St.Andrew Society(London)celebrates100 years

Members ofthe St. Andrew Society(London)at one oftheir Burns 'Night Dinner Dances.

InJune 41children from Aberdeen BranchAiryhallChildren ' s Class tookthe RSCDS Tests for Young Dancers. They allpassedwith12ofthe dancersgaining a distinction andanother 26being awardeda credit. Congratulations to them allandthanks to MargaretRoss, the assessor, for her supportive comments. Thephotographshows the Grade 4candidates.

Alan White, a past Chief of the St. Andrew Society (London) writes about its centenary which is being celebrated with a ball on 20 March 2010. As far as we know the Society, which is also known as the Wimbledon and District Scots ’ Association, is the first group affiliated to the RSCDS to reach its century. On 16 March 1910 a group of Scots living in Wimbledon, or nearby in south west London, decided to support Scottish culture by forming a society for that purpose. A constitution was drafted and the Mayor of Wimbledon was invited to fill an honorary position. Meetings were held to “ provide opportunity of promoting friendly intercourse ” with an aim of “the preservation of some of Scotland’ s most attractive characteristics ” , after which it had 60 members and the meetings were reported in newspapers such as TheObanTimes. In April 1913, the Society was registered as a Friendly Society under the name “Wimbledon & District Scots ’ Association ” , but it later changed its name to “St. Andrew Society (London)” with “Wimbledon and District Scots ’Association ” as a subsidiary title. The Society has always been interested in dancing. In 1913-14 it had an “honorary dance instructor ” and a “dance circle ” with a weekly attendance of 150. However, its main activities were based on discussion groups and talks. DuringWorldWar II activities were sporadic, but the Society was re-launched in 1950. 107 members were enrolled despite an increase in the annual subscription from “3 shillings ”(its original 1910 value) to “5 shillings ” (25 pence)! On 25 January 1951, the Society held a Burns Night Dance, which became an annual event. The dancing class was revived in 1955 and attracted a weekly attendance of 50 - 60. Within a few years the class became the main activity of the Society, and it continues to meet on Tuesday evenings in winter at the Wimbledon Community Association. There are monthly informal dances on Saturdays. The Society became an affiliated group of the RSCDS in 1965. At one time, the Society organised an annual ball and it is hoped that the forthcoming special “Centenary Ball” will be a catalyst for the re-incarnation of this event. For many years the Society has exchanged greetings with other “St. Andrew ” societies throughout the world in celebration of St.Andrew ’ s Day and we hope this tradition will continue in the second century of our existence.