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South Bank Boys Clubs
I suppose Danny Ireland's Victoria Athletics Club was the first Boys Club (before my time) where they specialised in boxing. Although Danny had been hospitalised as a child which resulted in him having a withered leg he trained many boys in the noble art including his brother who became a champion.
St John's Boys Club.
This was the first club that I became a member of along with Joe McLay. It was run by Bert Molinaux who lived in King Street and it was in a wooden building in the field behind the church running parallel to Redcar Road East. It had one or two(?) snooker tables and a table tennis table with small tables on which to play any of the many board games available. I also seem to remember mugs of cocoa been handed out!
The Branch End Boys Club
This was my second club and was in the shade of a slagtip. Again it was a wooden building with similar activities to the John's Club plus boxing and baseball. That's about all I can remember of it.
The club hit the news when, in later years, they allowed a keen boatman to build a catamaran inside and a fatal accident occurred with one of the helpers. As if that wasn't bad enough they had to practically demolish the building to get the boat out!
No doubt there'll be more on this page!
I was right! I got an e-mail from our old friend Michael McLoughlin in Oz:
The mention of the boys club at Branch End - it was next to the Branch School. It certainly was a wooden building - during the depression years it became the Dole School. When I used to pass this same school - I was just an immature youth - really did not even know what a dole school meant. I do remember that unemployed people had to work for the dole pittance -including my dad - him working on building the new trunk road which ran from Middlesbrough to Redcar. I know now that this institution was merely just for political propaganda purposes for sure - there was no jobs available - more so on Teesside during that decade - the devils decade - the age of the "means test" man lurking around corners.
Michael seems to have had as many bad memories as good ones. Then Ritchie Sharples added to the story.
The Boys Club had classes in Gymnastics (Ritchie was in that) and was used by Bob Campbell for his weight training and was a base for Malcolm Pidgeon's boxing aspirations. Bob later worked as a "chucker-out" at the Coatham Windsor ballroom before becoming Charlie Amer's right-hand man.
Ann Binns in New Zealand spotted this bit and puts us right.
Just read some more 'Slaggy' tit-bits, and came across Bob Campbell being a bouncer for Charlie Amer - well Bob is Charlie's brother-in-law. Charlie - or Charles as he
liked to be known - was married to Olive Campbell. Can you remember them from South Terrace? Mrs. Campbell lived next door to us at 84 (we were in 86). Ken still lived at home, but Bob was married and he actually lived opposite us when we lived in Maxton Road and Annette, their daughter, and I used to play together. Their son Eric was married and lived in Preston, while son Ray was also married, I think, but lived in South Bank somewhere. How's that for a bit of trivia Thanks Ann.
St Peters Boys Club
The hut in which this club operated was at the end of Redcar Road (back of Aire Street) and eventually burnt down. Dan Pluck reckoned he knew the culprit! In its heyday the club was sometimes used for public dances and The Peter's scouts and cubs also used it for their meetings.
Discussion time in the Cleveland, Normanby, came up with more!
Edwards Boys Club
This was in another Institute which was next to the Junction (any info on that?) and was also known as Smith's Dock Boys Club and according to Ritchie Sharples it was later moved to York Street above Kendra's Pawn Shop and specialised in boxing!
The Cub Hut
I don't know anything about this one which comes from Steve Gollogly in Canada who tells us:
The cub hut was over the gasworks near his home in Shinwell Crescent and he names what he calls "the cub hut families"!
The Hanley's, Cooper's, Hall's, Steve's family, the Whelan's, Lee's, Tuck's, another family of Gollogly's who were no relation, the Webb's, Morgan's, Neasham's and the Leach's! You'll be hearing more from Steve elsewhere on the site!
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St. John's Boys Club
 | St.John's Football Team
Back row l-r: Geoff Myers, Malcolm Thornton, Peter Howe, Terry Tasker, Joe McLay, John Chard.
Front row: ?, Ted Reed, Trevor Payne, ?, Derek Tye.
Photo from John Chard. |
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The Sea Scouts
 | Outside St. John's about 1946
l-r: ?, Alan Yates, Tommy (Sonny) Wyke, Captain Eddie Perry, Dickie Griffin, Dennis Johnson.
The Sea Scouts held their meetings in St.John's Boys Clubhouse. This photo was taken as they were about to set off on a weekend camp. |
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St Peter's Boys Club 1
 | Scalby One
Photo from Bernard Conway
Back Row: Peter Pepper, Jack Feeney, Frank Dimauro.
Centre: Dick Griffin, Tot McArthur, Jim Trodden, Ken Carney, Tom King, Kev Martin, Tony Robinson.
Front: Billy Kirkbright, Bernard Conway, ? Best, John Breen.
I received an e-mail from Chris McElvaney as follows:
"I have been accessing your marvellous site for some time now and I recently showed it to my father Bernard Conway (who will shortly be 75). He thought it was great and had recently been in contact with some people who had been on a holiday with him in the early 1950s as part of St Peter's Boys Club (not the same one mentioned in your site). I attach a word file with the holiday info, the names of the people on the photos and the photos as separate files. I hope that you will be able to include this information and at least one of the photos on the site under the Boys Clubs heading. Thanks,
Chris McElvaney."
I see no reason to stop at one photo when you've sent five. Nice to see my old friends the Kirkbrights. Dick.
"St. Peter's Boys Club was founded in 1951, situated on the top floor of St. Peter's Infants School on Middlesbrough Road. The Club soon became a hive of activity with openings in the evenings and Sunday afternoons.
Bernard Conway was appointed Club Leader, and a host of activities began. These included indoor games of snooker and billiards, table tennis, and darts and card games. Outside, the Club ran a very successful football team under the direction of Mr James Trodden. New ventures were tried, including a successful athletics meeting, the team being trained by Mr George Reed.
A further happy memory was of Bernard Conway taking a week's camping holiday at Wrea Head, Scalby, Scarborough with fourteen of the boys. This turned out a very happy occasion indeed, as for most of the boys this was their first venture under canvas. We had some good laughs, one being when one of the boys forgot to close up the big tent and when we got back, the cows in the field had been in, with the inevitable result. So we had cow pie for tea!!
Chris McElvaney."col default] |
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St. Peter's Boys Club 2
 | Scalby Two
Photo from Bernard Conway
Back Row: Bernard Conway, Ken Carney, Peter Pepper, Jack Feeney.
Front: Tony Robinson, Tom King, Jim Trodden, Vince Kirkbright, Tot McArthur.
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St. Peter's Boys Club 3
 | bold on]Scalby Three
Photo from Bernard Conway
Back Row: Frank Dimauro, Jimmy Lacey, John Breen, Peter Pepper, Dick Griffin, Jack Feeney.
Centre: Tot McArthur, Ken Carney, Tom King, Kevin Martin.
Front: Vince Kirkbright.
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St. Peter's Boys Club 4
 | Scalby Four
Photo from Bernard Conway
l-r: Tom King, Peter Pepper, Jim Trodden, Vince Kirkbright, Ken Carney, Jack Feeney. |
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St. Peter's Boys Club 5
 | Scalby Five
Photo from Bernard Conway
Back Row: Vince Kirkbright, Jim Trodden, Ken Carney, Jack Feeney, Tom King.
[Front Row: Bernard Conway (Boss), Bill Kirkbright, Peter Pepper, Tony Robinson.
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