Towards the end of a long working life, one of the King’s surgeons, Sir Alfred Fripp, performed a successful abdominal operation on a 45-year-old silk merchant named Bert Temple. On his recovery, in September, 1924, he called on Sir Alfred at his home in Portland Place to outline his plan to raise £100 for the Invalid Children’s Aid Association, the Hackney Branch of which the surgeon had set up some twenty years earlier, raising large sums of money from wealthy patients and subscriptions. Bert’s idea was to get his friends and acquaintances to pay him 5/- ( shillings ) to join his spoof fraternity, Ye Ancient Order of Froth Blowers; in return they would get a membership card with some comical requirements for them to adhere to and some cuff-links. I do not suppose Fripp was over-optimistic about his chances of receiving this gift (large for the time). However, after a year of persuasion, coupled with moneys raised by fines at monthly dinners, Bert duly delivered the promised amount.

It would appear that, as he was about disband the AOFB, three people previously unknown to Bert – Clarence Moss in Southsea (enrolling naval men), Jack Haes at the Stock Exchange, and David Henry Cain  (the Editor of the Sporting Times) – separately arrived at the conclusion that this was a hoot, and proceeded to enrol people by the thousands. Three years later, at the end of 1928, almost 700,000 men and women - and some of their children and their dogs – had received their booklet (replacing the card) and their cuff-links or wristlets. Sir Alfred and Lady Fripp had been able to distribute some of the proceeds (of around £100,000) to the ‘Wee Waifs’ of the East End of London. However, the unexpected bonanza was so great that large projects were undertaken: in particular, endowments of beds for children’s hospitals in different parts of the country, a hospital in West Wickham – with a Guide hut in the grounds named ‘Heartsease’ (still with an A. O. F. B. connection today) – and a convalescent home here, in Brightwell-cum-Sotwell.

In the year 2000 a Son et Lumiere commemoration of the connection of the village to the East End of London was acted out in St Agatha’s Church as Tableau 26 of a “Brief History of Brightwell”. It was entitled:

A portrait of Fripp was given by him to his friend, the local G.P., Dr. Harry Watts, whose idea the convalescent home was, with the words, ”With all good wishes, Oct. ‘28”. The writer of the ‘Brief History’ went on to say that the home “nursed back to health over 850 boys before it eventually closed in 1936.” 

Blackstone house

Interestingly, in 2007, the Friends of the Froth Blowers received a comment via the Pub History Society  ‘Guestbook’ from Elizabeth Ray, who wrote: “My maternal great-grandmother, Martha Harris, ran a home for East End lads in Brightwell-cum-Sotwell in the 1920’s. My mother lived there for a short period and can vaguely remember Sir Alfred Fripp and Dr. Watts.”

According to the Henley Standard of the time, in July, 1927, there were 22 boys in the Home convalescing from pleurisy, rheumatic fever and the other debilitating diseases of poverty and poor diet. Obviously, some important dignitaries connected with the AOFB – in particular, Sir Alfred himself – decided that it was time to visit Rosedale. He appears to have been accompanied by one of the three other main Committee men, Cloudburst Jack Haes (Temple and Cain being the other two). Three local AOFB’s accompanied them: Blaster Fred Leftly (possibly, of the Angel Hotel, Henley) and Blowers Axtell and Willis – which gentlemen before dinner, “entertained the residents with a rendition of Onward Christian Soldiers and The Froth Blowers Anthem before sitting down to dine.” The report continued, “The guests stated their intention to pay more visits to entertain the lads and also said they would strive to raise the cost of long capes and goloshers (sic) for them.” The full article is below.

 In 2011, “A Brief History of Brightwell” was re-enacted, so the local community do not, perhaps, need our help to keep the memory of the Froth Blowers alive; but, just in case, I hereby declare the Red Lion to be an F.O.F.B. Vat, and for Sue Robson to be a Fairy Belle of the Order.

Fairy Belle Sue Robson - seen here blowing froth off a coffee perculator.

A  F.O.F.B. Vat is required to hold at least one event a year to raise money for a local children’s charity.

F.O.F.B. Chairman: David L. Woodhead – October, 2011.                          

Footnote

On the 8th October 2011 the F.O.F.B. held their 6th Annual Re-Union at the Red Lion in Brightwell-cum-Sotwell. The Red Lion was awarded F.O.F.B Vat status and the landlady Sue Robson duly declared a Fairy Belle and presented with a Fairy Belle wristlet.

Some of the F.O.F.B.'s assembled outside the Red Lion, Brightwell-cum-Sotwell.