Temperance Certificate

Awarded to the Lower Heyford branch of the Cadets of Temperance in 1936.

The Cadets of Temperance was the youth wing of the Sons of Temperance of Great Britain and Ireland.

The Sons of Temperance was a Friendly Society, founded in 1842 and, as the name suggests, promoted an alcohol free way of life.  Upon joining, members took a pledge to refrain from drinking alcohol and paid a subscription that ensured they received some financial help when unable to work due to ill-health and that their families received a lump sum in the event of death.

There was also a social aspect to the Society and membership was open to both men and women.  The Society was founded in New York and quickly spread throughout the United States and Canada.  It was run along the same lines as the freemasons with lodges, insignia and rituals.

The first UK lodge was established in Liverpool in the late 1840s with other lodges soon opening throughout the UK which were grouped into Grand Divisions.

We believe this certificate may have come from Lower Heyford Methodist Chapel.

The names on the certificate are as follows:

Phyllis Durran

Lilian Reeve

Harold Reeve

Gladys Reeve

Mary Scarrott

Betty Scarrott

Leonard Bates

George Alder

Doris Hazell

Hilda Hazell

Muriel Hazell

Vera Hazell

The name H. Hazell appears on a photograph of United Methodist Local Preachers from 1908. This is likely to be Henry Hazell, born in 1865, a canal worker who was living in Lower Heyford in 1911. The census return shows he had a daughter Doris May Hazell who was born in 1905. She is likely to be the Doris Hazell named on this certificate. Hilda and Muriel were probably her sisters.

Lower Heyford had been a United Methodist Chapel before the unification of the various branches of the Methodist Church in 1932. It is possible that the meetings of the Cadets of Temperance were held in the Methodist Chapel in Lower Heyford.