The ITN 1955 Club is for anyone who has worked at ITN, UPITN or WTN – or still works at ITN. The name of the Club reflects the fact that ITN first went on air on ITV in 1955. The Club was formed in 1989.
The 1955 Club produces a monthly Newsletter magazine and organises annual events – including a summer boat trip and a Christmas party.
See here details of how to join.
The Committee
The committee is elected or re-elected every year at the Club’s AGM. The current committee is:
- Chair: Alex Kingston
- Deputy Chair: Patrick O’Ryan-Roeder
- Treasurer: Brian Giles
- Secretariat: Pat Watson
- Membership Secretary: Sally Rowe
- Committee Members: Helen Armitage, Graham Forrester, Duncan Jones, and Martyn Hurd
The Website
The website was upgraded in August 2022. The new website was designed by the former ITN graphics designer Simon Olley. The upgrade was planned and overseen by the Newsletter editor, Nigel Dacre – with input and support from John Harwood and Club committee members. The development work for the upgrade was funded from a generous donation made to the Club by John Copleston – and the Club is very grateful to John for that.
The Newsletter
The Newsletter magazine is sent to members at the beginning of each month. Club members can receive either a black and white printed copy through the post, or a colour PDF copy via email.
The Newsletter contains news about ITN, articles and photos about ITN today and in the past, interviews with people involved with the company, articles and updates on 55 Club members, and information about 55 Club events.
The Newsletter has had four editors – Frank Miles, Sam Hall, Julian Wilkins, and the current editor, Nigel Dacre.
History of the Club
The first meeting of the Club was on 8th November 1989, when Margot Bateman, Jane Bray, Jim Burnham, Diana Edwards-Jones, Audrey Gullick, John Lodge, Jo Redding, Sara Seldon and Alfred Wilson met in the Duke of Kendal at Marble Arch.
Jo Redding was appointed Chairman, Frank Miles Secretary, and Alfred Wilson Treasurer.
The Club started having monthly Monday meetings. In 1991, the meetings moved to the Crown and Sceptre, and in 1995 to the King’s Head, Westmoreland Street – where it still meets.
Jo Redding remained in charge until she retired in March 2007. Frank Miles then took over as temporary Chairman until November 2007. John Copleston was elected in December 2007 and was Chairman until March 2013, when Duncan Jones took over. Duncan stood down in 2022, and Alex Kingston was elected.
The first Newsletter appeared in May 1993 as an experiment – suggested by Arthur Clifford.
Over time, it grew from 2 sides of A4, to 4, then 6, stapled together. In June 1996, Frank realised that he had produced 50 editions, and started numbering them. It was at this time that we changed to A3 folded, and Pat Watson and Syd Stiller took over the distribution.
The 8-page Newsletter grew into 12, and then 16 or 20 pages, depending on the amount of content.
Frank produced 11 Newsletters every year until February 2015, when he retired, and Sam Hall took over. Julian Wilkins became editor in 2017. In September 2021, Nigel Dacre became the fourth editor of the Newsletter.
The Club has organised many events over the last 30 years – including dinners, summer boat trips and Christmas parties.