Following the formation of the Youth Hostels Association (YHA) of England and Wales in 1931 it was soon apparent of the scope and interest for local YHA members to form local groups. It was thanks to Lawrence Morris that our group became one of the first local YHA groups in the UK. The forming of the Harrow, Wembley and Watford YHA group was first conceived in 1934, before starting in 1936. During the war, the area covered by our group was reduced when members from Watford set up their own group.
In June 1936 members of our group noticed a large empty house in the village of Ivinghoe, near Tring in Buckinghamshire. It was owned by Benskins of Watford, who had closed the adjacent brewery and left the house empty. After a long period of negotiations (which resulted in a rent of 5/- a year being accepted), and many working parties through the following winter and spring, the house was renovated by members of our group and became a YHA hostel opening its doors for the first time at Easter 1937.
Bob, Muriel, John W, Bernard and Jack - Ivinghoe, November 1953
Since 1936 the group has used a few venues for its weekly Thursday evening meet.
The immediate post war years saw a great boom in cycling and many weekends were spent awheel. Our members enjoyed events such as digging the cess pit at Jordans and Christmas parties at Hemel Hempstead. Members also started a group magazine, the Wemrow Wayfarer, that continued into the nineties until computers, the internet and email became commonplace. Joy Connell provides an insight into our post war group (banned magazine articles, anal processes, overnight stays in police cells, "creeping in at midnight", and strip poker) and our magazine in Those Were The Days. Ralph Chenery describes cycling, the 1951 Festival of Britain and our range of activities in The Roaring 40's and Gay 50's. Joyce Slade presents a very detailed account of our groups first complete post war decade in The Fifties. All first hand accounts.
In 1951 a young man joined our group who was to provide a back wheel and a helpful push to many members who proclaimed them selves to be cyclists. To date Reg Dean is probably our groups most loyal of members being active with us well into the eighties and a life member until he passed away in 1997. Reg Dean wrote about some of his key experiences with our group in the fifties and sixties in A Quarter of A Century with Harrow and Wembley YHA Group.
1957 saw our groups 21st birthday with 120 members celebrating our 'Coming of Age Dinner and Dance' at the Century Hotel, Wembley. Our group, however, split afterwards over money problems and it wasn't until 1961 that membership was strong again, luckily in time for our 25th birthday dinner and dance at the Railway Hotel, Wealdstone. The group continued to prosper for most of the sixties with busy membership, entry and success in many YHA events and many hostelling weekends for its active walkers and cyclists. The group remained 'happening' until the end of the sixties. Robert Ford describes the era in The Swinging Sixties.
With our first 25 years behind us, a period of success and strength in numbers seemed to prevail. In 1962/63 our group won the YHA London Region Bednight Shield for the first time. Since that first success our group has won the shield on every occasion that it has entered. We distinguished ourselves in many YHA events during the sixties with successful rides in the Milford '100' Reliability Rides, sore but successful feet in the Tanners Hatch and Ridgeway Marathons, and good finishes in the West of London Groups Rally at Ivinghoe which is an event started by members of our group. Travel to hostels was usually in the back of a 'big blue van' and if you ever got the train home when cycling you were never allowed to forget it, were you Bob and John! Over the years of course the YHA and its hostels have changed. Trevor Key remembers some of his hostelling and YHA experiences in Gone, But Not Forgotten.
Hartington Hall Youth Hostel - 1973
With the end of the sixties and the departure of many long established members, our group went through some hard times with membership dropping to 35 and as few as 8 people turning up on a Thursday evening. 'Avoiding the Treasurer' became a hard game to win. But with a lot of effort from a small number of people better times came again and within 4 years our membership was back to over 100 and the group once again become one of the strongest in the country. The 1979 AGM records a paid membership figure of 113.
New cyclists weekend held at Lee Gate 1975
1976 saw our groups 40th Dinner and Dance at the Headstone Hotel. 160 people attended with the YHA Chairman John Parfitt being the guest speaker. Following this our group had its fair share of success with its first victory in the Ivinghoe (West of London) Groups Rally and continued success all the Bednight trophies. The washroom at YHA Jordans was refurbished with money largely raised by our group and in 1986 a 50th birthday BBQ was held there. Dave Ford reminisces about the group in the late sixties and seventies in Towards 2001. Mark Grant recalls the late seventies and early eighties in Wemrow in the 1980s - Any Different to the 1930s?.
Ivinghoe Rally - 1981
The group continued to thrive in the 80s and 90s. Notable committee members were Annette, Janice, Kelvin, Peter C, Lesley and Malcolm S. We moved to the YWCA hall in Harrow where we stayed until 2005. Membership stayed steady, around 50 members, with the Thursday club nights seeing around 20 most weeks. As well as the Chiltern day walks, we ventured away to the Lake District and Snowdonia on many popular holidays.
Lake District - 1983
The hostels changed over this era as the YHA adopted a more commercial ethos. In the late 90s the formerly frugal appearance changed, chores were no longer required, and prices increased. We celebrated the 60th anniversary at a Harrow Hotel where many former members from the 50s to 80s attended. Extra curriculum activities included the very popular Monday night football matches at Northwick Park playing fields, supervised by the indefatigable Adrian.
Dorset - 2021
In the 2000s we created a new website for the internet age. Many thanks to Phil J who has continued to manage it to date. Steve R was chairman for many years after the new millennium and relaunched the group for the new challenges ahead. After a major restructure of the group and a publicity drive, membership increased to reach 105 in 2005. Committee included Brian G, Jan B, Nick G and Malcolm P.
Snowdonia - 2023
In the 2010s new developments included the Youth Hostel Association ending of the local group network. The Harrow and Wembley Outdoor Group then became a stand-alone organisation and could no longer rely on the YHA for insurance cover or other assistance. As part of the internet world, we joined the Meetup system for recruitment. Brian G has continued to manage this aspect. Membership has tripled, largely due to the Meetup facility, and has been around 300 since 2022. We celebrated our 70th anniversary in 2006 with an anniversary lunch in Harrow. Notable former members included Joyce S who was a member in the 50s and 60s. In 2016 we launched our points system, inspiration of Jeff R, which has to a degree solved the perennial problem of finding enough event leaders. Our main activities have continued to be walking, hostel weekends, cycle rides and in recent years more camping trips. In 2026 we will celebrate our 90th anniversary with an anniversary lunch.
Finally, here are some quotes from our past 90 years or so.