Sybil Howard
Sybil belongs to: Cullercoats Community Centre
Sybil was born in the West End of Newcastle. She moved to Cullercoats in the mid 1970s with her husband. Sybil is an active member of Cullercoats community life. She helped raise funds and build the Cullercoats Community Centre and helps organise fundraising events for the RNLI.
Sybil was interviewed by Carl Greenwood on 1 March 2006. The interview took place at Cullercoats Community Centre and lasted 26 minutes and 15 seconds.
The Cullercoats Community Centre
"The hall is a saga"
The hall is a saga. In 1977, the committee then became a member of the community associations, you know, they formed a Cullercoats Community Association, although they didn’t have a one, they didn’t have a hall, let’s put it like that. But you were allowed to be to collecting, to help to raise the money, you had to go back to the beginning and become a charitable. And they formed the association in ’77 and began collecting money, we were part of the North Tyneside Association and the National Federation, which we still are.
When we were supposed to get a hall, it was the Tynemouth Burgh Council, and then they no longer, became North Tyneside and they sort of reneged on it, because what had happened originally they had a parish hall I believe in John Street, and when they did all the rebuilding they knocked it down and we were promised here, a hall. So then North Tyneside took over and the law then said that that they would give us 25% if we raised 25% and the government would give us 50%. Well, we never got any percentage at all because every time we went to meetings, you know, and really made our mouths go at full committee meetings- we were a bit of a menace really, but we still didn’t get any money.
Eventually, my husband said to me one day, he was an invalid at the time, but a mobile one, more or less, he said, “how much money have you raised on this committee?” and we said, and by that time, at the end of the ‘70s, inflation was horrendous, 12% - 15. And he said, “it’s got nothing to do with me, but I would be putting my money into bricks.” And I said it to some of the fellows on the committee, I said, “I don’t know things like that,” that was a remark. We decided to build it ourselves, and we did.
Sybil has 8 memories in the memorynet:
Sybil's memories with a Women theme:
Sybil's other memories:
Moving from the town to Cullercoats- The Cullercoats Community Centre
- Building the community centre
- The sound of the maroon
Cullercoats Community Centre- The Beacon
This memory has these themes:
Community | Volunteering
Use this form to add your comment to the memorynet: