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Maidstone Postcard Club

Founded November 1977

The Archbishop's Palace and All Saints Church in Maidstone

Welcome to the web site for the Maidstone Postcard Club!

Club Meetings

The club holds monthly meetings on the 3^rd Monday of each month (unless the Monday falls into Holy Week, when it is either the 3^rd Tuesday or 4th Monday). The meetings are held at St Paul's Hall, Boxley Road, Maidstone, and start at 7pm till 10pm. Our meetings usually consist of chat and browsing dealer's stock until 8pm, when the main business of the evening commences. The minutes of the previous meeting are read, and new announcements made. Our presenter for the evening then takes the floor until about 9:15pm, and then more chat and buying until the end of the evening. Refreshments are served during the evening.

Our Chairman Tony Davis always brings his stock of Postcards and ephemera, and quite often other dealers such as Alan Roman, Tony McKendrick and Bill Kingsman appear with their cards. Entrance to the first meeting is FREE, and we hope to entice you to become a member for a very reasonable annual fee. Please telephone the Secretary Roger Vidler on 01622 737110 for further details.

History

The club was formed in 1977 by 10 people with an interest in postcards and collecting. The first meeting was held on 22^nd November at the Crest Furniture Showrooms in the Mid Kent Shopping Centre, Allington [a mile from the centre of Maidstone] belonging to Chris Easton, who was instantly voted on as Chairman! The 10 founder members were:

Chris Easton, Eileen Easton, Eric Baldock, Kay Baldock, Irene Hales, Tom Hales, Kim Hales, Audrey Hodge, John Dann and Karen Arthurs. Irene was the first Secretary, her husband Tom the Treasurer, and Eric the News Editor.

Meetings started every third Tuesday of the month with an annual subscription of £1 to cover costs, and within 3 months the attendance had risen to 29 members. Very soon the membership had outgrown the Crest Showrooms, and the club moved to a room in the nearby Allington Castle on 16^th May 1978. At the meeting, Bernard Mundel (who travelled up from Hythe to each meeting) presented a silver salver that was "to be awarded annually to the winner of a simple competition for members."

In the early days of the club, topics for discussion and display included cards by Young and Cooper, publishers in the Maidstone area, Bamforth Song Cards, Hop Picking, and Salmon Artists.

By June 1978, 46 members had joined the club, and speakers from all parts of the UK came to talk on their chosen subject. A club dinner was first organised for the 14^th November 1978 at the Thomas Wyatt in London Road, and 33 members assembled for "a most enjoyable dinner." After the dinner, Irene Hales was the first to be presented with the Bernard Mundel Trophy for her winning entry ' The Hop Story of Kent.' Later in the year, this same entry by Irene won 2^nd prize in the Politics and Social History section of BIPEX (the forerunner of the Picture Postcard Show in London). At the end of the first year, the club had grown to 62 members, and was now urgently looking for a new home, as the rooms at the Castle were not large enough!

On 23^rd April 1979, the club moved to it's current home, St Paul's Hall in Boxley Road, and meetings were moved to the third Monday of each month, where the club continued to flourish, the membership at one point reaching more than 80! Interestingly, around this time, Terry Hougham (a dealer from Canterbury) was offering to purchase Young and Copper Hop Picking cards for £2 each! I wonder what the equivalent price would be these days! Founder member Eric Baldock is still associated with the club, and at one time or another since 1977, has held most of the major posts in the club!

On the formation of other clubs such as the South East Kent Postcard Club (based in Canterbury) in 1980, some members left to join those clubs as they were closer to their homes. Since then, membership has been fairly constant at about 45-50 members, with 20-25 regularly coming along to the monthly meetings, and all of the regular events such as the auction and fairs are a permanent part of the club's year. Visits to and from other postcard and philatelic clubs are arranged regularly, with Ashford, Canterbury and New Romney clubs most popular.

The Club Postcard came into being in 1988, when a view of the Archbishops Palace and All Saints Church photographed by Arthur Monk, was converted into a postcard. Last year, current Chairman Tony Davis updated the postcard, and we now have 4 views of the Maidstone of today - including the famous Shaun the Sheep!

In recognition of her services to the club, Irene Hales was made an Honorary Member in 1989. Bernard Mundel was similarly recognised a few years later. After the 25^th Anniversary in 2002, the founder members were all made life members of the club, and presented with certificates. In August 2004, retiring Secretary Ron Kemp was also made an Honorary Life Member.

Membership of the Club

We welcome new members to the club, where the annual subscription is £5 per annum, and £2.50 for schoolchildren. A new subscription rate of £3 per annum has recently been introduced for postal only members. New members are always made very welcome, and soon settle in to the malicious gossip and heated debates that are so popular in the club. Seriously though - this is a happy club where the members have a wide range of interests and collecting habits, all of whom have a story or two to tell! The Treasurer will be pleased to accept your membership and issue you with our combined programme and membership card.

Programme for 2008

DATE	Subject	Presenter
21^st January	"M" is for...	Members Evening
18^th February	Club Auction
10^th March	Romance of London's Rivers	Tony Farenham
21^st April	London Olympaid 1948 Young & Cooper Unnumbered	Robin Walton Keith Hursey
19^th May	Evening Postcard Fair (St. Paul's Hall)
16^th June	Panorama of Surnames	Phil Lawrence
21^st July	Transport in Maidstone	David Hatt
18^th August	Members Interests	Members Evening
16^th September	Postcards of East Peckham & Area	Margaret Lawrence
20^th October	Underground Kent	Rod Legear
25^th October	All Day Fair (Grove Green Community Centre)
17^th November	AGM
November	Annual Meal	To be Arranged
15^th December	Chairman's Christmas Celebration	Tony Davis

Programme for 2008

DATE	Subject	Presenter
21st January	"N" is for...	Members Evening

Officers for 2008

The following people were elected officers of the club at the AGM held in November 2006:

Chairman - Tony Davis; Vice-Chairman - Myrtle Newsom; Secretary - Roger Vidler; Treasurer - Janice Brunning

Programme Secretary - Keith Hursey; Newsletter Editor - Roger Vidler; Website Editor - Tony Davis

Fairs Secretary - Janet Dunk; Committee Members - David Rawlins

Annual Competition - Janice Brunning; Raffle - Irene Hales; Refreshments - Julie Lester.

Principle Officers of the club from 1977:

DATE	Chairman	Secretary	Treasurer	Newsletter Editor	Programme Secretary
1977	Chris Easton	Irene Hales	Tom Hales	Eric Baldock	-
1978	Chris Easton	Irene Hales	Tom Hales	Eric Baldock	-
1979	Chris Easton	Irene Hales	Tom Hales	Eric Baldock	-
1980	Chris Easton	Irene Hales	Tom Hales	Eric Baldock	-
1981	Chris Easton	Irene Hales	Tom Hales	Eric Baldock	-
1982	Chris Easton	Irene Hales	Eric Baldock	Nova Saunders	-
1983	Chris Easton	Irene Hales	Eric Baldock	-	-
1984	Chris Easton	Irene Hales	Eric Baldock	-	-
1985	John Taylor	Irene Hales	Eric Baldock	-	-
1986	John Taylor	Irene Hales	Eric Baldock	Phillipa Monk	-
1987	John Taylor	Irene Hales	Eric Baldock	Phillipa Monk	-
1988	Eric Baldock	Irene Hales	Arthur Monk	Phillipa Monk	-
1989	Eric Baldock	Phillipa Hoad	Arthur Monk	-	-
1990	Eric Baldock	Phillipa Hoad	Arthur Monk	-	-
1991	Eric Baldock	Phillipa Hoad	Arthur Monk	-	-
1992	Tony Davis	Kath Knowles	Arthur Monk	-	-
1993	Tony Davis	Kath Knowles	Arthur Monk & Derek Knowles	-	Janice Brunning
1994	Tony Davis	Kath Knowles	Derek Knowles	-	Janice Brunning
1995	Tony Davis	Kath Knowles	Derek Knowles	-	Janice Brunning
1996	Tony Davis	Ron Kemp	Derek Knowles	Ron Kemp	Alan Abrahams
1997	Tony Davis	Ron Kemp	Derek Knowles	Ron Kemp	Alan Abrahams
1998	Tony Davis	Ron Kemp	Derek Knowles	Ron Kemp	Alan Abrahams
1999	Tony Davis	Ron Kemp	Derek Knowles	Ron Kemp	Keith Hursey
2000	Tony Davis	Ron Kemp	Derek Knowles	Ron Kemp	Keith Hursey
2001	Tony Davis	Ron Kemp	Derek Knowles	Ron Kemp	Keith Hursey
2002	Tony Davis	Ron Kemp	Derek Knowles	Ron Kemp	Keith Hursey
2003	Tony Davis	Ron Kemp	Derek Knowles	Ron Kemp	Keith Hursey
2004	Tony Davis	Ron Kemp	Derek Knowles	Ron Kemp	Keith Hursey
2005	Tony Davis	Roger Vidler	Derek Knowles	Roger Vidler	Keith Hursey
2006 2007 2008	Tony Davis Tony Davis Tony Davis	Roger Vidler Roger Vidler Rogar Vidler	Derek Knowles Mike Thompson Janice Brunning	Roger Vidler Roger Vidler Roger Vidler	Keith Hursey Keith Hursey Keith Hursey

Competitions

DATE	Bernard Mundel Competition Winner	Subject	Annual Postcard Competition
1978	Irene Hales	"The Hop Story of Kent"	-
1979	Karen Arthurs	"The Story of Beatrix Potter"	-
1980	Irene Hales	"The History of the Postcard"	-
1981	Chris Easton	"Hare Coursing"	-
1982	Not awarded	-	-
1983			-
1984	Jean Turner		-
1985	Arthur Monk	"Bobby on the Beat"	-
1986	Jean Turner	"Hurdy Gurdies and Barrel Organs"	-
1987	Dave Betts	"A Yard of Pride"	-
1988	Jean Turner	"Dr Barnardo's Homes"	-
1989	Bernard Mundel	"War in the Air and Naval Air Service"	-
1990	Bernard Mundel	"The Handcross Disaster"	-
1991	Tony Davis	"Maidstone Shops"	-
1992			-
1993	Tony Davis	"Week Street"	Kath Knowles
1994	Tony Davis	"Naval Life"	Ron Kemp
1995	Graham Fullalove	"Le Mans"	Robin Walton
1996	Lesley Fullalove	"Our Two Villages"	Eric Philp
1997	Alan Collins	"Yalding"	Michelle Bright
1998	Janice Brunning		David Chambers
1999	Janice Brunning	"Typewriters on PC's"	Derek Knowles
2000	Janice Brunning	"Hands"	Kath Knowles
2001	Kath Knowles	"London Markets"	Myrtle Newson
2002	Nigel Viner	"Greetings from Maidstone"	John Crunden
2003	Nigel Viner	"Teachers"	Irene Hales
2004	Nigel Viner	"RIP"	Julie Lester
2005	Nigel Viner	"A Postcard 123"	Irene Hales
2006 2007	Mike Thompson Janice Brunning	"Village of Rolvendon" "Village of Lenham"	Sylvia Hursey Janice Brunning