The Brady Clubs - exploring the 20th Century History of Jewish Youth in London's East End

About

For over seventy years the Brady Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs provided community, friendship and mentoring to thousands of Jewish youth in the East End of London. It was a place where life-long relationships were made, where young people stepped out of underprivileged and often difficult circumstances and were supported to follow their dreams.

The first Brady Club for Working Lads was founded in 1896 in the East End of London by Lady Rothschild who wanted to improve the social quality of life for those living in the area, many of whom were young Jewish refugees fleeing the violent pogroms in Russia and Eastern Europe. By virtue of the East End population at the time, the Brady Club became the first Jewish youth club in the country, although its attendance was not exclusive. The Club continued to grow and in 1925 Miriam Moses OBE established the Brady Girls Club, which by 1935 had a purpose-built home in Hanbury Street E1. During the 50’s and 60’s the Club arguably had its heyday, much of it under the charismatic leadership of Yogi Mayer, himself a German refugee. The two Clubs amalgamated in 1960, the boys joining the girls in Hanbury Street, by which time the average nightly attendances exceeded 200.

Throughout its history, the Brady Club has provided poor and underprivileged children and young people with social and learning opportunities. The Clubs activities were diverse – the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award was trialled at the Club and Jimmy Hendrix played there! It offered training in practical skills, sports, music, drama and access to holidays in the English countryside, including at the Club’s own Skeet Hill House, but also abroad, extending the potential of each young person in its care. By the late 1950s it was at the forefront of the youth movement in the country, employing paid youth leaders and volunteers. When the Jewish population of the East End greatly reduced in the 1970s, numbers at the Club dwindled and in 1976 the Brady Club moved from the East End of London to north London, where it became known as Brady Maccabi with a focus on sport. It finally closed in 2012 but maintained its use of Skeet House for youth groups until 2019.

Much of this history is recorded in photographs held in the Brady Photographic Archive, many of which were rediscovered recently having been stored in a loft for 40 years. Many of these are now on display in the current exhibition. Our collection is being digitised in order to preserve the stories and materials for the future. The Archive will be available online at www.bradyarchive.co.uk and will be stored with our partners including the Bishopsgate Institute, London Metropolitan University and the Museum of Youth Culture. It will also be held at National Library of Israel.