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Foreword... with thanks to Bill Dancer

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Many of Whitstable's entertainments of the '20s and '30s were never reinstated when peacetime returned to Europe in 1945. It took some time for the country to recover and that meant youngsters were left to their own devices. In the post war years, we often played on what we called "bomb sites". Some were indeed just that. Others were merely areas of decay that looked as if a bomb had hit them! We regarded bomb sites and war remnants as fun and we did so without ever appreciating the horrors that may have recorded. 

I often wonder if the explosion of talent in the Swinging '60s had its roots in the enforced creativity  the two preceding decades. Of course, there were some organisations that provided a framework within which that creativity could express itself. These included youth clubs, scout movements and Sunday schools. Often, churches were at the heart of it. 

This was very much the case up at All Saints in Church Street where the 3rd Whitstable Scouts, Guides, Cubs and Brownies found a home.... and less formal youth groups were formed. Bill Dancer explains the background in this note from his home in Canada.... 

 

IN THE BEGINNING....

Here is a little bit of narrative describing what was going on when All Saints was (relatively) "in the sticks" outside of town. 

Historically, All Saints Church  sponsored a Cub Pack shortly after World War II and there followed a Scout Troop a short time after that. 

A Junior Youth Fellowship started a little later, possibly '48, and, later still, a Senior Youth Fellowship was established. 

Bill

Bill Dancer
Victoria
British Columbia
Canada

  

Thus the scene is set for our other pages on the youth groups of All Saints. However, let me just pick up a very important point from Bill's message. 

Even as late as the 1940s and 1950s, the Church Street area still somewhat separate from the centre of Whitstable. It was surrounded by fields that supported dairy farming and it retained much of its original village feel. At the same time, it was integrating with the main town and its youth groups drew members from a wide catchment area.  

Now let's go back to our menu and pick up some detail from our other pages!

 

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