GREAT YARMOUTH & DISTRICT SOCIETY OF ARTISTS
As the Great Yarmouth & Gorleston Art Society it was founded on 18 November 1927, when twenty-two artists met in response to a press invitation by the Yarmouth Mercury Art Exhibition held in the Northgate Rooms 3-5 November 1927, when the following officers were elected. Campbell Archibald Mellon (1879-1955), chairman; Frederick James Morrison, secretary with a committee of Mrs. Eleanor Edith Crawshaw (1897-1990); Frederick Riches Delf (1848-1923); Rowland Fisher (1885-1969); John James Hall; Miss Kate Emily Jode (1855-1935); Arthur Edward Kerrison (1883-1957); William Edward Mayes (1861–1952); Oliver Charles Redgrave (1890-19570 and Meredith Charles Watling (1878-1955) and there were 47 founder members. Their first exhibition was held at the Northgate Rooms, Great Yarmouth on 19-21 April 1928 when twenty-eight of the members exhibited some ninety works and were graded by Cecil Lay. About 1954 the Society changed its name to the Great Yarmouth & District Society of Artists and was still holding exhibitions in 2019, but their historic permanent art collection amassed over 40 years was sold by auction in 2021. Suffolk artists who exhibited with the Great Yarmouth & District Society of Artists include Marjorie May Bacon, Frederick William Baldwin, Stephen John Batchelder, Roger Bedingfield, William Roger Benner, Frank Delf, Henry Holzer, Angela Lankester, Kenneth William Luck, Frederick Ilbery Lynch, John Mace, Julian Macey, Tom Neal and Lanyu Wang-Kemp.