https://sigbi.org/tynemouth/wp-admin/admin.php?page=wpcf7Club business: membership, meetings and more

Membership at risk

As seen above, changes in categories could lead to membership of a club being terminated but this was not the only factor that might require someone to leave a club. The case of a member of Whitley Bay club in 1961 illustrates how the common practice of a women giving up work when she married affected membership.

In January 1961,  Whitley Bay executive committee received a letter from a member tendering her resignation from the club as she had given up her job as solicitor’s managing clerk on her marriage. The President noted she had received a piece of wedding cake. The resigning member had represented the club at the Divisional Union and the Council of Social Service. Presumably keen not to lose an active member, it was agreed that she would be asked to become a Past Service Member and stay on the executive committee until the end of the club year. If she agreed to becoming a Past Service Member, she would also be asked to continue to represent the club on the Council of Social Service. The acceptance of the invitation was recorded at the executive committee meeting on 13 March 1961.

Club meetings

No club programmes survive from the 1950s and little discussion took place in meetings relating to planning a programme.  From the minutes of Whitley Bay club, we learn that meetings tended to be very much about business in which correspondence was read out, reports were given, invitations to dinners (of which there were many) were shared and information about fund raising and donations was given.

There were occasional speakers who tended to focus on charities and local services, such as the talk on the Old People’s Welfare Chiropody Service on 19 May 1958 and the Prevention of Fire in the Home on 25 May 1959. Other issues, however, were explored by speakers. One of Whitley Bay club’s first speakers was Mr Charles Mitchell whose talk was entitled “Brotherhood is colour blind”. On 05 February 1957, the topic was “Women in Industry” and the speaker talked about her work in 3 departments of a “Large Establishment” and her 14 weeks of training in America.

Speakers

By the 1960s, Whitley Bay club meetings involved speakers on a much more regular basis and topics often related to issues still relevant today. Sometimes the minutes only record who spoke, the title of the talk and the vote of thanks. Sometimes, however, the minute taker recorded details about the talk which provide us with a unique insight into the lives of women.

On 17 April 1961, for example, the speaker was Rev. Ella Gordon from High Howden Presbyterian Church, the only woman in the country to hold such position. Rev. Gordon spoke about the long process of achieving her goal, only reached “after some disappointments”, an experience probably still echoed by women today.

On 15 January 1962, the speaker was Miss Purvis, the manager of the Blyth Employment Exchange who spoke on the employment of married women.  Miss Purvis’ experience suggested to her that married women who worked used to come from “opposite ends of the social scale” such as mill workers and professional women. In the early 1960s, however, women of all classes were working. The motivation for married women seeking work varied. For some it was economic necessity and for others it was custom, for example agricultural and domestic workers. However, some married women wanted to work so that they could afford to buy “modern house equipment”. This period saw growing opportunities to buy things we take for granted such as fridges, washing machines (remember the twin tub?) and televisions and Miss Purvis’ analysis suggests extra income was needed to afford these. She also gives us an insight into the views of the employers. Generally, she said, they preferred to employ unmarried women or failing that, unskilled women with no family ties. This, of course, would mean the employer did not have to address issues relating to women leaving when they married or were pregnant.

Other topics addressed by speakers at Whitley Bay club meetings in the 1960s included the welfare of older citizens in which the guest expressed the view that older people were not valued by the younger and emphasised that society should enjoy the richness of old age. Another topic still very relevant today was the matter of early marriage, including discussion of  forced marriage.

Speakers were also invited to talk on aspects of women’s health. On 22 June 1965, the speaker was from the Association for the Improvement of Maternity Services. Some of the issues she raised are familiar even now, including differences between areas instead of even high standards and severe staff shortages .  She also emphasised that psychological and physical needs were indivisible in maternity services.  The speaker urged members to push politicians to effect improvements and to push local authorities to encourage cervical cancer tests and make them known and available everywhere.

From the late 1960s onwards, the Whitley Bay club minutes no longer record in detail the content of the talks given in meetings. A range of topics were covered including decimal currency, occupational therapy, the work of physiotherapists, rights to privacy, the work of the Newcastle Diocesan Council for Moral and Social Welfare, the Community Health Council,  Crime Prevention, the work of the Samaritans, the opening of St Oswald’s Hospice, the work of the Equal Opportunities Commission and the issue of cervical cancer. Speakers also presented on the topics of heraldry, philately and Royal Worcester china and there were frequent talks on the nature of Soroptimism.

Speakers at meetings were often club members and a popular theme for their talks was experiences in travelling abroad. Given that in the 1960s, people did not travel as much as we do now, some members were adventurous in their choice of destination; holiday talks, usually accompanied by slides, covered visits to Russia, Yugoslavia, the Caribbean and Curacoa. On 02 October 1967, a member gave “a most entertaining and often hilarious talk” about her holiday in the USA and Canada in “her own inimitable way”.

Two extraordinary speakers on mental health

The professional

On 14 June 1965, the speaker was Dr Quigley from St George’s Hospital in Morpeth (then the Northumberland County Asylum). Dr Quigley talked, clearly with passion which was captured by the minute taker, about the need to regard individuals with mental health problems as people who are ill rather than “demented or criminals”. She explained how modern life could contribute to a decline in mental health so the numbers of people who needed support and treatment was increasing. However, the funds being allocated to research in this field “totally inadequate” and more facilities and specialists were needed. Dr Quigley ended her talk by stressing that Soroptimists could help mould public opinion to accept patients as ill persons.

Dr Quigley clearly made an impression on the Club and the way she was described in the minutes also tells us something about attitudes to successful working women in the mid-1960s. The minutes describe her as “elegant and charming and surprisingly young to have achieved such a responsible and eminent position.”

The patient

Later in the year, on 01 November 1965, the guest speaker gave members of Whitley Bay club a remarkable insight into her experience of treatment and recovery from serious mental health issues. She told the club about her breakdown, which also involved severe abdominal pain. Bed became her only refuge and to emerge and face the world was a real torture. She was treated first with insulin injections and glucose then was admitted to the hospital at The Retreat in York where she then was given LSD treatment. This led to hours of “ceaseless talk when the brain unburdened itself of pent up frustration dating back to childhood before speech had been learnt” while a nurse took notes. The speaker how suddenly one day the pain was gone and she started to fight back. At this point she was given electrical treatment and was eventually discharged after 12 months. In total, it took five years for her “complete cure”. The speaker ended with words which have as much relevance today as they did in 1965, making a plea for:

“understanding and forbearance to those whose lives put heavy pressure upon them mentally, our kindness will often save them unnecessary suffering”

Job talks

These were not very common in the 1960s and 1970s but one stands out in the minutes of the Whitley Bay club meeting on 07 February 1966. Due to the late withdrawal of the scheduled speaker due to illness, one of the members consented to talk about her business, that of a beautician.

She began by telling members that the “cultivation of beauty” involved more than the mere application of cosmetics; good health provided by regular exercise, right eating, absolute cleanliness and keeping a happy state of mind were all an essential basis on which to apply beauty aids. This was followed by tips, a recipe for a lotion to prevent the breaking of fingernails and a demonstration of cosmetics application. It was noted that the whole evening gave members a new, enlightened and invigorated outlook on personal care, both internal and external. The speaker ended by emphasising the beneficial effect of “the betterment of mental outlook as well as personal presentation” in business and professional life.

During the 1980s, job talks become more frequent but not much detail was recorded. Members gave talks about being employed as a draughtswoman employed to plot road accidents in the Tyne and Wear, their job for the Solid Fuel Advisory Service, setting up and running an antiques business, working as a printer, serving in the police force and aspects of teaching (several times).

International Nights

These were also common events in the programme in the 1960s and 1970s.. For example, on 04 September 1967, Whitley Bay club’s “Canada Night” attracted about 100 people, including Soroptimists from Darlington, Middlesbrough, Hartlepool, Morpeth, Penrith, Sunderland and Tynemouth clubs. The main event of the evening was a presentation about the President’s visit to the Toronto Convention and subsequent holiday in Canada.

Another International Night was held on 02 December 1968, which was attended by guests from Norway, Sweden, the West Indies, the Philippines, the Seychelles and the USA. Each guest was asked to talk informally about her country and its customs which led to a “pleasant and interesting evening” enjoyed by all.

The International Night was revived in the 1980s. On 15 November 1983, for example, the guests at Whitley Bay club’s International Night was Dr Syed Nadeem Ahmed from the Tyne and Wear Community Relations Council and “a group of Indian ladies and their families”. The group had formed an education class for children and young people of Indian heritage born in England so they could learn about their culture’s traditional customs, stories, songs and dances. There was a display of dancing and a demonstration of ways of arranging a sari. The group answered questions and then had informal discussion with members over refreshments.

Tynemouth Club held a Romanian Evening on 18 November 2002 and an invitation to this event survives.

Getting ‘hands on’

Practical activities in meetings were few and far between before the early part of the 21^st century. A notable exception took place at the meeting on 19 February 1973, when the speaker was an Inspector Garth Robson. His topic was hypnotism which he had studied and practised. He demonstrated his skills on volunteer members but no further details are recorded.

Member participation was encouraged in the Club meeting on 07 May 1973, when an “Out of the Hat” activity was organised. Members whose names were drawn out of a hat had to speak for one minute of a subject which they also drew from a hat.  The activity does not appear to have been repeated.

On 18 January 1983, 23 members and 13 guests enjoyed a demonstration of the Fri-Fri, “a Swiss made electric domestic fryer” during which a number of tasty snacks were cooked. There was, of course, an opportunity to purchase “the utensil” after the demonstration but we don’t know how many members availed themselves of the offer.

Club programmes

From the 1990s onwards, the records include annual programmes which give us an insight into themes and interests. The earliest surviving programme dates from 1993-1994.