Lions Club holiday home for the blind (GOSH plaque)

The home was purchased by a board of trustees on behalf of the Great Yarmouth Lions Club.  These same trustees were responsible for the funding of the home and the appointment of a full time warden. A warden was appointed and the home, the first for the blind in the country, opened its doors for holidays on 2nd June 1959.

Lion Clubs from all over the country would apply for holidays and a draw would take place to see which clubs were lucky to have been picked and how many places they required. A further draw would then be taken to allocate the dates. It was the responsibility of each individual club to provide transport to and from the home.

The home was reliant on the Great Yarmouth Lions Club for its running costs. This home was the sole beneficiary of a Win a Car Competition, run by the Great Yarmouth Lions Club. This competition took place every year on the sea front in Great Yarmouth with a new car being the sole prize. To take part you had to guess how many people would attend the National Motor Show held in London each autumn. The winner was then brought back to Great Yarmouth and a presentation of the car took place at the club’s annual Charter Celebration, followed the next day by a visit to the Blind Home, where they received their new car.

Unfortunately, this type of competition went out of favour with the public and in June 1992 the home was sold, although the holidays still took place for a few years after this.

Rodney C. Holland-Merten