Features
Treeton Methodist Social Club
The following provides a background to the activities of the social club, plus an index to details of stage productions and an index to the Magazines which the Club published from 1946 to 1955.
Index to Productions
1949 - 1953 Details of Variety shows
1949 Production of Cinderella
November, 1950 See How They Run
1950 Production of Jack and the Beanstalk
December, 1950, A Child in Flanders Nativity
1951 Production of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
Dec. 1951 Production of My Wife's Family
The Devil a Saint October, 1952
1952 Stage Play, Bonaventure
January, 1953 Stage Play, Frieda
A Time to be Born
1953 Pantomime
Index To Treeton Methodist Social Club Magazines from 1946 to 1955
1946
1951
1952
1953
1954
1955
Background
The Governments Youth Service Scheme heralded the formation in 1943 of the Methodist Youth Department to co-ordinate all types of youth activity, whether Sunday or weekday. One of the consequences of this was the formation of the Methodist Association of Youth Clubs and, in local churches, the local Youth Councils.
Early Meetings
It was to the credit of the members of the Senior Dept. of the Sunday School, led by Mrs. Jessie Hewlett and Robert Jones, that in 1936 a few young people formed the nucleus of a group which met on Saturday evenings to play table tennis. They were not an exclusive group and, quite naturally, they were joined by friends from other denominations; Anglican, Roman Catholic, Baptist and others. Their activities included indoor games, occasional hikes, talks by invited speakers leading to free discussion, a well conducted library and play reading. Actually they were the winners in a play reading competition organized at Circuit level. During the Second World War they adapted themselves to the emergency and took their turn in arranging Sunday evening services which attracted congregations of 60 or more.
1946 - 1958
Treeton Methodist Social Club, 1947, with the Rev. J. L. C. Shrewsbury
Eventually the group came to be regarded as the Treeton Methodist Social Club and was affiliated to the Methodist Association of Youth Clubs. Membership was open to persons over 16 years of age, and there was a rule that members should attend a place of worship in the village.
Gradually the Club settled down to three sessions per week: Thursday for Education, Saturday for Games and Sunday for Worship. By 1946 the Club had progressed to the point when it felt able to produce its own magazine. The Committee at that time included the Rev. J. L. C. Shrewsbury, Mrs. Hewlett and Robert Jones (Leaders), Mary Banks (Secretary), Joan Shenton, Trixie Sinclair, Arthur Parrott, Roy Bloom Geoffrey Dale, Brian Smith and Audrey Pyott. (Incidentally Geoffrey Dale was married in Ceylon (Srilanka) on the 12th January 1954, and later in the same year he made reference to 'My Young People's Class')
In a forward to the first issue of the Club magazine in May 1946 the Rev. Lionel Shrewsbury said 'It is one of the happiest committees I have ever worked with . . . And, most important of all, the Club has linked itself to the life and fellowship of the Church; it has been clear from the beginning that members have appreciated that the Christian faith is the best setting for social and all other human activities.'
Treeton Methodist Football Club, 1950/51
The magazine also tells us that 1945-46 was the Club’s first season in competitive football and acknowledges the support given by Walter Banks,Albert Cooper and Bernard Carey, men of sterling Christian character.
For many of them the Club was the centre of their activities and its impact on the social life of the village was considerable. It owed its success in large measure to the leadership of Jim Havard (a name remembered in Swallownest, where in their church, is a memorial to Jim’s father for his work among the young people of that Society). He was affectionately known as 'Boss', and he shared the leadership with his wife, Hilda. Jim was a quiet man, a leader whom every member could trust, and he was always ready to discuss personal problems either at the Club or in his home. He never imposed his will on the Club, but guided and steered it in the way he thought it should go.
Jack and Violet Smith, as Assistant Leaders, completed a first rate team dedicated to the task of making the Club a success.
The general week to week running of the Club was left to a committee who were responsible for all activities and for a good standard of behaviour. The rules were simple and required that members should be 15 years of age or over, and that they should attend a place of worship, not necessarily the Methodist Church. By having no denominational barriers the Club brought together many young people who basically believed in God and respected the church. So there were Anglicans, Baptists, Methodists, a Salvationist and a Roman Catholic.
The activities of the Club catered for a wide range of interests and included table tennis, snooker, chess, etc., with competitions from time to time, also football, cricket, hiking in Derbyshire and annual coach trips to the coast. When activities were indoors members took their turn to serve refreshments and do the chores.
After Sunday evening services in the winter months members retired to a classroom for discussions and pre-arranged debates, occasionally to hear an invited speaker, and on a variety of subjects, serious or light-hearted. These meetings provided good training in self-expression and tolerance for other people’s point of view.
Stage Productions
The highlights of Club activities, however, were the stage productions of a variety of plays, some with deeply moving episodes and others full of fun. Quite apart from the choosing of the casts, a responsibility for which the 'Boss' seemed to have an uncanny knack, there was much work to be done. The stage had to be reconstructed and the Club was fortunate in having members skilled in woodwork, Derek Hitchen and Alan Rodgers. Then there was the painting of scenery, and again the Club had the necessary talent. Peter and David Harper were skilled artists and, as a bonus, their father gave a good deal of time and effort in the painting of scenery. Senior members of the Church also gave willing help. Hilda Havard and Violet Smith were responsible for costumes with the help of some of the girls.
The performances were of a high standard and attracted large audiences, including many parents, and such was the reputation of the Club that a number of churches in the area asked for performances on their own premises.
In addition to all the other activities there was the monthly issue of the 'Club Pennuth', a small magazine which contained devotional, informative and often highly amusing contributions by members. It owed its popularity in large measure to the enthusiasm of the editor, Bob Spink.
One incident which deserves mention was the occasion of a 'Tramp Social' when a weary looking, dishevelled tramp arrived on the scene with a stick over his shoulder at the end of which was a red handkerchief which contained his rations. He slumped down dejectedly on to a heap of straw and gazed at the floor. 'Who on earth could this be?' thought the members. It was, in fact, their minister, the Rev. P. D. Robert (1948-1951). He and his wife were loved by all the members for the way in which they joined in Club activities, mixed freely with the members, and generally gave encouragement.
1958 - 1966
Ten years of intense activity had ended and, the membership of the Club had declined by reason of removals from the village and other good reasons. Several senior members formed a Club for children over eleven years of age, but this well-meaning venture did not meet with the success it deserved, so that when the Rev. David Wright came to the Circuit in 1962 it was necessary for him to put new energy into the work. As minister he took over the leadership and sought to build up a new Club on somewhat different lines from what had gone before. Those were the days of the Youth Squashes, and the minister was successful in bringing together a group of young people from other churches as well as Treeton. After twelve months effort he was able to report a Club membership of 38. It had been evident for some time, however, that the burden of leadership rested unfairly on the minister and, although there were willing helpers, it was not possible to appoint lay leaders. Inevitably youth activities sank to a low level after the Rev. David Wright’s departure.
1966 - 1974
When the Rev. Howard Smith came into the Circuit in 1966 there had been a period during which it had not been possible to appoint a lay Youth Leader, although several senior members of a former club had done their best to maintain the work. However, it soon became evident that Rev. Smith was a minister with tremendous enthusiasm and a determination to see the Church as a family. Not only that, but as a Church reaching out into the community. He also had a wider vision of the possibilities of youth work in the village situation. These ideas seem to have grown in the course of his four years’ residence in the village and, after consultations with the Area and Divisional Youth Authorities. he sought the help of the Parish Council. One of his ideas was of a well run coffee bar as a social base for young people when they needed it, instead of having to wait until they were 18 years of age to get in the pub or club. At this time the Treeton Methodist Youth Club had grown enormously to a membership of 160, 69 girls and 91 boys of whom about 40% came from Aston and Brinsworth, and the average attendance was 130. There was also a large waiting list.
The Methodist Club had no denominational barriers; it was affiliated to the Methodist Association of Youth Clubs and sent representatives to the Annual Rally at the Albert Hall in London. Members also took an active part in public worship from time to time.
The Club catered for a wide range of interests, reaching out to service in the community, care for the elderly, helping in a village clean-up campaign and other ventures too numerous to mention. All these, it must be said, owed their existence to exceptional leadership by the minister, supported by a willing band of helpers.
One idea which gave a lot of pleasure to Club members and the adults who accompanied them was the arrangement in four successive years of annual holidays, the first to Tockington near Bristol where accommodation was provided in the premises of the Tockington Methodist Church. The second was to Mumbles, in South Wales for a camp holiday; the third by train and boat to Jersey. and the fourth to Guernsey where the accommodation was in a Youth Hostel. The average number of persons on these holidays was about 50, and the duration from 11 to 15 days.
After breakfast the day began with a short act of worship, and on Sundays the party attended public worship conducted by the Rev. Howard Smith in local Methodist churches. By 1970 the Club had reached, if it had not already passed, its zenith, and at this moment a decision was taken at Circuit level that the minister of the Treeton section of the Circuit should in future reside at Aston (a decision which was reversed some four or five years later). With a vacant Manse at Treeton it was decided that, as an experiment, the premises should be used for youth work or any other church purpose, but in spite of genuine effort the experiment did not succeed.
Meantime there was the normal exodus of older members from the village, and the task of maintaining the momentum which had been developed in the past four years became increasingly difficult. Gradually the activities declined and, disappointing as this must have been to those still active, it must have been a source of anxiety to the minister, the Rev. Stuart Gibbins, for, after twenty months in the area he had this to say in his pastoral letter of May 1972:
... Although I think that the brunt of youth work should be done by Local Education Authorities I firmly believe that the smaller, open Church Club has a vital part to play in the mission of the Church. The Club has been in suspension since Christmas (almost five months) because we have been without a leader(s) who will concentrate upon developing the Club . . . The Club has not been disbanded; it is in suspension for the reason given.
This forthright statement, did not take away an appreciation of the services rendered in past years. For whatever reasons, and they are not easy to define, there was a marked decline in youth activities in the past decade . The efforts of the minister the Rev. Laurance Stedeford and his helpers met with some success
1982
In 1982, on the occasion of the Chapel Centenary, Tom Rossington spoke of his memories. A group of seven or eight former Club members came together to look back over more than 25 years. They were asked, 'What did it do for you?'. Their reply : "It taught us how to work as a team, to be tolerant, to use our talents in the service of others; for some it provided deep and lasting friendships, for some a marriage partner and, quite recently, a bond of affection in which we shared together our grief in the passing of a much-loved Club member. Our prayer is - 'May God bless our Club members wherever they are, and maybe one day we will meet again and remember the marvellous times we had together' . "
Tom Rossington, further provided details of the whereabouts of former members :
- Members who have died 8
- Emigrated to Canada, U.S.A., Australia and Srilanka 5
- Anglicans 3
- Removed to other parts of the United Kingdom 51
- Still attending Treeton Methodist Church 9
- Others living in the village 6
As we have seen, years of intense activity had ended and, the membership of the Club had declined by reason of removals from the village and other good reasons.