Our Centenary Celebrations

The Centenary Celebrations were originally planned to be on 28th February 2018, the exact date 100 years on from the inauguration of the Branch, at the same time as the February winter beekeeping talk.  However, because of extremely bad weather at that time – snow and ice, it was delayed and finally took place on 11th April with 38 members and 5 friends from other branches present.  It was held for the last time at the offices of the IT company, Atomwide, with kind permission of one of our members, Mandy House.  The meeting began with a fascinating talk by Master Beekeeper, John Hendrie about the Senses of the honeybee.

One of the longest standing members, Peter Burden, then spoke about the history of the Branch Apiary Club, encompassing some notable former beekeepers in the Branch. Many of whose names are recognised in the cups awarded annually at the Bromley and Orpington Honey Show.

History of the Orpington Branch Apiary Club & its Founder Members by Mr Peter Burden

The Apiary Club was formed in early 1943.  It was known as the Orpington Apiary and was controlled by a Management Committee.  The first recorded committee meeting was in March 1943.  Funds were raised by selling £1 shares to interested branch members.  The aim of the committee was to raise £45, this being sufficient to build 8 WBC hives.  However, due to the shortage of timber during 1943 this was altered to 8 single walled national hives with flat roofs.

The first Apiary was set up in May 1943 at Broomwood Road, St Pauls Cray in the apiary of Mr Percy Gibbs, the then Orpington Branch Chairman).  This is now a large housing estate.  Presumably, meetings prior to this took place at branch members’ private apiaries.

Percy Gibbs

Though injured at Pacchendale, he ran a haberdashery shop in St Mary Cray.  He was a very knowledgeable beekeeper, though completely self-taught.  When young, I would often see a man riding a bicycle in St Mary Cray carrying a large hessian sack over his shoulder.  it wasn’t until I joined the Orpington Apiary Club that I discovered that he was Percy Gibbs out collecting swarms.  As a young teenager, Roger Campion, one of our current senior members, was taught the art of beekeeping by Percy.

We had a swarm at the Irene Road Apiary one Saturday afternoon, when without gloves, Percy put his hands into the centre of the swarm and withdrew a handful of bees one of which was the queen.  My earliest recollection of Percy was just after I joined.  I was looking through a colony at the Apiary when he asked me what I was doing.  I must have hesitated a little, but Percy then gave me advice which I have never forgotten:  you must never open up a hive unless you have good reason to.

We had a member called Bill Flynn who lived at Longfield.  He was a retired accountant who started his own commercial beekeeping enterprise dealing in both bees and beekeeping equipment.  Percy was a very keen breeder of queen bees.  Bill was so impressed with these queens that he bred all of his own queens from stocks supplied by Percy.  He named his queens the PG strain, which were sold throughout the UK.  Bill’s grand daughter carried on the business after his death, selling variety of hive products and trade from the Isle of Sheppey under the name of Flynn’s Bee Farm Ltd.

Percy served as both Chairman and Apiary Manager at varying times over many years.  He worked tirelessly for the Apiary and without him, I’m sure the Apiary Club would have folded many years ago.  In 1973, Percy gave up keeping bees after 54 years.  About three years later, he entered the Royal Hospital, Chelsea as a Chelsea Pensioner.  As a very persuasive man, the Hospital waived its rule of ‘no pets’ to allow him to keep his bees in the Hospital grounds (see Evening News article 1976).

Early 1944

The Apiary moved to the Orpington Sports Club ground in Goddington Lane, now Westcombe Park Rugby Club.  During the stay at Goddington, Britain was still at war with Germany and there are two amusing entries in the Club Minutes referring to the V1 flying bombs, known as doodlebugs.  In both cases, members carried on watching bee inspections at the Apiary, regardless of the flying bombs overhead.

1948 – 1964

Due to lack of privacy at the sports club, the Apiary moved to the garden of Mr and Mrs Jones at 96, Goddington Lane on 3rd April, 1948.  However in early 1960, they sold off part of their garden so in early 1964, the Apiary was moved to the orchard of Major and Mrs Mullett at 17, Irene Road, Orpington.

1962

At this time, Percy Gibbs had been running the Apiary almost single handed.  Therefore at the 1962 AGM a motion was put forward to wind up the Orpington Apiary.  However, this only happened four years later when in 1966, the Orpington Apiary was wound up and the share scheme discontinued.  In the same year, the Orpington Apiary Club was formed with a complete set of new rules and open to all branch members.  All share holders donated their share holdings to the new apiary club and all other apiary assets were also transferred.

1964

Apiary honey was sold at the the price of 4shillings a pound (20p in today’s money).  It continued to be sold at this price for the following 9 years.

1974

I joined the branch in 1974 and at the first meeting I attended, I asked for advice as to the type of hive I should adopt.  This caused so many arguments among the members that an uproar ensued at the meeting and the Chairman had to call the meeting to order!

Within two weeks, I was made Apiary Club secretary and 42 years later, I was still the Apiary Club secretary.  At the same meeting the Chairman asked if I would arrange a suitable beekeeping display for the South of England Building Society in Orpington High Street.  He suggested that I contact a lady called Margaret Calder who lived at Green Street Green for guidance.  Margaret was  a member of the Gravesend branch and a truly charming lady.  She was a retired school teacher who had written several books about honey and wax recipes and had arranged many beekeeping displays for both the Kent and National Honey Shows.  She told me to go into her loft and select whatever I needed for my display.  Going into Margaret’s loft was like entering Aladdin’s cave as she had such a selection of beekeeping exhibits that it made my choice very easy.  We continued to decorate the Building Society window for the next couple of years.

1984

A good honey harvest – 497lbs honey was extracted from 6 colonies.

1985

Due to increasing infirmity, Mrs Mullett moved away from Irene Road where we had been for 23 years.  The Apiary was re-positioned on 29th January 1985 in the Matron’s old garden at Orpington Hospital.  This move of 6 hives and 2 huts was completed in 6 hours!  W.hen Orpington Hospital became due for development the Apiary was moved again to its current site at High Elms Country Park on 19th March 1985, the year when it had its first crop of oil seed rape honey.  In total 670lbs was extracted from 6 colonies and sold at £1.10 per lb.

1987

A group of American beekeepers visited the beekeepers in Orpington and the Apiary in 1987.  It had been organised by Eric Ward, who organised many trips for visiting beekeepers to the UK.

March 2001

The High Elms Country Park was closed due to a national outbreak of foot and mouth disease.

2004

Two elderly ladies who kept bees on an allotment site in Kelsey Park Avenue, Beckenham decided to give up keeping bees and donated their two hives complete with bees to the Orpington Apiary Club.  The committee decided to adopt this site in June 2004 in addition to the High Elms Apiary.

2005

Because of changes within the Kent Beekeeping Association, the Orpington Apiary decided to become independent from both the Orpington branch and the KBKA.

Apiary honey sold for £3.50 per lb.

2008

The BEECHE and Green Roof cafe opened.

2010

The observation hive was installed at the High Elms Apiary site, as a result of a grant from OPAL (Open Air Laboratories) and financed by the National Lottery.

Stanley Matthews

In 1974 Stanley was both Branch and Apiary Chairman, having been a member for many years before this.  He lived in a large house in Warren Avenue, Orpington, where most of the committee meetings were held.  Branch Christmas parties were also held there when Stanley would provide the entertainment, by his sons and their families.  Apiary honey was extracted annually in his garage when Stanley would provide sausages and mash for all the helpers.

Stanley was the Orpington branch and Apiary Club Chairman for over 20 years.  He was an experienced beekeeper, holding the National Diploma in Beekeeping, always being ready to help and offer advice when asked.  He ran his own business in Bromley as a Patent Attorney.  He was also a Freeman of the City of London and in 1990 was elected as Master of the Worshipful Company of Glass Sellers, one of the City’s older Livery Companies.  He was active in his local community as a Rotarian as well.  It was through his many contacts we were able to secure the apiary site at Orpington Hospital and the current site at High Elms.

Marjory & Beverley Trenear

Marjory and Beverley lived in Woodlands Way, Petts Wood.  When Beverley retired from the Government Research Establishment at Fort Halstead, his niece thought that he might be bored in his retirement, so she bought him a second hand WBC hive.  As well as being keen gardeners, both Marjory and Beverley took to beekeeping like bees to honey. They joined the Orpington branch in 1981 and soon became branch committee members.  Not long after, Beverley took on the task of branch secretary a position he held until his death several years later.

Marjory and Beverley became keen beekeepers and were very active within the branch, carrying out stewarding duties at both the Kent and National Honey Shows.  Apart from honey, their specialities were cookery and mead making for which they won many prizes both locally and nationally.  After Beverley’s death, Marjory continued with her cooking and mead making and was always present to lend a helping hand at our honey stalls and events.

Eric Hood Eric was Apiary Club manager in 1974, the Apiary being then situated in the garden of Mrs Mullett in Irene Road, Orpington.  Eric had taken over from Percy Gibb as apiary manager in 1973 and was responsible for the transfer of the Apiary to the site in the Matron’s old garden in Orpington Hospital, as well as two years later to our current site at High Elms. He continued until 1993 when he handed over to Jim Grierson and died  a few years later.  He was an experienced and knowledgeable beekeeper who was always available to give assistance.  He always kept his bees in WBC hives.  He was a keen exhibitor and won many prizes for his honey and mead at both local and national levels.