It was snowing when I first visited St. Martin’s in August this year (1965) and I was told to meet Mr. Hardy the Warden on the steps. There were two of us who wanted the job and we were ushered down the steps by him into what I now know as the Crypt. Having no experience in Boys’ Clubs, I was not sure what to look for, but the rooms that I was shown were quite large, and the equipment in them was to my liking… I could play both Table Tennis and Snooker.
I was lucky enough to get the job, and on the first few days the ex-assistant Warden was there to guide me. I soon found a few of the boys very friendly, and I was offered a cigarette. Funnily enough, it blew up in my face. I took this as being my initiation ceremony, and we all laughed it off as a big joke.
The first few months were very happy ones; gradually I was able to understand the boys and their different reasons for coming down to the Crypt. For those who do not know of the Club, I will try to explain why it was started, and what plans I have in mind in my term in office, towards the future of the Club.
The basic reason for the afternoon section of the Club is to keep the boys in the Hotel and Catering Trades off the streets in the hours of the afternoon between their morning and evening shifts. It seems that back in 1947 Probation officers in that district had numerous cases of boys in the trades getting into mischief.