German Youth Party Welcomed At Denaby

August 1951

South Yorkshire Times, August 4th, 1951

German Youth Party Welcomed At Denaby

Eight German boys and three girls, are having their first glimpse of England this week.  They came to Denaby on Friday for a fortnight’s stay with members of the Tom Hill Youth Club.  They acted as hosts in Siegen, Saarland, to a dozen members of the Denaby Club with whom they are now staying. The Denaby contingent – six boys, two girls and Mr. and Mrs. R. Miller – went to Germany on July 10th. The combined party arrived in Denaby after 36 hours’ continual travelling. At the Youth Centre there was a meal awaiting them and a “reception party” of local councillors, the parents with whom the Germans are staying, and other members.

Welcoming speeches were made by Mr. J. Halford, on behalf of the Welfare Trustees, Coun. H. Gomersall, Mr. Tom Hill and Mr. Miller. It was the first time in England for all the German party, made up of members from various youth organisations, including the Boy Scouts. The leader is a 22-years-old clerk, Paul Herman, and the party includes 15-year-old twins, Johann and Dieter Weiss. Nearly all speak English, one or two quite fluently. An extensive programme has been arranged for them during their two weeks stay. Already they have spent a day at Bridlington, looked around a Yorkshire woollen Mill and on Wednesday they visited the Yorkshire dales, staying overnight at a youth hostel.

They have been invited by Mexborough Council to visit, free, the Entertainment Week organised in Mexborough as a Festival of Britain contribution, and are also planning to see local industries, go down a mine, and, it is hoped, watch Conisbrough Council and Doncaster Police Court procedure.

They leave again for Germany on August 9th.

While in Germany, the Denaby party became widely known through Siegen (and in the local newspapers) as the “Appelshaft Party” from their fondness for a German non-alcoholic cider – apfelschaft – a drink which they never seemed to be able to pronounce correctly!

Alma Drury, one of the two girls who went, had this to say of the holiday: “where we stayed living conditions were very good, and there was plenty of building. A building would be started when we arrived in Siegen, and was nearly finished when we left.  As one floor of a building was finished, people lived in it while the next floor was being built.  Some people were building their own houses.