There are people and places that have played an important part of growing up in Keyham with their connections with my family. The Victory Hall is one such place. It was a large dancehall with a very expensive at the time sprung dancefloor. Formal ballroom dancing was both popular and fashionable in my growing up time. It was also the venue for the Labour Party’s activities both social and political. On a Monday coming home from school I always came here up the steep steps to what was the cloakroom,a huge room,which hosted the Women’s Section of the Constituency Party and Mum would attend. Usually they had a speaker and a cup of tea and biscuits but here were some very strong and forceful Labour women who could hold more than their own with anybody.
Some of these were also very active in the Cooperative movement particularly in the Women’s Guild movement. All of them capable of speaking off the cuff on the Coop maxim stand up, speak up, and then shut up. Lilian Newbury, Susy Sewell were two of the most ferocious speakers. Betty Batchelor, Mary Jago were to become councillors for Ford later on along with Hazel Dolley who would become a fellow Councillor for Honicknowle with me many years later. She would embarrassingly for me tell everyone how I was very naughty at these times as a child growing up.
Apparently I would get in the way of dancers on special occasions causing one or two to topple dancing at full pelt and having the inevitable whack from mother. I do have a vague recollection but I’m sure nothing was deliberate.I was fascinated how these people could move so well.Dad was like lots of men didn’t dance so many women would partner each other to dance and seemed to thoroughly enjoy the evening.
There was a large canteen facility which the ladies would run for tea and soft drinks and biscuits in the interval, there was a large seating area as well. This became the bar and seating area of the later Devonport Labour Club many years later. These were usually held after an election or at Xmas to celebrate or commiserate depending on the results and there was always a summer fair for the constituency when all the Wards would run a stall to fundraise.
It was also the venue for the ward meetings and for the Constituency and I recall many of the meetings me sitting at the very back by the canteen waiting for Mum and Dad,of course I couldn’t fail to hear some of the debates and personalities. There was a very eloquent guy Percy Bull who used to scan all publications for mistakes,errors and accuracy at elections and he was also a very passionate speaker.These were real full on debates with very different views. Dad had a good ability as Chair and was voted both locally and regionally as chair for many of the visiting MP’s.
The overriding personality was Harry Wright later Sir Harry after Leading the Council after Harry Mason stood down he was heavily involved not just with Council but the overseeing of the emerging Gas Industry and the Health Service across the SW Region as well as being hugely involved with the regional Labour Party which Dad was very involved on the regional executive committee. These were the Atlee on the ground people seeing how things were developing and where problems arose had direct contact with the PM.
My sister has a photo of Dad chairing a meeting at Victory Hall with Atlee where he made one of his few mistakes in the introduction of Clem Atlee not as Right Honourable but as Right Reverend.Atlee said Roy I have been introduced with many different descriptions but I’ve never been a Right Reverend before so Plymouth gives me a new authority. Very generous of him.
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