'Meeting held at 7 Marlborough Avenue, 21.XI.44
A. G. Joselin in the chair.
[...]
2. The minutes of the last meeting were read and after considerable discussion &
some alteration, signed.
5. After adjourning for refreshment we listened with very great interest to some
letters from Ralph Smith and also one from a repatriated Prisoner of War giving
first hand news of him.
6. Knox Taylor opened our evening of controversial subjects by a defence of
‘Vice’. He maintained that drinking and gambling in moderation were
harmless in themselves when dissociated from their social evils. In the discussion
which followed members seemed on the whole to favour a life of virtue, being
unwilling thus to separate cause from effect.
7. Elsie Harrod spoke on the housing question and after putting forward the many
problems which must be considered by those responsible for building the houses
for this generation, she proposed that the only way of meeting all requirements
was to pass a law that no house should be built to last for more than 10 years.
The chief argument which was put forward against this was that if the house was
guaranteed to decay in 10 years what would it be like in the 2 or 3 years
preceding this limit.
8. In a vehement and convincing discourse F. E. Pollard defended Reason against
this Age of Unreason. A lively discussion which followed showed that the speaker
had largely carried his audience with him along the path of Reason, although some
of us were unwilling to part with our sub-conscious minds.
[signed as a true record by] Muriel M. Stevens 16-12-44'
Century: 1900-1945 Reader/Listener/Group: Knox Taylor Manuscript: Unknown
'Meeting held at Gower Cottage. 8th May ’43
Muriel Stevens in the Chair
1. Minutes of last meeting read & signed
[...]
3. Knox Taylor opened our study of Johnson & his Circle by giving us a most
comprehensive picture of the background of this period.
4. Howard Smith told us of Johnson’s life and publications.
5. Isabel Taylor read Johnson’s famous letter to Lord Chesterfield.
6. Roger Moore read ‘The Wedding Day’ by Boswell & an account of his first
meeting with Johnson.
7. F. E. Pollard described Johnson’s Circle. He spoke of Garrick, Sir Joshua
Reynolds, Burke, Godlsmith, Boswell, Richardson, Fielding, Mrs. Thrale and her
daughter Hester & others and A. B Dilks read from Johnson’s “Vanity of Human
Wishes.”
8. Mention must be made of the excellent refreshments provided by our hostess
and the Secretary regrets that owing to lack of time, she has in these minutes
done Scant justice to a most thoughtfully prepared & extremely interesting
evening.
[signed as a true record by] Howard R Smith
22/6/43 [at the club meeting held at Frensham: see Minute Book, p. 155: ‘We
adjourned indoors & the minutes of the last meeting were read, corrected and
signed.’]'
Century: 1900-1945 Reader/Listener/Group: Knox Taylor Manuscript: Unknown
'Meeting held at Gower Cottage 4th. May 1942.
M. Stevens in the chair.
1. The minutes of the last meeting were read, pronounced rather more accurate
than usual, and signed.
[...]
4. First we had the telegram which was from the Alexanders, regretting that a
chicken pox epidemic among the children prevented their parents from
contributing to our evenings entertainment.
5. Next an essay entitled “An Autumn Ramble” was read by A. G. Joselin and the
author was later identified as S. A. Reynolds, who told us that it had been written
some 50 years ago.
[...]
7. Roger Moore read an essay entitled “Langdale, Easter 1942” and casting among
our members for a rock-climber we soon realized that the author was Knox
Taylor. [...]
8. Rosamund Wallis read “Samuel Butler at the Book Club” which was recognised
at once as being written by the secretary. She had rather let herself go in an
account of an imaginary meeting which explained the unusual brevity and accuracy
of this months minutes.
9. “Three Weeks in Kerry” was the title of a most interesting essay read by F. E.
Pollard. We had some difficulty in identifying this as being written by his wife –
perhaps because although we were told it had been written many years ago in the
author’s ‘comparative youth’ our imaginations failed to picture Mrs. Pollard on a
perilous journey in an Irish car, holding up an umbrella with one hand and and
peeling a hard-boiled egg with the other. [...]
10. A. B. Dilks read a dissertation in which the author wrote for some four or five
pages on the difficulty of deciding what to write about. Roger Fry, food, gardens
and cats were among the subjects he considered but for one reason or another,
laid aside. As members of the Book Club are so noted for beating around the bush
we had considerable difficulty in spotting this particular beater — but it proved to
be Roger Moore.
[...]
[Signature of] A. B. Dilks 6th June 1942'
Century: 1900-1945 Reader/Listener/Group: Roger Moore Manuscript: Unknown
'Meeting held at 72, Shinfield Road, 14th November 1942
Arnold Joselin in the Chair
2. In the absence of the Secretary, the Treasurer [Bruce Dilks] took it upon
himself to read the minutes which were approved and signed.
[...]
5. The subject of the evening, “The Age of Pericles” was then introduced by Knox
Taylor.
[...]
7. F. E. Pollard took up where Knox Taylor had left off, though as he remarked, he
hadn’t been left much. Thereupon we had an able discourse on the thought and
writing of the Age.
8. Arnold Joselin and Roger Moore read from Plato’s “Republic.” This was an
amusing mono-duologue between Socrates and a pupil on the subject of Justice.
Socrates, by completely tangling up his pupil, showed that the art of
schoolmastering has changed little in 2000 years.
[signed as a true record by] Harry Stevens
Dec. 12. 1942'
Century: 1900-1945 Reader/Listener/Group: Knox Taylor Manuscript: Unknown
'Meeting held at Oakdene, Northcourt Avenue 7.iv.41
S. A. Reynolds in the chair.
1. The minutes of the last meeting were read and signed.
[...]
6. After an interval for refreshment we came to “The Admirable Crichton” probably
Barries best play. Knox Taylor briefly outlined the story and then the last Act was
read with the following cast:
Agatha – Isabel Taylor
Ernest – F. E. Pollard
Catherine – Mary Reynolds
Lord Loam – S. A. Reynolds
Crichton – A. B. Dilks
Lady Mary – Margaret Dilks
Lord Brocklehurst – Arnold Joselin
Lady Brocklehurst – Muriel Stevens
Treherne – H. R. Smith
Tweeny – Violet Clough
Howard Smith recalled that this was the third time the Book Club had selected to
read from this play and on each occasion he had been cast as the cricketing
parson. F. E. Pollard hoped that it would not be his lot to play the Hon. Ernest
Wooley again, but it was generally felt that he had been excellently cast in view of
the stage direction “he is a match for any old lady”.
[...]
[Signed as a true record by] A. G. Joselin
5 May 1941'
Century: 1900-1945 Reader/Listener/Group: Knox Taylor Manuscript: Unknown
'Meeting held at 72 Shinfield Road. 5th May 1941
A. G Joselin in the chair.
1. The minutes of the last meeting were read and approved
2. Apologies of absence were read from Violet Clough & Mr. & Mrs. Knox
Taylor.
[...]
4. Our evening was devoted to a study of the work and writings of Matthew Arnold
and we are very grateful to the Committee who arranged the programme and in
particular to A. G. Joselin and F. E. Pollard for a most interesting and enlightening
evening.
First Mr. Joselin told us something of Matthew Arnold’s work as an Educationalist —
of his attempts to secure the improvement of education & particularly secondary
education in England. His views on Education are expressed in “Culture and
Anarchy” which was published in 1869, and Mr. Joselin read several extracts from
J. Dover Wilson’s editorial introduction to this book. [...] Other readings given to
illustrate Matthew Arnold the Educationalist and Prose Writer were “Dover Beach”
by Mrs. Joselin and further extracts form “Culture and Anarchy” read by R. D. L.
Moore.'
Century: 1900-1945 Reader/Listener/Group: Margaret Dilks Manuscript: Unknown
