A COVENTRY Clubland historian is putting out a last call for photos from the golden years of Coventry’s Working Men’s Club scene – as the pandemic has meant she has been unable to access the city’s archives departments over the past few months.
Ruth Cherrington has nearly completed her most ambitious project to date but she’s still after more images.
She said: “I rely on access to the libraries and archives for some of my research but the pandemic has stopped all that.
“Cameras were also a rarity in the years before mobile phones and many people were too busy having a good time in their clubs to take photos! I’d love to hear from anyone that has any photos – this might be in a club, on a club trip, the games night or whatever. I’ve already got some great ones but I’d love to get more.”
Ruth Cherrington’s ‘Dirty Stop Out’s Guide to Coventry’s Working Men’s Clubs’ is set to celebrate the golden years of venues like Tile Hill Social, the Radford Social, Hen Lane and Willenhall Club. The city was renowned for its Working Men’s Clubs in the thriving years of movement and Ruth Cherrington is set to chronicle those times like never before.
The author previously wrote the critically acclaimed ‘Not Just Beer and Bingo! A Social History of Working Men’s Clubs’, about the club scene nationally and has recently enjoyed success with her ‘Dirty Stop Out’s Guide to 1970s Coventry’ and ‘Dirty Stop Out’s Guide to 1980s Coventry’
Ruth Cherrington said: “I grew up with the clubs. It was part of my family’s DNA and it’s very sad so many have gone in recent years. It served the city’s thriving industrial scene in the postwar years. My book is set to celebrate the venues that used to bring the whole community together. I want this book to truly represent the many clubs and their members. I need the input of the people that were there.”
Comments and photos can also be added to the ‘Dirty Stop Out’s Guide to 1970s Coventry’ Facebook Group.
The ‘Dirty Stop Out’s Guide to Coventry’s Working Men’s Clubs’ is set to be out in the autumn 2020.
Ruth Cherrington can be contacted on: [email protected] or [email protected]
