Chapter 13 Recreational Activities in Ludham A Ludham Football Team

This chapter is introduced by Beulah Gowing. Much of this was transcribed from recordings made a few years ago, as a result of general discussion about leisure activities in the village.

The village hall and recreation ground was built in 1926 for leisure use by public subscription, and is much used and appreciated. The large hall and raised stage has an adjoining billiard room, I don’t think the word snooker was ever used in the early days.

The King’s Arms auction bill mentioned the established bowling green in the public house sale dated 1831, and was in much demand. There was also a billiard table at the King’s Arms. A second green was laid just before the 1939 war but it was not used enough to cover the expenses. Lockers were provided in an open front pavilion, canes for measurement and a rotary pump for watering. War took many enthusiasts from the village and chickens and rabbits occupied the well kept greens. There were many other greens in the area, mostly belonging to private houses. Latchmoor was a square area taken from the field and belonged to farmer Charles Green of Beech Farm and mostly fellow tradesmen used that green. I (Beulah Gowing) delivered beer to their pavilion and to other venues when I was 14. The bowling green at the village hall was laid much later, but, they also had a double tennis court plus football and cricket pitches. Badminton was played within the hall, and table tennis was played in the Church Room and the Sloper Room. Ladies bowls teams formed at the village hall after the war.

There were small oak tables at the King’s Arms, made locally by Leonard Bush for the older card players, who argued their way through each game. The Baker’s Arms Inn also had a billiard table in a purpose built shed in the back garden. No beer pumps were installed in that public house, every pint was a journey down the cellar steps. The Bakers Arms was late in gaining a licence and had been a farm and lodging house belonging to Garrets.

Darts was popular in the army. Many were puzzled as to how, in their swift chat, the local farm labourers could really count much quicker than the army lads. There was cards, dominoes and shove halfpenny, a board game of skill (or luck) which became illegal during the war. It contravened the Gaming Act and although dice was discouraged, a furtive huddle up a corner often meant otherwise. The Dog Inn no doubt had its own teams of sports men, such as fishing matches, being very popular with men from the Yorkshire area. Sailing and rowing regattas were often seen. Boys learned to swim in the manor pond before venturing down to the main river. Ice skating took place nearly every season, from Ludham to Yarmouth perhaps. So, we had bowling, swimming, badminton, tennis, table tennis, billiards, cricket, football, board games, cards, dominoes, shove halfpenny, darts, and more recently, croquet at Folly House. Older inns had skittle alleys and quoits. There was always something going on to keep you occupied.

Beulah Gowing

The For-Get-Me-Not Club

The Ludham For-Get-Me-Not Club is a club for senior citizens. It was started by Mrs Waldron, and runs from February to the middle of December and meets once a fortnight in the Church Room.

When Mrs Waldron retired Mrs Flo Anderson who worked in the shop at Ludham Bridge asked if Mrs Paul would see to the running of the For-Get-Me-Not Club otherwise it would close down. Mrs Paul who had not long been at Ludham Bridge, was enthusiastic but knew her time was limited as she was a very busy lady. She was persuaded that it would not be an onerous job to do, just to collect the sixpences each week from the members! The club was much smaller then and most of the members were really old. Nurse Attoe was a competent treasurer and Mrs Paul had very good helpers, Marjorie Sheldrake, in particular, who helped with her wonderful cake stalls at all the sales. Mrs Hill and Mrs Sayer were also very helpful ladies. At Christmas a turkey was cooked at home and taken down to the church room with all the trimmings and afterwards they had an evening party with games. Mrs Paul’s husband, Ken, was good at organising and they had a lot of fun.

The usual afternoon activity for the club was playing bingo for small prizes with various other competitions as well. A lovely tea was provided by all the helpers. In the summer the club went to Ludham Bridge and had tea in the garden. One or two venturesome ones went out in a boat. They had outings to Gorleston where they ate wonderful fish and chips and went to shows on Yarmouth pier. Mrs Paul stated “ I found this a big responsibility, I was nervous of losing someone!” Mrs Paul also said “ I really enjoyed it and carried on running the club until Mrs Alexander came along. She had experience of running a big club before she came to Ludham and I could see she was the ideal one to hand over to”.

Bingo is still played today for approximately 45 minutes followed by tea, consisting of sandwiches and cakes provided very generously by a team of willing helpers who are also club members.
To help raise money they hold jumble sales in the spring and autumn, a strawberry tea in the summer and a Christmas bazaar in late November.

They still go on outings, usually 3 times a year, which can be to a garden centre, a variety show or a boat trip. To extend the Christmas festivities they now go out for a post Christmas lunch during the first week of January.

The Wives Group

The aim of the wives group has always been to support other worthy charities. The group was started as the ‘Young Wives Group’ by Mrs Searle and Mrs Sloper.

In 1977 there were 34 members with 11 visitors during the year. In those days membership was 25p with weekly subs of 15p, visitors 20p. The first Jumble sale made £56.93 in 1977 and the Charity for that year received £25. President Mrs Gregory with the help of her husband Alan and The Young Wives Group started up the Fun Run in 1982. The sum recorded is £217.72 made by this event and was donated to Ludham Village Hall. In1983 it raised £411.69 with a donation of £200 to the Parish Seat, in 1984 it raised £516.90 with £311 going to the Play Area and in 1985 it raised £607.74 , given to Norfolk Accident rescue.

As this yearly event was getting too big for Wives to handle it eventually passed to the Ludham Parish Council. Also, as the membership of the group got older it was decided to rename it ‘Wives Group’ as it still is today. All age groups are however very welcome.

The Wives always meet fortnightly on a Thursday in the Sloper Room at 8pm when they have speakers from many walks of life. They also have outings to a variety of local places. They work to raise money for charity through jumble sales, bring and buy, raffles and a annual wayside stall on Baker’s Green.

They financed the making of the Mardle Seat and its continued upkeep and into the twenty first century saw them volunteer to help at the New Year Fireworks Display for the village.

An Extract From The Parish Newsletter - 1984

Some of the charities ’The Wives’ have supported are:

Air Ambulance            £444.00        Hearing Dogs            £200.00        Louise Hamilton    £100.00

Chapel Toilet                  61.66         Caister Lifeboat         £300.00        Isunami Dis           £100.00

St. Matthews               £300.00         Charter Fair                £300.00       Breast Cancer        £300.00

Crossroads                   £200.00         Quideham                   £250.00       Macmillan            £250.00

Help For Heroes          £600.00         Sailing for Disabled    £600.00       Mrs Khambata       £25.00

Nelson Journey            £600.00         Homeless                    £600.00        School                 £500.00

Methodist Chapel        £300.00


In 1988 a cheque for £1000 was presented by Graham Smith, an organiser of the Ludham Fun Run, to Dr Bob Jarvis, of Ludham Surgery. The money raised was to be used for an electrically-operated couch for the surgery. Thanks were extended to the Ludham Wives Group and all the helpers, competitors and sponsors.

Left to right:

Elspeth McCambley, Rita Lumley, Janet Smith, Dr Bob Jarvis,
Graham Smith, Betty Holand, Doreen Lloyd, Dorothy Xxxx

The seat at the top of Horsefen Road, was made by Mike Fuller and has the inscription "Sit you down and mardle". The money was raised by a mini marathon fun run organised by Sheila Gregory and the Ludham Wives Group. The seat was presented to Ludham Parish Council on 25th March, 1984.

In 1987, £200 was raised for the Big C Appeal. Members of the Ludham Wives Group and visitors met at the home of Mrs R. Brown where everyone sat in the garden and enjoyed an American supper.

Among the guests were Mrs Marlene Stevens and Mrs Ann Barley, representatives from the Big C appeal. A cheque for £200 was presented to Mrs Stevens by Mrs Sheila Gregory who said this was the money raised from the Ludham Fun Run. Mrs Stevens expressed her thanks to everyone who had taken part in raising the money for the Big C Appeal. A bring and buy stall made £5.
The president, Mrs C. Mobbs, thanked Mrs Brown for the use of her garden for a most enjoyable evening.

Wives Donation To The Laura Jayne Smith Trust In 1989:



The Ludham Wives Group meeting opened with the presentation of a cheque for £200 to Mrs Jane Edmonds on behalf of the Laura Jayne Smith Trust which members agreed was a worthy charity.

Laura Jayne, whose home is in Potter Heigham, is blind, has brain damage and suffers from cerebral palsy. Mrs Edmonds, a leading figure in the appeal for money to help the little girl's parents look after her, thanked Wives Group members for their kindness towards Laura Jayne. This was the group's first meeting after the Easter recess and the vice-president, Mrs Elspeth McCambley, was in the chair. The cheque presentation was followed by a talk and demonstration on the history of puppets. Ted and Stephanie Rowe, of Zodiac Puppets, showed how intricate the little figures are. Their talk fascinated members at this well attended meeting, and Mrs Janet Smith proposed a vote of thanks on behalf of an appreciative audience.

The Presentation Of Yet Another Cheque for Charitable Purposes - The Date Is Unknown

<Picture> wives 7 and 8

A Typical Meeting In The Latter Stages Of The 20th Century

The Ludham Mini Marathon Fun Run Mrs Shiela Gregory with her husband, and helped by the Ludham Wives Group, was the instigator of the Ludham Mini Marathon Fun Run in 1982. Over the years much money for charity was raised through this enjoyable, fun event. The villagers and nearby neighbours were only too willing to take part. Fun was to be had by all. The first lady home was Caroline Mobbs.

In 1985 about one hundred contestants turned up for the annual Ludham Mini Marathon Fun Run. The event was organised as usual by Sheila Gregory and the Wives group. The Wives stated that nearly £800 had been raised for the surgery.

“It was the best we’ve ever raised”. The money was to buy one or two radio sets to be used in conjunction with the Norfolk Accident Rescue Service. The winner of the fun run was Mr Tony Barber from Sutton and the first lady home was Mrs Penny Brown. Neil Metcalfe was third picking up the trophy for the under 11’s section. Anthony Lavender and Hayley Forton were winners in the 11 – 16 section. Mr Mike Spanky won the fancy dress with his caveman’s outfit.

The fun run in 1986 made £793 for the Eastern Daily Press ‘Cherish That Child’ appeal This fund with help from all over the county was close to the establishment and running of a Child Protection Team.

£850 was raised in 1987 in aid of the Toy Library for handicapped children in Norwich. The trophies that day were presented by Mrs Joyce Newham from the centre. Amongst the trophies won, Simon Crawshaw and Peter Durley walked away with the fancy dress trophy as Zulu warriors complete with canoe and spears.

An enormous £1000 was raised in 1988 and went to the benefit of Ludham surgery. This time the money was spent on an electrically operated couch which would be a great asset to the village health care. Yet again there was a good turnout in 1989 with the sun shining brightly on all who took part or came to watch. Many participants wore fancy dress and the magnificent sum of £3,700 was raised for the charity ‘Break’. This was a charity giving parents of children with long term congenital conditions, the opportunity of a break. A new cup was introduced by Guy and Tommy Thrower for the first Ludham resident to complete the course. It was won by Anthony Moffat in 28.02 minutes. The fancy dress winners were Barrie Marshall as grandma, Laura and Catherine Cordiner and Nicola Blake as cheer leaders and Katie Mobbs as a fairy.

The Fun Run bought a piano and play gear in 1990 with 113 people taking part. It raised £1458 to be shared between the Ludham First School and the Children’s Playground Appeal. Yet another trophy was introduced by the directors of Moores of Stalham – The Airfield Trophy. This was for the first person, home resident or employed, in the three airfield parishes namely Catfield, Ludham and Potter Heigham.

Despite the coldest weather yet with winds and rain hampering contestants 130 people took part in the 10th annual fun run event. Sheila Gregory who had been the instigator of this event was invited to return to present the trophies. Childline was the chosen main charity but also money was used for a commemorative tree and seat for the village.

The Ludham Fun Run Charities:

1982            Ludham Village Hall
1983            Circular seat for Womack Corner and Grapevine Talking Newspaper for the Blind.
1984            Equipment for the Children’s Playground, and Norfolk & Norwich Big ‘C’ appeal.
1985            Norfolk Accident Rescue Service.
1986            EDP ‘Cherish that Child’ appeal.
1987            Norwich Toy Library for handicapped children.
1988            Ludham Surgery. Multi purpose electrically controlled couch.
1989            ‘Break’ Sherringham.
1990            Ludham First School and the Children’s Playground appeal.
1991            Commemorative seat and tree for the village and Childline.

This community spirited village event carried on into the 21st century but unfortunately eventually ceased. Perhaps someone in the future will come forward and be the leading light to get it going agai

The Judo Club and Wolfgang Bubenzer

Having run a Judo club for 25 years in London, not long after we came to Ludham someone suggested “ why not start one here”. Yes why not? I missed it actually. There were a lot of children running around with nothing to do so it would be an ideal thing for them. First of all I went to the Parish Council and I have to say, Billy Sloper was an angel, he was on our side right from the word go. There were a few doubting Henrys there, but Billy Sloper and Arthur Gower, they were the two who really supported my idea of running a Judo Club in Ludham. It was going to be in the village hall so the council said that provided we raised the money for the equipment, they would purchase it all and save us paying the VAT. My girlfriend and I went round knocking on every door in Ludham, explaining that we were going to start a Judo Club for the youngsters, and we needed £250 for the equipment to get it going, the mats, the canvas, the woods and all the rest of it. When we had got the money together I held the first meeting. By this time word had got round and lots of parents came down with their children, and I said, “If you want to enrol your boy or girl it will cost you 30p a week. From 6 o’clock to 7.30”. We got at least 30 signed up on the night and I went back to the council with the money and they bought the equipment.

We started to set up the club, making arrangements to get the judo suits for the children from Manchester. If wasn’t long before we had a thriving club called Ludham Broadland Judo Quai. My son did a badge motive and we had one stitched, which could then be sewn onto the front of the jacket, and also Ludham Judo Quai had been printed on the back of their jackets. I managed to persuade my boss at work to donate 50 track suits, all with the club name on the back and the badge on the front, at no charge to the club. So all the children and grownups all looked the same, all had the same suit and all wore the same clothes, all little red devils they were. It was great and we had a really good club. We started taking the children away, and, other judo clubs used to come down and join us, staying with the parents of children who did Judo in Ludham. We had the same invitation out to places like Lancashire and Wales, where our children stayed with their parents, did Judo on the Saturday and Sunday morning, then went down to the beach, or we climbed a mountain in Wales and came home again for Sunday night.

This went on for quite a long time and then they decided to have a committee, and ultimately, that killed off the club. Judo is very autocratic. Whoever is in charge, is absolutely in charge, and in London, for 21 years I was in absolute charge of the club, and no-one, unless he was a higher Dan grade would argue with you. If he was a higher Dan grade, you said yes sir, three bags full sir. That’s a typical Japanese attitude. I had had several National Champions in London, and I had 3 youngsters here from Sutton who looked likely to become National Champions as well in their own grade. But the powers that be (the committee members) thought they knew better, so I said “Fine, it’s all yours”, and I walked out and the club folded about 9 months later.

I must name a few more that helped out. Nicky Brooks, Alan King, Rodney Wright, Nicki Haslem and her brother Cliff, Sarah Firmin and Sarah Perton and quite a few more.

Some came from outside Ludham, but we had about 15 grown ups and about 40 juniors in the club.

The Ludham Womens Institute Founded In November 1935 Because of the sheer quantity of research material available for this section, we will once more adopt the technique of doing no more than dipping our toes in the water. This section will offer the reader a flavour of what was going on within each of the decades covered by this book.

First Committee
        President:            Mrs Cambie (Grandmother of Bishop of Norwich, Maurice Wood)
        Vice Presidents:    Mesdames Goldsmith Brown and Mohan.
        Committee:            Mesdames Grimes, Hacon, Riches, Rix, Anderson, Keeler,
                                England and 'Aunty' Bush.

Decided to collect stamps and silver paper for the hospitals.

July 1940
Committee Meeting note - Tea ration discussed and two members, Mesdames Carter and
Sayer promised to bring some to make enough     to last the year.

No More Monthly Records Were Kept Until 1944

1944
Mrs Ankerstein gave talk about her life in occupied Poland, of the oppression and
her escape to England.

A War Savings Group was started by Miss Goodey.

Plans for 'Salute the Soldier' Week.

Volunteers were asked to knit garments for liberated countries.

It was decided to start a Market Stall. It was a great success, selling surplus fruit, vegetables
and flowers from members gardens. Made turnover of £112/12s/6d.

1946
A parcel of produce sent from Australia was shared by a raffle.

WI gave £1/1s/0d to local War Memorial Fund.

1947
Bad weather caused cancellation of meetings in February and March.

1949
63 members. Entered Norwich Exhibition - won a number of awards.

Canon Wake, Vicar of Catfield, was a favourite speaker at the Institute.

1950
Postage stamps collected for Children’s Hospital at Hackney.
Lady Delia Peel (Lady in Waiting) spoke of the Royal Tour of South Africa.

50 members at the Christmas Party.

1959 Speaker Miss Hoare. An amusing talk about WI particularly about welcomes at the door - the most important place of welcome. Resolutions for CAGM - 1) to form a WI Group system 2)a University College for Norwich. Demonstration by Cadbury's. There were 57 entries for Exhibition. Miss Moll again won cup. Talk on 'Life in Japan' by Mrs Howard. In June two members offered to help at a mass x-ray in the village hall. Demonstration of Sweet Making. Soft Toy Demonstration - Arrangements made for classes. Garden Meeting at home of Mrs Snelling, Hall Common. There was glorious sunshine for 3     hours. Competition, hunt for butterflies. Mrs Snelling’s children most interested, they had hidden them! Outing to Ipswich, Sudbury Silk Mills and Lavenham for tea. A talk was given by the Chief Officer of Norwich Prison. Worked in prisons for 29 years. There were 56 prisons and 28,000 prisoners. What about our prisons today - 1985!!!

Talk arranged by Mrs Bartlett, WVS on Nuclear Warfare An appeal to attend.

Whist Drive for Institute funds made £3/12s/6d. £1/18s/8d sent to Guide Dogs for blind from sale of milk bottle tops.

Three nominations for President - Mrs P Wilson re-elected.

St Dunstan's Whist Drive made £16/12s/0d. NB supported better than Institute Whist Drives.

December, Competition 1/- parcel. Entries given to Forget me not Club.

Miss Burney gave a talk on ‘Strange Meals in Strange Places'.

Christmas Party for 48 members and 18 guests. The games and supper were organised by the committee.

1969
Annual Dinner held at Sutton Staithe.

Mrs Christie was awarded the WI Goblet for 1st, 2nd and 3rd in competitions.

Support asked to oppose closure by NCC of right of way to How Hill Staithe.

Flower classes to be held for six weeks. Demonstrator Mrs George.

Keep fit classes held in Primary School. New village sign, designed by Mrs Snelling (member) and carved by Mr Freeman-Sayer, both Ludham residents. Arrangements made for rush work classes. 1979 Talk by Mrs Farrington and Mrs Sloper, with slides taken by Mrs Sloper, on their visit to Norway. Suggested that a group of trees be planted in Churchyard to obscure foundry buildings. Talk given on pewter work. Lack of support for Cambridge outing so members joined Thurne and Repps in outing to Kings Lynn.

Souvenir holiday stall suggested. Mrs Evans gave a pastry cook's tour of Europe.

Jumble Sale made £26 and Red Cross collection £87/7s/0d.
Institute exhibition, Mrs Adams & Mrs Elphick Exhibition secretaries. High standard. Mrs Elphick won the Cup.

Mrs Mason won prize in Year of the Child short story competition. Prize presented at the Assembly House Norwich.

July meeting. Ploughman's lunch held at the home of Mrs Anna Wilson.

Tree planting in Churchyard. Mrs Knight held coffee morning and Mrs Sloper a tea party to raise the necessary money for the scheme.

Subscription next year would be £2.25p.

Cake and produce stall on Bakers Arms Green £26.72p for NSPCC.

In September the speaker Mrs Hissen, gave a most vivid account of her work with the French Resistance. She was awarded the Croix de Guerre.

34 members Mrs Hall elected new President in November. 1989 42 members attended the January meeting, no apologies!. Among plans for the future was the suggestion that First Aid classes should be held. The Norfolk Association for the Disabled     would be this year's charity. A letter would be sent to NNDC Highways Department in support of the Parish Council's request for a speed limit through the village. In March members were asked for goods for the annual Jumble Sale. Once again members volunteered to keep Stocks Hill tidy for the Best Kept Village competition. First Aid classes were held in June. Mrs Crocker was thanked for excellent outing     arrangements - where did they go? Miss     Pettit would go to a meeting to discuss the future of Evelyn Suffield House. The Institute meeting was again an open evening meeting with supper.

The July Garden Meeting was hosted by Mrs D Lloyd, 45 members and guests were present, it was again a lovely afternoon for those present to enjoy the garden, the tea and each other's company.

In September members were told that the subscription for 1990 would be £7.50 and held at that for two years. A new WI constitution had been introduced. Each Institute was asked for an annual contribution of £10 toGroup funds. Members agreed to this.

On 5th October, at a special Meeting members voted for the sale of Suffield House. An outing to Bawdeswell Garden Centre was proposed. The Coach to the Christmas Fayre in Norwich would once again be free to members. Our team had represented us well at the Horning Quiz.

At the County Autumn Council Meeting 218 delegates had voted for the sale of Evelyn Suffied House with 53 against the sale.

At the Institute October Meeting it was proposed that we should hold an August Meeting, as there was too much business at the September Meeting. The August Meeting to be solely for Institute business and a social gathering. The proposal was accepted.

Annual Meeting, 10 members volunteered for committee. Mrs Crocker was elected as President.

At the December Meeting Mrs B Gowing was the first winner of the Miss Parsons tray     awarded for the highest number of competition points gained in the year.

Christmas tea was accompanied by a general knowledge quiz and Christmas Carols.

1999
Five new members were welcomed at the January meeting.

In February Joyce Ferdinand had used squares knitted by members to make a pram blanket to be sent to Romania, members were keen to take this project further. In May we held a very successful fashion show in the Church Room raising £90. This year the garden meeting was blessed with good weather and was enjoyed in Jan Bailey's garden. In September an outing to Blickling Hall was a great success and we hosted a successful Group Meeting in the village hall. Our October coffee morning raised £60 and this was donated to Ludham Play Group.

In November Jan Bailey was re-elected President and we finished the year with a very good lunch at The Bridge, Filby and a delightful entertainment of 'music and mirth' by Eric and Rosina Jones at our December Meeting.

Drama Groups In The Village

Drama has played its part in Ludham since way back in pre-war days with entertainments, concerts, live music, comedy and drama but perhaps for this chapter, we will go back to 1945.

Here we see enthusiastic members of the community putting on a concert party which would include short sketches and lots of singing.

Possibly being staged in the late 1940’s or 1950’s, we see Marjorie Bird, Freddy Pegg, Bob Burton, John Rix, Sam Hall and Jeanne Woods.

The Manor Concert Party, 1948

Gill Jackson comments on setting up The St Benet’s Players: When I was at Salhouse the W.I. had a drama group, so, when I moved to Ludham I found that there had been the Ludham Players with Pop Snelling and some others. Pop was really helpful, she gave us some old photographs and information showing how the stage had been set up. Maybe we could get the Village Hall back in use as a theatre. Well, for a few nights every year, anyway.

I had been to a talk given by Herbert Mitchell, the County Drama Organiser. I was interested in his talk and later, I phoned him up and said I’d got some friends, and that we’d like to start a group, could he advise us? He said, ‘Form yourselves and then get me to come out’, so we started.

The St. Benet’s Players, named after the nearby St. Benet’s Abbey were first formed in June 1974. The inaugural meeting was held in Ludham School and was attended by 14 people and that was just by putting posters in the village. As a result of that, a committee was elected consisting of John Wythes (Chairman), Gill Jackson (Secretary), Stan Gibbs (Treasurer) and John Affleck (Business Manager).

Herbert Mitchell came along and talked to us about licences and performing rights, because if you don’t have the licence to perform you could be closed down, then everybody gets disappointed and probably fined as well, so it’s not worth trying to avoid it. We do try, both then and now, to write our own material which allows us to be a bit freer with costs and things like that.

The Artistic Director for the first production was Muriel Affleck. Mr and Mrs Underwood kindly lent their Barn at Albury House for a coffee evening to help raise funds for the group, and the ‘Players’ also had a wayside stall and a jumble sale during that summer to help with the funds needed for the first production, a comedy called ‘With Vacant Possession’ written by Wilfred Massey. It was a sell out on the first night with standing room only for late comers. The comedy was about two families renting the same house. The press claimed that the outstanding performances in the cast of ten (some of whom had never acted before) were Lynn Freeman and Joan Wyths who stepped in at the last minute. The producer, Muriel Affleck, was also congratulated by the press ‘for getting so much out of the cast who had so much raw talent that had to be shaped into its first real performance’. Membership of the group spiralled in the months following the inauguration, with membership coming not only from Ludham, but also Horning, Stalham, Sea Palling and elsewhere. They also had hopes of perhaps putting on a serious drama such as an Agatha Christie.

They then ventured into the realms of a musical with ‘Let’s all Go on the Broads’, again written by Mu Affleck. As well as the players it included ‘The Dancing for Pleasure’ group and members of the ‘Stalham Choral Society’ directed by CHE Moggs.

Other Notable Productions: October 1974            With Vacant Possession January 1975            The Other Cinderella October 1975            Murder At The Vicarage September 1976        Fish Out Of Water June 1977                Blithe Spirit December 1977        Wild Goose Chase March 1978            Mystery At Blackwater July 1978                Reluctant Debutants January 1979            Last Voyage of the SS Randoon May 1979                Cat on the Fiddle December 1979        Snow White March 1980            Thriller of the Year July 1980                No Time for Fig Leaves December 1980        Sleeping Beauty

The cast of

‘Last Voyage of the SS Randoon’

Clubs, Associations and Activities For Young People

Yvonne Boldy recalled what the youngsters used to do to entertain themselves.

In times gone by school outings were very rare, only London once on a coach, not to the seaside or anything. We went out more with the Sunday School. I loved the Sunday school. The Church room was packed with children and there were about four or five teachers. My teacher was Peggy Lumbard who lived near Ludham Bridge, she was very good. There were no after school activities, we used to go and play at Womack in and out of the brick kilns, and we used to go for walks, it was so safe for us to walk round Ludham. We used to do a lot of bird nesting, which seems awful now, but everyone did it then and I used to play in the brass band too.
We never went on the river, but I did a lot of fishing with my dad at Little Holland and at Hunters boatyard. We never ate them, but we did have relations living on the coast at Eccles and Sea Palling, and my dad used to do a lot of sea fishing with my brother, cousins and uncles.
We didn’t have Guides or Brownies, but we did have the Girls Friendly Society (or on bad nights it was the Girls Fighting Society!) run by Mrs Anderson.

The Girls Friendly Society’ was officially established in England on 1st January 1875 by Mary Elizabeth Townsend, an Irish clergyman’s daughter married to the wealthy Frederick Townsend. She once wrote “If the power of rescue work will be so increased by organisation, why should no work be organised to save from falling?” In modern terminology, from its inception GFS was concerned with prevention.”

Yvonne Boldy continues: “One year my name was pulled out of a hat and I was sent on a holiday to the Isle of Wight for a week and I went with Margaret Woods. She was homesick and they wanted me to go home with her, but I wouldn’t be persuaded so I stayed and she had to have someone sent home with her. It was a lot of fun. Mrs Anderson took us on the train and across London to hand us over at Southampton to a lady who took us on the ferry to the Isle of Wight.

Mrs Anderson got cross with me for putting my head out of the train window and because it was a steam train I got smuts all over my face. I remember her damping her handkerchief with spit to wipe it over my face. You could never do that today, and of course the smuts didn’t come off. It was the first time I had been on a train. It was wonderful, I was very lucky to win it. Other girls went on other years. She was a wonderful lady, Mrs Anderson.

The Girls Friendly Society (GFS) did things like knitting and sewing and drawing which I loved. We played games too, a bit like the Guides and Brownies are today, but no camping. It was held in the Church Rooms on a Monday evening for about an hour and a half. I have two certificates in my possession in the original frames, but you can barely read them now.

There was no Boys Friendly Society, the boys used to just play football. We did a lot of plays at the school and the lady at the Manor, Mrs Brookes, who was at one time Mrs Armytage had us there and we had plays and dressing up, very family orientated and everybody took part in it.

Helen Watson has said that when she was about 8 years old there were no guides in the village so she joined The Girls Friendly Society which had been established in 1875. It was a registered charity working to support girls and young women in England and Wales then later she joined the Young Peoples Union which was a religious Youth Club for boys and girls.

In the late 40’s there was a Youth Club started up in the Sloper Room on Tuesday evenings and in the village hall on Friday evenings. A young lady called Carol Willoughby was one of the table tennis players! There used to be country music, table tennis and snooker available and a record player which was somewhat noisy according to Billy Wight. It was where he did all his courting! Kathleen Sloper commented that: “One thing was wonderful - the vicar used to come in every Friday night. He was always interested in what the youngsters were doing and also, in their education. That was the Reverend Fred Smith. He used to come in with his big black Homburg hat and one of the boys used to get hold of it and they used to be inclined to hide it from him. He was so interested in the youngsters and I did admire him for coming in every Friday evening”

Carol Willoughby has stated that “At a later date, after we had the Youth Club, we also used to go down to the Vicarage on a Sunday evening and used his study as a meeting place, it use to keep us off the road and things” Joyce Birch said: “We had Brownies in Ludham – in the Church Room. Mrs Pegg ran the Guides and Brownies and I remember the uniform I used to wear – brown uniform with a straw hat in the summer. I never joined the Guides because I had to go to Fleggburgh – that was a wasted time for us”

Girl Guiding U.K. - Winnie Baker “Guiding in Ludham was started by Mary Hayes who lived in ‘Dormers’ on Norwich Road in Ludham. Di Stagg and I told Mary that we had both been Guides, and she said “Why don’t you come along and help? So we went along on Monday, the meeting night, and from 27th October 1971 we became assistant Guiders. Ludham guide Deborah Taylor won the movements highest award, the Queen’s Guide Certificate and the village hall was packed to capacity for the presentation. Guide leader Mrs Mary Hayes paid tribute to Deborah’s hard work, the way she had wholeheartedly supported functions in which the company had taken part and her service to others. Deborah then cut a special cake in the shape of the Trefoil Badge and decorated by assistant guider Winnie Baker. Di eventually moved and Mary retired, so I took over running the guides. At one point we had over 46 guides. As this was too many for one company Judi Gardiner opened another unit, this was called St Benet’s Guides. Sadly after a few years there was a decline in membership and the unit closed.  Over the years we have camped, youth hosteled and have been abroad to Austria, Switzerland and the Czech Republic.

Brownies also started on the 27th October 1971 and Mrs Harriman ran the unit. They met on a Monday night and had a full unit. However after a number of years there were no girls of 7 years of age so the unit closed and the remaining Brownies joined Potter Heigham Brownies and to this day any girls leaving Rainbows go straight to Potter Heigham.

Rainbows opened on 3rd March 1998. Mrs J Dunnett is the Guider with Mrs J Jox as assistant Guider. These young ones meet in the Church Room on a Wednesday night. At the start there were 15 Rainbows but as with Guides and Brownies the numbers have gone down. It seems there are no girls of Rainbow age in the village.”

Problems With The Boys Club On May 8th 1981 there was an unusual event staged by the boys of the village, it was a plea to 'Save Our Club'. Placard bearing members of Ludham Boys Club staged a silent demonstration outside the Church hall. As councillors arrived for the annual parish meeting, they were met by the protesting banner waving party of boys. The boys were demonstrating against the decision of Ludham First School head mistress, Mrs G. Carter to refuse the Boys Club permission to meet at the school on Friday nights. The banners they held carried a blunt message to the councillors; "Carter killed our club - will you bury it?" Inside the meeting one of the Boys Club leaders, Mr David Syrett said that the club had been unable to meet for 6 weeks since being told that they could no longer meet at the school on Friday nights. Also, the alternate night they had been offered, Thursday, was impossible because the 45 six to twelve year olds went to bed too late to be ready for school the next day. Those hundred or so people who packed the hall voted overwhelmingly in favour of a motion put by Mr Syrett that the parish council should support the view and make representations to the education authority that village schools be community schools and used to their full potential. The problem seemed to be that the Education Committee would not authorise the payment of cleaners after the Boys Club had finished on a Friday night.

The Womack Herons

The Womack Herons is a club for people who enjoy boating and meeting socially, and give each other help and advice.

The group was formed in the 1980’s by Wolf and Rita Bubenza, and Alan and Sheila Gregory. They put notes on boats on the staithe to see if anybody was interested in going to an inaugural meeting at the Cringles Country Club in Potter Heigham. About 30 people turned up and the Womack Herons Club was born. The name was agreed upon, and designs for a logo were also put forward and decided on.
<Picture> herons 2
The Womack Herons meet once or twice a month throughout the year. Regular events include the Launching Supper when they celebrate the end of winter and the return of the boats to the water, and the Laying Up Supper when their boats are put to bed for the winter.

Herons is a social club and as well as boating events they have lots of other activities and outings. In the summer they organise regular cruises to different Broads locations. This might be for a barbecue, or a pub lunch or picnic, or even a game of rounders. All the meetings are informal fun events, and sometimes there is a quiz, or a treasure hunt or photographic competition. Annual membership is a small number of £’s per year and contact details can always be found in the Parish News.

A personal account written by Wolf Bubenza can be found at the end of this section.

Every autumn, the Herons compete for the coveted Stan Coles Trophy. It might be a quiz, a treasure hunt or some other activity. There is always a twist to the competition and it has provided lots of entertainment over the years.

Anyone who is interested in social boating on the Norfolk Broads is welcome to join, you don't need to own a boat to be a member.

Many of the meetings take place at riverside locations and some people travel there by boat while others go by car. There are always opportunities to get a lift on one of the boats going to a meeting.

The Memories of Wolf Bubenza:

Having eventually got a Parish Mooring, I saw all those boats tied up on the Parish Moorings but no one spoke to anybody along there, they passed each other but never said hello or anything. I thought well, this is silly. If people were going on your boat and fishing off the front of your boat they would make a mess by leaving bread and ground bait and maggots crawling everywhere, so I turned a couple of them off. I thought to myself I had to do something about this so I spoke to Alan Gregory, he had his boat next to mine. I said to him what if we form a club down here. He said “Good idea” and volunteered to become the Vice Chairman and his wife volunteered to become secretary and a meeting was going to be held at Potter Heigham (Cringles). Anyway, so they were the first 2, then there was Tommy Knox and his wife, his boat was 2 boats further down, I had a chat with him as well and it wasn’t long before all 15 boats in the north and south dyke all joined up and became members of Womack Herons.

We designed a little flag, a blue one which they still have today I believe, and we also put planking down on the ground behind the boats so when we walked down to the boats we didn’t pick up all the cut grass or the mud when we went on our boats. We laid planking all the way down to the South Dyke. We were negotiating with the council to put a water tap down there or even put a water tap on every boat but they wouldn’t wear that, it was too complicated. By this time we used to do outings. The principle idea was that if someone went out and broke down he could phone in and one of us with a bigger boat would go out and tow him in.

Ludham Ladies Handicraft Guild
 

Autograph hunters meet Anglia Television personality Christine Webber at a summer sale organised by Ludham Lades’Handicraft Guild. The event raised £600 for the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association and the Lockwood Donkey Santuary at Wormley in Surrey.

The Workers’ Education Association (W.E.A.)

The Ludham Branch of the Workers’ Educational Association (W.E.A.) was founded in 1903. It is a charity dedicated to bringing high-quality, professional education into the heart of a community. With the support of nearly 3,000 volunteers, 2,000 tutors and over 10,000 members, they deliver friendly, accessible and enjoyable courses for adults from all walks of life.
The WEA also has a special mission to raise aspirations and develop educational opportunities for the most disadvantaged. This includes providing basic maths, English and IT skills for employment; courses to improve health and wellbeing; creative programmes to broaden horizons and community engagement activities that encourage active citizenship.

Ludham Branch: Worker’s Educational Association - 1964/5 report by Phyllis Goodey
The local branch of the W.E.A. was transferred from Potter Heigham in 1960.
The group meets in the school weekly during the winter terms, with a coffee evening reunion before the beginning of the winter season. A pleasant interlude occurs during each meeting when coffee, made by Mrs Bird, is served with biscuits. This usually provides an opportunity to begin the very useful informal discussion which is an important part of every lecture.

A wide variety of topics have been studied, from Archeology to Mass media, from Music to Biology. During the winter of 1964/65 the first subject was the ‘Background to the New Testament’ with Miss Thicknesse, who knew her subject well, and made the Bible characters and the ordinary man really come alive and encouraged us all to do some quite deep reading around the subject. Then followed a second course on Art with Mr. Hamilton Wood. An interesting evening occurred when twenty members visited Norwich Castle Museum to study the paintings exhibited in the Contemporary Art Exhibition under Mr Hamilton Wood’s guidance. However some members did not feel they could appreciate fully some of the paintings, although all felt that they had been helped considerably towards some understanding of Modern Art.

During 1964/65 the membership was 31 and among us were an artist, a farmer, a doctor, a solicitor some teachers and even some students.

The group is hoping for courses on Anthropology and Norfolk Natural History during the season of 1965/66 and members are keen to resume attendance at these most enjoyable and instructive evenings.

Phyllis Goodey

A comprehensive survey of Ludham village was compiled by the Ludham Branch of the W.E.A. group in 1980 following a course on Industrial archeology.

The group members were:
L. Carter                M. Hayes                D. Sayer                J. Clarke                  S. Hayton
J. Sayer                  C. England             M. Keeler              M. Walton                P. Goodey
N. Legg                  B. Winwood           B. Gowing            J. Mchennan             J. Young
D. Hayes                O. Mason                P. Young

The full survey can be found on the Ludham Community Archive Website. To see the report follow this link

The Ludham Society
 
Taken from the Ludham Village Directory 1984:



The Ludham Society came into being in 1978 at a time when there was dispute over the right of way at How Hill for public access to the staithe.

The Ludham Society held a picnic on the staithe to support the right of way issue and worked with the parish council and the Ramblers Association to fight for it to stay open. The society with Martin Walton as chairman, evolved into a society for the protection of rights of way and amenities in Ludham. They helped protect hedgerows and roadside verges as well as actively taking part in tree planting schemes for the village. They also kept a eye on buildings within the village, especially those that were listed or had specific covenants. The group was affiliated to the CPRE and the Ramblers Association. They held monthly footpath and bridleway walks covering all the paths around the village in order to keep them open. They had a tree nursery in the Manor grounds which helped them provide and plant about 200 trees in and around Ludham until the task was eventually taken over by the County Council. They were responsible for the introduction of the school wild garden so that the children would develop an awareness of nature in a safe environment.

Gradually the society introduced talks on the countryside, planning, architecture and local history so that the members were well informed. There had been issues with local farmers and the start of an annual farm walk was a way to understand the working life of the farm and farming legislation.

As a village, we owe much to the members of Ludham Society, for they gave us our tree lined roads and kept many footpaths open for us to enjoy.

The Playgroup and The Mother and Toddler Group

Again, taken from the Ludham Village Directory in 1984, there were facilities for the young in the village as can be seen from these cuttings.

ROYAL BRITISH LEGION - LUDHAM BRANCH

It is known that the Ludham Branch of the British Legion was formed in 1944-5 from the local Catfield and District Branch.

The joining fee in, 1944, was 1/- (5p) rising to  3/-(15p) per year. The numbers for 1944-5 were 45 members and it increased to 102 by 1946-7, after men had returned from the war; later it rose to the all time high of 124 on the register and stayed that way until around the late 1970’s when it started to fall to 35-40 members at the turn of the century.

The Ludham Branch also ran the house to house Poppy Appeal until there were no members to do the collections. The complete grounds of How Hill would be open at least one Sunday per year when the entrance fee would be donated to Ludham branch funds.

Later there were also xmas parcels delivered to the older members or their dependants. Nowadays every penny has to be agreed by head office before spending. By June 2006 there were not enough members to run it so it was closed.

The Cricket Team

A Pre War Team

Football In The Village

There were many football teams and leagues in the area through the century, but there is relatively little reference information to pass on to the reader.

An early team, the names and the date are uncertain

Winners in 1937 - 38

Billy Wright played football for many years in Ludham, mostly as centre half.
When asked if they had any successes he declared:

“We won the Norwich and District League, the North East Village League, the Pierce Cup, and the Broadland Cup. I’ve still got all the cups and medals that go with it. I also ran the tennis club, and played tennis and badminton. I played cricket for a couple of years but unfortunately, the cricket folded and was never taken on again.”

Winners in 1947 - 48

John Youngs played for a Ludham football team

“We were, at that time I think, playing in various leagues in the Norwich and District football, also we played in the first division Norwich and we played Gothics Norwich Defiance. We played in quite a good league then.  Joyce’s dad used to run the line and we used to pick the team in The Baker’s Arms.  We did that for several years.

Old Harry Warren used to go down the cellar and get us a pint ‘out of time’. There were Ron Belson, Billy Chapman’ Gordon Barber, Billy (Slug) Bensley, Ray Osbourne, Michael Goodwin and myself . We were a good football team and everyone played for a place in the team. I was captain for several years but you were never sure of your place, you had to earn it.”

Winners in 1959 - 60

The Bowls Clubs

Bowls clubs have been in Ludham village in some form or other since the early 1800’s.

The King’s Arms auction bill mentioned the established bowling green in the public house sale dated 1831, and was in much demand. A second green was laid just before the second world war but it was not used enough to cover the expenses. Lockers were provided in an open front pavilion, canes for measurement and a rotary pump for watering.

A Pre-War Team

Entrance to the Bowling Green at the Kings Arms

War took many enthusiasts from the village and chickens and rabbits occupied the well kept greens. There were many other greens in the area, mostly belonging to private houses. Latchmoor was a square area taken from the field belonging to farmer Charles Green of Beech Farm and mostly fellow tradesmen used that green. Beulah Gowing delivered beer to their pavilion and to other venues when she was 14.

The bowling green at the village hall was laid much later. Ladies bowls teams formed at the village hall after the war.

Bowls Team at the Manor early in the 1930’s

Shown here (amongst others) in the back row are Mun Grapes, Ted Gibbs,  Bob Allard, Fred Thrower, Jack Wright, Albert Warner, G. Pollard, Sydney Amies, Whiskey Wright, Arthur Grapes, Johnny and Freddie Thrower, Vivien Rudrum, Fred Skillern, Billy Barber and Tom Lacey.

In the front row we see George Lincoln, Herbert Alcock, Kenny Grapes, Harry Dean, Tom Kitchener, Jack Fuler, Jimmy Beevor, George Hayhurst, Col. Worship or Capt. Armytage, and Loney England.

A much later bowls team, showing Steven Bensley, David Mattocks, Laurie Marshall, Marion Gibbs, Howard Wade, Neville Boldy, Rodney Wright with shield, Richard Vepson, Richard Locke, Sonny Probertt, Arthur Browne and Brian Saunders.

Arthur Browne moved to Ludham in 1978, having lived in Sutton before that. He met with Arthur Gower the butcher, and got invited to the Bowles Club. Arthur Gower had said:

Just bring a pair of plimsolls and I will sort you out.

“I had Fred Pettitts bowls (Nurse Pettitts father). They were a proper old set of wooden ones. Older bowls were made from Lignum Vitae and very heavy. I had a go. He then told me to look on the butcher’s door and I might be on the team, although I’d only had that one go. And I’ve played there with Jack Fuller, Mike Fuller’s dad ever since and I’ve really loved it.

There were several bowling green’s within the village at one time. There was a green off Latchmoor, down by the bungalow just past the junction. There was also a green at the back of the Kings Arms. It was much earlier but it was still there when I moved to the pub to cut the grass for Tom Billington. The pub bowling green was where the restaurant is now. It had not been used for a while and when it was measured up, it was long enough in one direction, but not the other.

 The green at the village hall was originally the Ladies Green. The ladies played at the village hall whilst the men played at Latchmoor and the Kings Arms. The Kings Arms was shut first, and then Latchmoor, and then everyone played at the village hall. It was not an easy transition when we all shared the village hall bowling green. The men paid to have the village hall one expanded, and Richard Locke built the new pavilion but the ladies were not too pleased to be sharing, at least that’s how it appeared at the time.

As from October 1986, the Ladies and Mens Bowls Clubs were amalgamated forming The Ludham Bowls Club. At the formation of this club it was agreed to re turf the green and various activities such as Whist Drives and an Old Time Music Hall were put on in the village hall to help raise the money we needed.

The club plays various fixtures such as the Taylor Shield and The Rotary Shield, and have at times played for the Yarmouth League Cups. In April 1992 they had about 58 fixtures for the coming season and membership ran to about 31 members.”

Irene Haslem with cup presented by Alex Cordiner

Arthur winning the singles trophy and kissing it

The Armytage Challenge Cup was presented to the Club by Mrs Armytage who lived at the Manor. She later became Mrs Brook. There are many names on the cup of winners from the past. At one stage the cup disappeared but after twenty years it was found in someone’s loft and once again was used as a challenge cup. The inscription on the cup reads: The Armytage Challenge Cup Kings Arms Bowls Club Ludham 1934

Past winners are:
    1934 H E Miller        1935  W W Gibbs            1936  F Skillern            1937  W A Kemp
    1938 S Amis

    1949 F Skillern         1950  Kenny Grapes         1951 Kenny Grapes     1952 Kenny Grapes

    1997  A Browne        1998  R Sparrow              1999  M Cooper           2000  D Mattocks

At the time of writing, the cup also shows the following names:
    2001  I Walter            2002  T Grapes             2003  I Walter                2004  W Ribbands
    2005  M Barker          2006  M Barker            2007  W Brinded           2008  S Probett
    2009  S Probett           2010  S Probett            2011  S Wright               2012  M Gibbs
    2013  Jill Grapes        2014  S Probett            2015  A Browne             2016  D Mattocks
    2017  D Mattocks

The Darts Team

The regular darts players at The Kings Arms were Jimmy Cook, Pat Algar, Tony Hurn, Beenie Vout,  Harry Warren,  Martin Beaumont, Beenies son Danny, Richard Locke, Micky Harvey, Arthur Browne, Jerry Young, landlord Peter Billington, Tony Burton, John Shelby, all Ludham people in 1983.

In 1984 they won the League and were League Cup Holders.

For many years they were either winners or runners up, and never came away without a cup. They were in the North Walsham and District League, then in the Wherry League; Garry Timmons being the captain. The only night they had off was Friday night. Rodney Wright ran the Wednesday Night league, and Arthur Browne ran the Monday and Thursday Night local leagues.

King's Arms Darts players after their 40 hour £1000 fundraising marathon.

Back  Row: Danny Vout, Pat Algar, Pete Billington, Gerry Hunn.

Front Row: Arthur Browne, Richard Locke, Paul Warren, Garry Timmins.

Darts team wives raise money for the Jenny Lind Ward at The Norfolk and Norwich Hospital

Enid Carter, Tanya Lavender, Elaine lavender, Kathy Hunn Robert Hunn, Raymond Hunn, Christine Cook, Sam Billington, Sarah Billington


Ludham King's Arms won the North Norfolk Darts League Inland section and The Knockout Cup - the first time the Double had ever been achieved.

Back row: Arthur Browne, Gerry Hunn,  Peter Billington,
A. Burton,  J. Shelvie, Tony Hearn,  Pat Algar,  J. Cook.

Front row: Mickey Harvey,  Richard Locke, Danny Vout,
Martin Beaumont,  Paul Warren,  W. Vout.

Snooker

This photo was found under the snooker table in the village hall. It relates to a  Snooker 24 hour marathon, as a result of which, £250 was raised and donated to the For Get Me Not Club.

In the photo we see Mr Bigg, Derek Smith, Michael Harvey and Mrs Alexandra

When interviewed some years ago, John Youngs said:

“We are very lucky – the snooker room is used by all the elderly people – they go in there during the day.  They enjoy their game of snooker – in fact, there are as many as seven or eight cars out there during the day.  They can boil their kettle and have a cup of tea”