Final batch of Ron's "oldies"

That's Ron's lot of old club snaps, now it's up to YOU to find some more !
From the top:
1. Greatstones camp cookhouse duties, Ron and ?
2. A ramble with Bobby Lisky in the water, Dave Woolfe drying his feet & Ron with the walking stick
3. That's Ron with the top hat
4. Harry Moss's car with George, Harry Moss, Ronny Coffer, Dave Ross, Mick Goldstein, Syd Curtis and Ron almost completely squashed
5. Ron and his Brownie camera

Photos submitted by Dave Saunders: Batch 2

WHO's-WHO supplied by Dave:
BATCH 2.
1st.down.
Myself on left with the late Harry Solomons at the AJYAnnual Sports in 1942 held at Parliament Hill Fields. I won the 880 yds. and Harry the 100 yds.
They gave me a certificate which I still have, with a promise of a medal after the war.-I am still waiting.

2nd.down.
Group at Greatstones camp 1939.
Back row 4th from left Stanley Kitler next Jack Roodyn.
Next row bending down myself, (Dave Saunders)
Bottom row,from left Dave Grenhalgh then Monty Meth. Others I can't remember

3rd.down.
Greatstones camp. 1939. Myself on right. Others I can't remember.

4th.down.
Greatstones 1939. Camp concert. I am in the back row among many familiar faces but I cannot name.

5th down.
Greatstones. Mealtime.

6th.down.
Meeting with T, Date and names not known.
(Ron adds:Extreme left is Leslie Phillips, extreme right Sam Posner)
BATCH 1.
1st. down
Greatstones camp. 2nd.right, Don Carlton then Derek Merton.
(Note from Ron: Left of Derek is a rare photo of Nat Levison who ran the drama class,extreme left is Stanley Hale and then Stanley Kittler)

2nd. down
Club Sports Day. Victoria Park. maybe 1938,
From Left. Odiff Fugler, then Myself(Dave Saunders),third runner not known.

3rd.down.
Greatstones camp. Tuck shop, No names.

4th down
Chance Street. meeting. George and Roland Lotinga, T and various others.

5th down.
Greatstones. Cookhouse.

6th. down.
Greatstones camp.1939. My tent: Centre row,second from left Harold Steinfield then myself, Dave Saunders. Others I cannot remember.

7th down.
The Elms, 1942 or 1943. Our successful football team, (I think)
Top row, from left. Bobby Gray, Harry Solomons, Myself(Dave Saunders), Mo Isenberg, Harold Spiro, Stanley Kitler.
Bottom row, from left. Ralph Levene, Odiff Fugler, Sid Levy, (Brazier, I think), Giorgi.

The first of, we hope !, many photos: Batch 1, Submitted by Dave Saunders (Click on Comments)

1936 & The Four Harmonica Kids

The club used to foster whatever subject the members showed interest in and so, in the heydays of Larry Adler & Borra Minnowitz we had a harmonica class.
As a spin-off, some of the boys started a harmonica group aptly named the 4 Harmonica Kids and Benny Lampert and I (Ron Goldstein) were amongst its members.
The photos show my "official" photo, Benny and I meeting up at the AJEX parade of 2004 and a list of accounts that Benny has kept as a souvenir.

The club boys who went to war

A lot of the boys who were members of the club came from large families and it was inevitable that when WW2 started on the 3rd of September most of the menfolk were called to arms. My own family had five sons in the forces namely Lou, Jack, Mossy,Mick and Ron. Jack (z"l) was to be lost over Nurenberg and the family was never to be the same again.To see the full story on the BBC WW2 Archives click here:The Goldstein Boys
It is to be hoped that other club members who served in the Forces and came from similarly large families will leave a record on this site.

Sgt.Major Mick Goldstein

Its an old cliche that goes still waters run deep but a classic example was my brother Mick (z"l)
As with Donny Carlton and Jack Nissenthal I decided to place his story into the BBC WW2 Archives.
Click on this link Sgt.Major Mick to see the full story in its original setting.

Donny Carlton......Another C&BG wartime hero

In 2004 the BBC opened a WW2 Archives and invited contributions.
I was glad to record some of the club boys formerly untold stories and one of them was how Donny Carlton won his MM medal.
Click on this link Donny to see the story in its original setting in the BBC archives.
The picture shows him at our 2004 reunion with another hero, my dear brother Mick (z"l).

The Club Song

Taken directly from the Souvenir Brochure of 2000, copyright acknowledgements as before.
In the same brochure we were reminded of the club motto:
SERVUS CORPUS COLE MENTEM ANIMAM CURA which was translated as: Keep fit, cultivate your mind, think of your soul

1925-2000... The Souvenir Brochure

In 2000 the reunion committee and various generous donors did us proud and laid on a super brochure to commemorate 75 fantastic years.
This wonderful photo of the old premises is brilliantly evocative and I am still trying to locate myself !
Thanks & Copyright acknowledged to Batiste Publications Ltd,design by David Marley & Camden Town Typesetters

The Guest list.....Club Reunion November 12th 1987

Sorting through my C&BG files I came across this guest list for the 1987 reunion.
The table plan for the same evening shows the following guests on the top table:
Rt.Hon.Lord Diamond P.C., Charles Rubens, Harold Fry, Edward Wolfe,Dennis Frank, Norman Compton, Len Saunders, Bernard Spears, Julian Spear & Cecil Bright.
Other names,less visible at the top of the photo are: Maurice Abbey, Cyril Coburn, Myer Garet, Ben Lampert,Burnie Rose & Jack Tovy.
CLICK ON COMMENTS FOR THE FULL "SEARCHABLE" LIST

Strange reunions with old club friends

I'm sure I'm not alone in having met club friends all over the world but there are three occasions that stand out in my memory.
The first one was in 1944, when, on a hill overlooking Monte Cassino, I met Johny Bofkin and we talked about past club events whilst a battle raged below.
Then in 1945 whilst visiting Venice, just a week after the war had ceased in Italy, my gondola passed by another one in which sat Nat Krieger and we yelled greetings to each other across the waters.
But the strangest meeting by far was getting a postcard in 1991 from a childhood and club friend David Biber (z'l) who had been living in Australia for many years. In the card he told me that he was making Aliyah to Israel and we arranged to meet in Netanya the following year. Our meeting,the first after 45 years was quite emotional and we visited the Kotel together with our respective wives.
Before we parted he gave me his club badge, saying "I'm not likely to attend any of the reunions, wear it for me the next time you go" and this I was able to do, later the same year.

New to Blogging?... read on

FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) No.1

Who can POST (new articles) on this site?

Please note that only Contributors, listed on the right, can POST - although anyone can COMMENT. You have to be invited to become a contributing Member.
To become a contributor simply mail me at ron_goldsteinATbtopenworld.com (where AT = @). If and when you do comment please leave your full name so that we know who is viewing the site.
If you feel you are not up to POSTING then simply send me an e-mail containing an article, ATTACH any photo in a "jpg" format and I will POST the article on your behalf.
I am hoping that by these means, photos that have been unseen by others for more than seventy years will be available to all visitors to the site. Until this happens I'm afraid that you are stuck with having to see only Ron's photos !

C&BG Club Reunion 2002

In 2002 I was asked by Monty Meth to give the after dinner speech at the club reunion.
I decided the best way to tackle it was to write an article based on "A life in the day" series in the Times and to imagine I was a young lad back in the year 1935 going through the events of the day.
I enjoyed putting the piece together and I like to think it was well received on the night. To see the full story click on the red COMMENTS link below.

Derek Merton, Club Manager and unsung wartime hero

The following appreciation of his wartime activities was taken from a speech made to him in 2004 by Bryan, one of his son’s, on the happy occasion of Derek’s 90th birthday..

Derek Merton and World War II

After marrying Frances two weeks after the outbreak of war, Derek had what people tend to describe as a ‘good war’. He joined up as a soldier in the Kings Royal Rifle Corps where he preferred the company of the other ranks to that of the officers. Derek’s experience of the second world war would seem to give substance to the view, expressed by someone (Norman Mailer, perhaps), that war consists of long periods of boredom and discomfort followed by short periods of intense excitement and fear. The early part seems to have been spent in camps in the remoter parts of the English countryside engaged in ‘manoeuvres’ and preparing for action.

Things improved a bit in 1943 when one of the regiment’s senior officers, one Anthony Eden, discovered Derek’s proficiency in French and sent him to London to serve at the Supreme Headquarters of the Allied Forces in Europe under General Eisenhower. He was later deployed on a special assignment which entailed him being disguised as a French businessman and billeted with Dr Ninet and his family at no. 11 Avenue Hoche in Paris. From there he acted as a kind of middleman between the Allied suppliers of weapons and the Maquis resistance, speeding, no doubt, the liberation of the French. For his exploits he was well decorated. These included two stars for his service in the war, the Defence Medal and from the French government something called Reconnaissance Francaise.

Do you remember ? Calvert Avenue from the Bandstand

This shows Calvert Avenue looking towards Shoreditch High Street

Do you remember ? Gold's Trimming Shop in Brick Lane

Almost on the north corner of Bethnal Green Road and Brick Lane once stood Gold's Trimming shop. This shop (now Pennywise) used to supply trimmings to all the small clothing factories in Brick Lane (including my father's in Boreham Street)and the sons Harry and Norman were club members.

Do you remember ? Rochelle Street School

The school, which has now become a trendy Arts Centre and Restaurant

Do you remember ? Chance Street

Also in this photo is what remains of the old Bethnal Green Synagogue

Do you remember ? The Bandstand

A few years back the BBC took me "walk-about" in the East End of London to record my memories of earlier years. The program, entitled “In these Arms”,Spitalfields through the eyes of the Goldstein Family, was Broadcast on Radio 4 on Saturday 11/12/99
I took the opportunity at the time to snap some of the local sights that have not changed in 70 years !.

Rochelle Street School Class 3 1932

Rochelle Street School was to provide a lot of club members, how many faces do you remember here and,more importantly,can you fill in any of the blanks?
Since receiving this photo (kindly provided by Arthur Allsuch) I have been trying to identify all concerned, this is how far I have got,reading from left to right:
Front Row: Jack Simons,* Babot,Arthur Allsuch, Len Kayser, ? , ?
Second Row: ?, ?, ?,Ron Goldstein, Joey Joseph, * Schneiderman, * Lerner, * Bright, ?
Third Row ?, Gerry Shapiro, ?, ?, ?, ?, ? ?,Philip Roth, ?, Stanley Hart ?
Back Row: ?, David Woolf,Judah Silver?, Lionel Damon, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?

Jack Nissenthal- The VC Hero who never was !

One of our WW2 "Greats" was the late Jack Nissenthall (z"l).
I did my best to honour him on the BBC WW2 Archives click here to see the actual story of Jack's exploits.

ABSENT FRIENDS & GENERAL NEWS

Inevitably, whenever I speak to Maxie Lea we speak of much loved friends who have recently passed away.

It was only today that I learned that we have recently lost Lionel Austin (z"l) and so I pass the sad news on to those of you who knew him.

I am sure that by now you must have also heard about the loss of dear Derek Merton (z"l).

It is my intention to use the site for everyone's benefit so if you have any news that you wish to be passed on, simply add a comment to this thread.

Some of those who met to honour Maxie's MBE

Some of those who met to honour Maxie's MBE

The Hiller boys in action

Tony & Irving have been generously entertaining us at the club reunions for a few years now and are very much part of the evening's activities.
The closeups were taken in 2003, the main view in 2005
Click on this link Tony Hiller to visit his most entertaining website.

The original camp group

Starting from the back:
Cecil Bright, Dave Ross, Sid Tabor, Freddy Oels, Dave Summers,Monty Griver & Mick Goldstein

The camp group revived

Cecil Bright, Dave Ross, Sid Tabor, Dave Summers,Monty Griver & Mick Goldstein

Certificate awarded to Maxie Lea MBE

One of life's rare pleasures was being allowed to be one of the many sponsors of Maxie's MBE and I was equally delighted on being asked to cobble up this certificate which we all signed as a token of our esteem.
Quite apart from the immense amount of work that Maxie has done over the years to keep the "Old Boys" together, there is one favour that he did for me, that, as Michael Caine might have put it "not a lot of people know about that!".
I refer to the fact that when the New Cambridge club packed up, he rescued the photo albums of the "Old" Cambridge and gave people such as myself a chance to "adopt" those photos that portrayed us when we were still in our teens.
Many of the snaps that I have shown on the site to date are a direct result of Maxie's foresight and for this, much thanks !

The man himself....Maxie Lea MBE

To make sure I got Max's details right, I went back to the press release that announced his being awarded the MBE and it is from this document that I now quote:
On the eve of his 70th birthday which falls on the 29th June 2000, Max Lea has been appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen's Birthday Honours List, 17th June 2000.
His name was submitted by the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Tony Blair MP with a recommendation that he be awarded the MBE for his services to the Old Boys of the Cambridge & Bethnal Green Boy's Club and for his services to amateur football.
Max's other love is amateur football which he has served with equal distinction. In 1992 he was the first Amateur Football Alliance referee to be presented with the Referee Association's Long & Meritious Service award

Dave Ross, Sid Kurta & Ron 2003 reunion

Sid had come along to the reunion hoping to meet up with me and I couldn't resist organising this photo to compare with the one entitled "The Trio"
Have a look and consider how many years had passed (actually 67 !)

Tribute to Bernard Spear

Tribute to Bernard Spear

Club Reunion 1964

If anyone reading this Blog has similar group photos in their possesion could you please post them on this site so that others may also enjoy them?
Do NOT send your originals to Ron but scan them, convert them to jpg format and attach them to a short article to tell us what was going on.
Many thanks !
Ron

Seniors at 1951 re-union

Seniors at 1951 reunion

"Juniors" at 1951 reunion

"Juniors" at 1951 reunion