Timeline

GTC programmes

Guildford Travel Club – Timeline

1966

16 March

Inaugural meeting held at the Rowing Club with 50 attendees.

Bay Hyde enumerated possible activities: speakers/writers, themed evenings on regions or countries, members own slides, holidays etc.

Formal proposal to form the club was agreed and a steering committee elected. Club to meet fortnightly on Wednesdays, 27 people joined.

First meeting to be a wine-tasting to be held on 27 April.

20 March

First Steering Committee meeting - problems with finding hall for 27 April, date changed to 4 May and subsequently postponed to October.

25 May

Committee meeting – agreed that membership cards would be produced, members evenings to be organised.

8 June

Club Meeting in St Saviours Hall – Programme proposed up to December.

25 June

Barbecue.

5 October

First ‘Formal’ meeting of club – French Wine Tasting in St Saviours Hall.

11 November

Committee meeting – looking at buying projector and reported membership of 82 and average attendance of 115 at each meeting.

18 November

First newsletter – questionnaire about members interests, planning members evenings, setting up a break at meetings ‘for a chin-wag’ with refreshments (cost one shilling) with a rota of helpers.

1967

20 January

97 members with couples paying a sub of £1.1.0 (a guinea) per couple, visitors two shillings and sixpence per meeting

24 January

Second newsletter. Arrangements for Dinner Dance, and proposal not to hold an AGM in 1967. Steering Committee to continue for a further year - agreed.

May

Open-air camping and caravan rally with barbecue.

September

Second season newsletter. Formal meetings at St Saviours, plus outside social activities.
In the early days of the club there were as many if not more social activities than formal talks.

4 October

First meeting of second season - Wine and Cheese tasting‘a la francais’.

December

Newsletter: nearly 200 members, with average attendance of 150. Plans for Amsterdam spring holiday, and autumn trip to USA both by chartered flights.

First mention of walking group to be set up – led by Geof Hollis with its own printed programme of walks; this continued until 1996.

1968

September

Third season - club buys its own projector. Outings start to be arranged e.g. to Leonardslee Gardens May 1969, June - steamer trip, etc.

1969

AGM Spring

Annual subscription raised to 30 shillings individual, 50 shillings husband & wife. Visitors 4 shillings per meeting, and only one visit allowed per season.

October

Fourth season with meetings now on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the month October – May.

Helpers rota for various tasks. Members evenings introduced. Outdoor activities – excursions, rambles, plus information from members on holidays.

Season started with the by now ‘traditional’ wine-tasting.

November

Newsletter – 243 members and a waiting list.

1970

3 March

Meeting at Civic Hall – Chris Bonnington on Annapurna

September

Membership increased to 250.

1974

Members invited to wear name tags to help identify each other.

1977

Bay Hyde made Vice President for life at AGM.

1978

January

Operation Drake announced – see separate poster.

March

250 members and waiting list of 40.

18 May

Fund-raising evening for Operation Drake at the Civic Hall.

1979

January

Quote from Newsletter: In these dark cold snowy days, beset by shortages and strikes, how nice it is to escape to those strange faraway places our visitors take us to...

September

Quote from Newsletter requesting more members evenings: Travel is becoming more difficult and expensive with ever increasing problems of petrol, terrorism, revolution etc...

1985

October

Moved to the Methodist Church Hall in Woodbridge Road.

1986

May

Membership restricted to 200, with 26 on waiting list.

1999

25 member evenings held – roughly one a week and the highest of any season.

2005

October

Moved to Onslow Village Hall and meetings changed to Tuesday evenings.