Where it all began
You may like to know some of the history of “The Woolies”.
We know that a group of friends in Heswall got together in 1937 to perform a revue of comedy sketches and musical numbers to celebrate the Coronation of George VI.
Our origin as The Woolgatherers dates back to 1940 when a group of ladies in Heswall gathered wool to knit into balaclavas and mittens for the troops and friends decided to produce a revue and present it at Heswall Parish Hall. The proceeds would be used to buy more wool and so increase their output.
The group called themselves “The Woolgatherers” and the revue was such a success that they continued to produce revues until the end of the war. Revues were performed at Heswall Parish Hall and raised money for a variety of causes.
The Early Years to 1949
The Woolgatherers name is certainly unique in theatrical circles!
Liverpool Echo Wednesday 1 May 1940 - By a praiseworthy effort made by people associated with the Liverpool liner Apapa, led by Mr S Broadbridge, the Chief Steward, a Wirral organisation called the Woolgatherers, which exists to provide comforts for men in the Services has been able to adopt the destroyer HMS Vimy, and have sent the crew, comforts, books and games.
A revue in 1941 raised £130 in aid of buying surgical dressings for The Red Cross.
In today’s money that would be equivalent to roughly £5000!
A tidy sum indeed!
The newspaper review below illustrates the scale of the event – nearly a thousand people attending over two shows!
We know that some of the founding members were: William (Bill) F Kelly, Tony Newland and Maud Budden.
Bill Kelly was the son of the founder of Kelly’s Bakery of Heswall and lived at “The Elms”, The Mount, Heswall. In the photo of members of the group in 1941, he is 2nd from the right.
Bill Kelly later wrote :
"When travelling through Heswall recently, I was surprised to see a poster advertising The Woolgatherers Concert Party. It brought back vivid memories and I could not help but wonder how many of the original Woolgatherers were left. Most of the rehearsals were held at The Elms. We had reinforced the basement where my three children slept while we rehearsed in the room above. It was at one of these rehearsals that Tony Newland came up with the brilliant idea of calling the party 'The Woolgatherers'. Tony's wartime job was with a shipping company and he never knew whether he would be called away to report casualties. The star of the shows was undoubtedly Mrs Maud Budden, who wrote our lyrics and sketches. These proved enormously successful; one of her brightest sketches was entitled 'The Home Guard of Heswall', which consisted of 16 verses tracing the Heswall Home Guard down the ages."
Early in 1946, with an increase in membership and an influx of ideas, we produced our first full length play “For the Love of Mike”. It was performed at Heswall Parish Hall on April 25th, 26th and 27th. Tickets cost 3/6d and proceeds were in aid of Royal Liverpool Children’s Hospital and Heswall British Legion Memorial Building Fund.
Only one play was performed in 1947, Candied Peel. This is a murder mystery set in WWII. There was a cast of 7 ladies and 5 men.
1948 saw us produce Love in a Mist, a comedy by Kenneth Horne set around a honeymooning couple at an isolated cottage on Exmoor. He is not to be confused with the popular radio presenter of the same name! The play had a cast of 6 (3 men and 3 women).
In 1949 we produced Flare Path and See How They Run. Flare Path, also performed again by us in 1990, by Terence Rattigan was written in 1941 and was based on his wartime experiences.
