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Mr Eric Pryer, (June 19999)

When Eric read, in May1999's issue of the village magazine, the mention that Harold Laws had made of the Social Club he just had to contact me ‘to put the record straight.

Mr Arthur Dennington called a general meeting sometime in 1949. We met in the old RAF Gym that was situated in Fair Close opposite the old Oak Hotel.

We formed a committee of the following people: -

Mr Jim Challis – President. (Jim kept The Ship Inn)
Mr A. Dennington – Chairman
Mr Eric Pryer – Secretary
Mr F. Eyres – Treasurer
Mr G. Butcher – Committee member
Mr Les. Wright - Committee member
Mr Fred Wright - Committee member
Mr Harold Maggs - Committee member
Mr Ray Parnell - Committee member

It was decided to call the club the FELTWELL EX-SERVICE CLUB.

Dances were held in the old gym and it was not long before we had £200 in the kitty. One day in early 1950 a wooden hut was advertised in the Lynn Advertiser at RAF Bircham Newton for £100. Mr Dennington and myself hired a lorry and picked it up one Saturday. It was erected by volunteers of the club with Mr Frank Curtis in charge of putting up the building.

I should add that Jim Challis gave us the plot of land off Paynes Lane/Lime Kiln and we paid him a peppercorn rent, I think of £1 per annum.

After the hut was erected Green King of Bury paid for the bar and stock room provided we bought beer off them. We then bought a full size billiard table from a Thetford Club for £100 and later on a second table was added.

The Club continued to flourish for a number of years. An extension was added later and we held dances, Whist drives and concerts in the old gym to increase our funds.

In the late 1950s a special meeting was called with the Rev A. W. Cope in the chair. A new committee was formed and the name was eventually changed to FELTWELL WORKING MEN’S CLUB.

Most of the founder members then rejoined the Royal British Legion.

Arthur Dennington was Station Warden at RAF Feltwell and lived in the house next to Spar. He was the Captain in the Home Guard when Mr Orange was the Major.

Ray Parnell was the local barber whose shop was opposite the Methodist Chapel.

I myself kept the Fish Shop in Long Lane which is still a Fish Shop.

When the gym was no longer needed by the RAF it went to Herbie Cock because it was on his land. It would have made a good village hall.

W. G. Hockley raised the money for the present RBL building but never got the praise. And there used to be a RBL Hall on the same site. (where the car park is now)

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