History of the Club

"A Hobby I invented for Myself " John C.Wood Mar 1932

An article with the above title appeared in the Sunday Post in March 1932 and was, in effect, the catalyst which led to the foundation of the Clyde River Steamer Club. In it the young writer ( he was 15 at the time ) described how he went sailing on the steamers with a ‘runabout’ ticket and collected memorabilia such as timetables, tickets, postcards etc;

Unbeknown to the young John Wood, two cousins, George Stromier and LeoVogt shared his enthusiasm and having read his article it was inevitable that the three of them should meet. Before very long their talks turned to the subject of a club for like minded steamer enthusiasts and the result was a letter which appeared in the Glasgow Herald on 13 May 1932.

Clyde Steamers

Ever since Mr Andrew McQueen published his first book on Clyde River Steamers a certain amount of focus has been given to this hobby which more and more people are finding every year to be as healthy as it is fascinating.

Last year, and more generally since the introduction of short period season tickets, a large number of boys and a few girls and not a few adults of all ages have taken a keen interest in river sailing's and in histories, structure and colours of the steamers comprising the various fleets.

It is now proposed to form a Clyde River Steamer Club which will have as it’s main objects :-

¨       To arouse and maintain interest in the Clyde River Fleet

¨       To give opportunities for enthusiasts to sail together, meet together and talk together

It is proposed the Club shall have a distinctive badge and membership cards be distributed. To cover this and other expenses there would be a small subscription of, say, 2s 6d per annum.

Would anyone interested kindly communicate with the writer. 

Yours etc;
John C Wood

Thus the Club was born and by the end of 1932 the membership stood at 130. Since then the club has gone from strength to strength, faithful to the aims as set out in the founding letter, but constantly striving to move with, and meet, the needs of our membership which today stands at approximately 550.

       Leo Vogt, John Wood, George Stromier