大象传媒

Albert J. Harris
The Boys鈥� Club Movement

The Boys鈥� Club Movement was created to cater for working boys, from the age of 14 to18, mainly in the large towns of the U.K. The large towns then formed their own Federations. Most of the public schools became involved, largely in London.

The Boys鈥� Club which I joined in 1936, was the Stowe Club for Boys. The club was started and financed in 1927, the same year as the start of Stowe School near Buckingham. The premises of the Boys鈥� Club was a former public house in Marylebone, The Pineapple. This was destroyed during the war, to be replaced by flats. The club conformed to the principles and aims of the National Association of Boys鈥� Clubs, whose headquarters were in Bedford Square, London. The club was also affiliated to the London Federation and the Westminster Federation. In this Federation we were joined with the Rugby, Harrow, Westminster, Sulgrave and the Inns of Court Boys鈥� Club of Drury Lane. The Rugby, Harrow and Inns of Court clubs had their own playing fields.

The Boys 鈥機lub movement attracted many influential people. The patron of the London Federation was the Duke of York. At its peak before the Second War there were nearly three hundred thousand members in the U.K.

My club had the yearly lease of the London Playing Fields Association at Boston Manor. This field is now bisected by the M4 motorway.

In my opinion, the Boys鈥� Club Movement was, and still is, a fine example of Christian outlook. I can honestly say that in the fifteen years that I was in boys鈥� clubs, both as a member and as a helper, I had the pleasure of meeting some of the finest people that I have encountered in my life.

The club boys went to Stowe School for soccer and cricket, and for camps at Easter, Whitsun and August. During the summer break we had the run of the three hundred acres, the eleven acre lake and swimming pool. Also we camped on the 50 acre field. The Hut, the 鈥淧ineapple鈥�, was built by the schoolboys. We paid them back a little by helping to dig air raid trenches just before the war started in 1939.

Clement Attlee was prominent in the Movement. He was to the fore when the club, which the prisoners of war in Brunswick, Germany, started the Boys鈥� Club in Fulham. Mr. Attlee was also behind the scheme to hire W.D. equipment to youth organisations.

From 1946 until 1948 the Stowe Boys鈥� Club held a camp at Yaverland, Sandown, Isle of Wight. During the peak time we had 250 children, some from the Children鈥檚 Country Holiday Fund. Some of them were seeing the sea for the first time. It was impossible to get to the coast once the war started in earnest. They were coming across from afar a field as Preston. The time taken to get across the Solent at one point was nine hours. It cost 27 shillings and six old pence for full board. After coming through the War, helping in that camp was my finest hour.

漏 Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.