 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
In 1984-5 the treasurer, the late Frank Postlethwaite, was suddenly taken ill. As one of the auditors (with the late Percy Gunnill) I had some knowledge of the accounts and took over as treasurer. So I feel qualified to write these notes. Some years ago, when I was researching my family history in the Record Office below the pre-fire Central Library, I discovered that Thorpe had possessed another Men's Institute earlier in the last century. More on the lines of a working men's club, it used to meet in Chapel Lane. However, I'll leave that one for others to tell of - and write about the one I know more about as I was one of the longer-serving members at the end (22 years, 12 as treasurer). On several occasions I spoke about the Institute to presenters on local (and regional) radio, appealing for knowledge of any other Men’s Institute, but none materialised. Did that mean we were unique? One version of the origin of ours is that it was started by a group of Thorpe husbands who used to congregate outside the Roxley Hall to meet their wives from W.I. meetings. The late Gilbert Howard, who did so much for the Institute, told me that it was formed by the men who met to arrange a dinner for their ladies, in gratitude for being regularly invited to their Dinner. They enjoyed their meetings so much that they agreed to continue them after the event, albeit with a different aim. Thus the Men's Institute was born, with its motto of: "Good Citizenship - Good Fellowship" and guidelines of being non-political and non-sectarian. The final decision to wind up the Institute was taken at the A.G.M. in April, 1997, when insufficient members came forward to offer to serve as officers. A very sad occasion. When I first joined, new members were proposed and seconded before their election. It would take several complete editions of "The Beacon" to mention all my happy memories of members, speakers and entertainers, events, trips and visits, etc. I shall restrict myself to but a few reminiscences on this occasion. Our watchwords were reflected by the readiness of members to share their specialised knowledge of favourite subjects or personal experiences. I also recall the happy votes of thanks given to speakers on winemaking who had brought samples. A popular annual event was the Sausage Supper (the photograph shows, round the table, Percy Gunnill, Derek Woodmansee, John Blyth, Reg Shephard, Bernard Peck and me). Of course, I must mention the time (April 1978) when I succeeded Brian Riseborough as chairman, and Brian and Michael were No 1 in the Pop Charts! In those days, the next chairman was usually the previous year’s vice chairman When my year was over (and I was succeeded by Alex Halliday), I presented an engraved tankard (which became known as the M.I. Trophy - for Men’s Institute as well as me!). It was to be awarded at the A.G.M. by each outgoing chairman to the ordinary (i.e. not on the committee) member he considered to have done most for the Institute that year. The first recipient (in 1979) was Bernard Peck. Unfortunately, the tankard went missing - I would love to have it back, maybe to donate to the Thorpe History Group. That year, we started what was to become a popular annual contest - the quiz versus a team from Thorpe Village W.I. After a long spell of coming second, we were on a winning streak at the end; I enjoyed all those thrilling battles. The Institutes took it in turn to organise each event by arranging the question master and compiler as well as the entertainment - sometimes by their own members! That for our last joust was provided by Chris Jones, at his electronic organ. Chris and his wife regularly enjoyed coming to the quiz; on his Radio Norfolk show, “New Horizons”, he used to say that he wouldn’t take any bets on the outcome! Once, when it was our turn to receive the surplus from admission fee less expenses, we gave it to the BBC Children in Need Appeal. This began an annual donation to that charity, whether or not we had a surplus. In fact, our closing balance (after funding a farewell lunch for members and partners at the Cottage in September, 1997) went there. Although fund-raising wasn’t our prime aim, over the years we sent contributions to many organisations, often at the request of a speaker in lieu of a fee. In 1987, we were awarded Hotel Norwich’s first award to a local club, based on achievement and scope of programme - the committee enjoyed a grand dinner! Our wives used to accompany us to the annual dinner (formerly just before Christmas, but latterly in January) as well as on several trips to seaside shows. When the comic at these named visiting parties and asked them to identify themselves, he always remarked on the presence of ladies in a men’s group. In common with many other groups, we suffered a declining attendance due to the failure to attract young blood to replace older members who were unable to come to meetings due to ill health or had passed on. We had always welcomed members’ guests (with a view to increasing our membership): at the end of 1987 we decided that lady guests would be invited to meetings where the subject might prove of interest. This allowed wives, widows and other friends to attend; an important plus was that speakers had audiences of a more reasonable size. From the 1995 A.G.M., a special membership class for ladies was introduced (at half the normal rate, but with no voting rights, so that we could retain our identity! The 1989 photograph of the then committee shows (from the left) Norman Appleton, Jim Reynolds (chairman), Gordon Slaughter, Wally Freeman, Derek Jude and me). At our annual dinner, I used to recite a verse I had written as a review of the year; I can think of no better way to close this article than by repeating this one from our final gathering : Farewell, Thorpe Men's Institute, 30-09-97
|
