Wikipedia

Tottenham War Services Institute

The Tottenham War Services Institute (TWSI) was founded by a deed of trust in 1920.[1][2]

Tottenham War Services Institute
AbbreviationTWSI
Founded12 October 1920; 104 years ago (1920-10-12)
FoundersWilliam Henry Prescott, Patrick Bernard Malone, et al
TypeCharitable Trust
Registration no.217176
Location
Coordinates51°35′23.7″N 0°04′14.5″W / 51.589917°N 0.070694°W / 51.589917; -0.070694
Area served
Tottenham and North East London
Key people
Penelope Ann Potter (Chair), Sedleigh Seon Adams (Secretary), Bruce McCrorie, and Samuel Cox

Description

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The TWSI is a registered charity,[3][4][5] entrusted to use its property "as an Institute providing for the use of its members the means of social intercourse, mutual helpfulness, mental and moral improvement, rational recreation, and the other advantages of a Club" for ex-servicemen, their families, and vulnerable members of the wider community.[6][7]

Location

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Photograph of 399 Tottenham High Road, London, N17 6QN, United Kingdom

For many decades until 2008, the building was a British Legion club. Fire destroyed much of the property on 13 October 1987, and the rebuilt structure was reopened on 14 April 1989. From 1995 to 2012, the building's top floors housed an annex of the nearby Tottenham police station. The top floors were home to the Footsteps Vocational Academy (a Pupil Referral Unit), and until April 2017, the Note By Note Music Academy.

But it was most well known for housing the T. Chances community centre (formerly known as Tottenham Chances). Supported by the Reknaw sound system, T. Chances has gained a profile as one of London' major punk rock venues.[8][9]

Notable figures associated with T. Chances included the musician Captain Rizz, and the poet Xochitl Tuck, who ran regular Survivors Poetry nights at the venue until her death in 2012.[10]

As of 2020, the TWSI began operating out of the county of Somerset (South West England), [11] stating on the register of charities held by the Charity Commission of England and Wales: "In 2020 trustees made the decision to move from a London hub to participate in other parts of the country".[12]

In the media

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Penny Potter has given several interviews discussing the charity.[13][14][15][16]

The TWSI's property was a topic of discussion in a 16 July 2009 meeting of the Haringey Council.[17]

Key documents

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  •  
    Original deed of trust founding the Tottenham War Services Institute, 12 October 1920
  •  
    1950 transcription of the original deed of trust: Tottenham War Services Institute, 12 October 1920
  •  
    2017 transcription of the original deed of trust: Tottenham War Services Institute, 12th October 1920

References

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  1. ^ "Original 1920 Deed of Trust, TWSI". Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  2. ^ "1920 Deed of Trust, TWSI (transcription, 1950)". Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  3. ^ "TWSI Charity Commission overview". Charity Commission for England and Wales. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  4. ^ "TWSI Charity Commission data". olib.uk. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
  5. ^ "Tottenham War Services Institute webpage". TWSI. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  6. ^ "Original 1920 Deed of Trust, TWSI". Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  7. ^ "1920 Deed of Trust, TWSI (transcription, 1950)". Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  8. ^ Hutchcraft, Jak (10 March 2017). "There's a Polish Punk Scene in London and It's Thriving". Noisey (Vice). Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  9. ^ Hall, Makky (29 April 2015). "Turnstile - T. Chances, London". Broken Arrow Magazine. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  10. ^ Potter, Penny (2013). "Xochitl Tuck – Last of the Beatniks" (PDF). Survivors Poetry newsletter. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  11. ^ "Activities - how the charity spends its money". Charity Commission for England and Wales. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  12. ^ "Charity overview". Charity Commission for England and Wales. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  13. ^ Potter, Penny (February 2013). "Interview, Collective Impact Films". Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  14. ^ Potter, Penny (February 2016). "Interview, Chainbreaker Records podcast #006". Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  15. ^ Potter, Penny (2016). "Interview, Windows on the World". Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  16. ^ Youle, Emma (24 February 2011). "Tottenham poster of guillotine over blood-stained royals causes outrage". Tottenham & Wood Green Journal. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  17. ^ "Meeting minutes". Haringey Council. 19 July 2009. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
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