Beginnings: The growing interest in astronomy in the 1960s was no doubt due to the famous TV programme, 'The Sky at Night',
presented by the legendary Patrick Moore, which began a decade earlier in the 1950's. The dawning of the space age had drawn countless eyes toward the heavens, a vacant space that was beginning to fill with man-made satellites and space craft. It was impossible for those two major events not to leave their mark on inquisitive minds, both young and old, who turned to the night sky to feed their curiosity. Home-made telescopes were constructed ranging from the simplest refractor made from cardboard tubes, round lenses from old-fashioned spectacles and eye-pieces from disused microscopes and broken binoculars. Others who were better off financially and perhaps more adventurous spent countless hours grinding 6, 8, 10 and even 1-inch mirrors to build a Newtonian telescope.
The publication of astronomy books, especially those by Patrick Moore, began to fill the shelves of book shops to
instruct many budding astronomers in the art of sky watching. The growing interest of sky watching had given rise to
the creation of many astronomical societies throughout the UK to cater for their needs, one of which was the Yarmouth
Astronomy Society (YAS) that eventually progressed to become the Lowestoft and Yarmouth Regional Astronomers.
It all began in the mid 1960's in a slum area of Yarmouth, where, at 38 Cobholm Road, lived a young lad who was to
become the driving force behind an astronomical society that was successfully carried through into the 21st century.
In those days Cobholm Road was declared to be a street of a few criminal families and backward old ladies who beat up their daughters (in fact it was the other way round - we lived next door to a feral girl who beat up her backward mother). One half of the road housed a row of rather more well-to-do families who lived in private residences with the luxury of curtains in their windows, inside toilets and bathrooms. The other half of the road was a row of run-down, crumbling council houses fit for demolition. In one of those houses, at no. 38, lived 6-year-old Michael Poxon who on one dark night in nearby Burgh Castle lifted his eyes towards the starry sky and was enraptured by what he saw. He described the event as a 'religious experience' that has never left him.
At the same time, through reading Arthur Mee's Childrens Encyclopedia, he digested everything it had on astronomy. The book had several pages containing simple star maps and this child spent countless hours learning and memorising as many star and constellation names as he could. Being deeply drawn into the wonders of the night sky he later had designs to embark on a career as a professional astronomer. With that on his mind, Mike often wrote letters to Patrick Moore, quizzing him constantly about how he could become a professional in this field of work. Despite the good advice he received, his dream of becoming a professional astronomer didn't come to fruition. However, the astronomical fire burning within him eventually led to a society that was to run well into the 21st century.
The founding of the GYAS started after he was introduced to the school astronomy GCE O-level course by his science teacher John Geer at the Technical High School, where he met Michael Bean and Philip Gilbert, who also enjoyed astronomy as a hobby. Between them, they discussed plans to create an Astronomical Society. They held meetings and observation nights at Mike's home in Cobholm Road, where they discussed the many facets of organising an astronomical society. News of the society reached the ears of their friends and those who had a passing interest in astronomy joined the group as members. But as membership grew so did their boisterous behaviour. On some occasions their meetings turned into noisy, musical affairs that had nothing at all to do with astronomy! Despite the group's rowdy meetings, order however was partially restored through the addition of a new member who was, as Mike put it, a 'grown-up', Mr. Albert 'Budge' Burgess, a radio engineer from Bradwell, who always brought his son along with him to their meetings. There was one important thing about Mr Burgess above all else - he had a home-made 6" Newtonian reflector, an instrument that attracted the members' attention.
There was no formal committee in the early days of the society, just two leaders; Michael Poxon as secretary and
Michael Bean as chairman. A short while later, another young lad by the name of Glyn Wadbrook who had a keen interest in astronomy since the age of about 10 years while at Greenacre School, Yarmouth, also joined the group. During school lessons in one particular class, he had to write an essay each week on a subject of his choosing. Most of the boys picked a different subject each week, but Glyn didn't know what to choose for his subject, so he lazily flicked through the first pages of a school encyclopaedia and his imagination was captivated by numerous images of stars and galaxies. Those wondrous pictures of the heavens had caught his attention to the point where he wrote an essay on an astronomical subject each week. From those pictures and his weekly essays on astronomy, it instilled in him a serious interest in the subject. His new-found astronomical interest brought with it a 2" refractor given to him as a present. That telescope, which is an exciting instrument for any young lad, brought even greater wonders to his eyes that caused his heart to burn with deeper curiosity about the night sky. Glyn's hobby was further influenced by Patrick Moore's books, especially the Observer's Book of Astronomy from which he had learnt so much about the night sky.
Those early influences and beginnings as a young amateur astronomer prompted him to search for a local group of like-minded people. In his search, he found in the meetings column of the Yarmouth Mercury information about the local Yarmouth Astronomical Society. He contacted Michael Poxon for further details and promptly attended his first meeting at 38 Cobholm Road in 1968. Shortly after, he was elected as treasurer and became active in helping to organise the society as one of its co-founders. Working together with the stabilising effect of Mr Burgess, some form of structure was beginning to take place. That structure came by way of a small committee with elected officers as follows:
Michael Poxon: secretary and editor
A Burgess: chairman
Michael Bean: vice-chairman
Glyn Wadbrook: treasurer
...So it was time for the GYAS to go places!