Learn more about Our History
The beginning
Woking & District Circle was formed in May 1948 as the 135th Circle of the Catenian Association. The first meeting to form the Circle was held on Saturday, 1st May 1948.
The charter was received a few days later
The circle had 20 founding members. Here’s a list of all Circle Officers in the first year – the first president was Chris McHugo and golfers will still be familiar with the names of David Owen, the Circle’s first secretary, and Tommy Emblem, the first treasurer.
Tradition back at the time was that a Baby’s spoon was passed around the Association to the newest Circle. Woking Circle must have received it from Chester Circle (134) and only had it for a few months. In August 1948 the spoon was passed on to Maidstone Circle (136) and we still have the thank you letter from Maidstone in our Circle archive. In it, the Maidstone President enquires about the value of the spoon “for insurance purposes” and then goes on to say: “Of course the real value to the Association is the continued custody of the original article but in these days one cannot be to careful.”
In the first year, meetings were mostly held in the Sheerhouse Hotel in West Byfleet, later the Circle meetings moved to the Cotteridge Hotel (Guildford Road/Constitution Hill in Woking), occasionally the Albion Hotel in the town centre, The Talbot in Ripley, the Seven Hills Motel in Cobham. Before the first Ladies’ Night in November 1948. Brothers were advised: “This will be the first occasion upon which we shall have the privilege of entertaining [our ladies] socially. You are being relied upon to make this social an outstanding success. A charge of three shillings will be made for refreshments.”
(Photo from https://wokinghistory.org/)
Continue to Grow
1948
The first meeting to form the Circle was held on Saturday, 1st May 1948.
1948
20 Founder Members
1962
30 Members
1990
53 Members
Today
71 Membes
Commemorative Meetings
In 1965, the 200th meeting of Woking Circle was celebrated at the Criterion Restaurant at London’s Piccadilly Circus – attended by 37 Woking Brothers and 113 visiting Brothers:
500th Meeting of Woking & District Circle
The following was taken from the table card created for the 500th Meeting of Woking & District Circle held at Oatlands Park Hotel, Weybridge on Friday 13th July 1990