Gwendolyn Tripp

Gwen was born in 1931 in Elmore Street, off Southgate Road, London N1. She attended the Mildmay Club from an early age until the death of her father in 1949. Her father, William Henry Price, was on the committee and her grandfather, Fredrick Walter Marsh, was Club Treasurer in the 1920s and 30s.

Gwen performed at the Mildmay Club as an amateur singer during World War II when professional acts were not available. She left school early to become a seamstress.

Gwen’s son brought her to London earlier in 2025 to revisit the family home and the Mildmay Club. In this interview she remembers the club from the 1930s and 40s, and how it felt to return after 75 years away.

Gwen was interviewed by Rebecca Sewell and Richard Vranch on 17 September 2025

Listen to Gwen’s story here:

Oral history recording with Gwen Tripp © 2025 by Richard Vranch and Rebecca Sewell is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Download the transcript

Gwen kindly shared with us the following photos.

If listening to the audio the timecodes indicate where the photo is referenced.

An old photo of two men walking through a park
3:02 – Gwen’s grandfather, Frederick Walter Marsh, Treasurer of the Mildmay Club, on the right.

 

Entry from our membership showing Frederick Marsh's member number
An entry from club records showing Gwen’s grandfather Frederick Marsh’s listing in the members book and his membership number ‘1273’, which would date his joining to around 1895-99.

 

3:40 – Gwen’s father William Henry Price, by Clissold House, 1948, aged about 55.

 

4:14 – Gwen aged about 11 (dated 9/9/1942) when she regularly attended the club.

 

4:40 – Gwen aged 18, around the time she stopped going to the club, in favour of the Harringay Ice Hockey Arena.

 

Gwen on 17 September 2025

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