Croydon Camera Club History: 1890-2000
Preface Introduction The Club Foundation 1809 Soiree 1899 Movies Member Prestige Council Meetings 1903 Founding President Mees Years 1904-12 The Great War Between The Wars Recorded Years Riots! Police! 1931 Edridge Road, 1932 1932 Nudes Ladies and Exhibitions Club Room eviction The Studio: 1933 Cine! Ladies! 1934 Highs and Lows, 1936 A/V, Stag Party, 1937 Freemasonry 1938 Baird Television 1938 War! 1940: Bombed ! Annual Report 1940-41 Making Do 1941 War Ends 1942-5 A War Retrospective Ladies? 1946 Ladies Admitted 1947-8 35mm Slides arrive Struggling 1949 SLF Out! 1949-50 Troubled 1950 Outings 1951 Winter Season 1951 Celebrations Mees Visits Croydon 1955 1956 Nonexistence 1957 1958-1959 1960 More Success 1961 The Darkroom 1961 Frivolity 1962 All Change 1963 1965-1967 Exhibitions 1967 Photeurop 1968 Photeurop 1969 Years 1970-1972 Terra Nova Years 1973 Years 1974-1975 19 Selsdon Road Years 1977-1979 Changes 1980 Friends Meeting House Close the Club 1983 Progress? 1984 Turnaround? 1985 Years 1987-1988 Slow Revival 1989 About Club Outings The Helpers Postscript
The first ladies evening of the session had Dudley Johnston FRPS showing for the first time some 120 slides of selected prints from the RPS Collection and so into 1932 with a lecture on 20th January by John St Aubyn ARPS on a "Tour of Tuscany".
The Annual exhibition was held in the Club Rooms on 27th January and on 15th February began the first tentative steps towards a move which was to have a profound effect on the fortunes of the Club for the next 32 years, although of course this was unknown at the time. The Secretary received a letter from C.S. Spackman as follows :
"Gentlemen, It is known to some of you that I am negotiating for a piece of land in the centre of Croydon for the erection of a large Studio etc (This was at No 1 Edridge Road). If this materializes I shall be delighted to let the entire Studio premises (over 1400 sq ft) to the Croydon Camera Club for Wednesday evenings. The Studio will be well furnished and I offer free access to the darkroom at any time, also a week for the Annual Home Exhibition. Rent will include heating, lighting and cleaning for an agreement of three years at £52 per annum".
The Council decided to investigate further and meantime postponed the decision to redecorate the present Club Rooms.
At the AGM on 7th February 1932 the membership was 92 and the deficit on the accounts 10/5 l/2d. Mention was made that the Hospitality Fund was very low "on account of so many outside lecturers coming down". The President, Treasurer and Secretary were re-elected. A discussion ensued on the desirability of discontinuing medal awards and substituting plaques and certificates but no action was taken. It was not until 1934 that certificates were presented and medals were replaced by cups in 1967.
A proposal on 29th February to keep an album which would be a record of outings was deferred and subsequently no action was taken. Thus an opportunity to provide posterity with a record of past events and personalities was lost.
The Lent meeting was addressed by Capt J.W. Bampflyde FRPS on "The Investigation of Failures in Railway materials" which must have been a fascinating subject for members!
There then occurred a dinner and presentation to John Keane not recorded anywhere in the Minutes, but fortunately reported in the Croydon Advertiser of 26th March 1932. It must be presumed that secrecy was well maintained for even the venue is not known but members subscribed to a silver salver (being a replica of that presented by the Corporation of London when HMS London was launched) and suitably inscribed which was presented to John.