History of YMCA Norfolk by YMCA Norfolk

A History of the Young Men’s Christian Association in Norfolk and Lowestoft by Charlotte Barringer and Peter Larter

Norwich Y.M.C.A. Main Entrance. The doorway with the four upward steps for all young people who enter it; upward progress – spiritually, socially, intellectually and physically. YMCA APPEAL SLOGAN 1914

First published in the United Kingdom in September 2007 by YMCA Norfolk, 48 St. Giles, Street, Norwich, NR2 1LP

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher and copyright holders. Charlotte Barringer and Peter Larter have asserted the moral right to be identified as the authors of this work.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 0-

Printed by Hollinger Print Limited 12 Burnett Road, Sweet Briar Ind. Estate, Norwich, Norfolk, NR3 2BS 2

Contents

Page Foreword by the Bishop of Norwich

Photographs and illustrations

The Origins of the YMCA London 1844

The Beginning of Norwich YMCA 1856 to 1872

Acquiring new Premises 1873 to 1899

Into the New Century 1900 to 1914

Service in the Two World Wars 1914 to 1956

A Period of Growth and Expansion of Activities 1957 to 1976

Period of Rapid Change 1980 to 1998

1999 and the New Millennium 1999 to 2006

List of Patrons for 2006 Appeal

Officers and Trustees of the Norwich Y.M.C.A. as at January 2007

Other Associations Cromer YMCA Fakenham YMCA Kingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Lynn YMCA Lowestoft YMCA Swaffham YMCA Thetford YMCA Yarmouth YMCA Acknowledgments Bibliography

86 90 92 101 113 114 119 124 125

List of photographs and illustrations 1. Portrait of George Williams in later life. 2. King’s Weigh House Chapel, Fish Street Hill, London c1870s. 3. Portrait of Jeremiah James Colman 1830-1898 4. St. Mary’s Baptist Chapel, Norwich c 1939. 5. Guildhall Hill, Norwich showing Newbegin’s tobacconists shop c1845. 6. Portrait of George White as a young man. 7. Guildhall Hill Norwich, site of Newbegin’s tobacconists shop c 1936. 8. St. Giles Street, Norwich where YMCA had rented rooms in 1900. 9. YMCA in White Hart Street, Thetford c1910. 10. YMCA Crane House, South Quay, Yarmouth. 11. Advertisement for the post of YMCA General Secretary in 1886. 12. 48 St. Giles Street, Norwich façade with YMCA in gold lettering c1930. 13. Title page of YMCA Magazine “Progress”. 14. Plantation Garden, Earlham Road, Norwich c 1897. 15. Poster for the International Bazaar and Garden Party July 1892. 16. Portrait of Geoffrey Fowell Buxton, President of Norwich YMCA 1899-1906. 17. YMCA Holiday Home, West Street, Cromer. 18. YMCA Norwich billiard lounge after restoration c1912. 19. YMCA Norwich Colman reading room c1912. 20. Funeral cortege of Sir George White M.P. May 15th 1912. 21. Victims of the August 1912 floods at Nos. 20-22 Oak Street, Norwich. 22. YMCA marquee at Lowestoft Training Camp 1912. 23. Troops relaxing in the YMCA marquee at the Lowestoft Training Camp 1912. 24. YMCA Staff at the Lowestoft Training Camp 1912. 25. Design by Edward Boardman for YMCA hostel fronting Bethel Street 1914. 26. Details of the Citizens’ Committee in support of the Public Appeal in 1914. 27. Cardboard replica of model clock mounted outside Agricultural Hall 1914. 28. Poster advertising a YMCA Study Hut used during First World War. 29. Postcard showing self-assembly cardboard YMCA Hut. 30. Soldiers’ Social organized by YMCA at St. Andrew’s Hall, Norwich. 31. Convalescent troops in the garden of 48 St. Giles Street, Norwich, c1916. 32. No.50 St. Giles Street, Norwich purchased by YMCA in 1919. 33. Portrait of H H Princess Helena Victoria. 34. Garden at rear of YMCA showing gym and single storey extension c1936 35. Line of tea wagons and mobile library, Chantry Road. 36. Volunteer relaxing on a YMCA tea car c1941. 37. YMCA tea car in action in bomb-damaged Walpole Street, February 1941. 38. Soldiers having a tea break around a YMCA tea car c1944. 39. Volunteer Staff at the YMCA Canteen in Prince of Wales Road, c1945. 40. Citation for the Order of the Red Triangle presented to Mrs. Clarke. 41. USAF Liberator bomber nicknamed “The YMCA Flying Service”. 42. USAF crew taking refreshments from YMCA tea car. 43. Peter Cody appointed General Secretary of Norwich YMCA in 1947. 44. A Full Members’ Board Meeting in progress c1952. 45. Volley-ball in the old gymnasium c1954.

46. Four boys enjoying the Summer Camp at Mundesley, Norfolk. 1954. 47. Summer Camp at Mundesley showing the wooden Meeting and Canteen hut. 48. A double bedroom before modernisation in 1956. 49. Lord Mayor greeting guests at the YMCA’s 100th Birthday Celebration 1956. 50. Guests at the International Goodwill Supper 29th November 1956. 51. Old Committee room used as temporary offices during renovations. 52. A rather cramped corner of the old dining room c1954. 53. New spacious restaurant for hostel residents and members c1957. 54. Backyard showing the single storey extension erected in the 1930’s. 55. Same extension with additional second storey providing 43 bedrooms, 1958. 56. Lord Mackintosh at the opening ceremony of the New Wing 1958. 57. Day Campers waiting to board coach to Swannington Camp site 1964. 58. Day Campers at Norwich Canoe Centre on the River Wensum, 1964. 59. Swannington Campers after running an obstacle course, 1964. 60. Swannington Camper climbing out of a ditch on obstacle course, 1964. 61. Swannington Campers trying their hand at watercolour painting, 1964. 62. Swannington Campers queuing for their lunches, 1964. 63. Swannington Camp singsong around the campfire, 1964. 64. Demolition of the old gymnasium facing Bethel Street. 1961. 65. New Sports Hall viewed from Bethel Street 1962. 66. Interior of the new Sports Hall being used as a gymnasium. 67. Visit by Minister of Employment, Michael Forsyth to the YMCA 1992. 68. H RH Prince Charles talking to residents at YMCA 1994. 69. John Drake, YMCA Chief Executive Officer, created Sheriff of Norwich, 2006. 70. Presentation to Bill Balfour for counselling work at Norwich Prison, 2004. 71. Architect’s drawing of New YMCA to be built at Bus Station, Norwich. 72. Officers and Trustees of the Norwich YMCA as at January 2007 73. Cromer YMCA’s rented rooms above Jarrold’s Store in Church Street c1910. 74. Fakenham YMCA had extensive rooms in Norwich Street in 1915. 75. Kings Lynn Community Centre and Sports Hall being repaired after a fire 76. Lord Somerleyton opening a new YMCA Hostel for Kings Lynn 1990 77. New YMCA Hostel in Columbia Way, Kings Lynn 1990. 78. Lowestoft YMCA Hall in London Road North c1904. 79. Lowestoft YMCA Orchestra, c1930s 80. Lowestoft YMCA “open house” for all men in uniform, c1914. 81. The Clyffe Boarding Establishment before the Second World War. 82. Residents of The Clyffe Holiday Centre run by YMCA National Council. 83. The sad end to the Lowestoft YMCA Hall when it was sold in 1978. 84. Toren House, the first YMCA Hostel in Lowestoft, 1978. 85. Swaffham YMCA decorated for Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee, 1897. 86. Thetford YMCA opened in Magdalen Street, on 17th February 1912. 87. Advert for Yarmouth YMCA Holiday Residence and Seaside Home, c1900. 88. Yarmouth YMCA, Crane House on South Quay, c1907. 89. Sunday tea for Armed Forces in Crane House during First World War

The Origins of the YMCA The aim of the Young Men’s Christian Association, founded in London in 1844, was ‘to influence young men to spread the Redeemer’s kingdom amongst those by whom they were surrounded’. An aspiration which gradually broadened over the years but the YMCA has maintained its Christian focus. The world-wide YMCA movement began in a small room above a shop in St Paul’s Churchyard in central London. On 6th June 1844 George Williams, founder of the YMCA, met 12 other Christian young men above the premises of the drapers, Hitchcock and Rogers, for the first meeting. The son of a Somerset farmer he was apprenticed, at the age of 14, to a draper in Bridgwater and whilst there became a committed member of the Zion Congregational Church. In 1841 he moved to London to work for Hitchcock and Rogers.

(1) George Williams in later life

In London George Williams worshipped at the King’s Weigh House Congregational Church, which was then meeting in Fish Street Hill. He soon 9

began holding prayer meetings with a few of his colleagues. At the time about 150,000 young men were working long hours in the London drapery business, living on low incomes in very cramped conditions. Much of their spare time was spent in the local taverns or gambling houses and according to a shop assistant at the time who went on to be a clergyman, ‘no class was more degraded and dissolute, none were sunk deeper in ungodliness and dissipation, than the shop men of London’. George Williams and his friends decided that they would try to help their fellow shop workers and so the YMCA began. It was not the first society of its kind, other Christian groups had been set up for young men, but none expanded so quickly. The strong evangelical Christianity of its founding members, who were of more than one denomination, was a firm basis for success. The time and place of the YMCA’s beginning were also important. Britain was becoming industrialised and communications were improving; the first railways opening in the 1830s and 1840s. The drapery business was the fastest growing, most efficient retail trade in London and Hitchcock and Rogers had a wholesale business with contacts across London and other towns and cities, making it easy for news of the YMCA to spread. Within weeks numbers had grown to such an extent that the YMCA had hired a room in St Martin’s Coffee House, Ludgate Hill and very soon branches were being formed elsewhere in London and in Leeds and Manchester in 1845 and in Taunton and Bath in 1846. During 1845 the first paid employee, a secretary and missionary, was appointed and by 1855 there were 40 YMCAs outside London with 6,000 members, coming into contact with about 25,000 young men. The Great Exhibition of 1851 helped forge early links with young men’s associations in other countries and in 1855 the first YMCA International Conference was held in Paris. A confederation was formed which was to become the World Alliance of YMCAs and an Agreement which became known as the “Paris Basis” was drawn up at the conference as follows: “The Young Men’s Christian Association seeks to unite those young men who, regarding the Lord Jesus Christ as their God and Saviour according to the Holy Scriptures, desire to be His disciples in their Faith and in their life, and to associate their efforts for the extension of His Kingdom amongst young men. Any differences of opinion on other subjects, however important in themselves, shall not interfere with the harmonious relations of the constituent members and associates of the World Alliance”.

George William’s connections meant that the YMCA was gaining the support of prominent men. Twenty two of London’s most respected Nonconformist preachers were vice-presidents in 1845 and by 1850 the clergy of St Paul’s Cathedral were involved. The famous philanthropist, Lord Shaftesbury, was president from 1851 until his death in 1886. 10

In the first months members had agreed that the Association should aim to develop young men mentally as well as spiritually and gradually the YMCA began educational work. A series of lectures began in 1845 with subjects ranging from history and mythology to art. These were very successful and in 1847 were moved to the grand setting of Exeter Hall in the Strand, becoming much respected in intellectual circles. In 1849 the London YMCA moved to new headquarters in Gresham Street, with a library and reading rooms. Classes were held in German, Latin, French, Hebrew, Greek, English and Arithmetic, and it was agreed to open its doors to ‘associate members’ who were not necessarily Christians but were ‘of good moral character’. They could pay £1 to use the library and reading rooms but had no voting rights. In 1881 the London YMCA bought Exeter Hall as its headquarters. It became home in 1895 to the London Central YMCA, which was formed in that year when the Exeter Hall Association merged with Aldergate Street and Cornhill YMCAs. In 1882 the National Council of YMCAs, covering England, Ireland and Wales, was formed.

The Beginning of the Norwich YMCA Norwich Young Men’s Christian Association was founded in 1856 by a group of young men, largely Nonconformists, with a view to helping apprentices and shop workers in Norwich and to improving the moral and religious life of the City. This reflected the much broader national movement which arose from the social concerns of Nonconformists in London and gradually spread into the provinces. The King’s Weigh House Congregational Church in London where George Williams worshipped, became a link between founding members of the YMCA in London and Norwich.

(2) King’s Weigh House Chapel, Fish Street Hill, London c1870’s

The pastor, Thomas Binney, was a close friend of George Williams and Samuel Morley, a wealthy mill owner and lifelong benefactor of the YMCA. Jeremiah James Colman became part of this group and twenty years later his children were baptised by the Reverend Thomas Binney at the family home in Corton, near Lowestoft. When in London, the Colman family attended Bloomsbury Chapel, sitting in the pew of Morton Peto, a Baptist and well-known philanthropist in Norfolk and Suffolk. It was a small world, and the connection between the Reverend William Brock, a protégé of Morton Peto, and the Colman family had begun during his time as pastor of Norwich’s leading Dissenting Chapel, St Mary’s Baptist Chapel, when they were in his congregation. In 1848 the Reverend Brock left for London where his interest in the YMCA began and he became widely known as ‘Brock of Bloomsbury’.

(3) Jeremiah James Colman 1830-1898

(4) St. Maryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Baptist Chapel where the Reverend William Brock was pastor and the Colman family worshipped. Photograph by G. Plunkett c1939

Somerleyton Hall, Morton Peto’s country estate between Norwich and Lowestoft, was later sold to the Crossley family, already strong supporters of the YMCA, and both Sir Morton Peto and Sir Francis Crossley who presided at YMCA functions in London, are remembered to this day as loyal benefactors of the Association. In the 1850’s, as the fifth Annual Report noted, growing prosperity was bringing large numbers of young apprentices and workers to Norwich and the newly-founded Association was keen to meet their mental and spiritual needs: “All frequenters of the shops of our city must be struck with the large number of young men engaged in them. They come up from all parts of the adjacent counties: many of them have none of the restraints or securities of home, but they are required in the large wholesale and retail commerce of our city. Here they are then of necessity congregated together - a fact not conducive to their morality - an inviting soil indeed to every philanthropic husbandman” Norwich, like so many 19th century cities, saw the growth of new entrepreneurs and philanthropists. As the textile industry declined, the manufacture of shoes developed. Agriculture was a major rural industry in Norfolk and out of its growth and new specialisms came modern businesses such as brewing, agricultural engineering and mustard manufacture. The arrival of the railway led to greater prosperity with the construction of Thorpe Station in 1844 and Victoria Station in 1849. There was considerable house building around these stations for employees of the new expanding industries such as Hinde’s Silk Mill, established in 1810; Chamberlin Sons & Co Drapery Store in 1815 and Harmers Clothing Factory in 1825. In 1840 Barnard Bishop & Barnard and in 1853 Boulton & Paul were established as new engineering businesses. Caley’s Mineral Water factory was opened in 1857 and at this time boot and shoe manufacturers such as James Southall & Co. Ltd. and Tillyard & Howlett were increasing sales both at home and abroad. Curl Brothers had an extensive Drapery business in 1865, which had expanded between Rampant Horse Street and Orford Place by the late 1880’s. Jeremiah James Colman and John Henry Gurney were prominent among the founding members of Norwich YMCA and will be remembered for their generous contributions to the Association. As Nonconformists they were concerned for the spiritual welfare of young men working in the City and recognised the need for better education for all children. In 1849 J J Colman had joined the Norwich Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Society and seven years later he founded a small Sunday and evening school for his workers at Carrow. This helped to meet vital needs as the provision of education before the Education Act of 1870 was very limited with few schools available to the population.

The first circular calling a meeting to consider the founding of a Young Men’s Christian Association in Norwich was issued on 24th September 1856. This was signed by J. Alexander, son of the famous minister of Princes Street United Reform Church, and was joined by Travers Madge of the Octagon Chapel and a number of laymen. Those who attended the first meeting included J B Allen, W H Dakin, later Sheriff of Norwich, Robert Haselwood (of Colmans), Joseph Massingham (who founded Buntings’ Drapery Store), Mr. Trevor (of Trevor Page & Co), George White (later M.P. for North-West Norfolk), Fred Wilson (M.P. for mid-Norfolk), Samuel True and S Denny. At an informal meeting on 21st October, chaired by Mr. Massingham, it was agreed to form an Association with Mr J Fox and Mr S True elected as joint Secretaries. At the first formal meeting on 28th October at the Artists’ Rooms, now the site of Jarrold’s book department, the London Basis of Association was adopted and it was agreed to hire rooms. A committee was formed, J H Gurney Esq, MP for King’s Lynn was elected as President and 48 members were enrolled. The committee included the above names to which were added N H Caley, John Fox, J Glendenning, James Porter and G Sharpe. Also present at the meeting was George White, a young man newly arrived in Norwich. He was later to give many years of loyal support to Norwich YMCA and to become Sir George White of the shoemakers, Howlett and White. His history of the first 30 years of the Association provides a valuable record.

(5) Guildhall Hill c1850. The white-faced building at left, with the triple awning is Chamberlins’ Drapery store on the corner of Dove Street. On the opposite corner, with a single awning, is Newbegin’s tobacconist’s shop, where the First Members’ meeting of Norwich YMCA was held. Photograph by Mr.T. D. Eaton

At the Inaugural Public Meeting of Norwich YMCA on 5th November 1856, J J Colman was elected Treasurer and on the retirement of J. H. Gurney four years later he became President, a position he was to hold for many years, becoming a pillar of the Association. He identified himself with other members as “a body of young men just entering, or entered on life” and wished all to remember that they had “minds to cultivate, souls to save, duties to perform”. On 24th November 1856 the first members’ meeting was held in hired rooms above Newbegin’s, a tobacconist’s shop on Guildhall Hill, on the corner of Dove Street. Very soon the committee asked Mr Fox and Mr True to meet the Reverend S Titlow, Secretary of the Church of England Young Men’s Society, and invite him to accept the position of Vice-President with a view to the amalgamation of the two societies, but he and other Anglican clergymen declined the position, ‘preferring to identify themselves with a sectarian society’. This remained a constant disappointment to the YMCA although there was close co-operation between the two groups on many occasions.

(6) Writing in 1886, George White gave a detailed account of the first 30 years of Norwich YMCA

However, the Reverend S Titlow had nothing but praise for the YMCA lecture courses which began soon after the first meeting: “And let me say, once and for all, that had this society done nothing more for the young men and citizens generally than carry through its annual course of Lectures, it would have fully justified its existence”

This was the beginning of a very successful series of lectures lasting 28 years to which some of the most prominent speakers in England were invited. Rapid progress was made in the early years and as soon as 26th December 1856 a Reading Room was opened, followed on the 31st by a Library, towards which Mr Colman and Mr J H Gurney each gave £10 to start a fund for the purchase of books. Thirty years later the Library contained about 300 reference volumes ‘most useful to Sunday School Teachers and Students generally’ and nearly 2000 volumes for circulation. Early Sunday morning prayer meetings were started in January 1857 and were regarded by those who attended as ‘a glorious commencement of a Sunday’s work’. These were followed by the introduction of two Bible Classes and by the Debating Class ‘in which many of our now middle-aged citizens first began their attempt to put their thoughts into speech’. Mr George W Bush of Fletcher & Sons, printers, was the first Secretary of the Debating Society which was recognised as being of great service to many of the young men of Norwich.

(7) Guildhall Hill. Newbegin’s, the tobacconists, had become Spalls Ltd. fancy goods shop by 1936. Photograph by G. Plunkett.

In October 1897 a Greek Testament Class was started by Travers Madge for the purpose of teaching religious ideas. The class met at six o’clock in the morning and George White reported that it was greatly enjoyed by those who attended! 1858 saw the introduction of a Bible Class, run by Mr Tillett, and the first Annual Social gathering which was held in the Assembly Rooms. This was the first of such annual meetings which became very popular and continued for many years, sometimes with more than 1000 taking tea in St Andrew’s Hall. George White comments that ‘fashion changes all things, even a love for tea meetings’. Indeed, throughout the early history of the Norwich YMCA many gallons of tea were drunk and elaborate birthday cakes were provided to celebrate anniversaries of the Association.

The first Annual Sermon was preached by the Reverend W Brock in St Andrew’s Hall on 3rd March 1858 to a crowded audience, ending with “a powerful religious call to arms and a reminder of the difficulty of good overcoming evil”. This was the time of considerable religious fervour stemming, in part, from the revelations of the 1851 Religious Census which had made the Church of England aware of the increase of various Nonconformist sects. At the same time, it became clear that in spite of so much religious activity, a large section of the population in the growing industrial towns were not attending church. Norwich then had the Cathedral, 39 parish churches and about 30 places of worship belonging to dissenters but on Census Sunday only 46.1% of the inhabitants attended a service. On 21st April 1858, less than two years from its start, the Committee hired new rooms at 14 St Giles Street which were used by the Association for the next 27 years. The property was demolished by 1937 prior to the construction of City Hall. The rooms were opened by a series of Prayer Meetings in May and in September Mr Tillett restarted the Bible Class with 90 young men attending. The next step was to try to make the Discussion Group more attractive by allowing ladies to attend but ‘the Committee was ungallant enough to refuse the request’.

(8) St. Giles Street. The YMCA had rented rooms at 14 St Giles in 1858, above the Curriers Arms next door to Moore’s, Haberdashers. The cyclist is in front of Moore’s store. Photograph by G. Plunkett 1934

Women were perceived to be in a supporting role in the early years of the YMCA and it was not until the 1960s that they were accepted on equal terms; however, the YWCA was founded in 1855 mainly for the purpose of providing accommodation for women, particularly nurses, coming to live in London. The YMCA and the YWCA have always been run separately but with similar aims.

There was a heavily religious introduction to the Second Annual 18

Meeting in 1858 at the rooms in St Giles Street. By now there were 230 members and the report stated that “every member is and has been, useful and essential in his proper order”, adding that the streets of Norwich were “as full as before of thoughtless, immoral and profane young men” The following January the Mayor agreed to preside at the third Annual Meeting in St Andrew’s Hall where two matters for concern were identified. One was the “want of anything like general sympathy and support from fellow Christians and fellow citizens”. Secondly, the late hours to which many of the houses of trade were open, led to very tired young men. However, the social tea meeting had been a “festive triumph” with an attendance of 800. In this year there had been open air services in Pockthorpe and Heigham when religious tracts were distributed. George White records that soon afterwards the Mayor gave a speech at the Theatre Royal, causing the Committee to adopt the following resolution: “That it having been reported to the Committee that the Mayor of Norwich had given his official sanction to the Theatre, they regret being compelled to withdraw their previous invitation to him to take a part in their annual meeting” This led to lively discussion and in spite of some ill-will the Committee did not give way. It would seem that support of the theatre by a public figure was not acceptable to some Nonconformist members. Soon afterwards an attempt was made to preach an annual sermon in one of the parish churches and although this failed, later attempts were successful. This illustrates the ‘distance’ between the established church and the Nonconformists at that time, with regard to running the Association. Evangelical mission work began in April 1859 under the leadership of Mr White and Mr Tenant. Free tracts were distributed with the intention of encouraging people to follow Christian principles and to make them aware of the benefits of membership of the YMCA. There were cottage meetings and religious addresses out of doors and the first outdoor service was held in June in the Queen’s Head Yard, St James’ in Norwich. The people attending were said to be ‘kind and attentive’. Outdoor services and religious addresses continued for several years but as evangelical mission work was unacceptable to many members of the Association it was given up apart from the distribution of tracts. Around this time it was decided that the Executive of the Association should consist entirely of lay brethren but later this resolution was withdrawn. The Annual Meeting of 1860 was over subscribed. Over 2,000 people applied for tickets but there was room only for the 1,080 people who sat down for tea in St Andrew’s Hall. Outings were generally rare in those days and Association visits to such places as Somerleyton, Catton Park and Whitlingham were very popular. For the next two or three years the number of members averaged between 400 and 500 and although efforts were made to increase the membership only those who showed evidence of Christian character were admitted to the full privileges of the Association. When the first president, J H Gurney, resigned in December 1860 he 19

gave a cheque of 25 guineas to the funds with the request that £5 of it should be awarded to a prize essay on Young Men’s Christian Associations. Twenty years later the prize was awarded to George White, the author of A History of the Norwich Young Men’s Christian Association, later to become a leading citizen and a prominent member of the YMCA. Jeremiah Colman was unanimously appointed as President and Henry Birkbeck Esq, the banker and philanthropist, took his place as Treasurer, both to remain in office for many years. At this time interest in the YMCA was spreading beyond Norwich and the first county branch was opened in Thetford in 1860. It was closed two years later after a disappointing start but reopened in 1905 at 10, White Hart Street and Mr R E Adams was appointed as Secretary. On 30th January 1861, a purse of money and a handsome Bible were presented to the Acting Secretary, Mr Samuel True. This was one of several presentations made to him in appreciation of his work.

(9) Thetford c1910. The YMCA sign is above the doorway of No.10 White Hart Street, where the lady is standing on the doorstep From the David Osborne Collection of photographs and postcards

Mr Joseph Massingham, the first chairman of Norwich YMCA, died on 24th April 1868 and he was greatly missed by the Association. Following his death efforts were made ‘to get some specially qualified Christian men to undertake meetings for religious conversation and intercourse with young men, for in this field of labour, Mr Massingham by his devotedness and Christian experience had been an invaluable aid’. (G White) George White reported that in 1869 the Debating Class caused some anxiety as it was thought ‘to be meddling with subjects calculated to throw doubt on various phases of Christian belief and attempts were made to limit the range of subjects to be discussed, but the advocates of freedom won the day’. The introduction of chess and draughts also met with opposition due to deep concern about the spiritual interests of young men and was carried with only a small majority. Attitudes gradually changed over the next 150 years with broadening acceptance of recreational activities and individual beliefs.

(10) Gt. Yarmouth South Quay. The imposing front of Crane House, the YMCA Holiday Residence and Boarding Home. Photograph courtesy of Gt. Yarmouth Library.

1874 saw the formation of a branch in Yarmouth which, in spite of difficulties in 1882 leading to its closure, was successfully re-opened in 1899. Lowestoft YMCA made a good start in 1878 in a purpose-built hall, followed by a branch in King’s Lynn in 1881.

Acquiring New Premises Between 1873 and 1875 about £200 was spent on improving and refurnishing the old rooms in 14 St Giles Street, although membership was gradually declining. George White noted that the committee was concerned about a drop in ‘spiritual usefulness’ and efforts to increase membership were hampered by lack of help and accommodation. However, in 1877 determined efforts were made ‘to place the Association in a position more worthy of its antecedents and it was agreed to hire or to build new premises. Eventually moves were made to acquire land adjoining the old skating rink in St Giles (now Country and Eastern Oriental Carpets Store), but before the purchase was completed the Salvation Army took possession of the Rink and ‘for reasons obvious to all’ the Committee reluctantly decided that it would not be advisable to build there. Mr Samuel True, the Acting Secretary, died on 17th May 1884, to the great sadness of all as he had been involved with the Association since 1856, working from its start ‘with a zeal and self-denial beyond all praise, for many years without any payment whatever’. The Samuel True Memorial Library, purchased in 1885, contained 200 volumes of the most valuable books not found in the other Library. This was later given a place of honour in the parlour of the new rooms in 48 St Giles Street. A generous donation for the library from Bishop Pelham, who was new to the diocese, was very much appreciated as a goodwill gesture. Mr True was replaced by Mr James May and it was decided to try once more to revive the work of the Association to meet the spiritual needs of young men. Mr Ormerod was engaged as Missionary Secretary to devote his whole time to the work of the Association, a few friends guaranteeing most of his first year’s salary and in this way the YMCA was restored to its former glory. In October 1886 the handsome property at 48 St Giles was purchased by J J Colman. Number 48 had once been the home of a Norwich surgeon, George Warren Watts Firth FRCS, who died in 1878. As a senior surgeon to the Norfolk and Norwich hospital and a city magistrate he had entertained widely at home, the Duke of Edinburgh and the High Sheriff of Norfolk being among his guests. After the death of Mr Firth the house was leased to the magistrates of the county of Norfolk for the use of the judges during the Assizes and the lease expired in January 1886. Two years later Mr Colman sold the property at the purchase price to Norwich YMCA who took out a mortgage in the name of J J Colman and the Trustees. This was repaid in 1897. In 1886 Mr White was pleased to report that they were able to open a building in every way adapted for the recreational, mental and moral needs of their young men.

(11) Advertisement placed in a provincial newspaper in 1886 listing the qualities expected from applicants for the post of a YMCA General Secretary

Moreover, the extra space enabled the Association to open a junior centre for boys just apprenticed and for the senior Sunday School scholars: â&#x20AC;&#x153;We look forward to many years of great usefulness for this Association, and earnestly ask the prayers and co-operation of all Christian workers; the earnest desire of the Committee being to make it a home for young men away from home, and an inspiring influence to all who seek to get and to impart the best of all knowledgeâ&#x20AC;?.

(12) St. Giles Street. No. 48 adorned with huge gold lettering. The small sign to the right extends an invitation to join the gym which was built in 1888. Photograph c1930

Physical development was not neglected. In 1888 a gymnasium was built at the rear of 48 St Giles with Sergeant Major Yeo of the 8th Hussars as gymnastics instructor. Mr Alan Colman presided over a display and Assault at Arms on 9th February 1892 and in his speech he said that: “A healthy body is to be by no means despised and our gymnasium affords a good opportunity of developing one’s muscular propensities.” There was far-sighted concern about the effects of smoking and controversy over the introduction of a Smoking Room. The habit of cigarette smoking was rapidly increasing in Norwich as it was all over the country. An extract from the Daily Press, 4th May 1892, was discussed in Progress, emphasising the detrimental effects of smoking on health and physical development. In the same month a String Band and Choir were formed which, with the help of the Reverend John Lewis, were able to perform at the Garden Party the following July. At this time there was some concern about the financial position of the Norwich Association and attempts were made to clear off the past year’s deficit.

(13) Title banner of the YMCA Magazine. Courtesy of Norwich Heritage Centre.

Norwich YMCA created a monthly magazine called ‘Progress’ which was sold for 1d. It reported news of both local and national YMCA events and included profiles of prominent members. The following appeared in Progress, 1892: “A little self denial would very soon change the aspect of our finances if carried out systematically. We sometimes forget that it is more blessed to give than to receive. We too sometimes read this sentence backwards.” Gratitude was expressed for the money collected at Princes Street Chapel and St Mary’s Baptist Chapel. It was hoped that the debt on the building could be cleared and sincere gratitude was expressed to the President Mr J J Colman MP who had shown his appreciation of the effort by the promise of £1000. In 1892 there was still quite a large deficit in the Association’s bank account and Mr. Holmes, the Secretary, devised the ambitious and imaginative idea of an International Bazaar and Garden Party to aid fundraising. Mr Henry Trevor offered to hold the event on the elevated ground at his Plantation Garden.

(14) The Plantation Garden, Earlham Road, Norwich c1897. Photograph courtesy of The Plantation Garden Preservation Trust . 25

The Bazaar was opened by the Lord Mayor Mr G M Chamberlin who admitted that he had refused many similar invitations due to pressing engagements during his year in Office, but he felt that he must support the YMCA as he took a keen interest in their work and was also a Vice President of the Association.

(15) Poster for the International Bazaar and Garden Party July 1892. Courtesy of Norwich Heritage Centre.

Several countries, including China, India, Japan, Syria and Spain, were represented in the stalls which were arranged within a spacious marquee, decorated with flags and Japanese lanterns. 30 ladies, many wearing national costumes representing the different countries, volunteered to assist in running the Bazaar stalls which were laden with exotic imports. Mr S Hoare MP seconded a vote of thanks to the Lord Mayor and commented â&#x20AC;&#x153;The young men of Norwich needed the help of the ladies to make the event a success and he was sure that the ladies who took part would never regret itâ&#x20AC;?.

Cheap rail excursion tickets were available for visitors on trains from Yarmouth, Lowestoft, Cromer, Wells, Kings Lynn, Diss, Brandon and Watton. The event was sponsored by Jarrold and Sons Ltd and E. Bonsor and Son, Tea Merchants in The Walk, Norwich. The Carrow Band played light music during the afternoon and evening and to finish off there was a grand fireworks display. Although there was inclement weather for the event the Eastern Daily Press estimated that there around 4,000 visitors. By 1894 the most popular outdoor winter sports were gymnastics and harriers, with chess and draughts being enjoyed indoors. Sergeant Batterby was engaged as the new and very competent gymnastics instructor. Spring saw the start of cricket, lawn tennis, swimming (which included life-saving), cycling and bowls and good use was made of the sports ground at Lakenham. Cycling was described as ‘an invigorating and attractive recreation’ and the Cycle Mission Band rode on Tuesday evenings. At this time Mr T P Braybrooks was Recreation Secretary. There was a constant need for fundraising to meet the cost of care and facilities offered to the large membership. An outstanding event on 6th November 1894 was the Grand Oriental Bazaar and Industrial Exhibition opened by the Countess of Leicester at the Agricultural Hall. This gave great pleasure as it was organised as a joint venture by the committees of the YMCA and the Church of England Young Men’s Society and the planning committee included Mr J W Jewson, Chairman, Mr G F Buxton, Treasurer, Reverend F C Davies and Mr George White. The Hall was decorated to represent Constantinople and the stalls were laden with examples of carving, drawing, painting, Venetian iron work, woodturning, taxidermy, needlework, photography as well as a splendid collection of pictures brought by Messrs Barwell and Scott, said to be valued at £15,000. There were concerts with leading musicians, organised by Mr W R C Howlett, senior partner in W. Howlett & Son, pianos and organs, and ‘highlyfinished and instructive’ entertainment produced by Messrs C Mase and A A Shields. Ladies not only ran the stalls but also took charge of the shooting galleries and elementary school teachers and pupils were involved in the event. The speeches given by the Mayor, J J Colman, Esq, MP, Samuel Hoare, Esq. MP, Canon Lloyd and Dr Barrett, were interrupted by the dogs, ducks and lambs in Mrs Russell Colman’s menagerie at the far end of the hall, ‘causing considerable merriment to speakers and listeners’. The Bazaar was a great success, raising a profit of £820 to be divided between the two Associations. This, added to money already promised, reduced the debt of £3,000 to only £650 and this was most encouraging. In 1895 Progress reported that limelight pictures, introduced to illustrate the gospel service, were successful: “large numbers of the careless and indifferent young people who promenade St Giles Street on Sunday evenings having been induced to attend”

J J Colman died in 1898 at the age of 68 after 38 years as President of the Association. His concern for the welfare of the 2,500 employees in his famous mustard firm was well known and he had actively supported many other good causes. He was a man of property and had been a respected Liberal MP for many years. It may not be so widely known that he had declined a baronetcy or that he was a newspaper proprietor. He left a personal estate of over £600,000. He had served the YMCA with great generosity, becoming remembered as one of the great benefactors of the age. In his biography Jeremiah James Colman, A Memoir, his daughter, Helen Caroline Colman, recalls his active interest in the Association. She quotes his verdict, after three years work, ‘that there has been as much unanimity as in any Committee I know of’ and in a speech delivered a few months after the formation of the Association he declared that ‘our Constitution is a broad though not a lax one; we know no sect or party ... The man who is striving to follow Christ, be he Churchman or Dissenter, is alike welcome’. The religious side of the work was of great importance to him but he did not forget the other aspects and was anxious that Language, History and Science classes should go hand in hand with Bible Classes and Prayer Meetings. His speech at the Annual Meeting of 1858 was perceptive and forward-looking, rebuking those who ‘seem to have come on this earth a century or two out of date’. J J Colman had a broad-minded attitude towards recreation and he very much regretted the committee’s decision to turn down the offer of a billiard table coupled with certain conditions regarding the allowance of smoking. Unable to see why billiard tables, acceptable in private houses, would be so out of place in a YMCA building, he believed that the object was to make this as attractive a home as possible and he hoped that there would be a billiard table in the Norwich centre in the near future. He enjoyed taking part in the Debating Class established in the early years of the Association and one paper he wrote was on ‘Heroism and Counterfeits’. In it he warned his listeners not to be ‘dazzled by that which is showy and brilliant, to the neglect of the truly great and good’. In conclusion, the leading characteristics essential to true heroism were defined as ‘sincerity, earnestness, self-sacrifice, perseverance, carelessness of applause and readiness to brave the sneers of the world.’ He felt that a golden opportunity had been missed for the amalgamation of the YMCA and the Church of England Young Men’s Society but he was always glad to help the CEYMS. J J Colman was laid to rest at the Rosary in Norwich, the city he loved so well, and the crowds gathered in the streets and on the slopes of the Rosary grounds to show their affection for him.

Geoffrey Fowell Buxton became the next President of the Association in 1899. He brought the YMCA into a new era of benevolence. A relation of J H Gurney, he belonged to the group of banking families which were prominent in Victorian Norfolk. Many of these families, Gurneys, Hanburys, Barclays had been Quakers but by the mid 19th century most of them were Low Churchmen and even though their political and religious enthusiasms were moderating, the YMCA particularly appealed to them for its emphasis on self-help and human dignity.

(16) Geoffrey Fowell Buxton â&#x20AC;&#x201C; President of Norwich YMCA 1899-1914

Into the New Century “The Norwich YMCA exists for the sole purpose of promoting the true welfare, spiritual, intellectual, social and physical of young men. Its doors are open to all young men of good moral character and it is especially designed to provide a ‘home from home’ to such as are strangers in our old city” This was the vision in 1901 and the basis for the wide range of interests. A Junior Section was formed for boys between 14 and 17. Members were asked to suggest ‘out of the common activities’ to enliven ‘hardy annuals’ such as the Debating Society, Bagatelle, and the Gymnasium and in most years at least one new activity was introduced. For example, a Ladies’ Class began in the Gymnasium under the instruction of Sergeant Batterby, proposals for a male voice choir were well received and a French class was started by the General Secretary Mr T W Arnold. ‘Gossip’ in Norwich YMCA News reports that the old and much criticised Biblical Research Union had gone at last and that the General Committee had decided to replace it with a class of a much lighter nature, an ordinary Bible Class under the General Secretary. Apparently this decision was not well received and led to some debate. The summer outing on 4th July 1901 was very successful. Thirty members left Headquarters in brakes for Blickling Hall and there were games of all kinds, tea in the park and a stroll round the gardens followed by races in the park with prizes given by the General Committee. Football was also very popular on Lakenham Football Ground which had been obtained for use by the YMCA at a time when football grounds were scarce and expensive. By 1901 there were more than 130 YMCA centres in India, Ceylon and Burma, with a membership of over 5000. In that year some British members travelled to India and Burma to take part in a mission there. This was followed by a visit in September by Mr R D Pringle, late General Secretary of Bombay YMCA when he spoke at a rally and open-air meeting in Norwich Market Place and described the needs of India’s young men. Fundraising efforts included a garden party in the splendid grounds of Dunston Hall in July 1905. These were opened to the public by kindness of the President, Mr Fowell Buxton, but the whole event was spoilt by a heavy downpour of rain. The following year a Garden Party and Sale of Work was held at Town Close House by kindness of the Mayor and Mayoress. The Ladies’ Auxiliary, ever supportive by this time, were thanked for their help but unfortunately it was a rainy day and very little money was raised. In 1905 the CEYMS let the Earlham Road Recreation Ground to the YMCA for the cricket club. Esperanto, a fashionable international language, was introduced in 1907. In the same year the Mission Band Room was fitted as a study to meet the growing need for reading and writing rooms. The Rowing Club won the Coldham Hall cup, bowls was re-started on the lawn at the rear of the St Giles building and a yachting holiday party was greatly 30

enjoyed. A miniature rifle range was erected and a course of public lectures was arranged jointly with the CEYMS, a further link between the two societies. To the delight of all Norwich members, George White was knighted in 1907. He was proclaimed in Progress, 1907, to be one of their oldest members, having been actively associated with Norwich YMCA for more than 50 years, ever since attending the inaugural meeting in 1856. He came from a modest background and he realised on reaching Norwich from his native town of Bourne in Lincolnshire, that his education had been somewhat neglected. With great determination he promptly set to work to remedy this, joining any and every educational class connected with the Association. Before the age of 21 Sir George was known as a fluent speaker and used to take the services at various surrounding country chapels. As a debater he made rapid strides and later in life was recognised as one of the best temperance orators in the country. As leader of the Liberal Party in Norwich, he learnt things which probably stood him in good stead at Westminster. For many years he was a member of the Norwich YMCA General Committee and was one of its Vice Presidents in 1907. During his time on the committee he gave most generously in both time and money to further the needs of the Association and his influence in the YMCA was deep and lasting. Sir George was a leading Baptist and his work on Norwich City Council and in many other directions was well known. He was a prime example of an able young man who was willing to grasp the opportunities offered by Norwich YMCA and then to use his own knowledge and ability to help others. His New Year message appeared in Progress, January 1908, cheerfully offering the wisdom of his experience to young members of the YMCA and revealing admirable Victorian ideals and attitudes: “Though still desiring to be counted a “young man”, I have 50 years of membership behind me. I began my membership, as many of you begin, when I was 17 years old, new to city life and with the same momentous choice which faces you, viz. of playing with my life as a toy or treating it as a responsible trust and with the hope that you have already resolved to take the latter course, I call upon you to accept as your marching orders for 1908 the injunction: ‘Quit you like men’ To obey this command it is first of all needful to take a right estimate of the value of life. This is the most essential of all knowledge, yet at once the most difficult to teach and to learn. The days of youth and young manhood should be as precious as pearls, but we enter upon them before we know their value and look upon them as an exhaustless fortune, part of which may be squandered away, and we forget that “One life, and only one, have we”. Idleness in leisure time, and indifference to the physical and moral beauties of the world in which we live, are the two easily besetting sins of youth, and are the doors by which the grosser evils are generally approached. You have great advantages in the 1000 ways which science has opened up, by which we can see the wonders and beauties of the physical world and one of the requisites of manhood is to go out and explore them.

So young men, face the New Year with a cheery resolve to use your leisure wisely, inspired with the belief that life is a great and noble calling, not a mean and grovelling thing what we are to shuffle through as we can, but an elevated and lofty destiny”.

(17) In 1908, an additional YMCA Holiday Home was opened in West Street, Cromer. Photograph from the Randall/Salter Magic Lantern Collection

Lectures during the early years of the 20th century ranged from that of Eric Bruce who spoke on ‘Airships, Balloons, Flying Machines’ and ‘The Aerial Graphoscope’, the Reverend Grundy on “Fads, Hobbies, Eccentricities etc”, and Mr Richard Kerr on ‘Wireless Telegraphy’, to Miss Gertrude Bacon on ‘My Adventures in Cloudland’. But attendance at the 1909 course was disappointing, producing a financial loss, and it was decided to discontinue the courses. It was perhaps a reflection of increasing educational opportunities elsewhere. The library was popular with increasing use being made of the books and a Reading Circle was introduced by Mr J W Fairhead. There were fewer athletic activities this year owing to the lack of a recreation ground and to the fact that the popular gymnastics instructor, Sergeant Batterby had been sent to Ireland. However, the cricket was very successful and the billiards room much used. At this time there was a membership of 625. 1909 also saw the introduction of a large YMCA recreation marquee within the camp at Northrepps of the King’s Own Royal Regiment of Norfolk Yeomanry. By this time considerable redecoration had been carried out in 48 St. Giles Street and the chess, billiards and tea rooms had been moved to the first floor. Unfortunately all this was damaged by fire in 1911 and the building had to be closed for two months for restoration.

(18) Billiard Lounge after restoration c1912

(19) Colman Reading Room c1912

Sir George White worked tirelessly into his seventies but sadly, after a short illness, he died at his home, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;The Grangeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in Unthank Road, Norwich, in 1912. He was laid to rest at The Rosary Cemetery on 15th May 1912 and 3,000 people lines the route of his funeral cortege to show their respect.

(20) The funeral cortege of Sir George White M.P. passing the Assembly Rooms (later called the Grosvenor Rooms) in Prince of Wales Road Norwich.

The YMCA was always ready in an emergency and one instance was “the Great Flood” on 26th August 1912, during a particularly wet month. On that day over seven inches of rain fell and there were heavy winds, causing the city to be under water from Heigham to Carrow Bridge. Several people died and 15,000 people were evacuated from their homes. Norwich YMCA rose to the occasion and took in 280 people evacuated from their houses, providing them with a place to shelter, blankets, dry clothes, hot drinks and food until they could return to their homes.

(21) Nos. 20 – 22 Oak Street. Victims of the 1912 floods after the floodwaters had subsided, drying out their rooms and cellars. From the Tony Williamson Collection of postcards

The YMCA Norwich Annual Reports from 1901-12 record the successful progress of the Association and repeatedly report that â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;the general work of the Association has changed very littleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. As in most charitable organisations, there were always financial concerns and each year impressive fundraising events were organised. For example, the garden party held in Cringleford in July 1901 was reported in the local press to have been a great success. The weather was glorious and the party took place in the beautiful grounds of Mr F W Harmer, one of the earliest promoters of the Association, attended by the Sheriff, Mr S Cozens-Hardy and his wife, and Alderman Green. During both world wars the YMCA would make tremendous efforts to help the forces and their families, civilian victims of war and prisoners of war. Work with soldiers had first begun in Britain in 1890 when Colonel Goldsmith, a YMCA president in Devonport, suggested that the YMCA movement should provide activities and support at summer training camps for army volunteers. By 1912 there was war in the Balkan States and the Anglo-French alliance was threatened by the sudden build-up of armaments by Germany. Consequently, all sections of the armed forces were on manoeuvres in Britain and the YMCA was usually on hand to provide a marquee offering refreshments and a quiet place for recreation or writing a letter to loved ones at home.

(22) Lowestoft Camp YMCA marquee 1912. The Association was closely involved with the armed forces and their tents, pitched in army camps to provide spiritual and social rapport as well as refreshments, were well used. From the Peter Killby Collection of postcards

(23) Lowestoft Camp. Troops relaxing in the YMCA marquee 1912. The signs at the right offer stamps, postal orders, banking facilities and photographs of the camp and the troops on manoeuvres. From the Peter Killby Collection of postcards

(25) Lowestoft Camp. YMCA staff of all ages and experience at the camp. From the Peter Killby Collection of postcards

Service in Two World Wars The early years of the YMCA had been evangelical, with emphasis on fulfilling the spiritual, educational and recreational needs of young men. Now, in the early part of the 20th century thoughts were turning to providing something more – hostel accommodation. The earliest YMCA hostels had been holiday homes but now long-stay hostels for the working man were under construction and the first purpose-built hostel was opened in Great Russell Street, London in 1912. Norwich YMCA decided it should have hostel accommodation and an Appeal was launched in 1914.

(25) Design by leading architect Edward Boardman for the re-development of the YMCA fronting Bethel Street to provide hostel accommodation in 1914. Courtesy of Norwich Heritage Centre

A great public campaign was planned between the 26th and 30th January with a view to publicising the aims and possibilities of the YMCA and to secure the necessary funds for placing it in a position to carry on its invaluable work in a more efficient and up-to-date manner. The appeal would involve a large number of the most respected citizens together with a hundred chosen members of the Association. The writer, Harold Begbie expressed the view that: “England could do few things more wise and profitable than multiply YMCA buildings throughout the length and breadth of the country. I do not think you can save young men in the bulk on any other lines. Make Christianity attractive, provide the means for a real and not an artificial Christian manhood, give men the opportunity of living a masculine and healthy Christian life, and you empty the streets and taverns of all your present wastage, except those few who have definitely elected for evil”

The Campaign was launched under the leadership of Mr George W Rankin, National Director of YMCA, and a supporting Citizens’ Committee formed with James A Porter, Esq, the Rt Hon Lord Mayor of Norwich in the Chair. Mr J W Jewson, Treasurer of Norwich YMCA, was appointed Chairman of the Finance Committee and Geoffrey Fowell Buxton, Esq DL JP, President of Norwich YMCA, became Vice-Chairman. A large model clock was mounted outside the Agricultural Hall, Norwich.

(26) The Citizens’ Committee in support of the Public Appeal in 1914. Courtesy of Norwich Heritage Centre

(27) Cardboard replica of a large model clock which was mounted outside the Agricultural Hall, Norwich. The ‘hands’ would be moved three times each day to show the public how the campaign was progressing Courtesy of the Norwich Heritage Centre

One hundred chosen young men were sent out to ‘scour’ Norwich and its neighbourhood - ‘merry bands of well-intentioned Highwaymen on the prowl, ready to pounce upon every good-natured looking individual and utter their war-cry ‘your promise or your money’ The campaigners aimed at liquidating the debt which now stood at over £700, and to also carry out essential renovation and refurbishment of the gymnasium and other parts of the premises. Most importantly, they wanted also to create hostel accommodation on vacant land behind the Association’s main premises, primarily to cater for young men coming as strangers to Norwich. In all £5000 needed to be raised during the five-day campaign. The amount raised was £3,400 but the declaration of war against Germany on 4th August 1914 superseded any other plans and building of the new accommodation was delayed until 1919. The moment war broke out in 1914, Eastern Area YMCA immediately put out an Appeal for £25,000 to fund emergency war work. The money was raised in days and in fact by the end of the war the total raised to support its emergency work in Britain had reached £3.75 million. It was during this period of conflict that the red triangle was adopted as an easy-to-recognise emblem of the movement, symbolising the work with young people in body, mind and spirit.

(28) A poster advertising that the YMCA Study Hut was manned for 12 hours each day and that lectures dealt with the morality of war

(29) A postcard which might have been sent home to children, who, after reading a message from their father, could cut out the diagram and assemble a cardboard YMCA hut.

The main focus of the National YMCA’s work during the First World War was the YMCA hut. Built in cities, villages and at railway stations in England and close to the front lines of many battlefields, these huts provided a comfortable, relaxing sanctuary for soldiers. They supplied food, a place to rest and stationery for letters home. To meet the desperate need for volunteers for the YMCA’s war work, the National Women’s Auxiliary was set up with Princess Helena Victoria, third daughter of Queen Victoria, at its head and 50,000 women were recruited during the course of the year. As well as providing a place to relax the YMCA, alongside other bodies such as the Workers’ Education Association and University Extension Boards, began an education programme of lectures, discussions and concerts for the troops and this was later taken on by the Army to become the Royal Army Education Corps. At a meeting of the YMCA Eastern Area Divisional Council held in Ipswich on 5th October 1914 the Secretary presented a detailed statement of the mobilisation work in East Anglia with which he was in direct contact, saying that the work had presented many difficulties and given considerable anxiety, being pushed forward under very heavy pressures. The ‘YMCA War Emergency Account’, especially opened at Ipswich, showed gross receipts of well over one and a half million pounds. The Chairman’s report, read at the Council Meeting of 17th June 1915, showed especially the appreciation of the Commanding Officers for the work that was being done. ‘In spite of the magnitude of the work, practically all the needs were being met’. The Secretary expressed the need for camp leaders with “business acumen, personality and Christian aim” for this type of work.

(30) By late 1916 the work was on a very large scale; St Andrew’s Hall, Norwich was one of the ‘loaned rooms’ in the region where the YMCA held “soldiers’ socials”.

‘Linked-up work’ described centres which were being run under YMCA auspices, but controlled by a representative local committee. Support at the summer training camps continued. The YMCA National War Emergency Committee had several sub committees, one of the most important being the Religious Work Committee which supervised the provision of religious speakers, the circulation and examination of all YMCA literature and work connected with the War Roll. In the Eastern Region at this time there were 30 huts and 32 other centres such as halls and schoolrooms in operation, run by the YMCA, in addition to all YMCA premises in places where troops were billeted. From a national point of view, the YMCA was in touch with all branches of the Army and Navy and doing good work among discharged soldiers and prisoners of war in Holland and Switzerland; in the Eastern Division the summer camp work of 1917 had been on an unprecedented scale and improvements were noted in the Norfolk and Norwich area.

(31) Troops on convalescent leave being entertained in the garden at the rear of 48 St. Giles Street. c1916

By 1918 all the YMCA premises were occupied by troops and in many cases much repair and reconstruction would be necessary after the war. At the Council Meeting held at the YMCA East Anglian Divisional Office in Ipswich on 21st January 1918, the question of an ‘After the War policy’ was discussed, the main issue concerning the pros and cons of introducing an ‘open-door’ policy. It was felt that a membership ticket should be retained and it was suggested that it would be better to establish Red Triangle Clubs in different parts of the towns under the supervision of a Central Association rather than concentrate on one central building for the use of all kinds of men. The committee felt that the Association, “whilst out for the well-being of all men, did not wish to introduce amongst the membership anything in the way of class distinction”. By the following year enquiries for Red Triangle clubs were coming in daily and enquiries from over 100 East Anglian towns and villages had been received. 42

The Chairman’s Report of July 1919 included a Resolution to National Council which emphasised the worthwhile war work carried out by the East Anglian Council of YMCAs: “The East Anglian Divisional Council, meeting at Norwich, sends its expression of thanks to the National Council for all the encouragement and support rendered by them during the difficult war period; and it realises that this support helped it in no small degree to carry on successful work on behalf of our soldiers and sailors and airmen in over one hundred centres”. After the war the YMCA Movement adapted to meet Britain’s changing needs. The new programme used ideas and equipment left over from the war to help a country recovering from the devastation of war and later falling into economic recession. Youth work, education and physical fitness became fundamental parts of the YMCA’s work. From 1916 until 1927 the YMCA’s Employment Department found jobs for 38,000 exservicemen. The thousands of huts which had provided comfort for the troops during the war were dismantled and put together in cities, towns and villages as Red Triangle Clubs. In 1932 there were 406 of these across the country. They were centres for YMCA activities and provided a meeting place, with billiards or pool and a bar serving tea. Most of the work in the last three months of 1919 had involved closing down war centres and salvage work. The Norwich hostel for discharged, disabled men was closed but about ten centres remained in Norfolk, a few of which would be placed on a permanent basis. Around this time boys’ work was expanding. Boys’ clubs, special sections for junior members and Boy Scout troops were springing up in YMCA’s all over the country, especially in towns and cities. By 1932 there were 217 YMCA youth centres in England, Ireland and Wales. Three centres for boys were running in Norwich with a membership of 400 and there was a possibility of others being opened. In 1919 the house adjoining number 48, 50 St Giles Street, was purchased from Mr Samuel Burton, a surgeon, by the Trustees of Norwich YMCA and a new hostel opened there as a home from home for young lads coming to the city to work . Also in 1919 new trustees were appointed; namely, Sir G M Chamberlin Kt, Draper; H J Copeman Esq; S Cozens-Hardy, Gent; A Eddington, grocer; F W Harmer J P, Clothing Manufacturer, J W Jewson, timber merchant; T W Arnold, schoolmaster; H G Bassingthwaighte, schoolmaster; T P Braybrooks, schoolmaster; L M Buckingham, coal merchant; H Duncan, outfitter; K H Fielding, auctioneer; W A L Marriott, doctor of medicine; C Mase, painter and decorator; W G Mase, boot manufacturer and H J Pond, boot manufacturer.

Promises of monetary support from the 1914 fundraising campaign had not materialised on account of the outbreak of war and financial difficulties persisted during the post-war years.

(32) No.50 St. Giles Street c1936. Photograph by G. Plunkett

Prosperity was returning to the country by 1922 and once again it was time to move forward. An appeal for £3,500 was launched by Norwich YMCA with a view to clearing the debt on the General Account including the Boys’ Work and Hostel Building accounts. There was also an urgent need for a YMCA athletic ground for seniors and boys. A grand reception was arranged for H H Princess Helena Victoria on 2nd May 1922 at which she received purses on behalf of YMCA funds from the Lord Mayor of Norwich. The Princess arrived at Norwich Thorpe Station and took luncheon at Crown Point with the Lord Lieutenant for Norfolk, Russell Colman and Mrs Colman before visiting the YMCA in St Giles. She was received there by Mr Charles Mase, Chairman of the Committee, Mr William Hubbard JP, Chairman of the Finance Committee, the Hon. Financial Secretary, L H Buckingham JP, the President and Chairman of the Women’s Auxiliary, Mrs H N Holmes and Mrs E M Fox JP, the General Secretary, Mr H M Gould MBE and the Assistant Secretary, Mr G F Hubbard.

(33) H H Princess Helena Victoria. Courtesy of Norwich Heritage Centre

The Princess inspected the Boys’ Department and the New Wing and then committee members and Boys’ Department Leaders were presented to her. This was followed by Evensong with Special Thanksgiving and Prayer in Norwich Cathedral, arranged by the Dean of Norwich, the Very Reverend D H S Cranage. The Princess then left the Cathedral for the Lord Mayor’s Reception in St Andrew’s Hall. There votes of thanks were proposed to the Princess by Russell Colman and seconded by the Lord Bishop of Norwich, Bertram Pollock; and to the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress of Norwich by Alan R Colman JP, seconded by the President of the YMCA, Eastern Counties Division, Mr H S Ashton. The Norwich YMCA Troop of Boy Scouts formed a guard of honour for the Princess at Norwich Station as she left. The Appeals Department under Mr H A Dennis raised over £1,500 in the next nine months, this being divided between the Eastern Counties Divisional Union and the National Council, as previously arranged. In addition, many good friends had been found during the course of the Appeal who wished to contribute annually. By 1927 the Board were confident that the finances of the Norwich YMCA were sound enough to permit the building of a new extension at the rear of St.Giles to provide a suite of meeting rooms. In November that year this extension was formally opened by Lord Hastings in the presence of the Lord Mayor Mr. C R Bignold, YMCA President Alan Colman JP and the Treasurer, Quintin E Gurney. The Lord Mayor paid compliments to the Gurney Family remarking that “the Gurneys had been foremost in improving the lot of their fellow men”. During the recession of the 1930s, the YMCA worked with unemployed men and boys by providing debates, concerts and plays, lantern lectures, wireless talks and painting groups which would help to interest 45

them until they could find employment . ‘The World-wide Activities of the YMCA are so planned as to meet the needs of the World’s Youth’. This statement promoted the YMCA in 1934 when George V was patron and H H Princess Helena Victoria was President of the Women’s Auxiliary. Mr H S Ashton was President of the Eastern Counties Divisional YMCA and the Vice-President, the Earl of Stradbroke. The Norfolk and Norwich YMCA Appeal Committee consisted of Major Quintin E Gurney as Treasurer with Secretaries, Mr H M Gould, Mr H A Dennis and Mr N S Tucker. The Norfolk, Norwich and Yarmouth joint appeal for this year culminated in a visit of H H Princess Helena Victoria. At a reception in St Andrew’s Hall on 9th June 1934, guests were received by the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress, Alderman Fred C Jex JP and Mrs Jex, before the arrival of H H Princess Helena Victoria with Lady McMahon, her lady-in-waiting, and the Lord Lieutenant for Norfolk and his wife. During the visit, the Princess received purses on behalf of the YMCA and then presented the Gold Order of the Red Triangle to Charles Mase, Chairman, General Committee, YMCA, Norwich, and to W A Hardy, a member of the YMCA, Norwich, to commemorate fifty years’ membership.

(34) The garden at the rear of 48 St. Giles Street c1936 showing the old gymnasium and the rear entrance porch on the left and the single storey extension built in 1927 comprising meeting rooms on the right, sometimes called the “concert hall”. Photograph courtesy of Jarrolds & Sons Ltd

In July 1938 Mr Edward Bush, an estate developer from Hellesdon, purchased 46 St Giles Street from the estate of Dr Charles Andrews, deceased. By July 1939 the work of the YMCA in Norwich was progressing very well but the financial situation had become so critical that the premises in St Giles were put up for sale on instruction of the trustees. The property 46

consisted of 48 and 50 St Giles Street, with frontages to St Giles and Bethel Streets and Rigby’s Court and had general offices, a lecture room, gymnasium, private flat, hostel and large garden. However, the property was withdrawn from auction at £6000 and on the outbreak of war a decision was made not to sell. The YMCA subsequently embarked on a very full war programme. The local Association building became the headquarters for all YMCA and services work in Norfolk between 1939 and 1945. Everything was superseded by the needs of the young men in uniform and the whole premises and organisation were turned over to accommodating and feeding the troops and providing for their leisure. The hostel was well served by voluntary workers and although it usually housed 35 men, on at least one occasion 90 troops slept there. In 1941 a second hostel with 21 beds was opened at 56 Bethel Street and this also included a reading room and a room for educational work as well as a small chapel; the extra provision there of hot water for baths was much appreciated by the men This additional hostel was opened in November 1941 by Lady Ironside, who commented at the time, that the War Office was assisting voluntary organisations to cater for the welfare of soldiers, sailors and airmen, stranded on their way to and from leave or during a short leave when they could not travel home. The Lord Mayor, Mr J H Barnes, paid tribute to the work of the YMCA, both in peace and war, and said that if it was not for the enthusiasm of the voluntary workers the lot of the Service men would be much worse. Mr G F Hubbard, the Norwich YMCA Secretary, said that the YMCA War Emergency Fund had found £500 to equip the new hostel and he added that it had always been the policy of the YMCA to run more than a canteen and more than a hostel. What they tried to provide was something in the nature of a residential club where they could create the necessary atmosphere for the happiness of young people. There was a generous response to appeals for funding and capital expenditure on buildings, equipment and mobile canteens was met by the National YMCA War Service Fund; there was also a Divisional War Emergency Account. In return a percentage of money raised by local appeals was donated to the National and Divisional committees. For example in May 1941, the first local appeal was made since the war began; nearly 10,000 letters were sent out by the YMCA War Service Fund appealing for at least £10,000 to provide four YMCA huts for men of the Royal Air Force stationed in East Anglia. The huts were needed for localities where it was not possible to establish centres close to aerodromes and they were known as ‘The City of Norwich and Norfolk Huts for the RAF’, erected where the need was most urgent, each hut costing a minimum of £2,500. Writing and rest rooms were provided at each location and concerts were arranged quite often. The National YMCA War Service Fund contributed towards the purchase of beds, bedding and other equipment.

The Eastern Daily Press reported in 1940 that just after 9 am three mobile canteens from the Norwich YMCA started their daily visits to isolated troops in the Norfolk countryside. Two large vans, village stores on wheels, visited the larger units and took them piping hot tea, cakes, cigarettes, milk, stamps, soap, etc. Watches were taken to be repaired, socks darned free of charge and letters posted. A smaller tea car visited all the most inaccessible units, hidden away in desolate spots.

(35) A line of YMCA tea wagons and a mobile library with drivers and assistants in Chantry Road, Norwich

(36) A moment of relaxation for a volunteer with a YMCA tea car c1941

(37) Walpole Street, Norwich February 1941. The YMCA tea car in action after a German missile had destroyed a large area of the City around Vauxhall Street. Photograph courtesy of Archant Regional Ltd

Another daily call was to a field surrounded by barbed wire where the men could not get to the tea car and so shouting and throwing was used to serve the men; Woodbines, doughnuts and shoe laces being among the items thrown over the fence and money was flung back to them.

(38) Soldiers having a break from training c1944

By 1944 there were 32 YMCA centres in Norfolk and there were 20 mobile vans at their disposal. By now the YMCA had six tea cars or mobile canteens as well as mobile cinema and programme vans, mainly for gramophone recitals.

(39) Volunteer staff at the Prince of Wales Road canteen c1945. Photograph courtesy of Miss Pamela Clarke who recalls that her mother was a member of the Women’s Auxiliary Committee and a volunteer in the canteen. Miss Clarke used to meet her mother there after school and all she can remember of the canteen is “huge urns, lots of steam and lots of servicemen”

Another new canteen was opened in the motor showroom formerly occupied by Messrs. Howes at 84, Prince of Wales Road to relieve pressure on the canteen in St Giles and the very efficient Red Cross hut at the station. The National Council of YMCA’s furnished the new premises which were run entirely by volunteers. Mrs Clarke was presented with the Order of the Red Triangle by H H Princess Helena Victoria, President of the National Women’s Auxiliary, as a token of appreciation for her valued war service to the YMCA. A Norwich house-to-house collection in September 1942 was unsuccessful as the 30,000 leaflets and envelopes were delivered just before the start of the Blitz. However, in the same year £600 was received from the Norwich Gift Shop run by the Ladies’ Auxiliary Committee, who raised much more for the cause by the end of the war.

(40) The Citation for the Order of the Red Triangle presented to Mrs Clarke

(41) Norfolk YMCA had been proud to see a US Air force Liberator bomber bearing the inscription â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;The YMCA Flying Serviceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in recognition of the help the men had received from the YMCA.

(42) USAF crew taking refreshments from the YMCA tea car with the “Flying Service” liberator in the background

A letter received from the Commanding Officer of a USAAF aerodrome said that ‘tea cars had done work in strengthening AngloAmerican relations”. YMCA Youth Clubs were not entirely neglected during the war but funds were urgently directed to the war effort. In fact the Eastern Daily Press reported on 15th March 1940 that the Central YMCA in St Giles, then concentrating its effort on the needs of men in the Forces, was no longer able to give a grant to Cowgate YMCA. However, the Cowgate members rose to the occasion and in an effort to be self-supporting, raised their subscriptions by fifty per cent and began a drive for new members. They claimed to have a special appeal to the younger workers in the shoe factories and they were keen to welcome a visit from any member of the Forces. The Club had opened originally in rooms in Magdalen Street and then moved to Cowgate, taking the name of the Cowgate Lads’ Club. In 1925 they had been affiliated to the YMCA and had moved into the 18th century ‘Martineau House’ in Colegate. Norwich historian and author, Joan Banger, recalls the dreadful Baedeker raids of 1942 on Norwich and the courageous help given to the injured and homeless by volunteers. She reports that ‘the six YMCA vans worked in relays reporting for duty while the bombs were still dropping’. The YMCA ‘Snapshots from Home’ scheme was initiated at this time. Amateur and professional photographers in Britain were enrolled to take pictures of families of service men when they were overseas. Over 2000 photographers enrolled, Norwich YMCA being one of the centres to sponsor 52

the scheme. It was said that these snapshots of wives and babies gave utmost pleasure to recipients all over the world. At Dunkirk the YMCA lost all the 16 tea cars which had worked among the British Expeditionary Forces but, with one exception, all the staff managed to get to the coast and return to England. The man who did not get through was interned, and not taken prisoner, as YMCA workers were non-combatants. A report by the Reverend F C Milne in December 1943 on the Social, Educational and Religious work of the YMCA in East Anglia, states that most Centres had some form of Religious Service or Epilogue but that there was room for improvement in this area. Religious discussions and Brains Trusts were being organised and he felt that an informal approach to religious subjects was the most hopeful for the future. In his view there was much apathy in religious interests; the definite antagonism of many men to organised religion was painfully clear. The Reverend Milne urged Leaders to persuade the local clergy and ministers to give weekly time to the social contacts of games and conversation with the men, in order to establish confidence before attempting a more formal religious approach. In 1944 the YMCA Youth Centre in the former St Peter Mancroft Vicarage (now The Chantry) was opened. It was well equipped with provision for table tennis, billiards and a magnificent model electric railway. There was a small canteen, woodwork and model engineering rooms. The spiritual side had a high priority and there was a chapel where a short service was held each Wednesday and Friday evening and although there was no coercion to attend, many boys were there. The invaluable war work and dedication to the welfare of the troops shown by the YMCA had left the Norwich Association with greater financial difficulties. Buildings needed repair and renovation and there was a debt to pay. Mr Gerald Hubbard, the pre-war General Secretary, had paved the way for worthwhile service to H M Forces, in Norwich and throughout the county, but in 1945 he accepted a YMCA posting overseas and so he was unable to oversee this important work to its conclusion. Local responsibility was given to Mr E Clements and county matters to Mr L H Adams but early in 1945 the local committee, with the approval of the Trustees of Norwich YMCA, invited the National Council of YMCAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s to assume full responsibility for the administration of the Norwich YMCA. The National Council agreed and asked the Divisional Council to act on its behalf. Mr W F Cutbush was appointed County Secretary in April 1945 and he was asked to devote part of his time to the Norwich YMCA with emphasis on its future. Miss Violet Cole remembers her work with the YWCA and its connections with the YMCA in Norfolk during the war. As a bright 17 year old girl from Cromer, she was recruited for war work and, being given the choice of collecting pebbles from Cromer beach, cleaning out railway carriages or working for the YWCA; she chose the latter. Based at Gorleston YWCA, she helped to care for men from Air Sea Rescue, the RAF stationed at Hopton and the Red Berets. Miss Cole remembers these men as amongst the finest she has ever met and felt how sad it was that many of them were there for just a day or two before being sent away to war, never to return 53

again. The YWCA had a big house near the YMCA canteen in Gorleston and many of the men seemed to prefer the more homely atmosphere of the YWCA. However, although they were warmly welcomed the rules were strict and men were not allowed into the dining room. Miss Cole felt that the YWCA was always overshadowed by the YMCA but she recalls VE Day in 1945 when she and the other leader were taken by the soldiers to the riverside in Gorleston, where there were lots of ships, sirens and lights celebrating the end of the war in Europe. This was a night never to be forgotten. The end of the war created problems with staffing and voluntary workers. Many left before the end of July 1945 and it was difficult to replace them. However, new staff were recruited and good progress began to be made. The Boysâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Club established at St Peter Mancroft Vicarage in 1944 was brought to an end by the arrival of a new Vicar when the PCC required the surrender of the premises by October. However, a fresh start was made by an invitation to older boys to join the St Giles Street YMCA and by the end of October 1945 there were 25 members. At the same time a civilian membership campaign was launched and 45 had joined within a month. The introduction of a Ladiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Club, composed mainly of Voluntary Helpers, brought in another 60 members, and the Gramophone Club joined the YMCA, adding another 63 members. This gave a total of 253 members, including 60 honorary members, among them being some members of the Norwich CEYMS as their premises had been destroyed during the war. The committee eventually sought the hospitality of the YMCA for the next 12 months. The obligations to servicemen and servicewomen in 1945 left little space for civilian activities but a weekly programme was devised for them, including religious studies and a social hour on Sundays with a dance class and a dance, gramophone club, whist drive and a social during the week. There were also handicraft classes, table tennis, billiards, snooker and other games but the physical programme could not be restarted until a suitable room was available with fully qualified teachers. Mr Gerald Hubbard, General Secretary of the Norwich YMCA in the early war years, returned to Norwich after spending many years of retirement after the war as a hospital chaplain and a licensed lay reader. In 2005 he remembered with affection his years with Norwich YMCA when he and his wife lived at 48 St Giles in very fine rooms. In the second year of the war he left for Gibraltar to be co-ordinator of volunteers for the Council of Voluntary Work. He went by troop ship from Gibraltar with three girls and two boys to Italy and Austria to continue YMCA war work and provide canteens for troops and centres for leave throughout these countries. He was in Italy in 1945 when victory was announced. After the war he was sent to Bristol to re-establish civilian work and later he moved to Ipswich to become Area Secretary for the Eastern Counties. Mr Hubbard recalls the marvellous work of volunteers and staff in restoring the YMCA buildings and resources after the devastation of the war and the heavy price paid for concentrating with such dedication on the war 54

effort. He is glad that girls began to be welcomed into the Association during those years and he remembers that when the hostel and gymnasium were used by troops during the war, some Norwich Union girls came to act as receptionists. He recalls the wonderful work of all the women involved. For example, Janet Laidlaw made a welcoming rest place for girls at Norwich YMCA. Mr Hubbard continues to have a strong Christian faith and a positive attitude to life, saying that he had ‘a smashing job during the war’ and remembering with pride the achievements of the YMCA during the war years and afterwards. By the end of 1945 the Norwich Association had been without a committee for seven months and there was a great deal to be accomplished before the Norwich YMCA could be re-established on a sound basis after the war years. Mr P R Cody was appointed General Secretary in 1947 and it was largely through his efforts that the Norwich programme was so successful.

(43) Peter Cody appointed General Secretary of the Norwich YMCA in 1947

Mr Cody, now retired and living in Devon, took up the post of General Secretary of the Norwich YMCA after coming out of the Air Force. He remembers the rundown state of the Association after the war. The committee was very small and he knew that he must build up a committee of Christian men of common mind who would work together to provide help and support for the many ex-servicemen and youngsters in the aftermath of the war. He recalls the complete transformation which was achieved, in spite of the lack of money, and he gives all credit to the generosity of so many volunteers. Christian outreach work with youngsters was growing fast and residential camping was beginning. There was work with overseas students and links with the Cathedral and Norwich churches. There was even a Christian telephone service where people could leave a message and receive a reply, manned by volunteers. A Women’s Auxiliary Committee was formed and ladies were allowed limited membership of the new hostel.

Mr Cody remembers also that Mr Tom Eaton, who was a member of the committee, was Lord Mayor of Norwich at the time and he recalls the remarkable work carried out by him, Mr Richard Gurney and Mr John Jarrold. Publicity and press coverage was good and he particularly remembers a very successful exhibition in the Castle Museum. He has warm memories of his ten years with Norwich YMCA and he feels that Norwich was unique. It was a very individual city with a close community which had strong links with the churches. However, he attributes the transformation of Norwich YMCA after the war to the strong Christian purpose of the original committee. By 1948, all the original trustees under the 1888 Trust Deed had died and so it was agreed that the National Council of YMCA’s, should become the Trustee of the properties. To formalise matters, in 1953 both 48 and 50 St Giles Street were leased by the National Council to the new trustees of Norwich YMCA, at a nominal rent. There was some money in the bank in March 1949 but considerable expenditure was needed to bring the building in St Giles into a good state of repair so an Appeal was planned. Sir Basil and Lady Mayhew cut the cake on the 94th birthday of the Norwich YMCA in October 1949. This was followed by an open week which included a county Badminton match between Norfolk and Suffolk and the first performance of a 3-act play by the newly formed dramatic society. By this time the membership was showing greater interest in general activities and with the clearing of the bank overdraft, the Advisory Committee was putting in hand decorating schemes and improvements to the property, as funds became available.

(44) A Full Members’ Board Meeting in progress c1952

The 1950’s was the era of what many think of as the traditional YMCA hostel, “occupied by middle-class students and young men in white collar jobs”. Mr Cody reported in July 1950 that the past winter’s activities had been well supported and the audited accounts in March had shown a 56

surplus of ÂŁ266 but against this the Norwich committee were faced with urgent and very heavy repairs to the property at an estimated cost of ÂŁ2000. An overdraft was arranged for this with the approval of the National Council and it was hoped that an Appeal in the autumn would help to meet the cost of the work. Mr Michael Reeves from Hellesdon has memories of happy days with his friends at Norwich YMCA on Sunday mornings in the 1950s. He used to go there for prayers and then tea, coffee and biscuits were provided. After that they used the sports equipment and played billiards, table tennis, chess etc. They also played table tennis in various clubs in the city.

(45) Volley-ball in the old gymnasium c1954 Photograph courtesy of Archant Regional Ltd

The centenary of the YMCA in Norwich was celebrated in 1956 and the Executive Committee during the Centenary Year included Mr R G Carter, President; Mr R Q Gurney, Chairman and Mr D A Pearce Gould, Hon Treasurer. Plans were made for a Centenary Appeal for funds to enlarge the hostel by a further 18 single rooms and the provision of new kitchens and a dining room. By this time the Association had virtually recovered from the destructive effects of the war and once again attempts were being made to meet the needs of the time. The President, Mr R G Carter, explained that circumstances had changed noticeably since the war began. Firms had begun to operate their own clubs, the Local Education Authority organised youth clubs and lectures, amusements and recreational facilities were many and varied and within the reach of all. There was a demand for single interest groups such as chess, gramophone, stamp, badminton clubs, music groups and many more. Norwich YMCA continued to offer the usual sporting and recreational facilities which were equal to the best that the City could offer and the three-fold programme still provided for the sound development of 57

the body, mind and spirit of its members. The Summer camps were very popular and allowed the young boys a taste of adventure whilst giving the parents a well earned break.

(46) Summer camp at Mundesley 1954

(47) Summer camp at Mundesley 1954 showing the wooden Meeting and Canteen hut in the background

The Association was much more than a first-class social club and the strength of its work lay in personal service, not organised programmes and there was a growing need to cater for a wider range of young people needing accommodation, some from overseas who had come to work or study in Norwich. Mr Carter felt that the matter of good personal relationships was one of the major issues of the time and that increasing centralisation tended to rob the individual of significance. The YMCA, as a Christian organisation, placed great stress on the importance of the individual person and his relationship to God.

(48) A double bedroom in 1956. Residents were keen to have single bedrooms, offering more privacy as well as modern furniture and heating

In the spring of 1956 there was a Thanksgiving Service at Norwich Cathedral to open the Centenary year. A varied programme followed with such events as the launching of the Public Appeal by the Lord Mayor, a Centenary Exhibition in Norwich Castle Museum and a 100th Birthday Party at Arlington Hall on 28th September 1956.

(49) The Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress, Dr. and Mrs Ian Dickson, greeting guests at a 100th Birthday Celebration. In the centre is YMCA President, Mr. R.G. Carter and at right, Chairman Mr. R. Q. Gurney.

(50) Guests from 28 countries were welcomed by Lord Mayor, Mr. Arthur South to an International Goodwill Supper organised by the Norwich YMCA, on the 29th November 1956. F J Wolfenden CBE, MA, Vice-Chancellor of Reading University, was the guest speaker.

In 1956 the YMCA was running two Boys Clubs which provided a varied programme for of 12 to 16 year-olds at St Giles and for boys of 12 to 14 at Holls Lane, with a membership fee of 3d per week. The boys enjoyed activities such as table tennis, billiards, darts and football and table tennis matches were played against other youth clubs. During summer the programme included tennis, cricket and weekend camping and there were regular visits of outside speakers for talks on hobbies, sport etc. Each club night closed with an epilogue. In October R H Mottram JP, FRSL, spoke on ‘Norwich - its Government’. Among the gifts on the Celebrity Stall of the Centenary Bazaar was a pair of Margot Fonteyn’s pink satin ballet slippers, autographed by the dancer herself. The Eastern Daily Press printed a photograph of Mrs Cody with the slippers and stated that ‘today’s picture is of objects, seemingly insignificant, which are steeped in intimate contact with celebrities’. Throughout the year a wide range of fine gardens were open in aid of the YMCA Centenary Fund, generally at a charge of 1s. each. There was an excellent response to the Centenary Appeal and building work soon began bringing chaos and inconvenience to staff and residents.

(51) During the building work the General Secretary Mr. Cody (right) and Mr. G. E. Fletcher carry on their work surrounded by other furniture being stored temporarily in this old upstairs Committee room. They used this room as a temporary office while a new one was built; later it was turned into a bedroom and connected to the new wing. Photograph courtesy of Archant Regional Ltd

(52) A rather cramped corner of the old dining room c1954. Photograph by Archant Regional Ltd

(53) The new spacious Restaurant c1957 which served both hostel residents and members. Photograph by Archant Regional Ltd

(54) The back yard c1936 showing the single storey extension which was built in 1927. Photograph Archant Regional Ltd.

(55) The same extension as above with the second storey which was added in 1958 to provide accommodation for 43 young men. Photograph by Archant Regional Ltd

The YMCA would provide a home for overseas students studying in Britain, aided by the Governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Overseas Students Welfare Expansion Programme. This encouraged them to modernize their accommodation, often with double-glazing, fitted wardrobes, carpets and a new restaurant.

Long-term residence was available to 17 to 30 year olds and there was 63

limited provision for men between 30 and 40. Residents were expected to become members of the YMCA but temporary accommodation was sometimes available for those passing through Norwich on business or holidays.

(56) Lord Mackintosh (left) opening the New Wing in the presence of the Lord Mayor, Mr T. C. Eaton and the Bishop of Thetford, the Rt Rev. M. P. G. Leonard. Mr. R. Q. Gurney (Norwich YMCA Chairman) is descending the steps. Photograph by Archant Regional Ltd

In February, 1957, Miss Ruth Morrison was appointed as matron and Mr Cody expressed the view that “we are anxious that the YMCA be something more than a place in which to sleep and eat. We are anxious that it should be a home from home. The matron will be able to do more towards this than those who have in the past been fully occupied with administration only”. The wall dividing the YMCA from Bethel Street was removed to open up a view of the new hostel extension and the paved gardens, to give the public some indication of the work the YMCA was doing for those in Norwich needing its facilities. A few people objected to the ‘ghastly gold letters on one of the finest Georgian houses in St Giles’, suggesting that the well-known red triangle above the door was enough to identify the home of the YMCA and the letters were regretfully removed. Mr Peter Cody, Secretary of the Norwich YMCA, left in 1957 to take up a senior post in Northumberland. At the end of his 10-year tenure the buildings were sound and had been extensively enlarged, the committee was well established and the Association was honoured and esteemed throughout the county. Mr Cody had been linked with all youth activities in the city and was a lay reader in the Church of England.

A Period of Growth and Expansion of Activities Mr P H Soutar, appointed in 1957 as new General Secretary of Norwich YMCA, had spent his early adult life in the army, as an officer in the Royal Armoured Corps and the Westminster Dragoons and he had later served abroad, retiring with the rank of Captain. Mr Soutar declared 1958 to be a momentous year for Norwich YMCA following the erection of the new hostel wing, together with many other structural improvements including a hall, with a stage for drama productions, and table-tennis, billiards, and a kitchen. In addition, a basement for youngsters was an ongoing development. At this time the first YMCA Summer Day Camps in the country were pioneered by Norwich YMCA and the pilot scheme was held in 1962, led by Sam Larmour with volunteers helping. The idea was that day camps would be run alongside residential camping on the same site for boys who were too young or were not ready to sleep under canvas. The boys spent the day with the Association engaged in a wide variety of activities which kept them fully occupied from 10 am to 5 pm when they returned home ‘honestly tired’. Since then more than 10,000 Norfolk youngsters have taken part in holiday schemes in other counties. Mr Les Cockrill, a former YMCA General Secretary outside Norfolk with earlier wide experience of life in the Norwich hostel and as voluntary leader with the Boys’ Club, provides a detailed record of the first day camps: “The first day camp was held on 30th July 1962 with a treasure hunt round the city and camp-craft instruction. Separate programmes for each day of the week included first aid, camping equipment instruction, gym activities and a sports competition. There was cycling to Drayton for rafting, canoeing and archery; activities in the sports hall, athletics and carpentry projects. On 3rd August a group of boys walked to Drayton for archery, canoeing, a barbecue and an overnight camp and the next day they cooked breakfast, packed up camp and were taken back to Norwich YMCA for hot showers and return home.

(57) Day campers waiting outside the Bethel Street entrance to board the coach that will take them to the Swannington Camp site. Photograph by Les Cockrill 1964

John Berry started as Boysâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Work Secretary on 1st April 1963. There were more day camps at Easter along the same lines but, in addition, the boys were bussed out to Langley Park on the second day for archery, air rifle shooting and an assault course at Langley Park School. The programme included canoeing at Norwich Canoe Centre, trampolining at the YMCA gym and a visit to the fire station. On the penultimate day they walked to Drayton for camp as in summer 1962 and were visited by BBC TV cameras during the afternoon.

(58) Day Campers at Norwich Canoe Centre, River Wensum. Photograph by Les Cockrill 1964

In summer 1963 the base was moved to Swannington by kind permission of the farmer, Mr Richard Winch, a member of the Executive Committee, and day camps were held there for several years. This made possible a major alteration to the programme as the boys had previously walked to the Camp Site on the Friday morning - a distance of five miles and returned by bus on Saturday morning, having slept one night under canvas. Now as the new site was ten miles out of the City the Endurance March had to be taken out of the programme, younger boys spent only one day at the full camp. Day camps continued for several years and were considered to be a great success, some day campers enrolling later for a full week’s camping. The comment of one twelve-year-old after his week’s camping says it all: “This is the best thirty bob my father has ever spent on me”.

(59) Swannington Camp. Happy young mudlarks! These boys have been on an obstacle course which involved them swinging on a rope across a stream. Photograph by Les Cockrill 1964

(60) Swannington Camp.The expression on this boyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s face says it all. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s having a wonderful time on the obstacle course under the watchful eye of the camp leaders. Photograph by Les Cockrill 1964

(61) Swannington Camp. These boys had a choice of many different activities and have decided to try their hand at painting. Photograph by Les Cockrill 1964

(62) Swannington Camp. After a hectic morning’s activities these boys are forming an orderly queue for a hearty lunch. Photograph by Les Cockrill 1964

(63) Miss Cole recalls that police cadets were residents in the hostel and used to help with the camps. She remembers that at the end of a day there were singsongs round the campfire before sleeping under canvas. Photograph by Les Cockrill 1964

The 1960s was a period of expansion for Norwich YMCA. A large new Sports Hall, combined with a hall for a new Boys’ Club, was opened in April 1962 and this moved away from the concept of Victorian gymnasiums with advocacy of physical culture for its own sake, towards the American idea of field halls with room for indoor athletics and competitive games of all descriptions. The project was made possible only by the support of the Ministry of Education, local authorities and private benefactors. The Board felt obliged to obtain a loan in the region of £120,000 repayable with interest from the Government through the Public Works Loans Board. The loan 69

would be administered by Norwich City Council and would remain a heavy millstone for the YMCA to bear for the next 30 years.

(64) Demolition of the old gymnasium facing Bethel Street. 1961. Photograph by Archant Regional Ltd

(65) New Sports Hall viewed from Bethel Street. Photograph by Archant Regional Ltd

Meanwhile membership continued to rise, youth work and the senior section flourished and a fair cross-section of the community, including the newly-founded University of East Anglia, the police and various clubs used the Sports Hall. It had already been agreed that the Studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Union of the University should use the YMCA Coffee Bar each day whilst studying at the City Library as it was felt that this close link would prove to be helpful in the 70

future. 52 St Giles was taken over in 1966 at a cost of £1000 to provide extra accommodation but was sold in 1980 for £45,000 due to changing circumstances and with a view to repaying the debt.

(66) Interior of the new Sports Hall being used as a gymnasium. Photograph by Archant Regional Ltd

Fencing was introduced as the latest activity in the Sports Hall and the outreach work on the then “difficult” Heartsease Estate was considered to be one of the most worthwhile activities of the 1968. There was ever increasing demand for the day and summer camps which still met a great need. The YMCA obtained the use of Trimingham with its wider facilities and attractive coastal setting for the resident camps. On 31st October 1969 newly-married Mr and Mrs Roger Chandler made history at Norwich YMCA as the first couple to have spent a honeymoon there. Their house in Mattishall was not ready for them after the wedding and as Roger, a plumber, had been staying at the YMCA before their marriage, he was given the use of the flat as a wedding present. Several years earlier there had been a growing demand for accommodation for foreign students who would be educated at Norwich City College. The British Council had offered Norwich YMCA a provisional grant of £48,000 for an additional 64 accommodation places in connection with a proposed re-development to extend the 1958 “New Wing” of the Norwich Hostel. The cost of adding two new storeys on top of the current hostel was assessed and an Appeal was planned. Norwich YMCA was congratulated by the Divisional Committee on their vision, enterprise and courage. The proposed additions would provide accommodation for 125 young people. There would be central heating and a new reception area, TV lounges and further rooms for widely ranging activities.

In 1968, in anticipation of this development, the YMCA purchased from Mr. George Bush, a staunch supporter, the adjoining property, 46 St. Giles Street, at half the current market price and the development was to be known as “Bush House”. Despite the British Council grant, a considerable amount still had to be raised and the YMCA decided to launch an Appeal for £75,000 in September 1970. Mr. D Houseley was engaged as Campaign Director and the Lord Mayor, Mr H J Jarrold CBE and the Bishop of Norwich, The Rt Rev Dr Launcelot Fleming agreed to be patrons. The response was very generous and donations and deeds of covenant amounted to £57,000 by November 1971. In the same year it was decided that ladies were to be accommodated in the hostel. However, there was still a shortfall and by then the YMCA was in a very poor financial position after heavy expenditure on youth and community activities. Another unfortunate complication arose when the City College announced that they intended to build 200 units of accommodation on their site in Ipswich Road, which would be in direct competition with the YMCA for the students. Later, in the mid 1970’s the number of overseas students declined and demand fell amongst British students and young workers. Consequently the YMCA was not able to maintain its rental revenue and this in turn affected its ability to repay its development loan. Whilst the YMCA continued to take in students and workers as well as low budget tourists wanting overnight accommodation, the Board began to focus more on meeting the needs of homeless, unemployed and disadvantaged young people. The YMCA accommodated those who had been sleeping rough and provided counselling and training with the aim of getting them back into the community with a job. This led to the YMCA registering as a Housing Association in 1974. Mr Mervyn How became Chairman in 1976 and Mr Roy Blacker, former Youth Director of Norwich YMCA, was appointed General Secretary. In 1977, Mr Ian Reeve was seconded from Norwich City Council to the board of trustees and elected Treasurer. Through Mr. Reeve’s expertise the YMCA was able to access the Government’s Hostel Deficit Funding Programme. The following year, Irene Horovitz, a senior social worker with Norfolk County Council, joined the YMCA board. She had responsibility for vulnerable young people in the care of the Local Authority and negotiated a service level agreement for the County Council with the City YMCA. This was a watershed marking the development in the YMCA to move into the contract culture for the formal provision of social care. The introduction of up to fourteen, 16 to 17 years old, young men and women in social care into a hostel already accommodating police cadets, young workers and people with challenging behaviour, led to a most demanding environment. Roy Blacker left in December 1978 for Leicester YMCA and a new appointment was made, John Drake, who would bring a fundamental change to the operation of the Association. 72

Period of Rapid Change John Drake commenced as General Secretary of Norwich YMCA on the 1st January 1979. His previous YMCA experience included Manchester, Hornsey, Jerusalem, Bournemouth and Carlisle YMCAs. Just prior to the Norwich appointment he was part of the Commissioning Team responsible for the redevelopment of the founding Association of London Central at a staggering cost of some £21 million. Prior to working for the YMCA, John Drake had served with the Surrey Constabulary and for a year ran a leper colony in Africa as a VSO volunteer. The new administration’s priorities were clearly defined from day one, namely: i) financial stability ii) mission development By skilful management of the Hostel Deficit Grant regime the poor staffing levels were quickly addressed and wage rates increased dramatically. Concurrently with the debt reduction strategy was the development of the mission expansion policy. In 1986 the YMCA Camps Department advertised an impressive range of holidays for young people. There were summer day camps and halfterm camps in Norfolk, water-activities in North Walsham, at a cost of only £24.50 to £26.00. Alternatively, there was Welsh Pioneering for 9 to 13-year olds at Trawsfynydd or a Lakeside Residential Week at the YMCA National Centre in the Lake District where activities included archery, abseiling, compass and map work, competitive sports, games and special events, for only £75 each. Further activities provided by the YMCA included orienteering, fellwalking, assault courses, computing, sailing, video film-making, football, rowing, art and craft and quizzes. From 1990 onwards a combination of social changes and Government grant conditions led to a shift in emphasis towards the hostel catering for young people with special needs, particularly those with drugs or alcohol dependency and those who had suffered from various forms of disadvantage. 1993 was a very rewarding year for Norwich YMCA when, as a result of strong management and the high demand for YMCA accommodation services, the Board were able to pay off the outstanding balance of over £11,000 in respect of the Public Works Loan taken out over 30 years earlier. Servicing this debt had blighted the Association’s efforts for growth and development and only after clearance of the debt could the Board contemplate expanding its activities.

( (67) John Drake (left) welcomes the Minister for Employment, Michael Forsyth, to the Norwich YMCA with David Richardson (General Manager of Norwich YMCA Services Ltd) and Roger Smith (Hon. Treasurer Norwich YMCA) July 1992 Photograph by Archant Regional Ltd

. In 1994 the YMCA Movement celebrated its 150th Anniversary, only 12 years before that of the Norwich Association. By this time Norwich YMCA had become incorporated to give limited liability to its Trustees. In addition it had formed a separate subsidiary company Norwich YMCA (Services) Ltd. Norwich YMCA remained a charity and a Registered Social Landlord (RSL), often called a Housing Association. Norwich YMCA (Services) Ltd, however, was not a Charity but a Trading Company which would covenant any surpluses to its parent body, Norwich YMCA Limited. Norwich YMCA (Services) Ltd worked in the area of employment and skills and in 1994 it was awarded the British Standard of Quality Management in Training ISO900/EN29001 Award. This was an important development that was achieved through hard work and commitment from all the staff team. As an agent of the Employment Services and the Learning and Skills Council, its programmes aimed to help the long and short term unemployed back to work, and they were highly successful in this aim. In 1994 Norwich YMCA pioneered the Foyer Concept in this country. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Foyerâ&#x20AC;? aimed at helping people who needed accommodation and support to find a job or the right training for work. The scheme linked affordable accommodation to training and employment, tackled homelessness and unemployment and helped young people make informed decisions about training and jobs whilst providing community and peer group support in a safe environment.

Colman’s of Norwich showed their loyal support of Norwich YMCA when the company’s managing director, Richard Holroyd, presented the Foyer Project with a cheque for £15,000 from its Community Affairs Charity Fund. The scheme was very successful and comments from young residents reflect their appreciation. For example, from David, “The YMCA has been a family to me – they have cared when no-one else did - I owe them a lot”. And from another, “When I joined Foyer I found the information, advice and personal support very useful in helping me obtain full-time employment” There were other highlights in 1994. Prince Charles was welcomed to 48 St Giles Street on a fact-finding tour. He met at least 50 of the Association’s residents. YMCA residents are generally not easily impressed but his genuine concern for their needs was appreciated.

(68) H R H Prince Charles talking to residents in the YMCA hostel February 1994. Photograph by Archant Regional Ltd

BBC TV made a very successful TV documentary called ‘The Hostel’ which featured the Norwich YMCA. On another occasion the Association was invited by the United States Air Force to stage an exhibition at the Mildenhall Air Show which featured the work of the YMCA during the Second World War. Over 210,000 people had an opportunity to see the great contribution made by the YMCA to the well-being of the Armed Services that continues to be made in both peace and war. In May the Charity Ball was well attended, introducing many City people to a fresh understanding of the YMCA. The General Secretary, John Drake, stressed that although the financial position was stable at the time, public awareness of the valuable work being undertaken by the YMCA and the need for support in maintaining future activities was vital in those 75

uncertain times. He said that the YMCA was essentially a voluntary members’ movement and that considerable support was received from many people who gave their time so generously. The Chairman, Mr Richard Jarrold, explained that although the City had changed dramatically since 1856, the need to provide young people with affordable accommodation and help to find employment remained the same; adding that “for many of our residents the YMCA provides more than a bed, it is their home and a chance to meet their needs in a safe and caring environment. In 1856 the YMCA had been run strictly for young men but by 1994 all programmes were open to both men and women’. In October 1996 footballers were being invited to play at the Canaries’ old training ground at Trowse. The YMCA had taken over the running of the ground after the club’s lease ran out. The YMCA was actively encouraging sports clubs to use its Trowse facilities as two municipal sports and community facilities had been closed by the City Council. By 1998/9 significant changes were taking place within the organisation and even wider help was being offered to young people in Norfolk. Annual turnover was in excess of a million pounds per annum and there was a staff team of more than 50 people. It was time to celebrate 36 years of Summer Camps for children; there were 400 young people in day camps and there was increasing contact with schools. Prison work was also being developed. The headquarters of Norfolk YMCA, 48 St Giles Street, provided facilities such as the Sports Hall, Job Search, Foyer Resources and Asylum Resettlement. There were resettlement services for residents and accommodation for young people in care with recreational activities in an atmosphere of Christian awareness. Youth Work provided Day Camps, Day Trips, Residential Camps, Ex-Residents Football Team, Norwich Young Offenders Institute and Prisons Work as well as work with Schools. There was a press report in March 1999 of two young refugees from Kosovo whose parents had paid a lorry driver to ferry them out of Kosovo. This was a trip into the unknown for them but they eventually arrived in Norwich and were housed in the 90-bed YMCA hostel. The YMCA Hostel manager, Ed Vaughan, felt that they had very difficult times ahead but they had at least reached a safe haven on their arrival in Norwich. In April 1999 it was announced that Norwich YMCA was to offer support to British troops in the Balkans. As part of a volunteer Rapid Action Corps, the Association would help run a tented outpost providing aid to thousands of soldiers drafted to help refugees fleeing Kosovo. They would be friends to weary Allied troops - serving hot food and drinks as well as helping soldiers contact family at home. John Drake underlines that this built on the support given to Service personnel by Norwich YMCA since 1912 and he adds that this was a humanitarian mission. They were not making a judgement on the rights and wrongs of the war but were asked to help 76

because of their strong track record in supporting the troops in the past. The service in Bosnia echoed the work of the Great War; volunteers provided soldiers with the same comforting links home but this time, instead of letters, troops were able to send video clips of themselves with a message to their loved ones. The Norwich mission was part of the aid programme supplied by the British YMCA which contacted Echos (European Christian Homes Organisation for the Services), a group co-ordinating welfare aid to Allied troops. When the Government announced in November 1999 plans for 800 “Learning Mentors” to be appointed to inner-city schools to help pupils deal with personal and family problems that affected their schoolwork, the local press reminded readers that Norwich YMCA had had such a scheme for nearly eight years. Pupils, parents, teachers, heads and school inspectors had all praised the role of the carefully chosen adults sent into schools to offer support and encouragement to pupils who needed them. Steve Mawston, YMCA schools manager had been working with Norwich schools since 1992 and he explained that adults were provided who young people could talk to, and trust. It was noticeable that bullying was reduced in schools which used the scheme and that many who might have been excluded had learned to modify their behaviour and to cope with school. Originally funded by the pioneering charity Schools Outreach, the work received generous support from Colman’s of Norwich, and was later maintained by contributions from Van den Bergh Foods, the National Lottery and several local benefactors.

1999 and the New Millennium In 1999 as one millennium came to an end so the Association, in true YMCA fashion, began to look to the future. John Drake, the CEO shared with the Board of Trustees his aspirations to establish a purpose-built building with the capacity to offer all vulnerable young people a full range of services and programmes to better equip them to play a meaningful part in community life. The Board endorsed the vision and commissioned the development task force to oversee the Association’s long-term redevelopment. The summer of 2000 saw the beginning of a private housing development adjacent to the Trowse YMCA. Under the terms of a Section 106 Agreement, the Association acquired an all-weather outdoor playing arena and took out a 15-year lease on the sports centre which had been built in 1974. In later years the sports centre would be used as a base for the Association’s county-wide programmes and give future leadership an excellent facility to develop sports programmes. The Bishop of Norwich, the Right Reverend Graham James, paid tribute to the caring work of the City’s YMCA at their Annual Review in April 2001. In commending their achievements over the past year he praised the work of YMCA Norfolk and extolled the contribution that the faith sector has made to the community well-being all across the county. He saw, at YMCA Norfolk “the best sort of hospitality and care for those who need accommodation and who sometimes have many other needs as well. Needs which result from family breakdown, drug or alcohol dependence, unemployment, loneliness and isolation, or a mixture of them all.” He added that “the best service still goes unnoticed and is often kept secret, but at least this evening’s celebration gives us the chance to celebrate it and give thanks to God, not just for Norwich YMCA, but for so much else of which it is nobly representative.” In May 2002 John Drake received the “Pioneer of the City Award” sponsored by the Norwich Evening News. This was in recognition of his initiative in developing the SOS Bus Project which first operated in Norwich in Norwich in 2001. The project was set up in response to the tragic death of three youngsters, two of whom drowned after falling into the River Wensum. In each case drink had been a contributory factor. The SOS Bus remains on duty in the City Centre every Friday and Saturday night to offer counsel, support, protection and a transport service to young people at risk in the City’s ever-growing clubland. 2006 saw a rapid and intensive growth in the range of services provided to young people. The innovative Y-Life Programme, which delivers intensive life and social skills, was highly commended as a successful preparation for independent living. The Foyer concept founded by YMCA Norfolk incorporating employment advice and pastoral guidance was developed, and extended nationally. In recognition of this extension of activities across Norfolk the Association decided to operate under the title YMCA Norfolk. The Association’s registered office remained at 48 St. Giles Street, however its Corporate Offices were based at the Sports Ground at Trowse.

(69) There was the further good news and a welcome boost to the YMCA profile, when John Drake, Chief Executive Officer of Norfolk YMCA, was created Sheriff of Norwich in May 2006. Photograph courtesy of Norwich City Council Civic Office

In April 2007 the Association’s Floating Support Department, which offered housing advice and support to 220 people located in independent accommodation across the Greater Norwich Sub-region and Great Yarmouth, King’s Lynn, North Norfolk and Breckland was transferred to Stonham Housing. In early May 2007 YMCA Norfolk’s innovative Supported Lodgings Programme was extended. The programme is more holistic than mere housing advice in that it seeks to give clients a full-time domestic experience with experienced householders acting as mentors as well as hosts. The successful programme employs over 51 landlords / landladies offering direct support to at least 110 lodgers a year in a positive caring domestic environment. The highly commended YMCA facility inside Norwich Young Offenders Institute continues to provide intensive face-to-face contact with over 1,000 young offenders a year. In addition to offering face-to-face pastoral care the programme is focussed on the resettlement of local young offenders who wish to comply with an action plan designed to diminish reoffending behaviour. One of its main achievements has been a significant reduction in the young offender’s suicide rate. 79

(70) Bill Balfour (right) was presented with a Certificate of Recognition by the Governor of Norwich Prison for his exceptional counselling work in the Norwich Young Offenders Institute. June 2004

Early in 2007 the YMCA’s Nightstop Scheme developed in conjunction with the Greater Norwich Housing Partnership was able to celebrate delivery of its contract outcomes ahead of time and within budget. The programme co-ordinator, Eddie Pleban gave a most successful presention at the National Prayer Breakfast in the Palace of Westminster in the summer of 2007. The summer of 2007 saw the celebration of the first Anniversary of the YMCA’s successful Furniture Project where over £80,000 worth of furniture had been delivered to young people at no cost. The YMCA had been chosen by Centre Parcs, a large commercial recreation provider, to be the host for their recycled furnishings. Over the next five years it is anticipated that the Association will distribute over 1,000 beds, 2,000 tables, 4,000 chairs, along with hundreds of microwaves, televisions and other furnishings. The sports facility at Trowse is now providing recreational facilities for 22 clubs with a membership in excess of 1500. The YMCA’s Asylum Seeker Advice Worker discreetly provides support and advice, guidance and protection to some 33 young Asylum Seekers all under the age of 19. This programme is run in conjunction with Norfolk County Council Social Services and it is anticipated that numbers will rise due to government decisions to relocate young Asylum Seekers out of reception areas. 80

YMCA Norfolk Schools programme has developed beyond imagination, now offering pastoral care on a daily basis in 34 schools across Norfolk tackling such issues as bullying, self-harm, guidance and unsocial behaviour. The department continues to deliver all its outcomes in compliance with the Government’s “Every Child Matters” legislation. YMCA Norfolk, although still occupying the grand old house at 48 St. Giles Street and still accommodating over 81 young men every night, has put the building on the market. After careful consideration the decision has been made to build two smaller hostels close to the city centre. Professional advice has indicated that the cost of converting the present property would be astronomical. On March 31st 2006 the splendid news was announced that a new YMCA hostel for 34 residents, all with en suite facilities, was to be built adjacent to the new Norwich City Bus Station, followed by a further 40 units on a second site in Norwich. A £2.7 million grant had been secured from the Housing Corporation as a contribution to the total cost of some £7.3 million. A second site is being sought to erect 40 move-on places that will provide training facilities to ensure that these residents experience the appropriate training and personal development to equip them to sustain an independent life style. The YMCA’s own commitment to this project will come from the sale of its building at 48 St. Giles Street and a contribution of £1 million from its own reserves. To head up the Public Appeal to meet the shortfall of £1 million the Bishop of Norwich, the Right Reverend Graham James, formally agreed to Chair the Council of Patrons. The impressive list of patrons represents a wide range of political, commercial, religious and civic constituencies and includes : • The Rt. Rev. Graham James, The Bishop of Norwich – Chairman • Sir Nicholas Bacon, BT.DL • Richard Bacon Esq. MP • Henry Cator Esq. • Ms Lisa Christensen • Michael Churchouse Esq. • The Rt. Hon. Charles Clarke, MP • The Rev. Hereward Cooke • Cllr. Ian Couzens • General Sir Richard Dannatt KCB CBE MC • Mrs. Rosemary English MBE • The Lady Kay Fisher • Dr. Ian Gibson MP

• Ms Caroline Jarrold • Richard Jarrold Esq. • Mark Jeffries Esq. • Richard Jewson Esq. Lord-Lieutenant of Norfolk • Paul King, Esq. OBE • Norman Lamb, Esq. MP • Cllr. Stephen Morphew • Nigel Savory Esq. • Patrick Snowball Esq.

Within the first six months of the Appeal, the Association had raised over £200,000 with a further £250,000 promised. The Patrons were highly optimistic that the remaining £600,000 would be achieved without the need for the Association to incur further debt. The appeal strategy had been simple, to tell the YMCA story as it is. The appeal committee had not incurred huge marketing and professional costs as the simple brochure revealed the stark truth of the needs of our city and its vulnerable young people in the 21st Century. YMCA Norfolk has an impressive story to tell and a heritage to treasure but more importantly it has new generations to serve.

(71) The opening of the new Norwich Central YMCA is scheduled for December 2008, with the second site opening expected by September 2009.

The history of YMCA Norfolk testifies to its commitment to abiding values based on the Christian ethos in a rapidly changing world. Today the rate of social change is virtually instant. In the time taken to research, write and edit this book, new chapters of achievement have been written. In June 2007, YMCA Norfolk acquired 21 units of accommodation for vulnerable young people in King's Lynn. The Association is about to acquire 10 units of Supported Accommodation in Great Yarmouth, in addition to the 20 units in operation. Another 18 units of Supported Accommodation in the centre of Norwich are now under negotiation. The Norwich Supported Lodgings Programme has been given permission to increase its numbers from 13 to 30. A development worker has been appointed at Thetford. The start on site date for the new 34 purpose built units of accommodation at the Norwich City Bus Station is on schedule and work commenced in August 2007 with completion expected by December 2008. It is hoped that the development of a second site for 40 purpose built apartments will be completed by September 2009.

Cromer YMCA In 1908 Mr T W Arnold, the Travelling Secretary, paid almost weekly visits to Cromer following a lecture in January which had resulted in a provisional committee being formed to find out how far a YMCA was wanted in the town and what support would be given. This was done so thoroughly that almost everyone in the town had the matter brought to their notice and a great amount of interest was raised even before it was decided to form an Association. Another pleasing factor was the way in which the Clergy and Ministry, encouraged by their members, supported the movement. A public meeting was called by Mr Arnold, on behalf of Norwich YMCA, on 20th January 1908 in the Lecture Hall, Cross Street, with a view to founding a branch in Cromer. On 11th February a second public meeting was called under the presidency of F H Barclay Esq JP where it was decided to form a branch of the Association with a holiday home attached. Rules were adopted as recommended by the provisional committee and officers and a permanent committee and trustees appointed. As a fashionable Victorian seaside resort, served by the railway, Cromer had become a centre for wealthy banking families and entrepreneurs who either lived there or owned holiday houses there, some of whom became benefactors of Cromer YMCA. Vice-presidents of the newly formed YMCA included Colonel Barclay, Robert Barclay JP, Major Beale, the Reverend J B Booth, H Broadhurst JP, A Buxton and Sir T F Buxton Bt, J H Buxton JP, Victor Buxton JP, N E Buxton, the Reverend G W Campbell, D Davison JP, Sir S Hoare Bt JP, S J G Hoare JP and others. Mr E M Hansell took an active interest in the Association, becoming chairman of the Physical and Recreation committee. Premises above Jarroldsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; shop in Church Street, formerly occupied by the Conservative Club, were rented. The rooms provided accommodation, not only for all departments of the work in the winter months, but also for holiday visitors in the summer season. The premises were cleaned throughout and redecorated. A large room on the top floor was converted into accommodation for eight single beds and the lift was removed to provide a photographic dark room and a bathroom. Furniture was bought at auctions to save cost. Accommodation consisted of cubicles or double-bedded rooms with bed, breakfast and tea provided. Rent was very reasonable and boots were cleaned for 1d per pair! There was a YMCA billiard room and reading and writing rooms.

(73) The rented rooms of the YMCA above Jarrold & Sons Ltd Store, Church Street, Cromer. c1910 Photograph courtesy of the Randall/Salter Magic Lantern Collection

Spiritual life was emphasised and there were family prayers daily after breakfast. Major Pelham Burn took a class for young men on Sunday afternoons and on Tuesday evenings there were Bible Readings but it was felt that these meetings did not have the support from members and associates that they deserved. A YMCA mission band was formed with the intention of conducting open air services in the villages during the summer months. Lectures were held either in the Lecture Hall or at the YMCA and several books were purchased as the nucleus of a useful library. The reading room was well supplied with newspapers, periodicals and magazines, additions being made as the increase of membership demanded. Debates and lectures in 1908 included a debate - That the time has arrived for this country to adopt some form of compulsory military service’ with Mr H T Bason in the chair. There was a lantern lecture by Mr D Davison and a lecture by Noel Buxton on ‘Mountaineering in Japan’.

The committee aimed at encouraging and developing the social side of the YMCA and social evenings were held with music, readings and recitations and refreshments. These were very successful with a large attendance. The physical and recreation committee organised some successful billiard tournaments and a cricket club was formed in connection with the Association. Mr F H Barclay promised to allow the club the use of his ground. Soon after the establishment of the YMCA in Church Street, a Holiday Home was opened in West Street. This was widely advertised and 4000 circulars were sent out. Mr D Davison JP was elected Chairman with Mr E E Smith as Hon Secretary. A manager, Mr Atkins and his wife were appointed and carried out their duties very well, catering for about 75 visitors in the first season and making a modest profit. Members of the committee visited the Home daily and the accounts were audited each month before being passed for payment, ensuring a proper check on management and expenses. There was generous help with finance and all the expenses for adapting and furnishing the premises were donated but annual subscriptions were urgently needed to cover running costs. Daily excursions to all parts of the district were organised including char-a-banc drives to places such as Gunton Hall and park, Blickling Hall, Sheringham Hall and park and the Roman encampment at Pretty Corner. Boat trips on the Norfolk Broads were offered each morning. Peter Stibbons of Cromer has provided photographs of the early meeting rooms of the YMCA above Jarrolds’ shop in Church Street and the Holiday Home in West Street from the Randall/Salter Magic Lantern Collection of slides. The Lecture Hall, where the first public meetings were held, contained a room with a splendid magic lantern. Mr Stibbons still has his father’s collection of lantern slides and he tells us that the building has just been re-opened as a Learning and Resources Centre. His great grandfather was one of the founders of the Lecture Hall and his grandfather was a friend of Mr Alfred Salter, a schoolteacher and early Secretary of Cromer YMCA. Cromer YMCA moved later to West Street and survived the First World War but it was made clear at a meeting of the Eastern Divisional Committee in 1921 that financial difficulties had arisen following the war. In April 1923 it was reported that the National Council had investigated the situation and had been forced reluctantly to decline a suggestion by the Cromer YMCA Committee that they might take over the Cromer building and advance the required sum of £1000.

The Divisional Committee unanimously resolved to help them out of their difficulties, if possible, and Mr W G Mase, Mr T W Arnold and the Divisional Secretary were appointed as a sub-committee to meet their Cromer friends in order to help them to face up to their difficulties. As a result of these efforts, in March 1924, the National Council acceded to the request of Cromer committee to advance the sum of £900, taking over the title deeds of the Cromer YMCA building on condition that the Cromer committee first raised the further amount of £1000 which was needed to completely cancel their capital debt. An Appeal was launched in April when Sir Arthur Yapp visited Cromer to address a drawing room meeting at the home of Mr Frank Barclay. However, by November 1924 Cromer was clearly in grave financial difficulties. A report was sent to the Divisional Committee indicating that following the very successful special effort which took place in the earlier part of the year, the local committee unfortunately had to face the fact that for some little time their Secretary had been muddling his books and falsifying his accounts to the effect that there was an admitted shortage of cash of £85. The General Committee of Cromer YMCA met to consider their future plans and meanwhile the Secretary tendered his resignation. The following January Norwich YMCA generously offered to co-operate with the Cromer Association in order to re-establish work there. Four members of Norwich YMCA accepted seats on the Cromer YMCA committee and it was decided to appoint a full-time Secretary and his wife to re-organise the Cromer work. However, in September 1927 concern arose over the situation which had arisen at Cromer following the resignation of the Secretary. Eventually it was finally decided that the Association could not be saved and on 7th March 1928 a letter from Mr F H Barclay of Cromer YMCA to the Divisional Committee reported that the YMCA building had been sold for £1600 and that the furniture would be auctioned on the 15th instant. It was hoped that the YMCA work might be re-established but sadly this was not to be.

Fakenham YMCA Fakenham was one of the earliest Associations to be formed in Norfolk but by 1896 it was in abeyance. However, in the 1896 YMCA Eastern Counties District Union Annual Report, Mr Robert Francis was named as the Fakenham representative in 1895 with Mr Joseph Baker as Secretary. From 1905 to 1907 their 'excellent accommodation had to be given up as the Secretary had left town' but up to this point it has not been possible to ascertain where the YMCA was based. Kelly’s Directory of 1912 records that the General Secretary of the YMCA was Mr W J Bowman, an Advertising Contractor based in Norwich Street, Fakenham. In 1914 the YMCA was short of funds and by 1915, H & H Priest’s Almanac records a YMCA building in Norwich Street comprising reading and writing rooms, billiards room, bagatelle, hot and cold baths, games rooms, and a gymnasium; staff provided refreshments, buffets and educational and literary classes. The building was open daily from 10 am to 10.30 pm. At this time the President was Col. C D Seymour BA, DL, JP of the Kings Own Royal Regiment Norfolk Yeomanry. He was also a director of Barclays Bank

(74) Norwich Street, Fakenham. Miller’s Bazaar (here renamed Central Furnishing Stores) is in the centre of the photograph with two men outside. To the right of the building, above an archway, is a triangular sign. Possibly this was the YMCA sign and the passageway led to their rooms at the rear. Courtesy of Gerald Lamont Collection of postcards.

The Chairman of the Committee was Mr W O Miller, a Parish Councillor, Deacon of the Baptist Church and Superintendent of the Sunday School. His business was as a General Factor at the Royal Bazaar, Norwich Street, Fakenham. The Bazaar was housed in a three-story building with a double frontage and extended back in depth a long way. As Mr W O Miller was the Chairman of the YMCA, perhaps he allowed them to have rooms in this building. Much later, in 1937, Fakenham YMCA was being reformed. Forty one men signed forms agreeing to join should it be opened and a small committee was formed to look for suitable premises and likely names for a YMCA committee. Following a public meeting in September 1937 a committee was appointed and a branch with 50 members opened. In 1939 the Association was still in debt and plans were made for a local Appeal to raise funds. By 1946 H & H Priestsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Almanac records Fakenham YMCA had moved to premises in Oak Street. By 1950 the YMCA had moved yet again and was housed in the hall at the back of the Primitive Methodist Chapel. However, as this was largely run as a badminton club without other YMCA services, a decision was made to close it.

King’s Lynn YMCA King’s Lynn YMCA was founded on 10th February 1881 in Broad Street with J Thomas Cook, a salt merchant and shipping broker as the first President. In 1890 the Association moved to 81 High Street at the rear of premises owned by Daniel Burlingham, a clockmaker, jeweller and optician. The following year the King’s Lynn Association purchased the old Savings Bank in St James’ Street, a fine Tudor style building of red brick, to which they added a gymnasium and lecture hall and on March 4th 1891 the building was formally opened as the new home of the YMCA by J J Colman, MP for Norwich and President of Norwich YMCA. The railway came to King’s Lynn in 1847 when the town was linked with Ely and indirectly with Norwich and Yarmouth and then in 1862 South Lynn station was established to service new lines to the Midlands and the North. The Lynn to Hunstanton line, in particular, brought economic and social change as it meant that people could enjoy day trips to the coast and that people living in the countryside could reach the shops and amenities of Lynn. Very soon Hunstanton had become a seaside resort. The new railway also facilitated the building of the Bentinck dock in 1883 and the port became more prosperous. Increasing trade and commerce brought many young men to Lynn to work in the shops and factories and in 1890 there were three Christian organisations in the town involving hundreds of young people: the Forward Association, the Church of England Young Men’s Society and the Young Men’s Christian Association. Anglicans and Nonconformists alike recognised the need to provide recreational and educational facilities in a Christian environment for young men. At the 1894 YMCA Eastern Counties Divisional Conference in Norwich it was reported that the main increase in membership was at King’s Lynn, where 124 new members had been enrolled as well as 130 lady associates and in October the same year George Williams visited Norfolk. After spending the night with the Colmans at Carrow House in Norwich he travelled to King’s Lynn where he stayed with Alfred Jermyn, the town’s leading draper and “there he spent a real good time”. Mr Jermyn was a prominent local politician, prosperous businessman and generous philanthropist. He was a Wesleyan who had been connected with the YMCA from the 1860s when he was looking for employment in London and was helped in his search by George Williams. In the following year Mr G M Bridges of King’s Lynn was the representative of the National Council at the meeting of the Eastern Division in Ipswich. The Eastern Division Conference held at King’s Lynn in 1896 was described in these words by the Association President, Mr C Perry: “a more stimulating and inspiring conference has never been held in this District”. He explained that the Perry family in Lynn were trying to raise £500 to pay off the Association’s debt.

In 1900 the Cricket Club was doing well, with Mr A W Mears as its Secretary. At this time Mr W Winch was Treasurer, Messrs Bunn and Bray, Hon Secretaries and Mrs Perry, President of the Ladies’ Branch. In 1904 Norwich, King’s Lynn, Swaffham and Gt Yarmouth were the only towns in Norfolk with a YMCA. However, The Eastern Counties Division Report of 1905-7 stated that “King’s Lynn workers have been passing through a very trying experience during the last few years and work has been hampered”. Mr W J Bray, Honorary Secretary, reported that membership was lower, members leaving due to lack of accommodation, and finances were far from satisfactory. In 1908 Thomas W Arnold, Travelling Secretary of the Eastern Division, made several visits to King’s Lynn with a view to encouraging the committee to start a membership drive but little progress was made. At this time, the Association was still at St James’ Street and Mr W R Smith, a shipbroker from South Quay, was President; Mr G Allen, Treasurer; Mr W I Bray, proprietor of a piano and music warehouse at 21 High Street, Hon Secretary, and Mrs Cracroft was Hon Secretary of the Ladies’ Branch. Eventually the Mayor was persuaded to give a Reception in the Town Hall for members and friends and although he spared no trouble or expense to make the affair a success, membership had declined so much that only a handful attended and most of these were ladies. However, Mr Arnold insisted that good had come out of the event and that there was greatly increased activity at King’s Lynn. He felt that the outlook was more promising. At a meeting of the Eastern Counties Division in 1912 King’s Lynn branch was said to be nearing closure. Mr Bray took up the Secretaryship in an effort to revive the Association. However, determined efforts by the committee and members were successful once again and work continued. During the First World War King’s Lynn YMCA became heavily involved with help for the armed forces and survived the war years. The years following the war were engaged throughout the Eastern Counties with reorganisation and repair of the premises, with fundraising and staffing. A sign of the times was a German U Boat on show in Lynn in January 1919. On Sunday, 17th January a concert was held at the YMCA at which Mr Wolsey was Chairman and Mr G M Bridges gave the vote of thanks. At a meeting on 30th January chaired by Mr Beresford, Chairman of the King’s Lynn Association, a long report of Red Triangle activities was given. One of their main aims had been to raise money for YMCA military huts. Several speakers stressed the great value of the huts, some of which had been destroyed by German shelling. They had held services near the front for those just back from or going into battle, and given cinema shows near the front line. It was reported that at Gallipoli under shellfire the YMCA had still been there.

The 7th February 1919 was the start of Red Triangle Week in Lynn. Following on from those in Norwich, Yarmouth and Lowestoft the week was arranged to support work of the YMCA, whose activities were still in demand, to raise money to assist the welfare of the troops in the army of occupation and in home camps. The YMCA had incurred heavy responsibilities in assisting the return of repatriated prisoners of war and later that year it was suggested that the branch should close However, in May 1919 there was a meeting in Norwich to discuss starting up YMCA cricket teams again, King’s Lynn being one of these. In 1925 there was news of Lynn Junior League Football and in January of that year a travelogue was advertised at the YMCA in St James’ Street, called ‘In Dangers Oft’, an illustrated personal account by the Reverend Frank H King DCM. Mr Dannick was President. A further glimpse of the activities of Lynn YMCA came in a report by the Lynn News in June 1925 of the Fire Brigade being granted permission to take part in a procession to be held at the YMCA Sports Day. In 1930 YMCA cricket results were published in the Lynn Advertiser and there was a dance in the YMCA hut at Feltwell, attended by visitors from Thetford and Brandon. This must have been one of the last surviving YMCA huts from the First World War. In July 1933 the following resolution was proposed by King’s Lynn Association and passed by the Divisional Council: That in the opinion of this Council it is desirable to refrain from the use of Lotteries, Raffles, and all games of chance on YMCA premises and in connection with YMCA fetes etc, such practices not being in accordance with the spirit of the original foundation of the Association The “Open House” week from 12th to 18th October 1936 proved successful, leading to an influx of new members and Mr H M Gould, General Secretary of Norwich YMCA had attended the Annual General Meeting where reports had been very encouraging. A Norfolk and King’s Lynn YMCA joint appeal was raised in 1938 and plans were put in hand for a visit by H H Princess Helena Victoria to King’s Lynn on 14th July. The aim was to raise at least £1000 to be shared between King’s Lynn YMCA and the National Council. This was very successful, raising more than expected. Mr Ashton, President of the Divisional Council, gave his usual leading gift to the Association. In 1939 a Joint Appeal was arranged between Cambridge and King’s Lynn raising £74 in Cambridge and nearly £60 in King’s Lynn. In view of the outbreak of war, the National Council then decided that all Joint Appeals should be suspended. In future appeals would be made only by the National Council for the War Emergency Fund.

War broke out in September 1939 and a month later the first bombs were dropped on the town. The heaviest raids there took place in February 1941 with attacks on RAF Marham and on the Docks where the Bentinck coal hoist built in 1883, was damaged. It was estimated that between 1939 and 1945, 6,720 high-explosive bombs were dropped on Norfolk and 70 of these fell on King’s Lynn. Many of the inhabitants were killed or injured during the war. During the war YMCA buildings were used to support the armed forces and staff and volunteers devoted their time to the war effort. Afterwards every endeavour was made to helping servicemen to return to civilian life, restoring YMCA premises and fundraising to recoup the financial losses of the war years. Developments at King’s Lynn were held back in October 1948 by the departure from the town of the part-time Secretary, Mr A Goddard. Mr Bray assured the Divisional Committee that a new part-time leader had been appointed and would be taking up his duties soon. At the same meeting on 19th October 1948 it was stated that King’s Lynn was entitled to nominate two representatives to the Divisional Committee and it was suggested that Mr F E Hares and Mr W J Bray should be recommended for consideration by the local committee. Lynn YMCA went through a difficult period after the war but in 1959 a decision was made to restart its work. In March the Divisional Secretary reported on his meeting with local representatives about the present situation there. Circumstances in the town had changed since the YMCA had decided to restart its work because a second youth club had opened almost next-door to the YMCA premises. It was felt strongly by those present at the meeting that the YMCA should not open in its old premises but that it would serve the community better by organising a Youth Club in one of the new housing estates, preferably in North Lynn. The committee felt that a definite assurance should be obtained from King’s Lynn council that a site would be made available before the National Council was recommended to sell the existing building. With this provision the committee endorsed the recommendation. The Divisional Committee met again in June 1959, chaired by the Bishop of Dunwich, the Right Reverend T H Cashmore, where it was hoped to develop some local work in conjunction with the Norwich Education Committee but no definite plan had yet been worked out. In December it was decided that further meetings should take place between the divisional officers and Lincoln Ralphs, the Director of Education for Norfolk, with regard to facilities for technical students. Meanwhile the building remained in use as classrooms for the Local Education Authority. In August 1960 it was confirmed that the American Armed Services Department would like the use of the YMCA building as a second Armed Service Centre of the American YMCA for their airmen from the USAF cold war base at Sculthorpe. A director for this work had been appointed and would start work immediately. In November a local advisory committee was 95

set up and this consisted of Eastern Counties YMCA divisional Officers, local laymen and service representatives from the US Air Force and the Royal Air Force. Actual work on the building was held up temporarily at the request of New York but enquiries were actively pursued by Mr Jack Bale, the American director, to find a Centre that could be used for service men using King’s Lynn to drop in meanwhile. In December arrangements were well in hand for the opening of the centre and it was hoped that alterations and decoration would begin immediately after Christmas. Meanwhile, a small reception and rest centre was being set up in Norwich YMCA. On 1st June 1961, amid some discussion about the probable closure of the US Air Base at Sculthorpe, the Association moved to rented premises at 29 King Street and in September Mr Tucker, General Secretary of the National Council suggested that the National Council would submit some specimen plans and costings for a new building in the town. In September 1962 the Association, under the direction of the Armed Forces YMCA, was running down and the American YMCA was anxious to close the centre in view of the low attendance of USAF personnel. At a later meeting it was decided that the British YMCA would take it on. Consequently, an inaugural dinner to sponsor the re-opening of King’s Lynn YMCA was held on 15th January 1963 at the Town Hall. The President and Secretary of the National Council were present together with 90 leading citizens. Following an appeal to guests £540 was raised to start the appeal fund. The Secretary of Eastern Counties Finance and General Purposes committee had already attended a board meeting of King’s Lynn YMCA when it was stated that an attempt would be made to raise approximately £2000 per annum for the next two years from subscriptions and donations. The local committee agreed to undertake the initial contacts themselves. They looked forward to a bright future under the new General Secretary, Mr John Cobb and hoped to organise a joint Appeal in the town later in the year. By May 1963 membership had increased so rapidly that the local committee were looking for alternative premises or sites. Various suggestions were made, including adaptation of the old Swan Laundry which, in the end, was not available. In July 1964 the Lord Bishop of Dunwich, Chairman of the Finance and General Purposes Committee of the Eastern Counties Division, and the Secretary, had visited King’s Lynn for a press conference to launch an appeal for £50,000. This meeting was attended by the Mayor of Lynn, members of the Board of King’s Lynn Association and TV and press representatives. The meeting was a great success. Mr Barron, the Appeals Secretary, was working closely with the Hon George Dawnay, Mr Anderson and other members of the Board and promises and gifts received quickly reached £6,000. In September 1964 Mr Cyril Meakin was appointed General Secretary in place of Mr. J Cobb and by December 1964 negotiations had begun concerning the possibility of erecting purpose-built premises in the immediate future. The Guildhall Trust had given the Association notice to quit their rooms at 29 King Street by March and a suitable two-acre site costing £1000 was offered by the council. Plans were then drawn up for a new building with an estimated cost of £55,000, and consultation took place 96

between Sir Norman Tucker, the Hon George Dawnay and Dr Lincoln Ralphs, Chief Education Officer for Norfolk, to see what priority had been given to the scheme. In November 1965 the total collected amounted to £23,000 and in view of this it was agreed to suspend any further Appeal until the opening of the new Association. In these circumstances, the YMCA would start free of debt as far as building was concerned with possibly a little cash left over from the Appeal to help during the first two years whilst membership was building up . A very successful experiment by Lynn YMCA Secretary, Cyril Meakin, in November 1964 demonstrated its community spirit. News items were recorded from local papers by young people at the YMCA Club and played back to people with visual impairment. The membership fluctuated between 500 and 600 and the formation of an Under 14 club on Saturdays had restored the desired balance between the age groups. The programme and activities of the Association continued to be led by voluntary workers without whose help the level of work would have been impossible. Members of the Women’s Auxiliary staffed the canteen every evening, as well as catering for major functions and raising funds for special efforts. There were two new items on the programme; a group of members set up the “Triangle Entertainers” and put on a successful show at Christmas for the general public and entertained an audience of senior citizens in January 1969. A discussion group run throughout the winter was very useful in reflecting the views of members. They were also involved in a range of community service work which included two parties for under-privileged children and fundraising for Oxfam and for a Salvation Army Hostel in London to help children in trouble with drugs. The community hall stood up well to the first three years of heavy use and Mr Cyril Meakin, the General Secretary, lived at the YMCA house. In 1970 walks were arranged by King’s Lynn and three other branches in aid of Refugee Year. The local Secretaries gave a day’s pay to the cause and there was also a contribution by the Women’s Auxiliary Committee. The Association had an especially good year in 1973 under the leadership of Mr E Hodgson. It is reported that the Centre throbbed with life and activity on most nights of the week and membership climbed to an all time high. Many varied activities took place and service to the community featured prominently in the year’s work. In particular, the Beach Party for underprivileged children was a great success and a party of French students enjoyed their visit. Some redecoration and renovation work was carried out and, taking into consideration the heavy use made of the premises, they were kept in splendid condition. Also, additional playing field land adjoining the YMCA site was leased from the local authority. Mr Eldon Griffiths MP, Minister for Sport, visited King’s Lynn YMCA in December. However, Mr Hodgson resigned in 1974 and it was reported that the year had been far from easy due partly to the unsettling effect of a change in leadership., But efforts were made to include the younger age groups and temporary dormitory accommodation for about 70 young men and women 97

was introduced in part of the Community Hall. Attempts were made to recruit more voluntary leaders and interested young people to help. Activities included table tennis and badminton and the Young Section leaders concentrated on the 14 to 16 year olds. Apart from some financial difficulties, 1975 was considered to be a successful year. Unfortunately the Association ran into acute financial difficulties in 1976 and was near to closure but due to the outstanding work of an Action Group and the dedication of a group of members, the YMCA survived a most difficult period. A full-time leader, Bernard Webb, was appointed to take up his duties in the late summer. However, in 1978 the YMCA manager’s house was sold for about £7,000, the overdraft was reduced and Norfolk Local Education Authority offered some financial help towards the salary of the fulltime leader. The Eastern Counties Executive Committee expressed thanks to members of the Action Group and to Mr Blacker for their excellent work during a difficult time. On a colourful note, hundreds of young dancers took part in a two day festival held at King’s Lynn YMCA in October 1985. In 1985 the Board of King’s Lynn YMCA formed itself into a housing association in order to attract capital funding from the Government’s Housing Corporation giving the local authority the option to refer people to occupy up to half the available bed sit accommodation In 1989 fire devastated the Community Centre. Started accidentally in the entrance hall by an unnamed child it spread to the community hall which had to be closed.

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The Kings Lynn Community Centre and Sports Hall being repaired after the fire in 1989. Photograph courtesy of Terry Harsant.

Fortunately the sports hall was untouched and the building was re-opened two years later to be used by badminton, hockey and football clubs for training and matches and for volleyball and short tennis. Playgroups used the main hall during the week and at weekends wedding receptions and parties were held there. In 1989 a new hostel was built on the YMCA site in Columbia Way. This was a separate building containing 30 bed sits for young men and women with a warden’s house built between the hostel and the YMCA house which had been sold in 1978. The new building cost about £520,000 and the construction was funded by a Housing Association grant. The YMCA housing association raised £3,500 to make up the money needed to instal pre-payment electricity meters and furnish every room.

(76) North West Norfolk MP Mr Henry Bellingham, West Norfolk Borough Mayor and Mayoress Mr and Mrs Vic Stapley, and the Queen’s Agent Mr Julian Loyd watching Lord Somerleyton, Eastern Region President of the YMCA open the new Hostel on the 18th May 1990. Photograph courtesy of Kings Lynn Evening News.

(77) The new Hostel comprising 30 bedsits. Photograph courtesy of Kings Lynn Evening News. At this time Terry Harsant came from Ipswich YMCA with his wife Vera and their two children as manager of the YMCA community centre and new hostel. They worked together to furnish the hostel and provided a homely atmosphere for the young residents. Later in the year they left for a well earned holiday, returning to find that their new house had been badly damaged by in an arson attack by a former resident who had been asked to leave the hostel due to rent arrears. The house was cleaned and repaired with the help of the YMCA staff and friends and Terry and Vera continued to care for the hostel residents and young people who used the community centre, Vera also running a toddlers’ group there. The YMCA facilities were used by many local youngsters but unfortunately few of them were keen to join the YMCA so income was insufficient and two years later the community building was closed. In 1996 it was sold to the North Lynn Action Group and it continues to be used to this day. At the same time, fewer bed sits were occupied in the hostel and problems arose with running costs, another £10,000 a year being needed to keep it open. As a result the 30 bed hostel was transferred in January 1996 from King’s Lynn YMCA Housing Association to Broadland Housing and was converted into 15 flats at a cost of about £500,000. After the ups and downs of 126 years and a great deal of good work being achieved in King’s Lynn there is no longer a YMCA hostel in the town and the YMCA internet café was closed in 2005. In their retirement Terry and Vera are among those who continue to help young people in the area and YMCA Norfolk is active in providing supported housing and advisory services there.

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Lowestoft YMCA Lowestoft YMCA, although in North Suffolk, is included in this History of the YMCA in Norfolk as there have always been strong links with Norwich through its staff and activities. Nevertheless, it was well supported by local benefactors and volunteers. The first meetings were held in rooms at Alexandra Hall in the Marina in 1878 with the Reverend T A Nash as President and Mr W Wild as Secretary. The reading room was open on weekdays from 9.00 am to 10.00 pm and the Association was described as ‘heavily Christian’ with members going out to the Lothingland villages distributing tracts. Records from 1885 are scarce but a large public meeting is mentioned where an address on “Manliness” was given and in July Mr Hind Smith came with a view to raising funds for a new building and stayed for two or three days. The Association was rising fast. However, later in the year at the Eastern Counties Conference, a debate arose over the three levels of work - spiritual, recreational and educational. The Secretary, Mr Wild did not approve of the high proportion of entertainment and so a sub-committee was suggested as ‘the Secretary could not do the lot’. George White said it was a mistake to be purely spiritual, “a good game of cricket would not interfere with our spiritual life” and J J Colman agreed. As a result, Mr Wild resigned and Mr Arthur Boot of Cambourne took his place as Secretary. In 1886 the YMCA moved into purpose-built premises at 120 London Road North where it remained until 1963. The foundation stone of the new building was laid by W Youngman JP, first mayor of Lowestoft. The cost was £1500, subscribed by members of the various religious denominations of the town, and members of other YMCA’s had the full advantage of the rooms when visiting the area. There was a reading room and library, a parlour and lavatories; also a first-class gymnasium, presented by Sir Thomas Lucas, Bt. The property held memories for many people, especially ex-servicemen, as it was used as a canteen during the Second World War. In 1887 a lecture ‘An Evening with Longfellow’ was given by Mr A Spurgeon (Editor of the Lowestoft Weekly Press) and attendance at evangelistic meetings improved. When the annual soiree was held, the Town Clerk, Mr R B Nicholson was President and on this occasion the hall was transformed into an elaborately decorated drawing room by Mr E Tuttle and Mr E Card. There was a good musical programme and the Reverend E W S Kingdom presented to Mr A C Sadd a valuable clock and two bronzes on his retirement from the post of Hon Secretary of the Association as he was leaving the town. It was through Mr Sadd’s efforts that the new hall was built.

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(78) Lowestoft London Road North c1904. The YMCA Hall is the tall building to the right of the lamp post. Courtesy of the Peter Killby Collection of postcards.

In 1888 science classes began again, after a seven years’ gap, with botany and physics courses. The library was fairly well patronised but the committee felt that the spiritual work was the highest and most important feature of the Association. The following year there was a membership of 200 and Mr Pink was appointed as Secretary. Spiritual work was strongly emphasised but the winter syllabus included varied topics such as the lecture by Mr Stafford Cox - “Would Universal Technical Education be a cure for pauperism?” In 1900 there were 650 books in the library but the debating class closed because members would not prepare papers. In the same year there was a building appeal for £800 and donors included George Williams, Lucas Brothers, G Riches, J Sayer, Sir Saville Crossley Bt and Mrs Owen. The money raised enabled improvements to be made to the Lowestoft YMCA premises in 1902. In 1904 the President Mr W A Shann announced a decision to close Lowestoft Association but it re-opened after six months. In 1906 a Reception was held in the Public Hall by Dr Shann and the Management Committee of Lowestoft YMCA for guests to meet the Rt Hon Lord Kinnaird, President of the National Council in succession to the late Sir George Williams. At this time Mr G H A Northcott was General Secretary until 1910 when he became Travelling Secretary of the Eastern Division and moved to Ipswich. In 1908 Dr Shann resigned having given 23 years support to Lowestoft Association. The winter syllabus for 1910-11 included a presentation by Oliver Pike - ‘Birdland through the Cinematograph’, giving the true colours of nature the first wild nature films produced in this way and university external lectures in the YMCA hall included ‘The new China’ by Walter Kirton.

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In September 1911 the Divisional Council met in Lowestoft and Mr Northcott, the Travelling Secretary, presented reports dealing with the very satisfactory camp work there. Tea was served at Mr Pulham’s house where the meeting was held. In the same year the Junior Section included the 3rd Lowestoft Boy Scouts led my Mr T E Thirtle and new premises were opened for them. For some time it had been felt that the London Road North premises were not suitable for both seniors and juniors so new premises were obtained at Nelson Chambers at the junction of London Road North and Old Nelson Street. The Mayor declared the rooms open and advised the boys when playing their sports, to remember one special letter in their four initials - ‘C for Christian’. The Lowestoft YMCA Orchestra was established by 1912 and members included a cellist, Mr Gee who also played in the Marina Theatre and Hippodrome Orchestras. Another member of the orchestra was a reporter for the Lowestoft Journal and Eastern Daily Press who had the nickname of ‘Penny-a-line Thompson’.

(79) Lowestoft YMCA Orchestra c1930’s. Photograph courtesy of Len Cook

“Association Life”, the organ of the Lowestoft and District YMCA from 1915 to 1919, provides a lasting record of life in Lowestoft during the First World War and reveals many pictures of devoted service, heroism and great sadness. It is possible to quote here just a few examples but it is hoped that these will provide glimpses into life at the time in Lowestoft, in the trenches in France and beyond.

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(80) The YMCA became a popular venue for the troops in 1914

The arrival of new troops had brought new life to the centre at St Olaves and in April 1915 there is a report of a concert in a barn there, arranged by the Soldiers’ Entertainment Fund: “It was a dirty threatening night when I set forth from Haddiscoe Station in search of the Priory Farm and the YMCA concert. The countryside looked dripping and gloomy, and the frequent sentinels I passed seemed anything but cheerful. I soon found it was of little use asking them to direct me to the Priory Farm, but the very mention of the YMCA concert brought immediate information and ready guidance. Sounds of music and bursts of applause brought me rapidly through the gathering darkness on the last stages of my quest, and stepping inside the doors I became conscious immediately of an atmosphere far different from that which I had left. For one thing, the varying odours of the farmyard rose with a pungency which at first was almost painful. On one side of the immense old place whose massive beams and heavy thatch could be dimly seen away up almost out of the range of the glimmering oil lamps on the walls, were jumbled together the farm impedimenta, carts, tumbrils, chaff cutters in admired confusion - on the other side was the audience - men of the Cambridgeshire Regiment, now happily engaged in roaring some favourite chorus as if no such sorrow darkened their lives...”

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A month later the Annual Report illustrates the determination and spirit of the Association in wartime circumstances: “The annual report of the Association and its work for the last twelve months makes interesting reading. It is a record of big plans frustrated and large activities thwarted, and of a ready adaptability to meet new conditions and to struggle against great difficulties”. (May 1915) Corporal B J Yallop (RFA) wrote a long and interesting letter from the Headquarters, 3rd Division, British Expeditionary Force, dated 16th April 1915 which demonstrates the courage of the soldiers and gives a vivid picture of conditions in the trenches: “I am very pleased to say the weather here is a little better, but we still find it very difficult to get along. I may say that our men get very close to the enemy sometimes, at times only 30 to 40 yards between them but still we keep smiling. One of the great difficulties they have is getting in and out of their trenches, for they often have to crawl on their stomachs for a long way in case the snipers catch sight of them and pop them off. Indeed I think one of the greatest difficulties we have to contend with is moving the troops about...” In September 1915 Private A Carr, D Company, 7th Suffolks, British Expeditionary Force, wrote from the front. He continued to receive his copy of Lowestoft YMCA Life in France and he shows great appreciation for this; his first words are surprising: “Up to the present we have had a very pleasant time in the trenches, although things are far from pleasant after it has been raining for any length of time. One night when we went to relieve a certain regiment it was raining all the time, and at some places in the trenches we had to wade through the mud and water that reached to one’s knees ... Whenever we get out of the trenches, we are marched to a factory that has been turned into a bathhouse. There we can have a hot bath and a change of underlinen. We were in the trenches on August Bank Holiday, and were expecting a hot time to celebrate the anniversary of our declaration of war with Germany. However, nothing happened out of the ordinary, except that the fireworks were more numerous throughout the night. Again, thank you for the Mag” It was said that in Lowestoft people had grown so used to Zeppelin “scares” that things had more or less settled down into an ordered routine. But there is a report of a concert which was interrupted by a zeppelin scare. A concert party had gone out from Lowestoft to a YMCA tent in the neighbourhood, the concert was warming up and a rousing camp song had just finished when the Commanding Officer stepped to the front of the 105

platform and announced to the crowded tent that three Zeppelins were reported 65 miles east, proceeding in the direction of Lowestoft. His concluding words were ‘The regiment will immediately stand to arms’ which sent the audience rushing to their appointed stations leaving the Concert Party to the empty tent, where the lights were being rapidly extinguished, and a six mile ride back to Lowestoft. During the winter of 1916-17 Lowestoft YMCA was full of activity: “Practically every night the rooms have presented a picture of crowds of men in Khaki and blue, all enjoying to the full the various facilities provided for their use or entertainment” The Reading Room had become a favourite corner for writing letters home. Billiards was played in the Social Hall and in the Large Hall some read the library books and others grouped round the cheerful fires. There were numerous requests to book a bath. There were songs round the piano and games of bagatelle, chess and draughts. ‘The ladies at the counter were kept busy all the evening cheerfully supplying the wants of the inner man as well as the stamps and free stationery’. There were also specially arranged weekly programmes which included, for example, a Song Service on Sundays, concerts, a Wounded Soldiers’ tea and popular lectures. In Lowestoft YMCA Life, October 1918, there is a vivid description of ‘Lord Roberts Hut’ in South Lowestoft which was typical of the great number of huts erected throughout East Anglia: “Although this Hut has been erected nearly two years and the work there has been in full swing during that period, a great many sympathisers with the YMCA movement scarcely know of its existence. Situated not too prominently from a spectacular point of view, it is in the centre of the main billeting area of South Lowestoft, and is a happy rendezvous for thousands of boys. The interior of the Hut has recently been cleaned and decorated, and presents a bright home-like appearance, while the daintily displayed stock of goods, to meet the innumerable wants of the men, seems adequately to fill the bill, and Tommy must ever be in clover whenever he chooses to seek the hospitality of this Red Triangle Refuge” There are further references to Huts in Oulton Broad and Covehithe. There was a ten mile drive to the isolated spot in Covehithe where the Red Triangle could be seen among a camp of military huts. Mrs Friend was in charge of this centre, ‘a lady who must have been endowed with a double portion of optimism to elect to work in such an outlandish place’.

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October 1918 marked the beginning of the YMCA’s fourth War Winter Season and a ‘capital programme’ was planned for ‘the khaki boys’. There were weekly concerts arranged by Miss Richards, Mr G B Chadd and Mr J C Hutchison and Mrs Chadd undertook to cater for the wounded soldiers. A Weekly Lantern Lecture was provided by Mr Jenkins with his splendid lantern and expert knowledge of the art of projecting a picture, and a rota of eminent lecturers. Sunday evenings were devoted to the spiritual welfare of the soldiers with the Reverend A R Barnes. However, owing to the restrictions of the use of fuel and light, the building was closed at 9.00 each evening and sometimes at dusk, and this affected the programme. The canteen was very well used, staffed by a devoted number of women who were much commended for their work Armistice Day on 11th November 1918 obviously brought great relief but many doubts and uncertainties were also expressed in the pages of YMCA Life. Peace had not been expected for at least another year and everyone was taken unawares. In YMCA Life, December 1918, “Ideas for Reconstruction” were outlined, giving some impression of the immense scale of the problems facing the country following the war: “This is the period of reconstruction for the whole of Europ e and possibly for the whole of the civilized world. The war has been the greatest political upheaval since man has lived on the earth; and has lasted long enough for pre-war habits of living to have lost their grip on the people... The YMCA must not be behindhand in the levelling-up process. The old order of things must be thoroughly examined, and every part of its arrangement and constitution that belongs to that portion of our pre-war life that has been found wanting in the trial just passed must be discarded, or remodelled to suit the progressive and improved ways of living that are now to be brought into existence”

Suggestions were made for education in subjects closely connected with every day life, concerning food and a healthy lifestyle. Also, in view of the probable settlement on the land of discharged soldiers and sailors in smallholdings, classes and lantern lectures dealing with the cultivation of crops were proposed. So Lowestoft YMCA took part in a nationwide campaign to adapt to needs which had changed so radically since the Great War. In 1921 the Lowestoft YMCA Orchestral Society was re-established, playing at venues which included the Baptist Church in London Road. The Earl of Stradbroke was President, good progress was being made under the Secretary, F T Young and it was hoped that the £1000 mortgage would be cleared by December.

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By 1923 there was an attendance of over 100 men on Sunday afternoons and the financial situation was sound. Several years of reconstruction followed and then a period of peace before the next outbreak of war in 1939. In the Second World War Lowestoft was once again at the battle front because of its position as the most easterly point of England and even more so because of the increase in air power. There was a large naval base at the Sparrowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Nest and there was an RAF convalescent home nearby, later to be converted into Toren House, the YMCA hostel. Many servicemen and exprisoners of war needed accommodation in the area. There was a canteen for servicemen at 120 London Road North which Mr Len Cook remembers well as his whole family helped as volunteers there. He says that refreshments were served to a great number of sailors and other servicemen and there was a large hall below with a billiard table. Mr Cookâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s father, Mr Cecil Cook, played the cello in the YMCA orchestra between the wars and during the war he served as a bandsman in the 5th Londons. Several ladies played in the orchestra, including Mrs Back from Mancroft Towers. The YMCA Holiday Centre at The Clyffe, formerly a private hotel on Kirkley Cliff, South Lowestoft, was opened about 1939 but was used by the troops during the war.

(81) The Clyffe Boarding Establishment before the Second World War. From the Peter Killby postcard collection.

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(82) The Centre re-opened in 1948 and in 1949 holidays were enjoyed there by 300 adults and 34 children. The Clyffe was not run by Lowestoft YMCA but by the National Council, a reminder that the YMCA was wider than the local association. From the Peter Killby postcard collection.

In 1962 the 76-year-old YMCA centre in London Road North was facing a crisis - the Victorian premises were described as rather bleak and totally inadequate for the purpose in modern times but unsuitable for conversion. Mr R W Moore, who had been Secretary for over 20 years, said that there were no financial problems but that ‘more selective membership’ was needed, implying that the YMCA must be used for more than a mere sports centre. The building which had been enlarged in 1902 was by then considered to be ‘completely out of date and not the type to attract young people’. In 1965 the YMCA premises in London Road North were closed and the Association moved temporarily to The Clyffe until new premises in North Lowestoft were opened four years later. The old RAF Convalescent Home at the corner of Park Road, overlooking the lighthouse, was purchased at the cost of £71,000 including over £23,000 from local contributions,

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(83) The sad end to the YMCA Hall when it was sold in 1978. Photograph by Archant Regional Ltd

( (84) Toren House - the building was adapted to provide the first YMCA hostel in Lowestoft, with 44 bedrooms catering particularly, but not exclusively, for the many students studying at Lowestoft College. Photograph by Archant Regional Ltd

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The Reverend A J Liddon, Chairman of Lowestoft YMCA, described it in 1976 as ‘the most impressive multi-racial community in Lowestoft, with eight or more different nationalities living happily together’. Alan Reed was General Secretary at the time and Elizabeth Manning, who was later to become his wife, was appointed as Assistant Secretary. They left to go to Ipswich YMCA in 1977 and sadly Alan died suddenly in 1981 at a very young age. At this time Lord Somerleyton was President of Lowestoft YMCA and of the Eastern Counties Regional Committee and the late Dowager Lady Somerleyton was President of the Women’s Auxiliary for the Eastern Area and very much involved in the Lowestoft committee which played an active role in supporting the Association and, among other work, ran the profitable ‘Nearly New’ shops. The hostel provided residential accommodation for 60 men and women in pleasant, well furnished single, double or triple rooms each equipped with their own wash basins and radios. There was a large, comfortable television lounge, multi gym, laundry and drying room and a kitchen, solely for the use of residents. Other facilities, also open to nonresident members, included a modern coffee bar, games and general purpose rooms. Residents, who became members of the YMCA when they moved in, were of various nationalities and religions and the YMCA was described as ‘a Christian organisation, but a truly interdenominational one’. There was a Bible Study and an Enquirers’ Group. As well as catering for residents the new YMCA also tried to provide a community service and its officials worked closely with other youth organisations in the town. Judo and amateur radio clubs met here, there were day camps for schoolchildren and a preschool play group for 3 to 5 year olds who could not be accommodated in the Methodist play group next door. The Reverend Elizabeth Cannon, formerly Mrs Reed, describes Toren House in the seventies, saying that it was a mixed hostel which was unusual in those days. There were lots of visitors from overseas studying at the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries as well as Lowestoft College. The wide range of residents ranged from university professors, naval wireless operators and trainee nursery nurses to very young needy people who had been turned out of their homes and found it very hard to get work. Toren House had to keep open for Christmas and Elizabeth’s family moved in and did the catering - resulting in a wonderful big family event - particularly for all the overseas students who could not get home. On another occasion she remembers a sponsored walk along the disused railway line from Lowestoft to Yarmouth which raised over £1000. Wendy Getliffe worked for Alan Reed when he was General Secretary and she too has fond memories of Lowestoft YMCA in the seventies. She remembers Mr Raymond Onions, the Executive Secretary, the Reverend Jim Lidden and other committee members - also the Ladies Committee, formed of “some very grand ladies of the Lowestoft circle”! There was a lunchtime club in the downstairs coffee bar for the sixth form students from the

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Grammar School, now Denes High School, run by Wendy and Patsy Philpot - lovingly known as “Mrs P”. However, in 1978 the hostel was forced to close as it was losing about £200 a week and there was an increasing overdraft as ever since work began in 1969 there had been an uphill struggle in balancing the letting percentages. So Toren House was sold for conversion into flats and was renamed Abigail Court. In 1979 The Clyffe Holiday Centre closed amid a storm of controversy and the large building on Kirkley Cliff was sold to Help the Aged to be converted into 30 retirement flats. The decision to sell, taken by the National Council of YMCAs, upset the Lowestoft and District YMCA who had already announced a year earlier that it was closing Toren House. On the other hand, times were changing and the YMCA was finding it difficult to compete with the town’s bed and breakfast accommodation. The chairman, the Reverend Liddon, said that anyone with a room to spare and no overheads could afford to charge less than the YMCA. When asked about the YMCA plans for Lowestoft, he said that it was unlikely that they would go into hostel work again, although they hoped to do some youth and community work in the town. Lowestoft YMCA re-emerged in 2000 under the leadership of Chief Executive, Ed Vaughan, who was also Chief Executive Officer of Bury St Edmunds YMCA, having previously been hostel manager at Norwich. In 2006 it operates a café and a children’s nursery. YMCA Training – an independent National YMCA – runs an employment training centre in the town.

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Swaffham YMCA In 1888 the 'Young Men's Institute' was established in the Corn Hall, Market Place, Swaffham and in 1897 the YMCA Eastern Counties Union Annual Report refers to Mr J A Gould as their Swaffham representative; Mr A R Tabraham and Mr R B Yeomans were joint Secretaries. In 1900 Swaffham YMCA was still in the Corn Hall with Mr G W Hales as Secretary. Incidentally, the Corn Hall was built in 1858 by a company of shareholders and was later used by the YMCA and the Salvation Army.

(85) Swaffham YMCA at No 2 Market Place adjoining the Assembly Rooms. The decorations were probably for Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee Celebrations in 1897. Photograph courtesy of Swaffham Museum

There are few records available but it is known that between 1905 and 1907 work was in abeyance and there was 'no favourable opportunity to restart it'. In 1908 there was 'cause for concern' but in 1912 a report from 'the Social, Educational and Religious Work committee, Eastern Counties Division', refers to the Secretary, Mr J A Dent. In May 1944 the YMCA premises in the Corn Hall were adapted by the Ministry of Works as the eighth Anglo-American Services Club in the area and there are records of an exhibition of ‘The Relics of Swaffham Parish Church and Town District’ which was held there on 10th August 1945. We have not found any records that suggest the YMCA was re-established after this date. 113

Thetford YMCA Thetford YMCA was originally opened in 1860 at hired rooms in the Guildhall but the branch was closed two years later because of sectarian difficulties. In 1905 the Association reopened at 10, White Hart Street and Mr R E Adams was appointed as Secretary. The town was in relative decline. Burrells’ agricultural engineering works was the main employer, until its closure in 1928, and the malting and milling activities were facing stiff competition from nearby towns such as Bury St Edmunds and Norwich. By June 1907 over 100 YMCA members enjoyed facilities including a miniature rifle range, a dark room for the camera club and a bathroom which was much appreciated in those days. But later in the year an urgent appeal was sent to Norwich Association for help with efforts being made to raise interest in the branch. There was a ready response, two cars were lent and a deputation of eleven men was sent to the town. The visit went well, in spite of gloomy predictions, and the committee was persuaded to start a Sunday Bible class where attendance rose to more than 35 each week. In December 1907 a Reception for Thetford YMCA was given in the Town Hall by the well-known local benefactor, Mr Josiah Vavasseur of Kilverstone Hall, President of Thetford YMCA. This was well attended and there was a ‘capital musical programme’. Mr Vavasseur was a leading armament designer and gun mount maker who took a great interest in the Thetford area. The Bible Class continued to progress splendidly and 19th January 1908 was described as a ‘red letter day’ following a visit from Mr H C Moore, Secretary of Norwich YMCA. There were more than 30 at the meeting and the first Bible Class tea and evening gathering was followed by singing round the fire. In April it was suggested that a Summer Camp should be formed for Thetford members with secure bell tents pitched, with permission, by the river near Norwich. A site between Whitlingham and Postwick was chosen so that rowing and swimming could be enjoyed there. Later in 1908 news of the death of Mr Vavasseur was received with great sadness but Thetford YMCA were very grateful to hear that he had left a generous legacy to the Association which included sufficient funding to erect a handsome hall and buildings on a piece of his freehold land in the town. Trustees were instructed to make over to the YMCA a plot of land suitable for the building and it was eventually erected in Magdalen Street next door to the Salvation Army Citadel, which he had also provided. The Association also received a share of the residue of his Estate. The legacy was a great help to Thetford YMCA in providing facilities for its members. At the AGM, thanks were expressed to all who had given kind and generous support over the preceding year and it was noted that the initial debt had been significantly reduced. Among the subscribers in 1908 in addition to the late Mr Josiah Vavasseur, were Viscount Baring, Messrs 114

Barclay and Co and Mrs Fison. Members’ activities had included a hockey match against Kilverstone and use of the rifle club and bath tickets continued to sell well. 1911 was a good year with new members continually joining and on 17th February 1912 the new Thetford YMCA was opened by Mr R L Barclay MA, Honorary Treasurer of the National YMCA and Eastern Counties Division, and the building was described as “the finest accommodation in the kingdom”, a tribute to the well-known Norwich architect, Mr Stanley Wearing. The premises comprised all the needs of a modern Youth Hostel and occupied the front portion of the site whilst an enclosure at the back was left available for future tennis or bowling. It was encouraging to note that 200 young men attended the first meetings there. There was an appeal for library books to fill the new shelves in the library and purchases for the new building included a large number of chairs, a billiard table from Messrs Orme & Son, a piano and other furniture. A balance was left on the Capital Account and the committee decided to invest most of it in Indian & Colonial Government Trustee Stock. The committee made the building attractive and homely and the rooms were well used by the young men. The large hall was used as a gymnasium by the Boy Scouts and the Gymnastics Club. Large numbers attended the very successful social in the Town Hall in April and the Lecture Series at the YMCA included such varied topics as “Thrift”, “Shakespeare”, “The Coronation Stone” and “The Stone Age”. On another occasion there was a recital with extracts from Tennyson and other poets.

( (86) The New YMCA building adjacent to the Salvation Army Citadel at the right, both erected due to the generosity of Josiah Vavasseur, President of Thetford YMCA. Photograph from the David Osborne Collection

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Arrangements were made whereby YMCA members could benefit from the privileges offered by the Mechanics Institute by paying 2s.per annum to the YMCA, who would then pay £5 a year to the Institute but unfortunately the scheme was taken up by only a few members. Sunday Evening meetings and Bible Classes were well attended but the week night Bible Class was less successful with an average attendance of less than 12 members. There were 23 Boys Scouts in the 1st Thetford (YMCA) troop and in 1912 the Earl of Albemarle and Lady Elizabeth Keppel were present at their display. Camps were held at Shropham, Hockham and Euston, the boys marching there and back with their trek-cart to the strains of the bugle band. There were 40 members in the Football Club, captained by Mr Walker. The first anniversary of the new building was commemorated on the 1st and 2nd March 1913 by a visit from Basil Hewer, Secretary of the Religious Department of the National Council and a concert and tea followed. The position of President was vacant but among the Vice Presidents were the Mayor, Mr G Brown, Mr W C Fison and the Reverend J R Burton. Mr Adams continued as General Secretary and Mr G J Hubbard was Assistant Secretary and Librarian. Events included Sunday evening meetings led by Mr E R Baker and the men’s meeting and the men’s choir, conducted by Mr G W Bouttell FRCO, ARCM. There was a String Band, conducted by Mr Horn; a football club and a gymnasium under Mr C Power. The YMCA Boy Scouts were led by Mr F M Potter, scoutmaster, and Mr W Jones, instructor. The First World War had a great impact on the YMCA, not least on the Thetford Association which was at the centre of Royal Flying Corps Training Stations sited at Feltwell and Harling Road and a night landing ground in Methwold. In addition, Norfolk’s first military landing ground was created at Snarehill, close to the town. YMCA huts were erected throughout East Anglia to provide home comforts, where possible, for the troops and they would have been well used in the Thetford area as places for letter writing and reading, prayer meetings, lectures and concerts and the sale of essentials such as writing paper and stamps, soft drinks and biscuits, postal orders and cigarettes. There was a letterbox in each centre. Tea cars were driven into remote parts of the area, providing refreshments and other items. All work was dedicated to the war effort and all YMCA premises were used to accommodate the armed services and afterwards work was aimed at reconstruction and repair of buildings which had accommodated the troops. By 1923 Thetford was described as being particularly well placed with a new building and surplus funds of over £1000 but during the thirties it seemed like a town without a future. The economy was in deep depression, unemployment was high and in 1939 the population had fallen to less than 4,000. However, preparations for war brought some employment to Thetford as new airfields were being constructed in the area. And in January 1937 the Secretary, Mr Adams, reported that YMCA work was going well. 116

Two years later the Thetford Association was causing major concern. The Divisional Secretary said that very little work had been done in the past 18 months. The previous Divisional Secretary had put a lot of time and work in trying to rejuvenate it but the Eastern Counties Divisional committee felt that since then the Association had become rather ineffective and that it presented a poor image of the YMCA in the community. However, before a decision could be made the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939 brought a change of direction for the YMCA. All attention was focussed on the war effort under the supervision of the Eastern Counties Division and Thetford became an important centre for the armed forces. As a great number of allied troops and airmen were stationed in the area during the war the YMCA in Magdalen Street was used as a canteen for HM Forces and Civil Defence personnel. In the same year Sikh and Gurkha troops had been quartered in various camps in the Thetford area and it was expected that considerable numbers of released Indian prisoners-of-war would be sent there in future. Dr Chandra D S Gooneratne, an Indian YMCA Secretary and Welfare Officer, who had been serving with the Indian Contingent since 1940, had been sent to organise YMCA welfare activities. The Eastern Counties Division of the YMCA had been asked to undertake responsibility for this work. A Recreational Club and Handicrafts Centre was being organised in Thetford in requisitioned premises put at the disposal of the Association by the Military Authorities and it was hoped to develop a full YMCA programme specially suited to the needs of the Indian Forces. However, in June 1945 arrangements for the repatriation of the Indians were being made faster than had been expected and the handicraft training arrangements at the Centre were being modified. After the war the YMCA was faced with widescale reconstruction, causing serious financial problems and at a meeting of the Eastern Counties Division on 6 March 1948, Services Work was discussed. It appeared that since the war Thetford Branch had been losing money month by month. The Divisional Secretary had gone into the matter fully with the leader and it was felt that the Centre was serving a useful purpose and that the YMCA felt under an obligation to keep it open while there were men in the district. It was unanimously agreed that the Divisional Secretary should continue close observation and, if necessary, consult the Chairman, Major J Stanley Ward and Mr A R Saward on the matter. In November there was further discussion over the Centre which began as an Anglo-American Services Club but for some time had served RASC personnel stationed in the district as well as some members of the Royal Air Force. The former were transferring to Colchester and in view of the few RAF personnel remaining, it was decided that the premises should be vacated by the end of the month. Mr R E Adams retired in 1955 from the post of general secretary which he had held since 1905 Between 1958 and 1980, the town expansion agreement between Thetford Borough Council and the London County Council brought 5,000 Londoners to the town causing 1500 houses to be built for them. Shops, 117

roads and other services were constructed as well as a 40-acre industrial estate. In 1959 Mr R E Adams, former Secretary of Thetford YMCA died, leaving in his will £100 to the National Council and £100 to Thetford YMCA. Three years later it was agreed, subject to the Trustees’ permission, to adapt and refurbish the building in order to attract the young people in the town and in September 1963 the committee agreed that an architect should draw up preliminary plans for alterations to the Association building and part of the invested income of the Association would be used for these. In July 1964 the architect, Mr de la Porte was able to outline to the Thetford Board of Trustees the suggested alterations. He felt that the present building had been so well designed originally that it was difficult to make many modifications. However, he was able to present some ideas to the committee concerning redecoration and re-furnishing of some rooms. By June 1965 the work had been completed to the satisfaction of Mr de la Porte. The furnishings and curtain materials were on order and when the equipment was installed the Centre would be ready for an official opening. He stated that the building looked most attractive and it was hoped that this would bring more young people to the Association. In 1966 the Finance and General Purposes committee met the Trustees of Thetford YMCA and agreed to redeem some Savings Bonds to help their Association. The Secretary stated that this would mean that Thetford YMCA would be completely free of debt. In making their decision the Trustees stated that since the YMCA had re-opened in its new form the need for such an establishment had been proved and that the decline of the work following the successful three months initial period, had been due to lack of leadership. In order to give the Association a chance to try to find new leaders and to improve the work in the town, the Trustees felt that they should offer further financial help. Unfortunately the last efforts met with little success and with the agreement of the Thetford Board of Trustees, the National Council became sole trustee and Thetford YMCA was closed on 30th September 1969. A letter of request to re-open Thetford YMCA was received from Mr M J Bird of Thetford, a Police Officer, and was read in full to the committee. Full consideration was given to this matter but as considerable efforts had been made over the past seven years to maintain the work, improve the premises and increase the membership - all to no avail - it was felt that the decision to close the Association was the right one. In 1971 the building was sold to South Norfolk Conservative Association and, with the consent of the Charity Commissioners, the Vavasseur Trust Funds Charity was transferred to Norwich YMCA to help stabilise the weak financial position there which had arisen after the war effort. In 2006 YMCA work in Thetford consists of YMCA Norfolk pastoral workers in some local schools. 118

Great Yarmouth YMCA Great Yarmouth YMCA was established in 1874 at Crane House, 24 South Quay, an attractive house originally built for William Palgrave in 1807, and later purchased by the Association. The house survived the two wars and is still standing. The Norwich and Yarmouth Railway was opened on 30 April 1844 and the line between Yarmouth and Ipswich, opened in 1857, provided a direct route to London for Yarmouth herrings and also offered non-stop holiday express trains during the summer. As the fishing and tourist industries brought prosperity to Yarmouth, shops and department stores were opened. The main stores, Palmers and Arnolds, were established before 1900 and members of both families became benefactors of Yarmouth YMCA, concerned for the welfare of the young shopworkers and apprentices living in the town. The first year went well with good progress in Bible Classes and devotional meetings as well as some new educational classes and the Library and Reading Room were a great asset. However, a letter to The Secretary, YMCA, Exeter Hall, London, dated 9th March 1882 read as follows: “I beg to inform you that the affairs of the YMCA of this town have been practically wound up as from 31st December last so that you will not in future insert the name in your list of Associations. After my accounts (which have been closed) have been audited and passed, will be the end” Reasons for the closure are not clear but several efforts over the years were made to revive the branch including a meeting at Goate’s Coffee Tavern in King Street in July 1885 between Mr W Hind Smith, from London YMCA, and a group of gentlemen when they hoped to re-establish the Association. It was not until 1899 that it was put on a firm footing. In November a further meeting was held in Gordon Hall with speakers who included Mr Ormerod of Norwich YMCA, Mr Wild from Lowestoft and Mr Hind Smith from London when it was agreed that an energetic Secretary was needed. At this time religious meetings were being held weekly and those interested were asked to contact Mr Stuart Blake of King Street, Yarmouth. In 1899 the YMCA was re-opened at Crane House for ‘the Religious, Intellectual, Social and Physical welfare of young men’

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(87) On 2nd June,1900 the YMCA converted part of Crane House into a Seaside Home. From the YMCA Archives at Birmingham University Special Collection

The prospectus welcomed young men to the re-formed branch of the YMCA and the joint holiday home there and appointed J R H Welton as Hon Secretary and Mr F Arnold as Chairman. The premises included a large and handsome Reading Room, complete with newspapers, periodicals and magazines (one of which was the Young Menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Magazine) and writing tables for correspondence etc. The Social and Games Room had a good piano and it was equipped for chess, draughts, dominoes and billiards. In addition, letters of introduction were offered to members when leaving the town to any of the existing 7,700 branches of the YMCA in all parts of the world. The Assembly Room was large and elegant, with the bathroom on the first floor offering hot baths costing 4d!. On Sunday nights there was a general Evangelical service.

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(88) Gt. Yarmouth South Quay c1907. Two YMCA Members are standing on the balcony looking out to the quayside. Postcard courtesy of Gt. Yarmouth Library.

On 2 May 1907 at the May Day drawing-room meeting in the comfortable premises of Crane House ‘the secretariat was in the wise and tactful hands of T W Arnold, Esq.’ The Mayor presided and the Mayoress, Miss Worlledge, the Vicar, Canon Willink and Reverend J Westland Rose, Reverend F W Emms and F Arnold, Esq, President of Gt Yarmouth Association, were there. Also attending were Messrs E E Palmer, P Palmer, W Carter, W G Knights, C Hall and several ladies. Mr T W Arnold explained that two years ago a forward movement had been started and funds raised to strengthen weak causes and extend the YMCA to towns and villages. At the time his predecessors in Yarmouth had resigned and the committee had felt discouraged. He had been appointed as part-time Travelling Secretary for Norfolk and Suffolk and asked to devote the rest of his time to helping to put Yarmouth Association on a better footing. By now there were 200 members in Yarmouth, rooms were used nightly by young men who found a Christian home there and the financial position had improved. There were strong cricket and tennis clubs. The billiard table ‘which might not meet with the approval of all but, though installed with the hesitation and foreboding of some’, had done real service, attracting 50 or 60 young men - a splendid opportunity for bringing young men together. The Parliamentary Debating Society was successful as was Bible Study on Sundays. Rambling, camera and cycle clubs were provided for the summer months. However, there was a large debt of £1500 on the building and, with this in mind, the Ladies’ Auxiliary Committee was planning a big bazaar the following October in the Town Hall. In his address Mr F Arnold said that he always remembered the good he had found in Sloane Street YMCA when, as a young man, he began life in London.

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The Mayor declared that he was one of those who thought it absolutely right to have a billiard table. It would be a great shame if young men were not able to get a game without going to a public house or hotel. It was a game that required considerable skill and afforded a great deal of amusement. Billiard tables were an ongoing point for debate amongst YMCA committee members ever since J J Colman had emphasised the value of billiards as an enjoyable leisure activity and others had questioned the morality of such a pastime. However, at the Divisional Meeting held in Norwich on the 13 September 1911, difficulties were foreseen resulting from the resignation of the Secretary, Mr T F Arnold. The following year Major Frank Young came to Yarmouth to interview the President and other committee members and closure of the premises seemed likely. Fortunately, however, the General Secretary, Mr Robert Jupe managed to swing things round and substantial backing was secured by the National Council. In 1912 the management team consisted of Alderman Frank Arnold JP, President; E Ernest Palmer, Chairman; P Hurry Palmer, Treasurer and Robert Jupe, General Secretary and in April 1913 the General Committee reported that, on the religious side, the Sunday afternoon Bible Class was keeping up numbers and that three members had passed into Christian work in connection with churches. There was an average attendance of 60 men at the Sunday evening Social Hour. In addition, the Young Men’s Rally was in full swing, the Cottage Mission was succeeding and a Training Class for Christian work had been established. On the intellectual side, the Reading Room was well used and interesting lectures had included such titles as: “The Olympic Sports at Stockholm 1912” by H de Lynde, Esq. Recreation was well catered for with activities including chess, draughts, parallel bars, cricket and football . During the summer 170 young men had visited Crane House. A Junior Branch had been started in October with a membership of 65, offering Bible classes, first aid, gymnastics and carpentry. The Spring Conference, held at Crane House in 1913, was referred to by YMCA National Review as “the high water mark of conferences” and on a further occasion the Men’s Meeting at the Town Hall was addressed by the Chaplain General to HM Forces, Bishop Taylor-Smith. Yarmouth suffered badly in both world wars as the North Sea was the centre of naval operations. In August 1914 at the outbreak of war the town took steps to defend itself, lights that could be seen from the sea were extinguished and many holidays were cancelled. Nevertheless, in November the town was bombarded by a German mine-laying force and on 19 January 1915 a Zeppelin raided the town. In 1916 Yarmouth was attacked by German ships and in July 1917 it was bombed from the air. Fortunately, on this occasion there were no casualties but these were to follow in later raids.

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(89) As this postcard of a tea party at Crane House shows, Yarmouth YMCA had an important social role in supporting the armed services during the First World War. Postcard courtesy of the Colin Tooke Collection

In 1921 the YMCA and hostel were still at Crane House, 24 South Quay and the General Secretary was Mr E H Wright. However, there must have been financial difficulties in maintaining Crane House as a seaside home after the war for by 1934 the property had been sold and the Scottish Welfare Centre was opened there. In September 1934 the National Council allowed the whole of the proceeds of the joint appeal raised in Yarmouth to be retained locally so that they could establish themselves in the newly rented premises over Montagu Burtons in the Market Place. In April 1938 it was reported that during the past two or three years overheads had proved too heavy there and the committee recommended closing down. However, at a special meeting members decided against this policy and the Association was later housed in less expensive rented premises at Milmont, North Quay, a merchantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s house which was demolished by 1954, and in October 1938 the National Council guaranteed an increased overdraft of ÂŁ50. This was one of a number of several occasions when the enthusiasm of the members prevented the closure of their branch. On 19th January 1939 the Divisional Secretary was present at the opening of the new premises and it was hoped that the new scheme would prove successful. In 1939 the Second World War brought massive air raids to Norfolk coastal towns and Yarmouth YMCA was used as a centre for the armed services, taking an active part in offering care and support for the forces but it was not sustainable after the war. There is no longer a hostel in Yarmouth but YMCA Norfolk runs a supported lodgings scheme which provides accommodation for 20 teenagers and it has pastoral workers in schools. In addition it gives floating support to vulnerable residents to help them maintain independent tenancies. 123

Acknowledgements. The authors gratefully acknowledge the following people without whom they would not have been able to compile this history.

For photographs and other printed material: Archant Regional Ltd; Birmingham University Special Collection, David Butters; Pamela Clarke; Les Cockrill; Len Cook; Terry and Vera Harsant; Chris Heron; John Holmes; Peter Jones; Peter Killby; Gerald Lamont: Clive Manson; Paul Marsh; P Muirhead; Norwich City Council Civic Office; Norwich Heritage Centre; David Osborne; Plantation Garden Preservation Trust; Jonathan Plunkett; Michael Reeve; Peter Stibbons; Tony Williamson; Les Wright.

For kindly agreeing to be interviewed or for offering reminiscences: Reverend Elizabeth Cannon; Pamela Clarke; Peter Cody; Violet Cole; Tom and Robin Eaton: Wendy Getliffe; Terry and Vera Harsant; Gerald Hubbard; Paul Williams.

For interest in the project and help with identifying contacts: Sheila Adam; Arthur Bennett; Professor Clyde Binfield; Tom Braybrooks; Alan and Joan Davison; Susan Debbage; Shirley Harris; Raymond Onions; Norma Virgoe.

For giving generously of their time to read the text and to make helpful comments: Michael Churchouse; Ron Day; John Drake; Michael and Margaret Drake; Tom and Robin Eaton; Rosemary English; David Ingham; Richard Jarrold; John Rockcliff; Dr. Clive Wilkins-Jones.

For access to the following Archives and Collections: The Staff at Norwich Heritage Centre; Birmingham University Special Collection; Great Yarmouth Library; Kings Lynn Library; Randall/Salter Magic Lantern Collection; Suffolk Record Office; Swaffham Museum; Archant Regional Ltd and Kings Lynn Evening News. 124

Bibliography. The following books, periodicals, pamphlets and newspapers were consulted: Clyde Binfield, George Williams and the YMCA (Cox & Wyman Ltd) 1973 YMCA Anniversary Review 1844-1994 (National Council of YMCAs) Helen Caroline Colman, Jeremiah James Colman, a Memoir, London 1905. Christopher Barringer Ed. Norwich in the 19th Century, Gliddon Books, 1984. George White, History of the Norwich YMCA, 1886. Janet Ede and Norma Virgoe Eds. 1851 Census of Accommodation and Attendance at Worship, Norfolk Record Society Vol LXIII, 1998 M G & H J Harland, The Flooding of Eastern England, Peterborough, 1980 J Banger, Norwich at War, Poppyland Publishing, 2003. T Ashwin & A Davison, Eds, An Historical Atlas of Norfolk, Phillimore, 2005 Alan Crosby, A History of Thetford, Phillimore, 1986 YMCA Norwich Centenary Booklet 1956 John Berry, Camps Director, Norwich YMCA "Six Weeks of Summer Fun", 1964 The Year Book of YMCA Associations Association Life: Lowestoft & District YMCA 1917-18 Progress, newsletter of Norwich YMCA Paul Richards, King's Lynn Phillimore 1990 Ray Wilson, Red Alert - Lynn: the bombing of King's Lynn, Panda Books, 1985 A A C Hedges, Yarmouth is an antient town 1959. Revised 2001 by M Boon and F Meeres, Blackall Books J McBride, A Diary of Gt Yarmouth, 1988 The Dictionary of National Biography OUP

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