Children’s clubs
In our February 13 issue of Meeting Place we included a letter from Polly Kitchen about children’s clubs. Here are just some of the letters and emails we received about your memories of children’s clubs
Badges of pride
I was a great fan of children’s clubs – especially if they had a badge I could wear with pride. I was a keen member of the Cadbury C Club and also of Girl, sister publication to The Eagle. In fact, I liked badges so much that I made several from the foil caps I saved from my bottles of school milk. On each one I etched with a pencil the words Secret Society and distributed them among my classmates!
Mary Cook, Gainsborough
On song
I belonged to the Cliff Richard Fan Club and Tiger Tims Club. I still have the badges! Does anyone else remember these?
Pauline Fisher, Telford, Shropshire
Prize surprise
I won a prize in Colin Cadbury’s C clubs of a small packet of chocolate orange creams. To this day I have never eaten any chocolate orange creams that were so tasty and delicious but then again, treats like this were in very short supply in 1949.
Lillian Sheldon, West Midlands
Making headlines
I remember the Ebb and Flo club in one of the daily newspapers. I was about nine years old – I’m 95 now – and it was very exciting. I received a badge and a secret password, and also up-todate news of other members, with a newssheet. I always looked forward to Dad passing me ‘my own’ page in the newspaper which featured club news. Dorothy Stone, Sheffield
Here come the Ovaltineys!
I remember being in the Ovaltineys when I was young. I listened to their programme on the radio on Sunday nights. We used to have an Ovaltineys badge and a booklet which I remember included a secret code!
Dorothy Marchant, Hereford
Gloopers were all smiles
Way back in the Twenties I was a member of the Gloops Club that appeared in the Evening Chronicle, a daily newspaper in the north-east. Gloops was a cat that had such adventures. The motto of the club was, ‘If your face wants to smile, let it. If it doesn’t, make it’. I had a membership certificate, a handkerchief with the badge embroidered in one corner and still have the tin badge. Edna Ralph, Northumberland
Odeon mischief
Every Saturday morning, aged ten, I used to go the Odeon cinema in Rhyll. We used to sing, ‘Every Saturday morning where do we go, getting into mischief, oh dear no, to the Mickey Mouse Club, with our badges on, every Saturday morning at the O-DE-ON!’ I had a bottle of pop and creamcrackers with lemon curd! Elizabeth Stewart, Northants
Tiny Tot honour
I had the honour of being able to put initials after my name as I belonged to the Tiny Tots Order of Merit! When I was about six I received the Tiny Tots comic every week. My certificate had Tiny Tots Order of Merit at the top and said, ‘This is to let everyone know that Carolyn Butler has this day been awarded a certificate for her clever letter. Uncle Jack is glad to confer this honour. Members of the order may use the letters TTOM after their name’. Carolyn West, Isle of Wight
Secret letters
Colin Cadbury of the Cadbury C Club would send members ‘personalised’ letters! Living near the docks in a wartorn area it was wonderful to receive club magazines, competitions and your very own letters and being able to practise writing the replies.
Helen Walker, Liverpool