The Acorn Club

Acorn Club membership
From the private collection of Jennifer Tonks nee Smith

My memory is hazy

I was a member of The Acorn Club in the 1950s, but my memory of it is quite hazy around the details. I think it was a club for kids run by the Brighton and Hove Gazette. But I really can’t remember a great deal more about it.

Letter from ‘Auntie Joan’

The main person in the club was ‘Auntie Joan’. I have a letter from her saying ‘Thank You’ for my contribution of silver paper to a collection the club was making. It seems to me that this was a bit like the things ‘Blue Peter’ used to do.

Were you a member?

I would love to hear from anyone else who remembers The Acorn Club or was a member. Can you remember any other activities? If you can shed some light on the club and what they did, please leave a comment below.

Comments about this page

  • I was a member of the Acorn Club. I remember the card. Was the club something to do with The Argus? They would publish your name on your birthday. I think I was a member about 1950.

    By Iris Gilman (17/09/2011)
  • Almost certain it was Brighton and Hove Gazette but, allowing for age, I could be wrong Iris. I do remember that your birthday was mentioned. Oh! The excitement of seeing your name in the paper! What simple pleasures we enjoyed ,long before the advent of “tele” for many of us. Story on the radio, mum, dad and siblings making models from plaster of paris to later paint and give as gifts. Collecting whatever we were asked by Aunty Joan,and just simply being children, and being allowed to be.

    By Jennifer Tonks (17/09/2011)
  • Evening entertainment was Relay Radio. Two stations, BBC Light and BBC Home. Indeed it was a great thrill to receive birthday wishes in the newspaper and to see your own name in print.

    By Iris Gilman (18/09/2011)
  • I was at The Brighton & Hove Herald around 1956 onward. Does anyone remember and know another apprentice compositor?

    By Tony Stevens (18/09/2011)
  • I am so pleased to read of those memories as I have no memory of these activities at all. What I do recall was the acorn cup presented to me for best dog (Vicki, Pekinese) in the show in Preston Park. I need to check the date. I still have it and the certificate and the photo which appeared in the (I thought it was) the Argus.
    Oh, the innocence of it all. I also recall it was shown on the news on tv. But I didn’t let it go to my head.

    By Alistaire Hayman (02/12/2022)
  • I won a £1 Premium Bond in the late 1950s as I had submitted a painting of a Roman soldier in the Acorn Club painting competition and that was the First Prize. Now aged 73, I still have the Premium Bond…not a winner though!

    By Dr Geoffrey Mead (03/12/2022)
  • I don’t remember a lot about the acorn club, but I was a member and still have my badge.

    By Jill Burt (08/01/2023)

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