Tom Thumb club badges, Yorkshire Evening News (c.1929)

            The Tom Thumb Club was a children’s club founded in 1929 and sponsored by the Yorkshire Evening News. Like other children’s clubs of the period it supported local charities and especially local children’s hospital wards, such as the ‘Tom Thumb Club Hospital Cot Fund’. Donors would have their names and donations proudly announced in the Club section of the Evening News. Like it’s rival ‘Nig & Nog’ children’s club, it proved very popular with a huge membership that continued throughout the 1930s.

The Tom Thumb Club was open to children under 16 years of age and unlike the majority of children’s clubs, it was free to join. A membership pack included the member’s rule book, personalised membership certificate and the all essential enamel badge. Members would also receive a Tom Thumb birthday card from the club with their names announced in the club’s section of the newspaper. There would also be special holidays, day excursions and local activities for members, all announced in the Tom Thumb Club section of the Yorkshire Evening News.

The Yorkshire Evening News was a regional daily paper with a wide circulation throughout West Yorkshire, especially in the Leeds-Bradford districts. The newspaper title started up in 1905 and continued with an unbroken record until it ceased publication in 1963. The paper included a children’s supplement that covered the activities of their Tom Thumb Club. Today, the Yorkshire Evening Post is the main daily regional for West Yorkshire.

The Tom Thumb Club rules were included in the membership pack and I have reproduced them here:

1) There is no entrance fee of any kind. *

2) The Tom Thumb Club is open to every boy or girl reader of the “Yorkshire Evening News”.

3) Everyone is eligible under the age of 16 years.

4) In order to become members, boys and girls must comply with the conditions as published in the “Yorkshire Evening News”.

5) Badge, Membership Certificate, etc. are sent to new members soon after their applications are received and their names registered in the Tom Thumb Birthday Book.

6) Every member on joining must make a promise to parent, guardian or teacher, that he or she will – Try to be always truthful. Try to be always happy. Do at least one good deed every day.

7) Members must wear badges AT ALL TIMES so that members may recognise one another. Every care must be taken of badges and membership certificates.

8) On their birthdays members will receive a special birthday card from Tom Thumb.

9) Details of special arrangements and privileges for members will be announced from time to time in the “Yorkshire Evening News”.

10) Members must watch the “Yorkshire Evening News” every day for news of all the fresh activities and developments of the Club.

* Noticed how the first rule states free membership. Most children’s clubs of the period required a fee of 6d (six pence) or 1/- (one shilling) which was a considerable amount of any child’s money at the time.

Both lapel badges photographed are the same size, measuring ¾” diameter (about 20mm) with buttonhole (horseshoe shaped) clasps. It was the convention to issue badges with buttonhole clasps to boys and those with pin clasps to girls. Both badges were manufactured from die-stamped brass with one enamel (blue). 

The first badge shows Tom Thumb dressed in a type of costume (anyone know what type it is?). This badge is also nickel plated with the maker’s name on the reverse ‘Vaughtons, B’ham’.

The other badge shows Tom Thumb in stage costume and boater hat emerging from a magician’s top hat. The maker’s name on this badge is ‘Thomas Fattorini Ltd, Hockley Street, Birmingham’ which dates this badge to 1929 at the latest. There is also a registration number ‘Rd 632818’ dated for 1914, as this date is too early for the Tom Thumb Club it’s likely represents when the buttonhole clasp design was registered by Thomas Fattorini Ltd.

Thank you for reading.
Stuart.

Taken on: April 25, 2009

Tags:

Tom Thumb

Children's Club

Enamel Badge

1920s

1930s

Yorkshire Evening News « less

Sets appears in: • Children's club badges

Groups appears in: • ENAMEL BADGES

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