At one stage in East London A.A. history the meeting held at Toynbee Hall, 28 Commercial Street, E1 was the longest-living meeting in the area of East London.
The meeting was opened by ‘Dartmoor’ Bill who was the first member of Europe A.A. to reach 50 years of sobriety He and Robert U got in touch with Toynbee Hall to arrange a regular Alcoholics Anonymous meeting and thus, doors were opened in 1965.
In the AA news pamphlet, the announcement of the meeting was put out for all to read and acknowledge.
The mainstay of East London recovery grew other the years and on our member stories section of the site, there are members talking about their time spent in the bustling hall of recovery.
‘Dartmoor’ Bill the member who helped open the meeting celebrated his 50 years of sobriety, Here is an article
In the early years of London A.A., a lot of the members had some incredible nicknames. Such as ‘Dartmoor’ Bill, there was Mick the Tick, ‘Plaistow’ Bill, and Ironing Board Arthur – you can hear Arthurs’ story in the member’s stories section of this site.
With A.A. coming to the UK in 1947 after 25 years the members of Toynbee Hall were given the opportunity to celebrate 25 years of A.A. in Great Britain by putting on the convention.
The once vibrant mainstay of East London sobriety over the years the numbers dwindled. more meetings began to open up all over the East End and longtime members moved from the area. After a while, the doors sadly shut at the venue of Toynbee Hall in 2016.
Without the members who pathed the way for others to walk the same path, the Toynbee Hall years are often fondly remembered by those who went there.
East London Archives of Alcoholics Anonymous. 