Sue Coleman, Mayoress Iris Andersen and Cliff Goodall modelling T-shirts

Wherwell Home Guard Club

Wherwell Home Guard Club celebrated their 70th Birthday last weekend (16th & 17th April), with an exhibition of documents, photos and memorabilia. On display was the history of the club since its founding on 20th April 1946 to the present day. In the evening, Chairman Cliff Goodall gave a talk on the history of the Club.

In the early days, the Club was just a Nissen hut with a free-standing stove, but no electricity or running water – the latter was carried over from the White Lion Inn opposite. During the 50’s & 60’s, as membership grew and ladies were allowed as guests, various improvements were made. The internal ceiling was lined (less noisy), a dormer window was created and internal toilets were attached to the front corner of the hut. The Club had one of the first televisions in the village and even people from Andover would travel out to Wherwell to watch it. The fortunes of the Club ebbed and flowed into the 21st Century. One high spot was the early 90’s when the old railway cutting was in-filled to make a car park and an enlarged brick and tile clubhouse was built.

The exhibition was opened by Andover Mayoress Councillor Iris Andersen, who congratulated the Committee on the presentation and fine detail in the exhibition. At 12 noon on the Saturday, Mark and Jenny Betteridge pulled the first pint of Private Browning’s Best Bitter, a full flavoured, amber coloured, traditional English ale. This ale will become the Club’s house bitter, interspersed with occasional guest ales.

As Mark said:

Betteridge’s Brewery was conceived only a year prior to leaving my previous career of 37 years in the Army.  Twelve years an infantry officer followed by 25 years as an Army helicopter pilot left me thinking hard about what to do and where on retirement.  I heard about the rise in microbreweries and the rebirth of real ale and was inspired by an earthy, wholesome English tradition which had all but disappeared with the huge breweries and tied pub culture which had swept over the land through the preceding years.  A great supporter of village life and local issues, I wanted to use locally sourced ingredients where possible and to provide real ale to local pubs and organisations. Two years on, and over 100 brews later, I sell four good English style ales.  With five awards to date, the brewery goes from strength to strength and it is still a thrill to start a brew in the mash tun in my barn.

The celebration weekend was an ideal opportunity to launch a Club beer mat, Club T-shirts and sweaters and run a Grand Draw, which raised £414. All the Draw prizes were generously donated by over twenty local businesses. The Club will be donating £480 to Blind Veterans UK, being the proceeds from the Draw plus other donations. The Club received visits from the families of ‘Private’ Basil Browning, two former Presidents and several founding members. They all brought photos and other historic documents which were digitised and added to the already extensive Club archive. Of particular interest were photos of three coach outings and two Tug-o-War matches from the mid 1950’s; many people who attended the exhibition had fun identifying their younger selves in these photos.

Outside the Club, on the lawn, there was a display of a Headquarters Company WW2 field office. The central feature was a 1943 Austin K2 General Service lorry, owned by Colin Murray of Andover. The field display incorporated all the items you might expect to see in a headquarters scenario, set a few miles behind the front lines. Items such as typewriters, radios, field telephones, maps, field gear, weapons and ‘tame’ Carrier Pigeon – the attention to detail was amazing. The display was mounted by members of the 4th Dorset’s HQ Coy, a small Andover based group portraying the 4th Battalion Dorsetshire regiment. All personnel in attendance were dressed in the correct genuine British uniforms of the period.

Wherwell Home Guard Club is planning additional events during their 70th year. The Club is situated on The Old Hill, Wherwell, SP11 7JB and is open four nights each week, on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. The Club has a licensed Bar room, and a meeting room which is available to hire. Please drop in, everyone is welcome.

Written by Andrew Flanagan

Main Photo:  Sue Coleman, Mayoress Iris Andersen and Cliff Goodall modelling T-shirts

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