1950s – a decade of the new welfare state
Since the war and with the extension of the welfare state, there was a feeling that this might sound the ‘death’ of voluntary organisations and that the pioneering days of social service had passed. There was a hope that the state, with its greater resources, could meet all known needs more efficiently from public funds. However, the 1953 annual report noted:
“It appears that the public purse is not inexhaustible and that even those needs in which have been recognised as appropriate for state attention cannot be fully met from public funds.” Taken from 1953 Annual Report.
The Council’s pioneering services were still much needed and the organisation expanded its administrative area to cover the counties of Huntingdonshire and the Isle of Ely, as well as Cambridgeshire.
Building restrictions necessitate new ways of providing village halls
Village hall building was largely in abeyance owing to restrictions and shortage of building materials since the war. Hope was given through the Temporary Hall Scheme run by the National Social Service Commission. The Council was offered ex-government huts for a nominal rent of £13 per year to provide much needed village halls in smaller rural settlements. In Woodwalton, Barway and Orton Waterville, suitable land was acquired and they received these temporary halls on lease from the Council. Remarkably, in Woodwalton and Orton Waterville, these buildings have served their communities for over 70 years and are still in use today.
Government grants became available in 1954 for new village halls on the proviso they were built by voluntary labour but the Council’s 1954 Annual Report noted:
“In this area there is little enthusiasm for voluntary labour schemes largely because the villages are almost wholly agricultural, and work on the land, particularly fen land, leaves little time or energy for such activities.”
Celebrating a ‘Centenary of Village Life’
To tie in with the 1951 Festival of Britain, the Council organised ‘A Century of Village Life’ of exhibitions, cultural festivals and events in Cambridge, Ely and Huntingdon showcasing model village exhibitions, activities and performances.
Supporting the needs of older people
The Older People’s Welfare Council continued to support older people through establishing clubs in villages where they could meet regularly and they organised visits to older people’s homes, as well as a new chiropody scheme. This work expanded throughout the decade and, by 1956, there were 98 over 60s clubs operating and 500 older people had benefited from holidays to Great Yarmouth, Felixstowe and Clacton.
Administering other aspects of rural life
The Parish Councils Association had grown to include 150 parishes and provided a level of support that the Council found valuable in encouraging people in voluntary action across a wide range of activity. The Cambridgeshire Playing Fields Association helped establish new community facilities to get people more active. By the end of the decade, over half of all villages had designated playing fields with some also setting up cricket pitches, pavilions, bowls greens, swimming pools and children’s play corners.
