New interactive digital memory map brings the history of the UK’s first Jewish club to life

“Oggie oggie oggie!” [Can I get a…] “Oi! Oi! Oi!” Most of us d’un certain age were members of a club at some point and nostalgia washes over us when reminiscing about the songs, activities and (long-lost) friendships. One such club with a rich history is The Brady Club, established in 1896 to serve London’s East End community, offering underprivileged children opportunities for personal growth, social interaction and education.

The name was taken from the original site at the junction of Brady Street and Durward Street, where dwellings were built by the Rothschilds to accommodate Jewish immigrants. Driven by Lady Rothschild, this lifeline project aimed to improve the social quality of life of the ‘working poor’ – young men, in reality just kids of 14 who had left school and headed into the workforce, most of them from East European refugee families, speaking only Yiddish.

By 1925, the girls yearned for a club of their own and Elsie Cohen (later Lady Janner) established the Brady Girls’ Club in Hanbury Street (now known as the Brady Arts & Community Centre.)

The Brady legacy lives on today through the work of past members and a passionate trio: Susan Andrews, Anne Perceval and Paul Brent, who form the Brady Photographic Archive team and together developed the bradyarchive.co.uk website and the newly-launched interactive memory map, a visually stimulating digital map which facilitates a ‘highlights version’ of the best bits. This unique digital journey takes you through the history of Brady, with club members giving us a bitesize insight their lives in three-minute videos, including visits to Skeet Hill House, a Kent retreat purchased in 1944 by Brady.

Susan, a photographer and film-maker (and emeritus professor of photography at London Metropolitan University) who has been busily scanning and recording for the past three years, says: “As word spreads, the network of people we’ve interviewed has grown, with almost 70 ‘flags’ on the map, which you can click to reveal videos about East End life and how Brady started out as somewhere to eat, get some clothes or get your homework done, but quickly became more activity-focused and more of a social space. The memory map is set up to receive more stories in the future with plans to help it grow.”

Everyone wanted ‘in’ at Brady and as the demand grew, different age groups were catered for, not just the working poor demographic who were around 14. Whether a minor going after school for a jammy dodger or a senior attending dances, the West End Jews managing the club made it available to everyone but there was a cost involved: six old pence; unaffordable to many. Former member Yvonne Brent says: “People were very generous and nobody knew who did or didn’t pay the fee. It was completely non-discriminatory and no one missed out.”

West End Jews such as Joyce Kemble (of Kemble Pianos) were committed to making sure everyone was welcome and given opportunities, such as a quiet spaces for homework if things were a little crowded at home. And Frank Austin (Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers) had a box at the opera and took kids along who had never been exposed to classical music.

Many of the stories highlight Paul ‘Yogi’ Mayer who came to Brady as a leader in 1951. With no risk assessment or consent form in sight, Susan recalls one such story of taking a group abroad. “Wearing just their plimsolls to climb mountains, Yogi instructed the boys to ‘hitchhike as far as you can for two days and come back with stamped ticket as proof of where you got to’. It gave them confidence and freedom, coming from such a life-limiting background.”

Particularly heartwarming are the double acts, arguing in jest their version of stories from their Brady days. Mike Yershon and Brian Gevelb certainly need their own TV show. Or at least a podcast. Not forgetting those who overcame real struggles, certainly in the case of Michael Lazarus, who developed a stammer when a bomb went off. His impediment meant difficulties at school and through Brady he regained his self-confidence. A BBC producer visited the club looking for people to present a debate show – Michael got through to the audition and went onto Cambridge, eventually winning a BBC award for speaking.

From the East End to north west London, Paul Brent, Chairman of The Bradians Trust and a former Brady member (who met his wife Yvonne there) explains the Brady Maccabi collaboration. “Many Jews moved to North London and Maccabi had already established itself in sports, so it was felt like a good idea to bring the two together. It ran for a few years but it was felt to be less successful – the East End really needed it, whereas at Maccabi as everyone was from different backgrounds.”

Susan recalls an activity they ran for Stoke Newington School for a group of 30 students aged 14. “We are the Brady Girls was running as an exhibition last October at London Metropolitan University and we held our activity there. Being so soon after the events of 7 October in Israel, there were security concerns and the question of how well it would be received but there was no trouble at all. Anna says: “One of the old Bradians turned up by chance and spoke to the kids, which was a wonderful addition. They were split into groups and given old photocards of club activities from the 1940s and they wrote their own messages on postcards which we hung in the installation. When they regrouped, they were in such positive and empowered mood saying, ‘I wish we had a club like Brady’.”

Funded by the local authority, the Brady Centre still exists for the community – an amazing resource for the locals, albeit in a different form. And with such a rich history in the area, there’s no doubt the archive work and that of the memory map will ensure the memories live on, not just for the old Bradians but for the wider community as well.

Visit bradyarchive.co.uk for more information.

Explore more Brady stories at bradymemorymap.co.uk.