As many of you will know, the Athletics Club is constructing an extension to their club premises in the basement of the hall. The hall committee has been offered the opportunity to similarly extend the hall by the same amount. We are short of space for storage and for more intimate meetings for small groups, and we have accepted this generous offer.
The work is being done by volunteers and is progressing well. Decisions about the precise use for the upper floor will be made by the committee once the outer structure is finalised. A number of ideas have been suggested and we will be discussing these over the coming months. We hope to make usage of the hall more flexible and attractive once the work has been completed.
Miriam Paris ran a Jumble Sale in the Memorial Hall yesterday, 6th April 2024. It was run to raise funds for Dementia and managed to gather over £1,000.00 for the fund.
The items available were all well organised and sold at bargain prices.
It was very well attended.
There was a raffle with a good range of prizes and there were cakes served with coffee or tea for anyone with £1.00 to spare. And I can tell you those cakes were really delicious!
Let’s hope we can host more of these events for the village.
The Fire Exit door was in poor condition, with some rot at the bottom. This has now been repaired and the door re-painted.
Many of the fence panels along Church Road have been damaged over the years. The one above shows the sort of damage that has occurred.
Above is one of many of these panels currently undergoing repairs. A good number have now been repaired and resited. The inclement weather has slowed down this operation. We’re hoping to get the new panels painted over the next few weeks to improve the appearance and resilience of the fence.
Please bear in mind that not all the information ere is up to date. The trustee responsible for the site is, like all the trustees, a busy volunteer with many calls on his time. So, it may be a little while before the site is back to its former state. When that happens, a notification will appear on the blog. Thank you for your patience.
All are invited. If you care about the future of the Memorial Hall and the Recreation Ground and its car park, please attend and give us your ideas, and consider joining the committee.
Recently, work’s been done by volunteers to clear the ivy and some of the buddleia from the strip of land behind the wall of the Recreation Ground as it runs beside the main road though the village. The roots of these plants had grown between the stones and they’re threatening to destabilise the wall. We now hope people with the necessary skills will volunteer to re-point the wall where needed. Without this work, the wall, started by willing volunteers in July 1934 and completed about a year later, is in danger of eventual collapse in places. We’d like to stop that happening, and with your help we can. We’ll pay for the materials, but we don’t have funds for the wages generally deserved for such skilled work, so, we need willing volunteers like the folk who originally built the wall. Anyone willing to do this, or any other work, please contact us by email to lydbrookmh(at)yahoo(dot)com, or by using the form in the ‘Contact’ tab above, or by speaking to any of the Trust Committee. Your help will be much appreciated. Thank you.
A portion of the wall, showing some of the wear and tear.
Sunday 11th November 2018: a date with real significance. Not only did Armistice Day fall on a Sunday this year, but it coincided with the centenary of the formal ending of World War 1. Because of this, a special service was organised for the Memorial Hall, the establishment of which was to remember all those local people who fell in battle on our behalf.
Photo courtesy Mark Lythaby.
After the morning service at the Church of the Holy Jesus, the congregation filed out onto Church Road, where they were joined by many other people from the village. The Lydbrook Silver Band led the march down the hill and through the village to the hall, where all assembled in the narrow space permitted by the road. Made safe by the Parish Council, through Bruce Hogan who had arranged with the local police to have the road closed during the service.
The memorial had already been enhanced by the generous gift of a commemorative bench by Lydbrook Athletic Football Club; a silhouette of a WWI soldier, sponsored by the Parish Council, and placed above the hall entrance; and another WWI soldier silhouette placed within the railings, sponsored by the local Royal British Legion branch.
The Rev. Roger Minson led the religious aspect of the service with hymns and prayers.
Trevor Hek hosted the ceremony on behalf of the Royal British Legion, ensuring all went according to plan. He read out the names of those commemorated, giving details about their service. And, as the names were read, the staff and pupils of Lydbrook Primary School placed poppy crosses at the memorial, and wreaths were laid.
The Royal British Legion Standard was in the capable hands of Standard-bearer Tammie Johnstone.
Photo courtesy Mark Lythaby.
The Last Post was played, evoking that usual lump-in-the-throat response by many, by Robert Morgan, M.B.E., who also led and conducted the Lydbrook Silver Band, playing appropriate music and accompanying the hymns.
Rachael Mowatt, of the Women’s Institute, read John McCrae’s ‘In Flanders Fields’, evoking more memories and thoughts of the devastating effects of war.
The gathered crowd of attendees did the village proud; a good throng, representing all ages. Even one or two villagers in poor health managed to attend and all braved the sudden downpours without complaint. And, at least the sun emerged afterwards.
The sincere thanks of the Committee of Lydbrook Memorial Hall and Recreation Ground go to all who participated in, organised, and attended this centenary commemoration of the sacrifice of our brave local heroes.
Sorry to be late with this – I was collecting information. My photographs are a little limited, as I climbed the path opposite the hall to get an overall shot and was then trapped there for the duration. If anyone has additional pictures they’d be willing to share here, please use the ‘Contact’ tab to get in touch, and we can make arrangements. Thank you.
The Memorial Hall is hosting a celebratory exhibition of the history of Lydbrook right now!
There are information boards and displays from the Lydbrook Historical Society – I particularly enjoyed the one about the 17 pubs the village once housed! And there are some fascinating photographs of the place as it developed. Others showing the industrial heritage. Lots of pictures showing local people either in groups or going about their everyday business. Really interesting stuff.
There’s a wide display by the Women’s Institute, giving details of their history and current activities. I loved the tea towel giving a list of humorous rules relating to the behaviour and conduct of the attendees.
The local branch of the Royal British Legion has a great display showing the work they do and commemorating the local heroes (and heroines) of the two World Wars, and presenting various items of interest, including some facsimiles of old newspapers of the times.
And there’s a pictorial history of Lydbrook Silver Band and its activities, including the building of the new practice room. Lots of pictures of band members past and present.
And there’s coffee, tea and biscuits on offer.
It’s a great place to spend an hour or so out of this dreadful rain, either revisiting old haunts or finding out what happened in the past here in the village. But better be quick! The display is open only until 16:00 today, 10th November. Get along there before you miss out!
LydbrookMemHall 