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
At the AGM on 3rd March 1948, President, Secretary and Treasurer were re-elected and H. G. Dorrett was elected Vice President, a remarkable honour for a member of two years to join the illustrious names of Keane, Harpur and Witty. Dorrett replaced founder member A. E. Isaacs who had died recently. Membership remained at 120 and the accounts showed a surplus of £13.14/4d. The Hospitality Fund was low and an appeal was made for anonymous donations. There was to be no Annual Exhibition in 1948.
C. L. Clarke from Kodak visited on 31st March with his inimitable style to give us the "LSD of Photography" Luck, Skill and Disaster. Later on 28th April M. Bond ARPS visited to introduce the "Reid" Camera , the British type "Leica" then unobtainable due to the partition of Germany.
On 3rd June the Second Special General Meeting in Club history was called and it was agreed to end the Club financial year on 31st May and thus necessitate the reprinting of the Club rules last issued in 1929.
Our former President John Keane was elected President of the Photographic Convention of the UK 1948 for the second time (first in 1936) at their meeting in Norwich.
Such now was the popularity of the colour slide that the use of the 3 1/4" square lantern for this purpose was considered inappropriate and the Club agreed to purchase a "miniature projector for 2x2 slides at a cost not exceeding £40". This was done as is recorded at a meeting on 28th October 1948 which ended at 8.30 "but at 9.45 members of Council were still playing with the new miniature projector". It will not have escaped notice that at this era 3 1/4" square was normal and 35mm was "miniature" whereas today 35mm is normal and any larger size -is well, abnormal!
At the meeting on 15th September members were enthralled by a talk from C. J. Green a survivor of Sir Ernest Shackleton's Expedition to the Antarctic, on the "Voyage of Endurance" and as if there was not enough cold water around a douche was flung on the SLF on 16th September when Council debated whether to stay in the Federation in view of the amount of work involved in the competitions. It was decided to remain a member for a while longer.
Early in the Winter Session there was an Exhibition of Agilux Products and a week later on 27th October 1946 at 8pm members were taken round the Agilux Factory, 40 Purley Way, Croydon, and shown the camera in various stages of assembly and also the making and blooming of lenses. The Agilux Reflex was the first all British single lens camera to be manufactured after the War and was very similar to the Reflex Korell. It used 120 film. Shutter testing by AP revealed a setting of 1/500 was actually 1/244, 1/200 : 1/87 and 1/100 : 1/49. Not exactly precise! The price was £42.10/0. plus £13.16/3d purchase tax.
Production of cameras for amateur and commercial purposes ceased in 1969 but military cameras for aerial reconnaissance continue to be made. Under the name of Negretti Aviation of Lansdowne Road the "Agiflite" range is currently being produced and has worldwide sales. Thus Croydon continues to be associated with the manufacture of photographic equipment.