THE Ealing and District A.S. ARCHIVE - 19?? to 197?

Usual meeting place or headquarters address:.Northfields Community Centre, Northcroft
Road, West Ealing W3

Magazine or Journal details.The Ealing Newsletter

Regularly Staged Special Events.Well attended shows

Number of members in peak attending years..20 ish?.

Membership

Ealing Facts, (in Dick Mill's own words )

"As remembered but open to correction by any other members
looking in!

Members included:

Colin Rainbow: Chairman
Roy Barratt: Secretary
Ray Savage: Treasurer

Other members included Charlie and Bert Ankin, John Batts, Derek Church, Jim Healey, Pete Heal, Jim Irvine, Dick Mills, Laurence Sandfield and Ted Tagg to name but a few. It's always interesting to see the various occupations of members. 

Most appropriately, Bert Ankin owned 'Pets Inn' an aquarium shop right opposite Northfields Underground Station! 

Colin Rainbow worked for Bovis the construction company; 

Ray Savage was a Tax Inspector - an excellent Treasurer! 

Roy Barrat was a Policeman. 
Pete Heal was a Post Office engineer, and Jim Irvine although working in a wallpaper shop eventually set up his own aquatic business when he moved to Milton Keynes. 
Laurence Sandfield lived locally to the Society's meeting place and had a house companion in the shape of a large Sulhur-crested Cockatoo named George. 

Derek Church was involved with the Potato Marketing Board and Jim Healey was a builder. 
Dick Mills was well-known at that time - not for fishkeeping, but for working on Dr Who at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop!
Ted Tagg, a retired gentleman, won many Table Shows with catfish and also had the distinction of designing the Society's badge when it was decided to upgrade it from the then standard silver Angelfish plus name bar underneath.

Of these, one or two have left their mark on the hobby: John Batts (a window-cleaner) created the now-popular 'Aquascape' Class, where an open-sided tank is filled
with an aquatic, above-and-below water scene to one's own design. Anything may be used, especially moss and plant cuttings; often the bottom of the tank has an internal glass container in which the water is held, the surrounding
plants and wood decorations being housed behind and above.

The Ealing Newsletter was widely circulated to Societies both at home and abroad. Edited by Dick Mills (who later moved into book-writing) it only foundered due to increased postal costs rather than lack of content. 

Probably founded in the 60s (I'm not sure when but the Society entered all the PFK Shows at Horticultural Hall, Vincent Square and several at Alexandra Palace), meetings were held at the Northfields Community Centre, Northcroft
Road, West Ealing W3 on the first and third Tuesdays of each month. The Society eventually closed in the mid-70s after a fire destroyed the meeting
place.

The small ornamental lake, in local Walpole Park, was a great source of
Daphnia during the summer but you had to get a permit from the Park's Department
(residents only) to collect it - or be chased off by the Park-keeper if
caught without possessing permission......................................"

Where a successor body is known to be functioning in the same area would you like Aquarists reunited to leave the details here?YES.

   Hounslow and District A. S.  wendy@caburrow.freeserve.co.uk or hounslowfish@tiscali.co.uk 
Meetings begin at 8pm and are held on alternate Wednesday evenings at St Stephens Church Hall, Parkside Road, Hounslow, Middlesex