Just a little preamble to start with: back in the 1930’s, Bill W met Dr Bob in Akron, and that was the beginning of Alcoholics Anonymous. YET! I hear you shout, or whisper, or murmur, how did it start in Great Britain?
It isn’t often spoken about. So, we’ve put together a quick history of how AA came to be in Blighty. In the 1930’s and 40s, there were quite a number of people called Bill or Bob. Just like the start in Akron, a Bob was involved here. Bobbie B.
Bobbie B. was AA’s general secretary in New York during the 1940s. She had contact with a woman named Dorothy H-E who dabbled in AA while in New York. Dorothy loved what A.A. stood for but found it all a bit too hard to follow. Dorothy moved to London, making her the official contact for A.A. on this side of the pond.
This led to the first official 12th step call (or letter). Bobbie sent Dorothy the details of Mrs L-B., who lived in Hove and wanted help.
This may have led to an A.A. meeting held in London, around July 15/16th, 1946; no location was provided. Dorothy H-E met with Bert T, who sobered up in 1938 and, at this time, had been sober for over 7 years. In New York, he held meetings at his tailor shop and was a trustee of the Alcoholic Foundation. Bert travelled to London in June of 1946 and met with Dorothy H-E for dinner. Bert found Dorothy pleasant and willing to work and do anything for A.A. Bert put her in touch with Chris B of Hendon, who Bert described as grey-haired, nice-looking, and a batch, and Dorothy may like to meet. Chris had links to AA in New York, possibly through his brother, Cedric B.
Chris B had two copies of the Big Book and had loaned them out; they were never returned, so no books were available for the Britishers. A letter to New York asked for books to be posted to them, as the Britishers could not send money outside. Charlotte L. of the New York office mentioned this in a later letter. Yet nothing more happened, much to the chagrin of Bobbie B… whose first name was actually Margaret.
On October 10 1946, Chris B of Hendon took over the mantle of contact from Dorothy, as Dorothy headed back to the States. Chris responded to the letter, acknowledging his new role as contact and informing New York, “Owing to indisposition I was obliged to set aside all A.A. activities for a while, but hope now to be able to pick up the threads.” Chris was 57 years old and described as sweet, gentle, very courtly, and very shy about taking “charity” or gifts.
Sorry, but we have another Bob; this Bob was ready and up for it. “Canadian Bob B.” who got sober in New York at the 46th Street clubhouse in 1945. After a short period of soberness, he and his wife moved to London. While in London, Bob maintained his sobriety by corresponding with fellow New Yorkers. Yet, at 14 months sober, alone in London and frustrated that he couldn’t find a drunk to work with…Bob had been in contact with people such as Chris B.
THEN!!! Let’s say that again…THEN…AA in Great Britain finally began……..But how? Well, read on.
On March 22nd, 1947, Grace O., a sober member of the Hollywood group, arrived in London while travelling Europe with her non-alcoholic husband, Fulton O. Bobbie had written to Grace to inform her to contact Bob B and Chris B.
The day Grace and Fulton came over on a cruise liner, Grace posted a note: “If any friends of Bill W would like to meet, please see her in a certain room.” Two people appeared: Pat C., a lady from California, and an American Gentleman called Noble C.
Grace O. and her husband arranged a meetup with Bob B. on the 29th March 1947 at a Hungarian restaurant in Soho to create a plan of action.
At this Soho gaff, the three worked on a strategy to get AA off the ground in the UK. Grace offered to use her Dorchester hotel room, Room 202. She gave Bob tasks, like getting in touch with Chris B, Norman, and Tony F., and the American Grace met on the ocean liner, Noble C., staying at the Savoy.
This is Grace.
Off Bob went to trudge the road to the Savoy reception. He asked them to give Noble’s room a bell… no answer. He asked one more time… and… no answer.
Bob contemplated leaving the hotel when this American bloke wandered up and asked Bob for the time. Bob noticed he had an American accent and tried his luck by asking if he was Noble C. The American said, “I’m not,” but he was keen to meet such an American. “What did he look like?” he asked. I’m not sure, Bob responded. “What is your business with him?” The man replied. Bob decided to dismiss him politely by saying, “Oh, something you wouldn’t know anything about…Alcoholics Anonymous”
This fella then shouted, “A.A. – my God, if anyone was ever ready for that, I am.” His name was Ward W.
Ward W, had been sober for two days up to the point of meeting Bob, purely because he was skint, had nowhere to stay and no means to contact his wife, who was back in Paris waiting for him.
Ward and his wife were meant to travel to London from Paris, Ward got drunk and went missing, and his wife was used to this, so instead of getting the boat herself she waited in the hotel……Ward managed to get the ship to London with no money, no passport and wangled his way through customs and appearing in London lost until he was found Bob B at the Savoy.
Ward was pals with Laurel and Hardy (let that sink in) and hoped for some money from them. Anyway, this story appeared in the Grapevine of 1947 called One in a Million (click here to have a read)
The date of the first recorded meeting in Great Britain was March 31st 1947. Location – Dorchester Hotel, Room 202.
Attendees – Grace O, ‘Canadian’ Bob, Chris B, Ward W sober for two days, Sgt Vernon W. who travelled from Portsmouth and helped start A.A. in Bermuda (read here Vernon’s message to the Grapevine January 1948), Pat C. from California, Tony F. an Irish serviceman and Norman R.W who had been dragged out of pub by his wife, but, get this, he made contact with A.A. after he and his wife, Sylvia, attended Classic Cinema in Croydon to watch Lost Weekend. At the end of the film they showed the contact address for A.A in New York. Sylvia asked Norman, “What’s the worst thing that can happen if you make contact?” During the meeting, Bob was inspired by Grace and her serene confidence that A.A. was needed in the U.K. and would flourish here. Grace reclined in her bed while the rest of the attendees became constant interrupters, and Ward Dry, for two days, seemed to know most about how A.A. should fashion itself for Blighty.
Norman, who had been pulled from a bar in London Bridge, told the waiter to provide him with an alcoholic drink during the meeting. The waiter declined, via Grace. Norman decided to leave because he wasn’t into coffee, and later they saw him downstairs with his wife waiting for them. The meeting ended with the Lord’s Prayer, which is how meetings finished in the U.S.
A year previously, Conor F, an Irishman who lived in Philadelphia, got sober in the States in 1943, went to Dublin and with some Richard P set about getting the first meeting in Ireland going; this was 1946. Conor left the group in the safe hands of Major Sackville OC, whose hard work helped the fellowship in Ireland grow. Conor F died in America in 1993; Sackville passed on in 1979.
Conor and Sackville – below.
Yet, there is more. A week later, Bob, Tony F, and Norman (we don’t think Chris B was able to get there) met up at the Dominion Theatre café on Tottenham Court Road. Bob was voted in as Secretary of London A.A. They decided to meet on Thursday evenings, and with Bob’s wife’s blessing, they began holding meetings at their home in Kew.
April 21st, 1947, Bobbie Berger sent a letter to Bob to congratulate the start of something beautiful in Britain.
Bobbie sent a care package of instant coffee, a can of milk, lumps of sugar, and one can of dark nut cake. Bob later sent a letter back to Bobbie regarding the slowness and his frustration with the growth here.
Bobbie reminded Bob in a letter that it takes time, and Bill W. and Dr Bob also had the issue but were staying sober. Bobbie told Bob to write to Ian Mc, New Zealand AA. Ian set up the first meeting in New Zealand, and for some time was on his own, and now, after a year, Bobbie said Ian had two ‘babies’, babies being what they called new prospects.
The new G.B. group also got a loving letter from a group in Hamilton, Canada, of 75 members strong and offered help to this newly formed group of desperados in London.
At their Thursday meeting, Bob, Tony F, Norman and Chris B. agreed, in quick time, the wording of an advertisement for national newspapers. Four members in a group conscience agreeing in quick time…another miracle.
They sent this off and one paper accepted – The Financial Times. On June 9th, 1947, they printed:
Alcoholism: A small body of anonymous ex-suffers place themselves at the disposal of any who require help. The offer is quite gratuitous.
Marty Mann arrived in London in July 1948 and spoke at various gatherings about alcoholism. Lottie T was enthralled with Marty and acknowledged how Marty helped many of the confused crowd this side of the shore. Lottie was impressed with Marty’s lovely suitcases, even though Marty found out they are not very practical. Lotte let Mary know she will be missed and asked her to give Bobbie her love.
1948 – August – Bob B twelve stepped Bill H. Another Bill… Bill would become one of the founding members of the Ilford/Romford group and was on the ball about getting a General Service Office off the ground. In A.A. comes of age, Bill H. is the alcoholic greengrocer. This new gathering of people needed a phone line, so Bill spoke with his brother Roland, who agreed to let them use their office. The London Fruit Exchange became the place of the first A.A. helpline in this country. Bill H said to Roland, “These people I’m with (AA) don’t have an office or telephone. Would you mind if I took the entrance office from the corridor and installed a telephone line for their use? Adding with foresight, you may need it yourself one day!’
Roland said he treated that remark with the contempt it deserved and gave it his blessing. The telephone was installed with the number BIS 4980 and was in the telephone directory. Roland H. became a member of A.A. himself in 1959… so it was early service.
1948 – Lottie T. took over as Secretary from Bob when he went to work abroad. Meetings were held at Lottie’s home in St John’s Wood or Tony F’s home in Finchley. At this time Lottie was in constant communicado with Bobbie B, giving her updates that the London group has 50 members. Esme (Read history from First London Pamphlet in 1952), a gentleman from Tonbridge, took over from Lottie as General Secretary and would keep in contact with Bobbie and Bill W.
The original group, now known as First London, got its first proper venue in 1948 at 11 Chandos Street at the Medical Society of London, meeting on Thursdays at 7:30 pm. Years later, Bob was asked to take the meeting at 11 Chandos Street and mentioned closing the meeting with the Lord’s Prayer, to which he stated he got tongues a-lashing. First London is still going today, having changed venues but keeping the title. If you fancy visiting, it’s at Advent Centre, 39 Brendon Street, off Crawford Place, London W1G 5HD.
The Scottish side of the fellowship had their first meetings set up in 1949 by Philip D. He had reached out to the London group about setting up A.A. in Scotland with encouragement from Lottie T. and others who would correspond with him he became the founder of A.A. in Scotland, by registering groups in Edinburgh and Glasgow with the General Service Office in New York and was assisted with a gentleman by the name of Forbes.
Sir Phil met up with Bill W when Bill, Lois and Agnes came to the U.K and Ireland.
Bob B made acquaintances with Dr Lincoln Williams, a doctor of Alcoholism who was intrigued by A.A. and its results. Dr Williams visited New York to speak with Bill W. and Dr Silkworth and was grateful to hear and learn from them. Dr Williams wrote many books on alcoholism, such as Sober Truth, Alcoholics Realities and To Each His Memories; he was an advocate of what A.A. did for the alcoholic and how the program changed lives. He believed in his five A’s (Aversion Technique, Apomorphine, Antabuse, Analysis and Alcoholics Anonymous). Dr Williams became good friends with ‘Canadian’ Bob B.
Esme B, from Kent, had been writing to Bill W to come to this side of the water, as he is needed and it would be appreciated. Guess what? In 1950, Bill W and Lois visited Great Britain and Ireland, bringing with them a donation of 1,500 copies of the Big Book. A committee was formed to appoint a board of trustees to administer the sale of the books, and it was called Al-Anon Publishing. Bill W gave GB AA the rights to print and sell AA literature in the Sterling area. Two of the members involved were Bill H and Allan B from Bolton.
In 1952, they leased Redcliffe Gardens as AA GB’s main office, until it moved to York in 1986 and has remained there since.
and Ireland.
Bob B spoke to Allan (read his talk at the 1957 convention) and Winnie B, a married couple from Bolton; together, they founded the first regional A.A. meeting, known as the Bolton Group (later the Manchester Group), which held meetings at the Millgate Hotel. Allan B would say he took all twelve-step calls outside of Golders Green. He and Bill H were early starts for GSO, where they both retired in 1970. 1949, Owen T and Jim B started the fellowship in Liverpool at the Stork Hotel.
In 1954, the growing members expected a huge intake of alkies after an article about A.A. by Beverley Baxter of the Daily Express. They thought it would get some traction like the old Jack Alexander article. The group members with cars got their engines raring to go for those calls… and… no one called.
1957 – The General Service Board was created with the help of Allan B. and Bill H. The telephone lines were transferred from the Fruit Exchange to Redcliffe Gardens; this was looked after between 10 am and 6 pm, but the lines weren’t looked after in the evenings or on weekends.
12-step calls were sent in by letter. The group secretary would read the letter to the people in the meeting and ask for volunteers. Not many members had cars and needed to use public transport, going miles out of their way to carry the message.
1965 – Toynbee Hall in the East End opened its doors for a gathering on a Wednesday at 8 pm. ‘Dartmoor’ Bill became the first person in Europe to reach 50 years sober.
Toynbee Hall in the East End aimed to help the people who needed it and could well have been one of the muses for Frank Buchman and the creation of the Oxford Group. Before the Oxford Group was formed, Buchman travelled Europe and appeared at Toynbee Hall in the East End. He was intrigued by the services. 1908 at a church in Keswick, Buchman had his life changing spiritual conversion….just thought I would add that, as it led to the beginning of the Oxford group.
Years later, an A.A. meeting started here; now, sadly, we no longer frequent the hall, but for many years it was a standalone point for newcomers in the area and part of the 25th Anniversary of A.A. in Great Britain.
In 1982, Bob B, who had been called the father of A.A. in the UK, passed away in Malta. Because of his efforts and those early A. As, we currently have a thriving fellowship and over 7,650 meetings in Great Britain. That said, we’re not sure how many of them have been started via resentment, though.
Thank you, Bobbie B., Grace O., Bob B., Bill H., Sgt. Vernon, Ward W, Chris B, Lottie T, Bobbie B., Esme B., Padge, Allan and Winnie B and many more.
Let us think of all the people who paved the path for us the next time we have our moment of silence and raise a cup of tea.
Superb article.
Great use of commas.