conducted by Joe Needham. After the rejection by the When we left Swanage in 1963 we
were both agreed that something had to be done about this problem. I consulted
other Clubs in the Southern area of the Unfortunately, after serving the
Circle so well Rod had to withdraw from the Secretaryship in 1966 and John King
took over the affairs of Circle “A”. The Tributes were paid to Cyril
Medway and Alex Russell, both had been great Club men. Cyril had introduced
Rodney to the Club and since the first year of my Secretaryship had been
outstanding in putting forward ideas and was, in a way, responsible for the new
system of advancement that we had just adopted. His pictures were always marked
by a sincerity that was noticeable and his work has been greatly missed. Alex
Russell was the ultimate in colour! He was head of the Design School of
Jordanstone College‑and one of Also in 1965 Arthur Riley
organised the first of the Northern Autumn Reunions at Willersley. These
weekends have been very popular among our members and the work of Arthur in
promoting them each year is very much appreciated. Locations have included:
Bridlington, In 1966 another step forward was
taken by the appointment of John Bissett as Treasurer. I was finding the task of
General Secretary becoming more and more arduous and I asked if I could be
relieved by asking John to take this task of Treasurer for us. Although I have
no proof, I think it was at Willersley that year we appointed Ruth Mudford as
our Records Secretary. In 1968 we adopted a suggestion
by George Hall for the Monochrome Group to produce a record of Rural Methodism
and that the pictures should be displayed the following year. Due to the
publicity the Club had been given in the 'Amateur Photographer' and the
'Methodist Recorder' this year I had to report that all Circles were full and
that there were waiting lists. Indeed, before the year was out, Colour
"C" was started and ultimately Frank Lawton accepted the Secretaryship
of this Circle. 1969 saw us at Abbot Hall and we
duly held the “Rural Methodism Exhibition” and a fine display was made. One
or two of the entries were later accepted by the 'Recorder". It was this
year, at Abbot Hall, that Marion King became our Minute Secretary. I must pay
tribute to her worth for it took a great load off my mind when I was able to sit
through a meeting without having to take copious notes. In 1969 we mourned the loss of
one of our oldest and most valued members, the Rev.Wesley Garratt. Wesley and I
had become firm pen friends even before I moved to Littlehampton. When he moved
from Mablethorpe to Rustington to live with his daughter our friendship grew
very much closer. Later he came to live alone in a flat quite close to us in
Littlehampton and very many happy hours were spent in one another's company. As
a photographer he was unique in our Club for his lovely Bromoils, always
pictures of beauty. From the start of his career he had decided that Bromoils
were to be his art form and his work received universal acclaim and his mastery
of this most difficult process can be seen in examples of his work. In 1970 the Guild H.Q. asked me
to organise a Photographic Week at Moorlands, The year brought sadness by the
passing of our President, Gilbert Lawson. Gilbert had suffered a long and
painful illness and it was with a great sense of personal loss that I heard of
his death, for we had been corresponding regularly. His passing leaves a gap in
our ranks that will be hard to fill. I have many happy memories of Gilbert and
his family, particularly at Abbot Hall. That year (1970) at Willersley,
Randal took over the Office of Secretary jointly with me for one year, after
which he was in full control. I had felt, for some time, that it would be in the
best interest of the Club if a younger man could take charge. My years of office
had been joyful ones and they were made most rewarding by the fantastic spirit
of Christian Fellowship that is the hall-mark of the Club. The decision of the
Club to make me its new President crowned my years of Office. Randal has carried
on the spirit of fellowship that our founder started and I as sure that he will
keep that precious spirit alive. Colin Pickles took over the
running of mono "B" to enable Randal to accept the Office of
Secretary. Between us Randal and I received all the folios so that we were both
interested in the working of the Club and were able to keep a finger on the
pulse, as it were. As the waiting list of new members for the Colour Circles had
risen to seven, Randal asked me to accept the task of organising Colour
"D" Apart from the regular Circles
there are in the Club two other Circles now in operation. One is the Since 1971 the Club has been
weakened by the passing of six of our members Dorothy Barker, Stanley Longbottom,
Joe Needham, John Bissett, Jack Roberts and Bill Harvey. These were grievous
blows and the tributes paid to them were proof of the love and esteem in which
they were held. I feel I should say a few words
about the Ladies. I would like them to know how such we have appreciated their
presence among us, they have made our reunions very such more a family gathering
than mere business meetings. A few years ago we began to feel the draught
financially and for a few years had been running at a loss. We achieved
stability by raising the subscriptions and by many friends, and in particular
the Ladies, becoming Associate Members. I want it to be known that this gesture
has not gone unnoticed. I want to close this History by
testifying to the help and encouragement I received from those who were members
when I joined the Club; to Wilf Harrison and John Bissett, for there arose
between us a wonderful friendship; to Eric Smith for producing many of the
slides used to illustrate this talk; to Randal for preparing material and
producing prints from the Permanent Collection; to Arthur and Rodney for advice
so freely given; to Gordon for vetting this history; to Frank for his help in
research into the records and lastly to Harold for being such an understanding
Chairman. The preparation of this history
has been a labour of love and is a small recompense for the thirty‑five
years of happiness spent in the fellowship of the Club. A great amount of water has
flowed over the weir at Willersley since our Golden Jubilee in 1954. Gaps have
been filled by new faces, we who are left are members of the finest and oldest
postal Club in the world, we have been handed a heritage from those who have
gone before us. I pray we shall live up to the standards that they set and so
keep alive the spirit of Christian Fellowship in this wonderful Club.
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Last modified: April 18, 2005
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