100 Years of Toc H Index

• 100 Years of Toc HSeptember 7, 2015
  The charity Toc H – which I have been part of for over 25 years – has its roots in Talbot House, a World War One soldiers’ club in Belgium. …
• The Prince and the PadreOctober 9, 2015
  As I have stated, this Blog is to be the home for a series of articles relating to Toc H. The first new essay will be published in December to …
• A Personal Journey Into Toc HDecember 12, 2015
  I am intermingling writing this article with packing my case for a trip to Poperinge. This must be almost my thirtieth trip to Belgium since my first in the late …
• Everyman’s Club?November 16, 2016
  Well, somewhat later than originally promised, here is the next of my blogs marking the centenary of Talbot House (Toc H) 1915-18. There will be more, sometime….. Introduction There is …
• Toc H BadgesNovember 29, 2016
  As an interlude to the blog articles I am writing, I will be posting some other items of historical interest around Toc H. This article catalogues my badge collection. It’s …
• Cometh the Hour, Cometh the ManMay 25, 2017
  After Tubby, there are any number of candidates for the most influential person in Toc H – the post-war organisation, not Talbot House. Personal favourites are Pat Leonard and Barclay …
• The Other Gilbert TalbotJuly 14, 2017
  A Flemish battlefield tour by anyone with an interest in Toc H could not possibly be complete without visiting the grave of Lieutenant Gilbert Walter Lyttelton Talbot in Sanctuary Wood …
• KnutsfordJuly 17, 2017
  Now I have a little more time on my hands, I am getting back to my Toc H research. This means my articles might appear a little more frequently (no …
• Wet Flanders PlainAugust 29, 2017
  Sorting through my research notes I came across this extract from Henry Williamson’s The Wet Flanders Plain I scanned a while back. It’s a lovely little account of his return …
• A symbol of Home and FriendshipSeptember 15, 2017
  As I continue my research into various aspects of Toc H, from time to time I unearth some interesting works by other people that relate to the Movement. Recently I …
• Pat Leonard MemoirSeptember 21, 2017
  This memoir was originally written by Pat’s son-in-law, Philip Leonard Johnson, in 1968. In 2010 Philip and I digitised it to coincide with the publication of Pat’s diaries, The Fighting …
• A Sketch of the Early DaysNovember 2, 2019
  Let me begin with a brief apology. A variety of different factors have stopped me adding to this blog as frequently as I planned over the past couple of years …
• The Christmas SpiritDecember 21, 2019
  Season’s greetings to one and all. To celebrate here is a rarely seen illustration by Queenie Dodd from the 1920 Toc H Annual A Christmas Spirit. Entitled A Dream Comes …
• The Women Who Knew Talbot HouseJanuary 5, 2020
  Steve Smith January 2020 You may know that Tubby tried to record the names of all those who passed through the door of Talbot House whilst it was open. The …
• Working With OffendersJanuary 23, 2020
  The following two accounts were given at different times by two volunteers who both worked for Toc H in Norfolk (and elsewhere). The other common ground is that when they …
• A Week End at Dor KnapJanuary 28, 2020
  Another guest post this time. I’ve reproduced a little booklet put together by Ted Curry of Harrow branch in the sixties. It documents a June 1961 Week End at Dor …
• The Houses That Love Built – Part 1January 30, 2020
  Mark III   Whilst Toc H grew to be a worldwide movement built on people, actions, faith and fortitude, Tubby’s vision for rekindling Toc H after the war was more simply …
• Tubby’s DogsFebruary 15, 2020
  After the last epic blog, it’s time for a shorter simpler exploration of a facet of Toc H’s past. Hopefully an interesting one just the same as we take a …
• Toc H in YarmouthMarch 5, 2020
  This piece has just been published in my Great Yarmouth history blog but will be of interest to many readers of this blog https://yarmouthhistory.org/2020/03/05/toc-h-in-yarmouth/
• A Toc H TimelineMarch 9, 2020
  I originally put this together for Toc H Belgium as part of the Centenary celebrations in December 2015. Parts of it appeared in a huge display in the Slessorium that …
• At the Sign of Toc HMarch 27, 2020
  Despite Tubby’s oft quoted maxim to “Do something good each day but don’t get found out”, Toc H would go to great lengths to extend the Movement and that included …
• A Lamp MiscellanyMarch 31, 2020
  This blog is written to accompany the first draft of a newly compiled Roll of Lamps – the link to which is at the end of the article – which …
• The Houses That Love BuiltApril 20, 2020
  This article was written for and first published by Talbot House as part of their appeal for funds due to the Covid 19 crisis. I republish here so we can …
• History in SketchesApril 26, 2020
  I’m currently researching for a future blog about Barclay Baron, to my mind one of the most important figures in Toc H history. If you don’t know much about him …
• Let Your Light So ShineMay 10, 2020
  Steve Smith I said recently that it is my intention to tell you the story of Barclay Baron both here in blog form and later as a full biography. That …
• EmergencyJune 10, 2020
  By Steve Smith During the Coronavirus outbreak, many communities have started schemes that are varieties of putting something – a coloured card for instance – in your window if you …
• Talbot House Seafaring Boys’ Residential ClubJune 14, 2020
  Ray Fabes (c) 2008 Today’s blog is a guest post by Ray Fabes, a former Toc H staff member and academic with a special interest in youth work. This article …
• Toc H Pilgrim GuidesJune 17, 2020
  By Steve Smith Having recently acquired a copy of one of the few books missing from my Toc H collection, namely In Flanders Fields (qv), I thought I’d put together …
• Reg SmithJune 21, 2020
  By Steve Smith This shorter and more visual biography is really just an excuse to illustrate some Toc H membership cards from over the years. By chance I acquired on …
• A Most Gentle ManJuly 22, 2020
  By Steve Smith Time after time, when Neville Minas’ name appears in one of the Toc H groups on facebook, a flurry of posts appear from people who knew him …
• To Be in England – A Flemish take on ProjectsJuly 24, 2020
  by Bertin Deneire Today’s Guest Centenary blog is a first-hand look at the UK Project scene from Bertin Deneire who took part in many activities back in the seventies and …
• A Portrait of PromiseAugust 2, 2020
  In some ways this blog has a very tenuous link to the history of Toc H since it looks at something that happened over two years before Talbot House opened …
• To Be Back in England – A Flemish take on LondonAugust 3, 2020
  A week or so ago, Bertin Deneire told us of his first trip to England to take part in a Toc H project. Now Bertin is back with a further …
• A Tribute to TubbySeptember 14, 2020
  I was recently contacted by a man who was decluttering his garage. He had come across two volumes given to him by a friend some years ago which, in turn, …
• The Bard of Tower HillNovember 17, 2020
  By Steve Smith My last post – and I apologise for the current paucity of blogs; I’ll blame Covid – featured a tribute to Tubby in poetic form by Geoffrey …
• The FishermanDecember 12, 2020
  By Steve Smith Fifty years ago today, at All Hallows by the Tower, the Reverend Gualter de Mello, a chaplain in Toc H, joined John Urban Burgess and Marolyn Joy …
• The Winant Volunteers – A HistoryDecember 21, 2020
  One of the longest running programmes started by Toc H was The Winant Volunteers, which began shortly after the Second World War and finished less than a decade ago, though …
• Toc H PhilatelyJanuary 8, 2021
  By Steve Smith This short, and largely visual, blog was inspired by a recent acquisition. Despite being the son of a keen philatelist, I had never heard of Maximums before, …
• Marks and MotorsFebruary 6, 2021
  The story of Lancelot Prideaux-Brune By Steve Smith The name of Prideaux-Brune has been attached to Toc H for its entire existence. Latterly this has been through the work of …
• A Man of ConvictionFebruary 23, 2021
  By Steve Smith From time to time this blog features the stories of the men and women who have made a significant impact on the history of Toc H. This …
• To Serve Them All My DaysFebruary 25, 2021
  By Steve Smith Whilst the Toc H was a Movement made up of thousands of unpaid members in groups and branches across the globe, the organisation would have seized up …
• The Houses That Love BuiltMarch 3, 2021
  By Steve Smith This blog is part of a series of features that look at the history of the Marks and other properties of Toc H. In December 2020 I …
• The Headquarter Buildings of Toc HMarch 16, 2021
  By Steve Smith I’m in the midst of writing a long and complex blog for publication later this month, so to keep you going until then and also to give …
• An Experiment in Notting HillMarch 26, 2021
  How Mark I reinvented itself By Steve Smith In telling the tale of Toc H’s UK Marks, I promised that I would come back and look in more depth at …
• Tubby at PortseaApril 7, 2021
  The life story of Phillip Thomas Byard Clayton, known widely as Tubby, has been told in some detail in three well written biographies; his time at Talbot House and with …
• Operation DaffodilApril 12, 2021
  By Steve Smith Twice on television over Easter, eagle-eyed folks spotted a Toc H mention on TV and both related to the same project. Firstly, in an archive clip on …
• 10 Book BlogMay 14, 2021
  By Steve Smith Finally got a holiday planned? Need something to read on Bognor beach when the wind dies down, or will your staycation take you no further than the …
• The First Committee MembersMay 25, 2021
  By Steve Smith When researching and writing for my blog, I am never ceased to be amazed by how Tubby was able to attract the ‘great and the good’ to …
• Toc H UnderwaySeptember 22, 2021
  By Steve Smith Recently my focus seems to have fallen of the formative years of Toc H. I looked at Tubby’s pre-war grounding in Portsea and then, more recently, at …
• The 1930 World Chain of LightJanuary 14, 2022
  By Steve Smith I suppose this particular blog ought to have appeared in December but sometimes things just don’t work out the way they ought to. It was only over …
• Tubby’s FamilyFebruary 15, 2022
  By Steve Smith You can’t write about the history of Toc H without looking at Tubby as a person as well as the founding father of the Movement, and as …
• The Ancient House at HoddesdonMay 30, 2022
  By Steve Smith Hoddesdon is not famous for much I guess. I think the predecessor of the Black and Dekker workmate was designed and built here in a tiny workshop; …
• The Steadiest Buff – Arthur Pettifer MMJune 10, 2022
  By Steve Smith The name of Arthur Pettifer is forever entwined at the heart of Toc H, from its very beginning and long after the owner of the name joined …
• George Moore – the Scout on the HillJune 14, 2022
  By Steve Smith Whilst researching my next major blog – the story of Toc H on Tower Hill – one man kept cropping up time and time again. I had …
• Toc H on Tower HillJuly 16, 2022
  By Steve Smith Introduction Some years ago a party of friends from Poperinge Toc H came to visit London and I agreed to show them around Tower Hill. I was …
• Tower Hill PeopleAugust 5, 2022
  By Steve Smith This blog is the final part of the recently published blog telling the story of Toc H on Tower Hill. It complements it by looking at the …
• The Journal onlineAugust 24, 2022
  By Steve Smith This short blog is to accompany the launch of a special project I have been working on for some while. What I have unveiled today is the …
• Monsieur le Majeur – the story of Paul SlessorAugust 31, 2022
  By Steve Smith Out of everything he did in his life, Paul Slessor will always be remembered for the work he put it in to ensure Talbot House became a …
• Back to Basics – the Resurgence of Talbot HousesSeptember 23, 2022
  By Steve Smith The original Talbot House – which opened its doors in Poperinge on the 11th of December 1915 – was almost certainly the best-known soldier’s rest club of …
• And Then There Were NineOctober 13, 2022
  By Steve Smith This blog is primarily an update to my blog on the Women Foundation members published back in January 2020. And yet it’s much more than that since …
• To Build Bravely -Toc H & the Borstal BoysOctober 20, 2022
  By Steve Smith I recently read a biography of Alexander Paterson, written by one Harry Potter (How his life must have been dramatically changed when J.K. Rowling found success). Regular …
• A Most Generous Man – the Story of Charles WakefieldDecember 3, 2022
  By Steve Smith To say Charles Wakefield made his money in ‘black gold’ and spent it on fast cars and fast planes is true but misleading. He was essentially a …
• Dishonesty and DeceitDecember 7, 2022
  By Steve Smith It’s hard to believe that a Movement for good might find itself at the mercy of confidence tricksters, and yet Toc H did, many times. Now we …
• Mr Peter – a glimpse at the life of Peter EastApril 22, 2023
  By Steve Smith One hundred years ago today, a man was born who would go on to make an impact on two continents. He would not make the sort of …
• The Sunday Break – Toc H on TVMay 19, 2023
  By Steve Smith It was many years ago, during one of my frequent discussions with John Burgess about different aspects of Toc H’s history, that he mentioned The Sunday Break. …
• My Time with BAORMay 28, 2023
  By Cynthia Hare All walks of life came through the doors of the Toc H Services Club in Verden, and it was where I finished my growing up.  I was …
• Those ‘Orrible Coffee Houses: Toc H in BAORMay 28, 2023
  By Steve Smith In a blog last September, I looked at how the war-time services clubs were starting to morph into something else in occupied Germany. Here we pick up …
• Branded – the story of the Toc H logoJune 7, 2023
  By Steve Smith Since Toc H have just released a new logo, I thought it was an apposite time to look back at the logos Toc H has used over …
• Alec Churcher – Fellowship through ServiceJune 29, 2023
  By Steve Smith Often, we come across men and women in these blogs, who have given over their whole life to Toc H. People like Barclay Baron, William Musters, Stuart …
• Toc H PostcardsJuly 19, 2023
  By Steve Smith I have in my Toc H collection, a rather large selection of postcards, and felt it was time to share one or two with you. Several of …
• Happy Birthday To UsFebruary 12, 2024
  By Steve Smith This blog looks at the Birthday Festivals of Toc H. It has proven to be another mammoth undertaking so I have decided to break it into two …
• Jock of GibraltarFebruary 26, 2024
  By Steve Smith The subjects I choose to write about in my blog, are chosen for a variety of reasons. Sometimes, it is a request for information from a family …
• A Potted History of Sheringham Toc HMarch 16, 2024
  By Steve Smith This blog has been specially written to coincide with the Faith and Fishing exhibition at Sheringham museum. The exhibition runs from March to October 2024. When, in …
• Happy Birthday to Us Part 2March 24, 2024
  By Steve Smith This is the second part of our look at Toc H Birthday festivals. Once again, I have uploaded many programmes and other related materials to the Internet …
• An Orcadian Love AffairApril 22, 2024
  By Steve Smith Today I want to look at the connections Tubby, and then of course Toc H, have to Orkney, the archipelago off the north-east coast of mainland Scotland. …
• 100 Years of Toc H IndexJune 1, 2024
• Down on Folly Farm – the Toc H London Sports’ ClubJune 7, 2024
  By Steve Smith When I set out on this blog, I tried to think of any sport related activities I had ever done in the name of Toc H. Those …
• RogerumJune 22, 2024
  By Steve Smith This quick blog really acts as a bit of a request. When researching the earliest days of Toc H, it is clear that no gathering of the …