It was proposed and carried that the Club be called ‘The Cranston Park Tennis and Social Club’ and a temporary committee was formed from those present to act until the general meeting was held later in the year. The committee comprised of Chairman - Mr A E Palmer, Secretary - Mr A W Jerray, Treasurer - Mr A A Bate, also Mr Tarlton, Mrs I Needs, Mrs C E Smith and Mr Parsons (Jr). Three other people were also nominated but after being put to the vote, were not elected. It was also proposed that Mr Palmer be asked to accept the position of President at the general meeting to be held at a later date, in view of his generosity towards the Club. Mr Walls, the manager of the Bell Hotel, had loaned the room for the purpose of the meeting, free of charge, he also offered to let the Club have free use of the room for any further functions. It was decided that any further business should be left until the general meeting.

1932 Minute book

The early committee meetings were held in the estate office.  At the first meeting on 12^th September, Mr Palmer informed the committee that he had already agreed a contract with Gazes, the well known tennis court manufacturers, for the laying of two hard courts.  The social pursuits of the Club moved swiftly with four social dances taking place at the Bell Hotel on Thursday or Friday evenings in October, November, January and March.  Tickets for the first three dances were sold at 2s 6d each and those in March, on St. Patrick’s Day, at 3s 6d each.

As the Club did not possess any funds, Mr Palmer donated a cheque for the sum of £4 13s 0d which represented his membership fee together with his wife’s subscription in order that the Club would have sufficient funds in hand to meet sundry expenses. It was agreed that a bank account be held at the Upminster branch of Barclays Bank and that the treasurer hold a petty cash balance of £1. Rules drafted by the Hon. Secretary, were submitted to the meeting, with the colours of the Club being agreed as black and amber, thereby making club rule No.1. Subscriptions were agreed as 2s 6d entrance fee and £1 5s 0d annual for residents on the estate, 7s 6d entrance fee and £1 15s 0d annual for non-residents, 2s 6d entrance fee and 12s 6d annual for children, from 12 to 16 years and 10s 6d per annum for non-playing members.

To start with committee meetings were frequent, eventually being held at about monthly intervals. At the dance held at the Bell Hotel in October around 90 tickets had been taken up. The charge for the band was £2 10s 0d and refreshments charged at 10d per head, an MC, Mr H V Cox, officiated and arranged the dance programme. Following this dance, letters were received from the ‘Orpheus’ and ‘The Waltonians’ dance bands offering their services for future dances. The first dance made a profit of £4 12s 10d.

Although the club rules at this time were still in draft form and still being discussed, they were strictly adhered to. One case being Mr H V Cox (the October dance MC) of Hilbery Chaplin & Co. who had written to the committee asking to be considered for resident membership in view of his association with the estate, after consideration his request was rejected.

In November subscriptions had been received from 29 playing members, one non-playing member and in addition three entrance fees. The bank balance stood at £46 5s 10d and the petty cash balance was £1 0s 3½d. Although tennis courts were not yet available, three dozen tennis balls were purchased, at a cost of £2 0s 6d. Advertising and printing costs totalled £1 5s 6d. It was also agreed that before being settled, all tradesmen’s accounts should be submitted to the committee for approval.

The two courts were opened on Saturday 5^th November, in view of the time of year it was an informal affair. The pavilion was already functioning and heated by a coal fire, with coal purchased at a cost of £1 6s 6d, so the club was fully operational and the first of many whist drives was held making a profit of over £2.

Club bye-laws were decided upon. With regard to visitors, they would be allowed to use the courts from Monday to Friday at a charge of 1shilling per day and Saturdays, Sundays and Bank holidays at 2shillings per day. Regarding clothing, men had to wear long white flannels during the summer months (April to September), although grey flannels were allowed during the winter months (October to March). It was decided that three committees should act for the ensuing year, being General, Entertainment and Ground.

The first Annual General Meeting was held in the pavilion on Thursday 15^th December where Mr Palmer was duly elected as President. The draft rules were considered at the meeting and following some minor amendments were duly adopted. The temporary committee stood down from their positions but were all re-elected to serve in the same capacity for the ensuing year with vacancies also being filled. The structure of the committees had been completed and consisted of the following:-

General Committee:
Hon. Secretary             Mr A W Jerray                         Hon. Asst. Secretary    Mr E R Green
Hon. Treasurer             Mr A A Bate                    
Captain                        Mr J P Mansell                         Vice Captain                Mr A Rucker
Members                     Mr Tarlton, Mr Parsons (Jr), Mrs I Needs, Mrs C E Smith

Entertainment Committee:
Social Secretary           Mr H R Padgham
Members                     Mrs Parsons, Mrs Padgham, Mrs Mansell, Mrs Bate, Mrs Jerray, Mrs Needs,  Miss Arthurs, Mr G Smith, Mr Buckley (Jr)

Ground Committee:
Members                      Mr Pleasance, Mr G G Smith, Mr B Buckley, Mr H Buckley

A ball fund was started because it was found impossible to provide balls from the present annual subscriptions. It was suggested that either members provide their own balls or a contribution system be adopted. The latter was agreed and playing members had to contribute 5shillings per annum on 1^st January or in two instalments of 2s 6d, on 1^st January and 1^st July.

At the start of the year the bank balance had risen to £60 18s 11d and the membership stood at 48. The dance held in February at the Bell Hotel was a great success, making a profit of £4 1s 1d. The Social Secretary outlined the social programme for the early months with a combination of whist drives and dances. With a view of keeping the General Committee informed regarding social activities, the Social Secretary was co-opted onto the General Committee.

Very soon the number of applications had exceeded the original number of 50 that had been planned for the two courts that were available, but as Mr Palmer had generously agreed to have a further two courts laid; it was decided to accept further applications. Meanwhile the social functions were well attended and made profits.

The rateable value of £25 per annum per court was questioned and an appeal was submitted on behalf of the Club. In March the tenancy agreement between the Club and Mr Palmer was accepted with the terms being for three years with the option of renewing, under the same conditions, for a further period of three years. It was therefore agreed, subject to the completion of the agreement, that the sum of £58 6s 4d be paid to Mr Palmer, being rent of the two courts to 31^st December 1933 (£50) together with sundry expenses.

The question of registration as a Club was considered but it was decided to only apply for a licence for the sale of tobacco and cigarettes in the pavilion, the Customs & Excise Licence cost 5s 3d. A suitable display case was obtained for chocolates and cigarettes. A table tennis table was purchased at a cost of £6 17s 9d and 12 deck chairs were obtained from Roomes Stores at a cost of £1 13s 0d. Further items for the pavilion were agreed, such as a clock, a suggestion and complaints box, a dustbin and a fire guard, additionally a gramophone together with a number of records was donated. Two umpire chairs were purchased at the cost of £1 14s 6d each.

There were some defects pointed out in the two courts to which Gazes agreed to remedy. There was also some concern regarding the use of the pavilion by children and the possibility of leading to complications. Therefore a notice to the following effect was put up: 
 

By July there were 72 fully paid playing members and a scale of fees was agreed for members joining at various times during the year. American tournaments were held on Bank Holidays and the Club’s first match, against Gaynes Park, resulted in a 6-1 win with two games unfinished owing to rain. A later return match against Gaynes Park resulted in a 7-2 win.

Off court a cleaner for the pavilion was engaged at a wage of 5shillings per month, after a month she asked for a rise to 10shillings, a compromise was reached at 7s 6d. The cleaner left employment shortly afterwards, however it was not long before another cleaner was employed at the rate of 7s 6d.

Socially, whist drives were even being held on midweek afternoons, dances were still being held at the Bell Hotel and the first annual Dinner Dance was held there in November. The dinner was attended by 93 members at 5shillings per head; additionally 10 attended the dance only at 2shillings per head. There was one complaint, being that it was not considered satisfactory that members of the Bell Hotel staff had taken to the floor during the dance. As a result of social activities, the sum of £28 5s 1d had been added to funds, in addition, profit on the sale of cigarettes, confectionery and catering amounted to £15 0s 6d.

At the AGM, the annual subscription was adjusted to include the ball fund, to make subscriptions for residents £1 10s 0d and non-residents £2.