Just opposite the entrance to St Paul's Cathedral, is a plaque commemorating that in 1844 twelve
young men gathered inside Drapery House, the home of George Williams, and
founded the Young Mens Christian Association on this site. Drapery house no
longer exists.
Initially the organisation began as a prayer and study
group, but then focused on providing lectures, reading rooms and refreshments
to help young men adjust to the demands of city life.
The following year they established branches in Manchester
and Leeds and by 1851 had stretched as far as Boston, USA. Their national and international influence
continued to grow and in 1873 opened their first YMCA holiday centre on the
Isle of Wight. Twenty five more holiday centres followed and
were the inspiration for Billy Butlin’s holiday camps.
This was followed by the opening of YMCA gyms in America
where both basketball and volleyball were invented (1895). The
very first scout groups met in YMCA buildings.
In 1912 the first purpose built hostels began to appear. It was a YMCA worker who first introduced the
poppy as a symbol of remembrance.
When George died in 1905, aged 83, the organisation had
spread to 45 countries with some 707,000 members. Today there are some 58 million members in
119 countries. With the Queen as its
patron they provide nearly 10,000 beds every night; they run nurseries,
childcare, and youth clubs; put around 43,000 young people in training and
education annually, counselling over 228,000;
and much, much more.
Did those twelve men have any idea what they were about to
start when they met here in 1844?
George was buried in the crypt of St. Paul’s Cathedral.
This is an excerpt from the FREE tour St Paul's Precincts found on www.obelisktours.co.uk
No comments:
Post a Comment