A BRIDGE club in York will celebrate its 75th anniversary next year after surviving the pandemic and lockdowns by members playing online.

York Bridge Club was launched in 1946 after a Fanny Horsfall had placed an advert in the former Yorkshire Evening Press, asking for women interested in the formation of a private bridge club to contact her, said current club secretary Mark Dunkley, who has written a book about the club's history.

Three women responded, a working committee was formed and it remained female only for a short while until a married couple, Kath and Gordon Gill, were permitted to join in the spring.

He said the club, which has 250 members, had remained active throughout 2020 by developing an online bridge offer which meant that members, whilst not enjoying face to face contact, were able to continue playing and chatting with friends, and the club now offered four online bridge sessions a week.

Mr Dunkley said his book described the contribution of many of the key personalities who helped shape the club and provided a history of its premises.

It revealed the links between The Press and the club, including the donation of trophy in 1966 which was competed for many years as a Championship Pairs event and told how and why the club became a registered charity and a company limited by guarantee.

It also told about current plans to build purpose-built premises during the anniversary year in the grounds of Acomb Sports Club.

He told how he came to write the book: "When I realised the bridge club had retained its records going back to 1946, I was drawn into reading them to find out if there was an interesting story to be told.

"I concluded there was and gave myself a challenge of writing a book by 2021."

*To buy the book, which costs £10 plus £2 for postage and packing, email secretary@theyorkbridgeclub.com, providing your name and address.