A second attempt was made on 22nd April 1985 to create "a new post of Chairman with Vice Chairman as at Present" thus leaving the President as a figurehead and the Chairman to be present at meetings. This was dropped.

By the time the AGM on 29th May 1985 came round Peter Fenner declined to be re-elected as Secretary and Mrs Malarkey was persuaded to take the post again. Stuart Pickford complained at the AGM that it was not properly constituted as Notices had not been posted nor lists of eligible officers displayed as required by Club Rules. A show of hands indicated the members considered the meeting properly constituted and thereafter indicated their displeasure by not voting Mr Pickford back onto Council where he had served the Club almost continuously for 26 years. Mr Stillwell thanked Mr Pickford for his work on Council and that was that. Croydon CC was never sentimental!

At the next Council meeting on 13th June 1985 the Secretary advised of several other complaints on the conduct of the AGM and Council agreed that certain rules of procedure had not been followed in a proper manner and that they would see they did not happen again. However there was no specific job that needed doing to justify co-opting Mr Pickford back on to Council. Exit Mr Pickford.

In anticipation of preparing a Club History for the Centenary in 1990 a search was instigated for records and Minute books and most dating back to 1930 have been recovered, but earlier records have been lost. Various pieces of the Salt Shutter Tester had been recovered and Harry Cundell agreed to replace missing parts. There was, however, no knowledge of the whereabouts of the bust of John Keane given to the Club in 1959.

At a Council meeting on 17th February 1986 it was decided the Club would now remain a member of the SLF but not participate in any activities. At the Annual Exhibition in June Mr Stillwell would be awarding his trophy for the last time.

Ian Couling had been awarded his FRPS but as it was 14 years since the last was awarded to a Club member the custom of the last (Alan Richard) presenting a cake to the new winner did not take place. Whether it will be revived is doubtful due to shortages of FRPS members.

The conscience of the Council must have been pricked at its treatment of Mr Pickford for at the AGM in 1986 the Club extended the supreme honour of electing him a Life Member for services rendered. And a further honour was conferred by the Photographic Alliance of Great Britain On 20th April 1986 with its Award for Outstanding Service to Affiliated Photographic Societies and their members. Stuart Pickford was the first Croydon member to receive this APAGB award.

In 1986 Roy King was persuaded to relinquish the Treasury and become President - a well deserved honour and Clifford Fifield (joined 10th May 1984) took over as Treasurer. Tessa Most became Secretary and Michael Hope remained Vice Chairman. The subscription went up to £12 and membership rose to 72. Helene Rogers ARPS gave a lecture on 9th April 1986.

Harold Stillwell was co-opted to Council charged with co-ordinating the Planning of the Centenary Celebrations in 1990 and producing a book on the History of Croydon Camera Club for the occasion.

By the end of 1986 a very comprehensive list of objectives for the Centenary Event was approved and a Sub-Committee formed of R. King, T. Cane, and H. Stillwell under the chairmanship of H. Cundell. They rapidly got down to work and then ran out of steam.

Simultaneously dying a death was the proposal to exchange photographs with taped commentary with the Lausanne Club (of Photeurop) which proposal was born from a meeting in Autumn 1986 between Harold Stillwell and the President of Lausanne. Croydon selected slides and prepared tapes but Lausanne never responded to agreed dates for the exchange and by the summer of 19 87 the idea was dropped, nothing having been heard from the Continent.