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Article compiled from material currently held at the museum.
Burton Latimer Working Men's Club

Photograph taken outside the Club in the mid 1970s showing the older members about to embark on an outing.
This mid 1970s photograph taken outside the Club shows some of the
more senior members. Click here to see a larger version with names.

Present research has yet to uncover the date of the building of the Burton Latimer Working Men's Club (sometimes referred to as the Finedon Street Working Men's Club), but the earliest reference we have is in 1898, where the Treasurer is mentioned as being a William Blakesley, together with three Trustees. The club was affectionately nicknamed "The Rack"; the origin of this may date back to the 1930s when it entered a period of decline and was referred to as "The Rack and Ruin," but some former members contend that it was named after the rack which was to be found on the ground floor of the Whitney & Westley shoe factory located across the road. By the 1960s things had picked up considerably; there was a much younger membership, which enjoyed lively entertainment, talent contests and the like. Interestingly enough, the club was not CIU affiliated, which meant that prospective members had to be proposed by existing members and then approved by the committee.  By the late 1990s finances had suffered and the club was taken over for a while by the Wellingborough Working Men's Club, but finally closed in the first decade of the new millenium.

We do not have the names of many of those who held positions at the Burton Latimer Working Men's Club, but those that we do know are listed below together with the date shown by the relevant document in which they appear.
1898 Edward Ambler Trustee
1898 Thomas Chamberlain Trustee
1898 George W Downing Trustee
1898 William Blakesley Treasurer



1901 Joseph H Whitney Manager



1903 Mr Mallard President



1906 Thomas Janes Secretary



1925-31 Andrew Conroy Secretary



1960-87 John Willets Steward
William Drage, a Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve who lost his life in 1917, is also mentioned as having been a Manager of the Burton Latimer Working Men's Club although we do not know the actual date.


Games and Teams
The Burton Latimer Gala Programme for July 1939 shows that the Club fielded a Tug o' War Team, and although we have no photograph it mentions that its members were: Cyril Lewis, Vic Blowfield, George Cartwright, Percy Toseland, Ernie Drage, Jim Wade and Arthur(?) Palmer. Other teams in other years that we know of are shown below.

Photograph of the Quoits Team taken in the mid 1920s.
Quoits Team - mid 1920s
Standing: Alf Clipstone, ? , George Woods, ? , "Dot" Johnson, George Mutton, Arthur Lovell, "Wocker" Turner.
Seated: ?, Andrew Conroy, Alf Eady, ? , Bill Drage, Alex Bunyan.
Photograph of the Darts Team taken in the 1950s.
Darts Team - 1950s
Standing: ? , Percy Toseland, ? , Albert Toop, "Huffy" Northern, John Strudwick, Bob Coles.
Seated: Horace Northern, Fred Oram, ? , Bernie Woods, ? , Bill Smith, Cyril Lewis.

Photgraph of the skittles being set up at The Rack. Photograph of Members taking a break during a 1950s outing.
Teddy Haynes and John Ellson set 'em up at "The Rack".
An outing in the 1950s

Walter "Dot" Johnson,
Leo Corstin, Bill Goodliffe,
and Bill Smith



"Rack" Committees
Photograph of The Rack Committee taken in November 1962.
November 1962
Standing: John Willetts (Steward), Fred Knighton, John Edwards, "Curly" Nicholson, Vic Blowfield, Ted Dicks, Bill Downing, Arthur Carter.
Seated: Bradley Simpkins, Ken Desborough, Bernie Woods, John Ellson, Bert Hobbs.
Later photograph of The Rack Committee
Taken in the 1980s (?)
Back row: John Willets (Steward), Mervyn Rowlett, Arthur Clements, David Thurlow, Arthur Liggins, Ron Ellson.
Seated: Vic Blowfield, John Ellson, Frank Hicks, Percy Evans, Tony Burbidge, Ken Desborough.
Front: Mick Stephenson, Brian Keech.


Inside "The Rack"
Photograph of a group of members taken inside The Rack. Photograph of the refurbished bar at The Rack.
Pictured here putting the world to rights are Frank Hicks,
Percy Evans and John Ellson.
The refurbished bar, with Steward John Willetts in attendance.
His customers are Mr Loak and Brad Simkins.

Photograph of a large group of members at The Rack.
Burton Latimer WMC Members - 1960s(?)
Standing: Jack Benford, Tommy Clarke, ? , ? , Eric Stokes, Curly Nicholson, Dot Johnson, Cecil Laying.
Seated: ?, Cyril Lewis, Leo Corstin, ?, Bill Smith, Bernie Woods(?).



John Willets
John Willetts was the Steward at the club and with his wife Frances served at the bar for 27 years. The photograph below shows them waiting to serve at the refurbished bar, while the second down was taken at their retirement in 1987.

Steward John Willetts pictured with wife Frances and brother-in-law Jimmy O'Neil.
John Willetts is pictured centre, together with wife Frances (nee O'Neil)
and brother-in-law Jimmy O'Neil MBE.

Photograph of John Willetts with wife Frances at his retirement party.
John and Frances Willetts being toasted on their retirement.
Also pictured are (Left-Right): Ron Beddows, Mick French, Frank Spokes,
John Ferrier, Tony Burbidge and Mick Stephenson.



The Premises in 2009
Photograph of a sign on the side of the club bearing the words"Wellingborough WMC (Burton Latimer)".
Left:This sign was erected when the club was taken over by the Wellingborough branch and despite its closure still remains to the present day (December 2009).





Right: It was not without protests that the club closed, as this poster shows.
Photograph of a notice advertising an urgent meeting for members past and present.



Photograph of the unused premises taken in December 2009.
Left: The current sad demise of The Rack in December 2009.

Below: The Rack in its happier days.
Photograph of The Rack in its happier days c1970.

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