Record Number: 30502
Reading Experience:
Evidence:
'Meeting held at “Frensham” 8th July 1944
Howard R. Smith in the chair.
1. Minutes of last meeting were read and signed.
2. The Secretary reported that she had been advised earlier in the week that
Charles Stansfield would be celebrating the 79th anniversary of his birthday on the
day of this meeting. A few members had conferred together and agreed that it
would certainly be the wish of the Club to send greetings to Charles Stansfield on
this occasion and this had accordingly been done. A reply had been received just
before the meeting and both letters were read. It was agreed that they should be
entered in the minutes.
[...]
7. “Love Came In” by Beatrice Saxon-Snell was read with the following cast:-
[...]
Before the reading Howard Smith briefly recounted the historical events leading up
to the time at which the action takes place. which explains the very strained
relations between George Fox & James Naylor. It was agreed that when the copies
were returned to Beatrice Saxon-Snell she should be warmly thanked for lending
them to us, & told how very much the club appreciated the play.
8. “The Dear Departed” by Stanley Houghton a play of a much more frivolous
nature, was read with the following cast:-
[...]
9. It being still quite early we decided to read another short play & chose quite at
random from the books available “The Man who wouldn't go to Heaven” by F.
Sladen-Smith. Read from sight and cast quite haphazardly this proved most
entertaining. F. E. Pollard as the recording angel, Basil Smith as the Free Church
Minister (with a voice pregnant with unxious non-conformity), Rosamund Wallis as
a string minded woman calling loudly for her dog & indeed every character was
most aptly portrayed. The full cast was as follows:
[...]
[signed as a true record by] AB Dilks 18/9/44'
1900-1945
Date:18 Sep 1944
Country:England
Timeevening
Place:city: Reading
county: Berkshire
specific address: 39, Eastern Avenue
(Reader):
silent aloud unknown
solitary in company unknown
single serial unknown
(Listener):
solitary in company unknown
single serial unknown
Reader / Listener / Reading Group:
Reader: Age:Adult (18-100+)
Gender:Male
Date of Birth:1904
Socio-Economic Group:Professional / academic / merchant / farmer
Occupation:n/a
Religion:Quaker or associated with the Friends
Country of Origin:n/a
Country of Experience:England
Listeners present if any:e.g family, servants, friends
n/a
Additional Comments:
n/a
Text Being Read:
Author: Title:Minutes of the meeting of the XII Book Club held 8 July 1944
Genre:Minutes
Form of Text:Manuscript: Unknown, Notebook
Publication Detailsn/a
Provenancereading group
Source Information:
Record ID:30502
Source:Manuscript
Author:Margaret Dilks
Title:XII Book Club Minute Book, Vol. 5 (1944-1952)
Location:private collection
Call No:n/a
Page/Folio:11-16
Additional Information:
Margaret Dilks was secretary to the XII Book Club from 1940 to 1970. It is inferred from this, and from the handwriting, that she was the author of this set of minutes.
Citation:
Margaret Dilks, XII Book Club Minute Book, Vol. 5 (1944-1952), private collection, 11-16, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=30502, accessed: 18 July 2024
Additional Comments:
This is the reading, possibly brief and cursory, implied by the Chair's act of signing the minutes. It probably followed immediately after listening to the public reading of the minutes by the Secretary.
Material by kind permission of the XII Book Club. For further information and permission to quote this source, contact the Reading Experience Database (http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/contacts.php).