Centenary History of The BPA

A Short History of the Association covering the Period of One Hundred Years from its Inception in 1884 to its Jubilee Year in 1984.

FOREWORD

It was indeed a pleasant surprise to be invited to contribute this foreword on -+ the occasion of the Birkenhead Photographic Association's Centenary.
From B.P.A.'s beginnings in 1884 their first introduction to the public in 1885 was the taking of a portrait of the Mayor, then projecting the transparency the same evening-marvellous! And how many societies could do that to-day, one hundred years on?
In organising their first International Exhibition in 1900 one can imagine the tremendous enthusiasm and interest in Birkenhead at the time in staging such a prest­igious event. It continues today with the ever growing International Colour Salon.
In the formation of the Lancashire & Cheshire Photographic Union, Novem­ber 1905 saw Birkenhead as one of the thirty six initial clubs with Dr. Thurston Holland FRPS as the Union's first president. The L. & C.P.U. has been well served by B.P.A. members as lecturers, judges, executive committee members and presidents. Not only was Norman Crawshaw ARPS the L.& C.P.U. President in 1953 but his guidance over many years was indicative of his sustained interest in the Union. He personally made and presented in 1960 the "Colour Trophy" for colour slides which is competed for by all constituent clubs in the L. & C.P.U. Annual Competi­ion.
In 1962 Tom Grenfell FRPS was a most energetic president bringing many new ideas into amateur photography from his business connections. Two other presidents from B.P.A. were Mr. and Mrs. J.C. Marsden, both long serving members of the exec­utive committee. Sylvia served office in 1965, husband Jack in 1972.
Yet another `first' for B.P.A. was the introduction of the "Knock-out Colour Slide Contest" instituted in 1970. A similar idea was adopted by the L. & C.P.U. in 1982 and the first contest was, naturally enough, held in Birkenhead.
With the first hundred years of history covered by this booklet shortly to be completed, it seems fitting that the occasion should be marked by the B.P.A. Centenary President being in the same year President Elect of the L.& C.P.U. Desmond Cooper is to be congratulated on this dual honour, and may it mark the inauguration of yet another hundred successful years for B.P.A.
With all the foreseeable changes, such as audio visual, video and other elect­ ronic advances, I am sure B.P.A. will cope and, indeed, will be leader in any new technology in amateur photography which may arise.
May I wish B.P.A. "continuing good photography" as a flourishing society for the future.

ARTHUR H. DOWNES, F.R.P.S. (Member of Executive Committee and Past President, Lancashire & Cheshire Photographic Union).
August, 1982

INTRODUCTION

It was towards the end of 1978 that the idea of producing a history of the Birkenhead Photographic Association was first mooted - at an informal meeting, in fact, of past presidents and other prominent members arranged to discuss the Centenary Celebrations to take place in 1983/84.
Among those who were present at the inaugural meeting, and had shown so much enthusiasm and support for such a history, were a number of much loved and respected members who, sadly, are no longer with us, and here I refer to the late Dorothy Cheers, Fred Scott, Norman Crawshaw, Durrie Blades and Gordon Hatch. Without any doubt these recently deceased members would have wanted the Centen­ary to be an unqualified success, and in this sense it is perhaps appropriate to regard the forthcoming celebrations - and the publication of this booklet - as a fitting memorial to them, their dedication and their lifelong service to the Association.
In regard to my own involvement, it was with a certain degree of pleasure, when approached by the Chairman of Council last year, that I accepted his invitation to write an account of the Association covering the period 1884 to 1984, this with the object of marking its hundredth anniversary.
From the outset my instructions were specific, namely, to keep the account brief and to the point, and, I might add, being somewhat lazy by nature, this advice quite suited me. Be that as it may, I have since come to realise that the restricted nature of this booklet is more the result of a lack of basic information than a strict compliance with my original brief. Particularly in the period from 1884 to around 1930 records of the Association's doings have been sparse, consequently in Chapters One and Two the contents may appear patchy and incomplete. I n Chapter Three I was helped by having Council Meeting minutes and past copies of "Highlight" to refer to, so in this case it was possible to be more subjective.
Whilst endeavouring to describe the more salient facts and events in reason­able detail I decided at the same time to include in the text a few personal experiences and anecdotes for the sake of variety. I can only hope that this presentation has the reader's approval.
I am indebted to those members and friends who have provided me with odd items of history gleaned from their own personal knowledge and experiences, and particularly I must thank Glynn Jones and Beryl Jones for their helpful information on the Trident Cine Group during the years 1960 to 1976. My thanks are due also to Jean Houghton who so efficiently researched the Association's correspondence files and minutes of meetings, thus saving much time and effort, and to Desmond Cooper for his helpful advice and encouragement at all times.

Autumn 1981 C.S. BROWN

CHAPTER ONE

EARLY DAYS (1884-1914)

Towards the latter part of last century a small number of camera enthusiast members of the Birkenhead Y.M.C.A., which at that time had premises in Grange Road, Birkenhead, formed themselves into a group to discuss and practise the newly found interest of photography.
As far as early records reveal, this group was set up in 1884 and continued for the following ten years purely as a subsidiary section of the Y.M.C.A. It was then decided to seek wider recognition, and the group became known as the Y.M.C.A. Camera Club. This name was not to last long, however, for it soon became evident, with the constantly widening scope of photography, that the title "Camera Club" was too limited in its terminology; a broader based title was needed. And so it was that in the following year, 1895, the club assumed the title "Birkenhead Photographic Association" (B.P.A. for short) under which banner it has operated without a break up to the present day.
It may seem strange that between the years 1884 and 1894 the Group, as we have called it, was not separately identified by any specific name or title. The fact is that this section of the Y.M.C.A. combined musical entertainment with its photo­graphic interests and, as a result, probably found it difficult to coin a name to embrace its dual role. There is no doubt, however, that the photographic side was firmly estab­lished in 1884, as evidenced by the "Amateur Photographer" reports referred to later in this Chapter. In effect, therefore, the B.P.A. has been in existence for the full hundred years since 1884.
Before continuing with the detailed history of the B.P.A. it is perhaps worth while to look back for a moment and trace the growth of photography in general terms, and to consider its acceptability as an interest and hobby for the artistic and technically minded. Two significant facts emerge, firstly, it was not very long after Fox Talbot pioneered the early development of photography in the 1840s that the photographic process `took off' commercially, particularly in regard to portraiture. Whereas previously it was only the wealthy who could afford a family portrait painted by an artist - for that was the only method of portrayal then available - photography very quickly opened the door to portraiture and other subjects on a wide scale and at a price everyone could afford. The rapid increase in the number of professional photo­graphers provided ample evidence of this new development. Family photographs ranged along the mantel piece soon became commonplace in almost every household. It seemed inevitable that this upsurge in professional photography should eventually influence the amateur field and so, club life.
The second point we have to bear in mind is that towards the end of the Indust­rial Revolution many of those who had struggled for much of their lives in factories, workshops and elsewhere inevitably felt the need for some uplift or interest outside the daily routine. Goethe, the German writer, once declared "Everything alive strives for beauty and colour", and so it is with us humans irrespective of our birth or back­ground. Photography was in many ways able to fill this need, and conspicuous in this respect were the industrial areas of Merseyside and Lancashire. The fact that Birkenhead - and Liverpool - were among the first of the many towns in the Count­ry to set up photographic societies is of the utmost significance.
An unusual coincidence concerning the Y.M.C.A. photographic group prev­iously referred to was that its formation in 1884 occurred at approximately the same time that the first edition of the weekly publication "The Amateur Photographer" appeared on the bookstalls. An-early issue of the A.P. (as we have come to know it) dated 28th November 1884, gave details of the new photographic group just formed with the following announcement: "The preliminary meeting of the above society was held on Thursday evening, 20th November, at Berry's Grand Restaurant, Birken­head, with John H. Day in the Chair. The undermentioned gentlemen were elected to conduct the business of the society for the ensuing session:­

A later edition of the A.P., dated 30th January 1885, described the group's formal introduction to the public in the following graphic terms: "The above instit­ution, which was formed only about the latter end of iast year, was formally intro­duced with much eclat to the Birkenhead public on Tuesday evening, the 20th instant, by His Worship The Mayor, Alderman R. Bateson, J.P., who kindly presided on the occasion of their annual soiree held in the large schoolroom connected with the Grange Road Baptist Church. The first item on the programme, the taking of the portrait of His Worship by the aid of magnesium light, was proceeded with under the charge of Mr. P.H. Phillips, resulting in a very fair negative from which a transparency was taken by super-imposition, both being, towards a later part of the evening, displayed upon the screen by the aid of a magnificent triple diffusion oxy-hydrogen lantern."
Other than learning that the early group devoted itself in the main to lantern slide making, flashlight work, lectures, demonstrations and one or two minor exhibi ­tions, comparatively little is known of its activities between the years 1884 and 1894, but it is on record that with the formation of the Y.M.C.A. Camera Club a proper constitution was drawn up in a form very similar to that which operates at the present day.

From 1895 onwards the Association got fully into its stride, and weekly meet ­ings, competitions and outings to local places of interest became a regular feature of club life. Monthly council meetings and an annual general meeting also became routine procedure. Around that time a print portfolio was initiated and circulated among members. Total membership was about fifty and the annual subscription 10s/6d, but for members of the Y.M.C.A. this was reduced to 5s/-.

The year 1897 saw the Association arranging for public viewing two ambit ­ious shows of the new "movies", one of which was the film of Queen Victoria's Dia­mond Jubilee. This was the first time moving pictures had been shown in Birkenhead, there being no cinemas at that time, and such was the success of B.P.A.'s venture that a total profit of £50 was raised - big money in those days. Later in the same year, as a Diamond Jubilee offering to the Borough, a photographic survey of Wirral was undertaken by the Association, and over five hundred platinum and other mono ­chrome prints were produced and presented to the Free Library where, it is under­stood, they are still held for reference purposes.

In April 1900 a supreme effort was made to put B.P.A. firmly 'on the map' as one of the most influential societies in the North of England. This was to be achieved by staging an International Exhibition under the patronage of the Duke of Westminster, the Earl of Crawford, Sir Benjamin Stone, Sir Elliot Lees, W.H. Lever, Esq., the Lord Mayor of Liverpool and the Mayor of Birkenhead. This ambitious project involved taking over the whole of the Y.M.C.A. building for ten days and, in addition to the United Kingdom, entries for the exhibition were received from as far afield as India, Africa, New Zealand, Switzerland and the United States of America. A copy of the beautiful art brochure published by the club specially for this exhibition is still in exist ­ence, and it remains a fitting testimony to the dedication and enterprise of the members at that time.

Between the years 1900 and 1914 records of club activities are scanty. The following few notes may be of interest however:-

1906 - Dr. Thurston Holland lectured on "Ozobrome".

Dr. Sidney Wilkinson lectured on three-colour photography.

1907 - The club acquired a ¼ plate camera for slide making, price 30s/-.

Slide lantern converted from gas to electric lighting at a total cost of £ 17.

Annual Exhibition: 110 prints, 52 slides, 300 visitors.

1908 - James Walker lectured on the new "Autochrome" plates.

(N.B. It may be of interest to have this reminder of the early emergence of colour photography).

Chris J. Symes, the Country's foremost exponent of the bromoil process, elected a member of B.P.A.

Annual Exhibition: 118 prints, 84 slides, 300 visitors.

Up to 1914 membership remained at around the fifty mark, but with the outbreak of the first World War this number declined sharply; the younger members joined the Forces and the older ones did their bit as circumstances permitted. By 1915 attendances had fallen to such a low level that the decision was made to suspend operations, and no meetings were held between then and the end of hostilities in 1918. Up to this stage B.P.A. had remained affiliated to the Y .M.C.A., still at their premises in Grange Road, but this state of affairs was eventually to change, as will be described later.

There can be little doubt that of the more active personalities who were mem ­bers of B.P.A. during the period reviewed in this Chapter few are remembered by any of the current members of the club. At the same time, the latter may like to hear of one or two particular characters who featured prominently in earlier days.

Rachel Ferguson joined B.P.A. in 1906, and up to 1914 was the only woman 'working' photographer in the club. Although getting on in years, this didn't deter her from entering the competitions. She signed every print submitted, and also adopted the novel idea of composing a few lines of poetry appropriate to the subject of the entry, which she inscribed very neatly on the mount. For the whole duration of her membership she remained a vital force in all club matters. Her death in 1935 was a great loss to the Association.

W.H. Miner, manager of Thomson & Capper of Charing Cross for many years, was elected a member of B.P.A. in 1911 and became President in 1923. He and his wife made a great impact within the club, organising, lecturing, and generally helping in every way possible, for which services they were in later years elevated to life membership. Their enthusiasm was unbounded and remained so until W.H.'s death in 1955. The President's Table, which stands in the main c1ubroom, was donated to the Association by W.H. Miner's son and daughter in memory of their father.

A noted B.P.A. member similarly dedicated to club affairs was J .T. Peters, more commonly known as ‘Pa' Peters. A man of many parts: artist, photographer, musician, lecturer, keen businessman and secretary of the Club from 1904 to 1909, J .T. was quite indefatigable in his work. So greatly was the club's indebtedness felt for his contribution to its early success that shortly after his untimely death in 1914 the J .T. PETERS Memorial Trophy was instituted for the best three prints and three slides in the c1ub’s Annual Exhibition, and it speaks well for his memory that for close on fifty years the competition brought forth the best effort of the members each year. The Trophy was withdrawn round about 1965 due to the decline and eventual dis ­appearance of monochrome slides.

It would be inappropriate to conclude this section of B.P.A.'s early history without some reference to the primitive equipment and basic chemicals then used in the practice of photography. In those days cameras were heavy and bulky and, due to the extreme slowness of photographic emulsions, instantaneous exposures were out of the question. On a typical B.P.A. outing each member would carry a large plate camera and wooden tripod, and would seldom expose more than one or two plates during the afternoon. But what is more to the point, windy conditions made landscapes containing trees and other moving objects well-nigh impossible to take. Flower shots were similarly affected, also waterfalls; how often have we seen old prints of the latter where the running water has had the resemblance of cotton wool.

Equally, in early times, photographic chemicals and solutions, together with processing methods, were the subject of much research and experiment. A large number of B.P.A.'s early meetings were devoted to practical demonstrations of new materials, papers and developers as they became available on the market. Fortunately there is no sign that the resulting discussions were conducted in other than a spirit of friendliness and good humour.

CHAPTER TWO

BETWEEN THE WARS
(1918-1939)

The period 1918 to 1939 was one of mixed fortunes for the Country as a whole, punctuated firstly by some years of re-formation, then the slump of 1928, and finally a period of economic stringency in the 1930s. Notwithstanding these conditions B.P.A. maintained a strong and enthusiastic membership throughout the whole of this period and quickly resumed its full activities after the cessation of hostilities in 1918. So rapidly in fact did the interest in amateur photography devel­op after the war that by 1919 B.P.A. membership had risen to around the hundred mark. The many newcomers to the club were well looked after by the older members who were quick to introduce novice classes in the basics of photography.

In parallel with the mounting enthusiasm among individual club members was the movement among photographic societies to unite territorially and, over a period of years, a number of regional organisations or unions came into being, each one serving the interests of those societies or clubs falling within its jurisdiction. I n the early 1900s B.P.A. became federated with the Lancashire and Cheshire Photographic Union, the regional body covering the North West of England. Eventually, ten such photographic unions were formed covering the whole of Great Britain.

Close and harmonious relations were soon to develop between the L.& C.P.U. and B.P.A., and a pattern became established whereby visiting judges and lecturers were freely exchanged between the two bodies. Additionally, B.P.A. acted from time to time as hosts to the L.& C.P.U. in connection with their annual general meetings, seminars, and other functions. Evidence of the esteem in which B.P.A. was held by the L. & C.P.U. is revealed in the choice in later years of B.P.A. members to serve as their President, namely, Norman Crawshaw in 1953, Tom Grenfell in 1962, Sylvia Marsden in 1965, and Jack Marsden in 1972. It need hardly be said that these four members had fully earned the honour bestowed on them by a spell of committee and other service with the L. & C.P.U. beforehand.

By 1930, after the formation of the ten regional unions had been completed, it was recognised that a single centralised controlling body was needed, and in that year such a headquarters organisation was created, to be known as the Photographic Alliance. The task of the latter was to co-ordinate and oversee the operations of the regions on a nationwide basis. Having proved its effectiveness over the years this chain of responsibility has continued unchanged up to the present day. It is gratify­ing to know that B.P.A. has been, and continues to be, an important link in this chain.

It is perhaps of interest to note that in the same year that B.P.A. became federated with the L. & C . P.U. it sought, and was granted, affiliation to the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain. This link has benefitted the club through the years, but more particularly it has helped its members, many of whom by the excellence of their work have qualified for the Iicentiateship, associateship, or fellow­ship of the Society. To acquire membership of the R.P.S. in this way, and to be honoured by the appropriate qualifying letters after one's name, is surely the natural ambition of most keen club members. B.P.A. members have been no exception in these ambitions, and their success rate over the years is something of which the Association can well be proud.

By 1922 the club premises, still at the Y.M.C.A., Grange Road, had become fully operational, possessing a well equipped darkroom fitted with lockers, shelves, sinks, dishes, lantern slide copying camera and an enlarging' lantern. Lectures and demonstrations were a regular Wednesday evening feature from October to April, and excursions took place every Saturday during the summer months. Annual sub­scriptions at that time were: Y.M.C.A. members 7s/6d, non-Y.M.C.A. members 10s/6d, Lady Associates 5s/-. In 1927 the subscription was raised to 15s/- and remained so until 1939.

The fact that the club had equipped itself with very adequate processing facil­ities was ample indication of the members' keenness to become proficient on the practical side of their hobby. Indeed, to satisfy the members' desire for information and knowledge, the club devoted a high proportion of its time to practical demonstrations and experiments of all kinds. Unlike the present day the photographer of sixty years ago was obliged to do everything the hard way, and success was only achieved by those possessing a fair knowledge of chemicals, apparatus and methods. An excerpt from the local press at that time describing a lecture by B.P.A. member, Jack Trace, ARPS, FRSA, illustrates this point and is reproduced below:-

"On Wednesday evening, Mr. Trace, of Hamilton Square, generously gave the members of the Birkenhead Photographic Association a demonstration on the subject of negative retouching and working up photographs in monochrome. Mr. Trace, as the result of his wide experience, is a master of the art and is of the opinion that a useful measure of success can be achieved by any amateur photographer who has sufficient interest in his hobby to obtain the necessary apparatus, namely: the retouching desk -­a simple affair which anyone can make from a soap box: the medium - a small bottle of photographic dope which normally will last a lifetime: and the tools - pencil, knife, brush, and oil colour. Mr. Trace showed the actual materials he uses in practice, with particular reference to portraiture, by demonstration on both plates and paper.

The 'pinhole' was soon eliminated, 'bags' under the eyes were softened, wrinkles dis­appeared as if by magic, and deformities were cured with a dexterity beyond even the powers of the common surgeon. Faces with no distinctive features owe their beauty to the complexion, but will the camera see this? That the camera cannot lie is a long-exploded fallacy. The rosy spot on the cheek may be shown on the photograph as a dark blob - the beautiful freshness is not revealed - but a little blacklead judic­iously applied will soon right this, and a touch with the point of the knife will give a sparkle to the eye."

Other demonstrations which the club included in its fixture lists covered dry mounting, working up negatives and prints, lantern slide making, photographing flowers by artificial light, gaslight printing, the bromoil process, autochromes, slide binding, and more besides. But it was not just in arranging this wide variety of practical demonstrations in the 1920s and 30s that B.P.A. showed its versatility, it was in the exhibition field as well, as the catalogue for the club's first Open Exhibition in 1922 reveals. Here the entry list comprised 131 entries in the Open Class and 121 entries in the Members' classes, but what is surprising is the variety of categories embraced by the latter, ten in all, thus emphasising the wide-ranging scope of the members' work.

A feature of these early B.P.A. exhibitions was that in the Open Class each entry was offered for sale at a price ranging from about 5s/- to three guineas, and for the whole period from 1922 to 1938 these prices never varied. Those of us accustomed to the raging inflation of recent years will find this difficult to compre­hend, but the fact is there was no inflation between 1922 and 1938; indeed, it might be recalled that the cost of living actually dropped very slightly over the period.

The Open Exhibition, started in 1922, continued in similar form each year until 1938 after which, due to the ever-increasing number of overseas entries, the title was changed to the "Annual International Exhibition". This, in turn, gave way to the "International Colour Salon" in 1972, but more of the latter in Chapter Three.

As far as is known, B.P.A. did not possess any challenge trophies during the period 1918-39 other than the J.T. Peters Memorial Trophy previously referred to. Other awards in the Annual Exhibition included the club plaque for the best print overall, and medals and certificates to place winners. As for club competitions, not many of these appear to have been held during the winter sessions; for the few that were, cash prizes usually went to the winners as their reward. During the period we are speaking of the more competitive members of B.P.A. found an outlet for their energies by competing in outside contests organised by the various photographic mag­azines, the L. & C.P.U. and other societies. In addition, members' competitiveness within the club was kept alive by at least one print portfolio being constantly in circulation.

We have talked about the club plaque, and some details of this should be added. Presented in 1922 by J .H. Williams, President in that year (and later the Mayor of Bebington), the plaque comprised a handsome embossed silver-oxidised bronze plate mounted on a polished mahogany base, the whole crafted to a design exclusive­ly reserved to B.P.A. Facsimiles of the plaque were awarded for a number of years but later were discontinued. During its currency the plaque had a chequered career for, on one occasion, the best print in the annual exhibition went to a novice and so, of course, did the plaque! Whether or not the exhibition judge on that occasion was ever invited back again to B.P.A. is not on record.

A news report circulated in 1923 shocked the photographic world by relating that during the Japanese earthquake which took place on September 21st and caused severe damage, the complete set of landscape prints comprising Great Britain's entry for the Tokyo Exhibition was irretrievably lost. The exhibit included some of the finest bromoil prints produced at that time by Chris Symes, FRPS, a member of B.P.A. referred to in the previous chapter.

As we approach the last few years of the period under review, mention must be made of a variety of incidents which were to have a bearing on the future of the Association. 1937 was a year of upheaval because it was then that the Y.M.C.A. sold its premises in Grange Road to British Home Stores and, by so doing, deprived B.P.A. of what had been its home for so many years. The Association had, of course, long realised the desirability of becoming independent, and therefore felt that this was an opportune moment to sever its connection with the Y.M.C.A. The break was carried out in a spirit of mutual goodwill and, very soon afterwards, B.P.A. was able to acquire temporary accommodation as a short term measure at Tilley's Cafe, next to Rostance's Store in Oxton Road. Only a few months later and by the greatest of good fortune, L.B. Berkson, a life member of B.P.A. for many years, then found himself in the posi­tion of being able to offer a vacant suite of rooms above his offices at 30, Hamilton Square, which B.P.A. gladly accepted, to serve as their new permanent headquarters, at a weekly rental of 13s/6d. The new club rooms were officially opened on 15th December 1937 by the then Mayor of Birkenhead, Mr. G.S. Prentice, who in his open­ing speech warmly applauded the Association in its efforts to bring a little culture to the town.

The new premises were well suited to the needs of B.P.A. and no time was lost in re-decorating and fitting out the rooms for their new use. Normal activities were resumed with utmost speed, to such good effect that in 1939 the club achieved one of its finest successes of all time by winning the Premier Award in the "Miniature Camera World" International Exhibition. The Association finished first among 39 of the world's top-ranking photographic societies, and by so doing placed itself at the forefront of the contemporary competition scene. But seldom does it happen that success like this is gained without the inspiration and leadership of some wise and trusted adviser who is able to impose his influence on those around him. It was Norman Crawshaw, elected President of B.P.A. in 1939, who filled this role and encouraged workers by his own example and 'drive'. His service to the club was tireless, and there is little doubt that his encouragement in the years just prior to the second world war was a material factor in the members' frequent successes in competitions around that time. This had a cumulative effect; it was as though B.P.A. had acquired a new vitality prom­oted, as we have said, by its President, but also by what might be called an 'elitist' section of members. The tremendous energy and drive displayed by these people attracted such a strong following that the club was able to extend its influence and prominence to a marked degree. Among this hardcore of enthusiasts may be ment­ioned: L.B. Berkson, Norman Hopkins, Eric Hutchinson, G.J. de la Mare, Eric Law, Bert Shaw, Jack Trace, T.J. Smith and J.A. McAusland.

While commenting on the competition successes of B.P.A. it must be said that other factors apart from personal ones were contributing to the changes within the club. Advances in the design and range of photographic equipment were playing their part, and exciting developments and new techniques were emerging. We said in the previous chapter that the introduction of the roll film was affecting camera design but, ultimately, the full impact of these changes could be seen by the intro­duction first of the 2 ¼ " square twin-lens reflex camera (spearheaded by the Rollei­flex in 1928), and then by the 35mm. Leica with rangefinder focussing. The acquisi­tion of one or other of these German-built miniature cameras was like a 'shot in the arm' to most club photographers, and the average amateur suddenly found himself able to produce a good picture every time he pressed the shutter. Home processing, too, of the newer types of films and papers, became a task which almost anyone could tackle with a very fair chance of success. Certainly, as far as B.P.A. was concerned, an increasing number of its members felt able to enter the competition field with more confidence and consequent satisfaction to themselves.

At the time war was declared on 3rd September 1939, B.P.A. was operating at full pressure and, in fact, was able to continue doing so more or less until late 1940. By this time many members had been absorbed into the Forces, although some, in uniform, still attended the meetings. In November 1941 it was finally decided to close the clubrooms at 30, Hamilton Square for the duration of hostilities. It so happened that Norman Crawshaw once again stepped into the breach for, being in a reserved occupation with Lever Brothers, he was able to volunteer to 'hold the fort' during the shut-down period by dealing with correspondence and attending to any day-to-day business which happened to arise. These arrangements continued until 1944 when the club re-opened its doors once again and the customary activities were resumed.

CHAPTER THREE

THE POST-WAR PERIOD (1944-1984)

With the slackening of military tension in Europe by mid-1944, B.P.A. began to receive many enquiries regarding its future plans and, encouraged by these indica­tions, the skeleton committee then in being decided to re-open the club on the 10th November 1944. The initial get-together, in the form of an annual general meeting, took place at 30, Hamilton Square, but not in the pre-war clubrooms on the second floor, as the lease for these had previously been terminated and much of the club's equipment disposed of.

Once re-established, B.P.A. promptly drew up a syllabus for the ensuing session, and, most fortunately, secured the services of Lancelot Vining, ARPS, for its opening lecture. Being a keen Leica fan, and having used this camera extensively as a wartime photographer, L.V. not unexpectedly talked to the large assembly about 35mm. photography which at that time was becoming all the rage. In point of fact, it was not long after this event that a separate 35 mm. section was set up within the club to study the development and application of small-frame photography, and it is understood that this section remained in being for quite a number of years before being discontinued. As 35mm. photography increased in popularity and became more or less the main interest of the average club member, the operations of the sec­tion were merged with those of the Association as a whole and the section was wound up.

For a few months after the re-opening in 1944, meetings were held in the old Methodist Church in Grange Road (now the site of a shop), but from the outset this was not intended as a hard and fast arrangement and, eventually, a move was made to permanent accommodation at 65, Argyle Street where, following the usual legal procedures, re-decorating, etc., the members took up occupation on 16th April 1945.

By the end of 1945 almost ninety new members had been enrolled. This number, when added to the existing members remaining from before the war, brought the total membership to just on two hundred and, notwithstanding the initial belief that the new headquarters would offer adequate accommodation to meet all reason­able needs, this proved not to be the case. A waiting list had therefore to be intro­duced to regulate the inflow of new applications. Alongside this trend was the impact of rising prices on subscriptions which, to be economic, had to be raised to: Full Members 25s/-, Juniors 12s/6d, Lady Associates 5s/-. A further rude shock for B.P.A. was that in December 1945 the rating assessment of the new clubrooms suddenly shot up from £10 to £27 without any prior warning.

An obvious result of the influx of new members was that many of them were newcomers to photography, so, in May 1945, the Council decided to introduce weekly training classes for which, quite naturally, a number of the 'old school' in the shape of Geoffrey de la Mare, Norman Crawshaw, Jack Trace and Bert Shaw offered their services as tutors. These classes proved most helpful to the novice members, and they continued in operation until the general level of proficiency within the club had reached a satisfactory standard.

October 1946 saw the re-introduction of a popular pre-war club feature, namely, the ever welcome tea and biscuits served during the interval, on Wednesday evenings, by the Ladies' committee. These devoted and willing helpers, as many of us will know, have never ceased their efforts from that time until the present - a continuous period extending over almost forty years. Among the original members of this committee must be mentioned Life Member Mrs. Gertrude Trace (widow of Jack Trace), still going strong and in good heart, and Life Member Mrs. Dorothy Cheers (widow of Reg Cheers), who sadly died in 1978.

A life long member of B.P.A., often referred to in the early days as "Father" of the Association, died in January 1945. He was T.J. Smith, a fine amateur photo­grapher and well known sportsman. Being an acknowledged authority on the history of Wirral he had amassed a unique collection of lantern slides prepared from his own photographs of local scenes and landscapes, and many were the illustrated lectures on this subject which he presented to amenity societies and the like during his lifetime. It is ironical that only a month before his death the honour of B.P.A. life membership was conferred on T.J.S. in acknowledgement of his service to the Assoc­iation and his being its oldest member. He was seventy nine.

Apart from the usual run of syllabus subjects during winter sessions, B.P.A. suddenly found itself, in 1946, caught up in arranging a brains trust jointly with the Liverpool Association (L.A.P.A.). The latter, being the senior club, would obviously, it was felt, be fielding a strong team, and B.P.A. had to draw on the best brains among its members to avoid letting the side down. In the event, a panel comprising Jack Trace (Chairman), T.L.B. Revis, G.J. de la Mare, D.G. Cooper and J.S. Davies was put up against Liverpool and, although no record can be traced of the result of the contest, the fact that quite a number of further brains trusts were held would seem to indicate that Birkenhead did not disgrace itself on this first occasion. Other clubs later to be involved in these contests included Chester, Ormskirk and St. Helens.

By late 1948 it was patently evident that the premises in Argyle Street were not proving satisfactory; the approaches were dark and restricted, the toilets were unhygienic, and the accommodation inadequate. Various alternative premises were inspected until, finally, what was thought to be the perfect answer to the club's requirements was discovered at 23, Market Street. In due course a suitable lease was drawn up but, unfortunately, due to legal difficulties and other problems, it was not until June 1949 that the keys were finally handed over. The annual rental was £75.

The Market Street club rooms on the whole served the members well, and B.P.A. remained tenants up to 1970, a continuous period of twenty one years. But, once again, with the ever expanding membership, the lecture room frequently became over-crowded and, as had happened before, a waiting list for new members had to be instituted. Notwithstanding this drawback the new rooms in their striking livery of black walls and red woodwork provided excellent accommodation compris­ing kitchen/servery, lecture room and toilet on the first floor, and committee room, studio, darkroom and library on the second floor. The studio in particular, promot­ing as it did a keen interest in portraiture, was put to very good use which led to the 'Friday Portrait Circle' being started, soon to be followed by the 'Monday Night Circle'. But if the reader is left wondering about the reason for this sudden interest in portraiture, he need look no further than to the fact that Durrie Blades, leader of the Friday Circle, had made an arrangement with the principal of a Liverpool charm school whereby she allowed her young lady students to be photographed at the club rooms as part of their training in modelling. The benefits from this arrange­ment were twofold; it provided valuable experience for the models, and gave the budding young portraitists in the club an opportunity to try their hand at glamour photography.

It was in the portrait studio where Durrie Blades revealed his true genius. Often, when a timid and shy young model posed before the cameras, Durrie, by his gentle manner and softly spoken encouragement would gradually build up her con­fidence, all the time making subtle changes in lighting and pose, so that at the mom­ent he was ready to press the shutter the model was already feeling and looking just like a queen. And the result, of course, showed up every time in the finished portrait.

A natural corollary to the popularity of portraiture was the introduction in 1949 of the Portrait Competition, an evergreen annual favourite which has continued without a break up to the present day. This competition, initially the idea of H. Southern Laws, a well known portrait photographer of the time, needed a trophy to go with it, and the following little story shows how this came about. Soon after the formation of the first portrait circle Waiter Nurnberg came to the club to present his lecture "Lighting for Portraiture", He expressed surprise that B,P.A. had no plaster head on which to demonstrate portraiture lighting so, at the conclusion of the lecture, he called for a hat and, going round the audience, collected the sum of £3/10s/- whereupon, giving this to the Treasurer, he 'commanded' that a plaster head be bought forthwith and christened "Belinda of Birkenhead". This instruction was carried out with all speed and the new Belinda was to provide many hours of interest to both Circles in their exploration of lighting techniques.

But to complete the story of the portrait trophy, some time around 1950 Norman Crawshaw and Durrie Blades happened to be photographing a Miss Joyce Ross, an amateur sculptress, who offered to fashion a small replica of Belinda which might form the basis of a trophy. This offer was accepted, but it immediately became evident that to convert the replica into a polished metal trophy was likely to be an expensive business. It so happened that a passable casting in brass was produced by an apprentice metalworker (recommended by Miss Ross) who charged a mere 15s/- for his trouble and, after a smoothing and polishing operation by Norman Crawshaw, the new Belinda at last shone forth in all her glory. The plinth for the trophy, again the handiwork of Norman, was fashioned from an old oak pile which had once supported the foundations of Bert Shaw's public house at Leasowe.

At about the same time that the portrait competition was set up, a new chall­enge cup was presented to the club by Mr. H. Halt for an annual "Landscape" com­petition. Appropriate rules were formulated and the new cup was first competed for in December 1948. A further annual club competition was inaugurated in October 1949 by the anonymous donation of yet another challenge cup to be called the "Specific Subject" Cup. The donor of this trophy wished it to be known that his gift was to mark the successful opening of the new premises in Market Street.

The introduction of three new annual competitions into the club calendar meant a corresponding reduction in the number of improvised contests which hitherto had characterised the club's winter programme, and this trend has continued until, at the time of writing, B.P.A. has six permanent competitions with handing-in dates at roughly monthly intervals throughout each winter.

In the previous two chapters brief mention was made of the Autochrome process for making colour transparencies. First introduced in 1904, this was fore­runner to the Dufay process which came a few years later. Both of these "reseau" processes gained only limited popularity among amateur photographers, and it was not until after the second world war that Kodak really 'lit the flame' of colour photo­graphy by introducing Kodachrome film for colour transparencies with trade process­ing included in the price. The expanding popularity of this completely new process giving greatly improved colour rendition was electrifying, and of great significance for club photography. It very quickly altered the whole pattern of competitions and exhibitions. From the late 1940s onwards colour sections had to be introduced into the general run of B.P.A. competitions, each covered by a suitable award or trophy; a special Colour Transparency Trophy was in fact presented to the club in 1958 by W. Arthur Hodge who was President that year.

Looking back at the B.P.A. exhibition scene we see that the rapid emergence of colour was even more marked. The original "Open" Exhibition for purely black and white work gave way in 1939 to the annual "International" Exhibition which, except for the war period, continued until 1958. The latter covered both open and members' classes and, although starting as monochrome only, colour crept in by degrees and by 1958 it was the main ingredient. In 1959 the title was changed yet again, this time to the Annual International "Colour" Exhibition owing to its being 100% colour. The various venues for these exhibitions were: Shaftsbury Boys' Club (1939-1958), Little Theatre (1959-1963), and Williamson Art Gallery (1964 onwards).

At this juncture one might-well ask what had happened to black and white work since B.P.A.'s main exhibition became all-colour. The answer is that a separate exhibition, for members only, was set up ten years or more ago to remedy this omission, and is still in operation. It takes place annually at the Williamson Art Gallery, usually earlier in the year than the main exhibition, and caters for monochrome and colour prints, and colour transparencies.

During the late 50s and early 60s Reg Cheers, assisted by Desmond Cooper, was the main exhibition organiser and, in addition to handling all the entries, he set the town alight by hanging a large banner across Grange Road West opposite the Little Theatre with a message to all and sundry extolling the virtues of B.P .A. and its exhibition. This banner had the desired effect of attracting a sizeable number of the public to enter the exhibition - a feature noticeably lacking in more recent years regrettably.

Before moving on, we must not forget another exhibition incident which happened at the Shaftsbury Boys' Club during Tom Grenfell's presidency in 1955/56. For this occasion Tom, who at that time was Publicity Controller for Vernon's Pools Ltd., had invited Miss Norma Sykes, otherwise known as T.V. star "Sabrina", to formally open the proceedings. Now, Miss Sykes's particular gimmick when appear­ing on stage or before the T.V. cameras was to remain completely silent - the perfect dumb blonde in fact. Her physical attributes were sufficient in themselves to provide all the glamour that was needed without any vocal aid. However, breaking silence for just this once, she delivered her opening address with a charm and graciousness which quite delighted the crowd and received warm applause. When the news got around that Sabrina was in the exhibition a mass of people gathered outside and, at the time of her departure, it took the combined efforts of five burly policemen to get her to her car. The reader will now know how to attract a record crowd to an exhibition.

An important matter which arose in 1971 must be referred to. During this year it was suggested to the exhibition committee that B.P.A. should consider joining the Photographic Society of America, this with the idea of stimulating interest and entries. Such a big step was obviously going to incur extra organisation and expense, but Fred Scott took up the cause and championed it vigorously in Council to such good effect that the plan was eventually approved. B.P.A. joined the P.S.A. in time for the 1972 Annual Exhibition which Fred and his helpers promoted most success­fully. Since that time the Exhibition has gone from strength to strength under the title "Birkenhead International Colour Salon", with entries coming from upwards of forty countries all over the world. Since 1980/81 B.P.A. has additionally secured the patronage of the F.I.A.P., the European equivalent of the P.S.A., and enjoys still further support from Europe and elsewhere in consequence.

Mention of Fred Scott in the previous paragraph reminds us that not every­one may know of his keen interest and skill as a footballer in his youth, and of his being reserve goalkeeper for Everton for a period of years. Fred was massive in size ­- over 6 ½ feet in height when standing erect - and it is said that one newspaper reporter claimed that Fred had only to stand mid-way between the posts with his legs apart and arms outstretched and he could save 90% of the goals without moving an inch! Whether or not there is any truth in this story is anybody's guess, but one thing beyond question is that Fred was throughout his lifetime a warm hearted and kindly man with a keen sense of humour and wide interests.

We must now go back a little in time and see what other things were happen­ing in the 1950s. For a short period during this decade the then honorary secretary of the Association, J . Stanley Davies (called "Young Stan" to differentiate him from H. Stanley Davies, President 1949/50) organised a series of annual trips to the Con­tinent, with photography as the main theme. Young Stan, having business connections with air travel, was able to fly B.P.A. members to their destination and back at very reasonable cost, and for a time these trips proved most popular. Usually each trip lasted three days and the places visited included Amsterdam, Paris, Copenhagen, and one or two others. Regrettably the constantly rising costs of these excursions eventually sounded their death knell. This was a pity as all those who went on the trips said how much the variety and interest of the Continent had improved their photography.

1952 was a milestone in the history of the Association for in May of that year the club magazine "Highlight" was launched. Starting off as a handily sized 8-page booklet published three or four times throughout the winter session, it provided an excellent medium for passing on news of current events and happenings to the membership, also it gave individual members the opportunity to express their views on matters of topical interest by writing to the Editor and having their comments published. Happily, Highlight has been with us without a break up to the present day and, we hope, will continue so well into the future. As in other cases rising costs have extracted their toll and now, at the time of writing, Highlight is more in the form of a simple news sheet than the booklet it was originally. Over the years succeed­ing editors have been: Alan Basnett, Kenneth Clark, Bill Grosart, Norman Crawshaw, Stuart Brown and Ron Woodward.

Before leaving the 1950s it must go on record that a commendable success was achieved by the Association in gaining Second Award in the World Photo Fair Exhibition organised by the Yorkshire Evening Post in 1952. Upwards of a dozen of Britain's foremost photographic judges were involved in the adjudication, provid­ing ample proof that B.P.A.'s achievement was no 'flash in the pan'. A commemorative certificate to this effect hangs in the clubroom for all to see.

During the 1960s club life within B.P.A. continued much as usual, but the direction of photographic interest was undeniably changing. Only too clear was the fact that the colour transparency was bringing about the gradual decline in black and white work and the complete demise of the lantern plate. The direct result of this was that a large proportion of the Wednesday evening meetings became devoted to colour portfolios, travelogues, topographical essays in colour, and the like. In this particular sphere of colour lectures a number of new exponents had come to the fore, and B.P.A. throughout the decade had visits from such notable people as Margaret Harker, J. Alan Cash, Harold White, Bertram Sinkinson, Lancelot Vining, Dr. Jouhar, and others.

On the social side regular events included visits to places of photographic interest, canal trips, dinner dances (at Quaintways, Chester), and Christmas socials (usually at the Victoria Hall, Port Sunlight). Important new trophies presented to the Association round about this time were the Grenfell Trophy and the Arthur Hodge Memorial Trophy. In 1960 the Trace Memorial Lecture was set up in memory of Jack Trace who died in 1958; also in 1960 the Cine Section of B.P.A. came into being.

During the early 1960s B.P.A. was having thoughts about trying to acquire a permanent building of its own to establish headquarters and club rooms properly adapted to photographic use. This was an ambitious project and, regrettably, it never reached fruition, primarily due to lack of finance and the difficulty of finding the right accommodation in the right locality. B.P.A. had therefore to soldier on in Market Street until 1970 when, quite out of the blue, Bob Barron came forward with the news that Birkenhead Corporation had available the top two floors at 24, Clifton Road, recently vacated by the Borough Engineer's Department. Originally a boys' school, No. 24 had great promise, and in no time at all negotiations were entered into and a long lease tenancy arranged. The saga of the move to Clifton Road would fill a book but, to be brief, the new tenancy involved extensive structural alterations as well as complete re-decoration. The contractor's work was financed by members' donations and the smaller jobs were carried out by the members themselves. In all, it was a daunting task conceived and executed with commendable skill and exped­iency by many willing helpers among whom were a number of specialist building advisers from the general club membership. The opening ceremony, chaired by the then President, Stuart Brown, took place on 16th September 1970, and was attended by a large gathering among whom the Mayor and Mayoress of Birkenhead, the President of the L. & C .P.U., and the Presidents of Birkenhead Operatic and Dramatic Societies were present as official guests.

No.24 Clifton Road is a gracious looking Georgian building which, though old, is quite reasonably sound, even to this day. Now, after conversion, the rooms have served the Association more than adequately for the past twelve years or so. There can be little doubt that the excellent facilities provided have had a beneficial effect on the club's morale, enthusiasm and achievement. For some years after the move patronage of the Association remained high, with membership at 150 or more. A decline in numbers then set in during the mid 1970s in common with the exper­ience of other clubs, but since then increased recruitment has restored a '150 plus' membership once more.

Among the many things which have taken place within B.P.A. during the past ten to fifteen years it is difficult to single out those for special mention. Items which might be regarded as innovations probably attract the most interest, and de­tails of these are as follows. In 1970 the idea was first tried out of holding an inter­club slide battle on the first Saturday of the Members' Annual Exhibition at the Williamson Art Gallery. To this a single judge was appointed whose task, by a process of elimination, was to classify each set of slides of the competing clubs in order of merit, the winning club receiving a silver challenge cup presented by B.P.A. This event has been a singular success over the years and around a dozen or so Merseyside Societies regularly meet at the Art Gallery each year to compete. This has been one of the most successful social events in the club's calendar.

Another idea put forward in 1972 was the one of "Summer Projects". This comprised the formation of a number of teams, each of six or so membrs, whose object it was to illustrate a particular subject or theme of their choosing and, later, to project it on the screen to the accompaniment of a suitable commentary. These projects, calling for considerable skill and imagination in presentation, aroused keen competition among the members, and it is only to be regretted that they were dis­continued after only a few years. If they did nothing else they demonstrated that none of us can gain full satisfaction and fulfilment from what we do unless we exert our maximum effort and determination in order to succeed.

Other developments during the 1970s and early 80s have been, firstly, the widening interest in home processing of colour prints and, secondly and more recently, the trend towards audio/visual presentation of colour slides. Undoubtedly the amateur has been pressurised in both of these pursuits by commercial interests and modern advertising and, although a certain number of B.P.A. members have achieved success in both of these ventures, the high cost of the necessary materials and equipment has been an obstacle to either becoming universally popular. In due time, of course. this situation may, and probably will, change.

High costs have likewise extracted their toll on the public relations side of the photographic industry. Whereas it was a common occurrence in past years for the bigger firms to have a panel of lecturers to go around the clubs, now most of the latter, including B.P.A ., have to provide their own lecturers - and judges - from their own resources or from neighbouring clubs. It has been a painful necessity to adjust to the consequences of inflation as in other walks of life, and the strength of regional organisation of photographic societies has been of great value in facing up to this problem.

For the past ten years or so three popular annual events held each summer have been the visit to Joe Platt's farm at Thornton-le-Moors, Glynn Jones's garden party at his home at Grange in West Kirby, and the portrait session at the Adult Education College at Burton Manor. Additionally, and more recently, the annual dinner party at the Hotel and Catering Department of the Birkenhead College of Technology has attracted considerable support. Such events as these have all combined to cement the bond of good fellowship among the members and have helped to unite the Assoc­iation socially as well as photographically, and this is surely what club membership is all about.

We find ourselves in momentous times as B.P.A. approaches its Centenary and, whilst this history has necessarily dealt with past events, perhaps it may be permitted to take a brief glimpse into the future. In the years ahead, with design technology expanding at the rate it is doing, the ordinary club member must be prepared for great changes in the way in which he will take photographs, changes of a kind which at the present moment he has little or no idea. Thankfully, however, there will always be one aspect of photography which no-one can ever change, and that is the art of picture making. This will always remain the prerogative of the individual photo­grapher; it is something which can never be taken away from him.

B.P.A. members recognise that their Association is strong at heart and well integrated. It has always had reserves of administrative ability and a flair for improvis­ation, both of which could be needed at any time in the future to carry it through difficult situations and dramatic changes. With such thoughts in mind we, the ordinary members, may justifiably feel a confidence and a security with B.P.A. in the face of whatever lies ahead.

CHAPTER FOUR

THE TRIDENT CINE GROUP ( 1960-1976)

It is not often that a collective enterprise is sparked off by only one person but, in the case of the Trident Cine Group, that is exactly what happened. It was on 7th September 1960 that the late Arthur Hodge called together an informal gathering of B.P.A. members who had leanings towards cine photography and, by dint of his enthusiasm and encouragement, persuaded the sixteen members present that a cine group within the B.P.A. was essential for the full development of their intended hobby. In no time at all, the new group was formally constituted with Arthur Hodge as Chairman, assisted by a secretary and treasurer.

At first, meetings of the new group were held fortnightly but later, when things got into their stride, these were increased to weekly. The group relied mostly on its own members for the first year or two whilst feeling its way, but as it grew in mem­bership a regular syllabus of talks and visiting speakers was arranged. Also, whereas in the beginning it was the usual thing for members to produce their own home-made films, this practice by degrees gave way to the making of group films whereby a number of members would combine to create a joint production, possibly shot on location and involving each other as film crew and players. As this idea developed, outside actors were brought in, and when B.P.A. moved to Clifton Road in 1970 it proved very fruitful to make contact with the Birkenhead Dramatic Society who had their quarters in the same building.

This liaison between the two societies was unquestionably a happy one and led to a great deal of mutual pleasure - and amusement - when putting on joint productions. A diverting little illustration of this comes to mind. The Dramatic Society had asked the Cine Group to film a sequence during a horror play they were rehearsing wherein the macabre scene to be filmed depicted a darkened room with an open coffin resting on the centre table and a wizened old man keeping vigil in a chair alongside. As the clock struck mid-night the corpse, clad only in a white shroud and with an expressionless stare in her eyes, was seen to rise slowly out of the coffin into a sitting posture. Then, all of a sudden, everything went wrong; the corpse, unable to keep a straight face any longer, burst into a fit of uncontrollable laughter, the old man fell off his chair with fright, and the art director uttered some very naughty words at having his scene ruined. But the Cine Group weren't worrying; they had on film the best bit of tragi/comedy it was ever their good fortune to capture.

These were great days. During the move to Clifton Road the group did a grand job by providing and installing a completely new projection screen with pro­scenium surround and motorised curtains, loudspeakers and control box. A further step forward was made when the group became affiliated to the Institute of Amateur Cinematographers and was able to take part in a special I.A.C. symposium at Burton Manor College. This provided an extremely informative and interesting week-end.

At other times meetings were arranged with neighbouring cine clubs and, occasionally, trips were organised to suitable outside locations for a variety of filming exercises which, in the main, had a wide appeal. One of these was an excursion to Llanfair Caereinion, near Welshpool, to film the narrow gauge railway there. Due, however, to the leading car forging ahead and failing to keep contact with the main party, the latter got lost in a network of by-lanes and ended up in a farmyard up to their axles in mud. Very little filming was done that day it is feared.

One of the most successful of the cine group's events was the Christmas party organised each year by Glynn Jones. This was a most enjoyable and well attended function; the lady members would always put on a wonderful spread of good things to eat, the wine flowed freely, and more often than not the President and a goodIy number of members from the main Association would come along and join in the fun.

The culmination of the cine group's many accomplishments was reached in 1970 when the group was asked by the Girl Guides Association, through their local branch, to make a documentary film of their Diamond Jubilee Year activities in various parts of Cheshire. Realising that this was going to be a daunting task, the group pressed into service every able bodied member it possessed. It was a hectic year involving a vast amount of organisation; there were three separate camps - at Peckforton, Cholmondeley and Royden Park, Frankby - and each had to be extensively filmed. As Princess Margaret was to visit each camp in her capacity as President of the Guides Association, the cine group's three photographers had to be security screened and issued with press passes. Filming was also done at the Ranger Camp at Thornton Manor during the visit there of the Chief Guide, Lady Baden Powell. Altogether, a lot of film was exposed and, after weeks of hard work editing and putting it all on a sound track, the final production was condensed into two reels each of 400 feet. The premiere performance was held at the Williamson Art Gallery in the presence of the Mayor and Mayoress of Birkenhead and other civic dignitaries, including Lady Leverhulme who presented the group with a commemora­tive plaque which now hangs in the B.P.A. clubrooms.

With the passage of time the group unfortunately lost members; some died, others moved out of the district. Indeed, all cine clubs on Merseyside were experienc­ing membership problems. The group tried by all means possible to encourage more members to join but without success. It was therefore with extreme regret that in May 1976 regular meetings had to be suspended, not without a lingering hope however that a fresh start in the future might be possible if renewed interest could be generated.