I recently received this photograph captioned ‘Club Building’ and I didn’t know which Haverton Hill club it was so I contacted an old Havertonian called Eddie Rose and this is what he said,
‘I can confirm that it is definitely the Empire Social Club, it was situated on land adjacent to Hope Street. Whilst I was never a paying client of this particular establishment it was certainly very well supported. About 200 yards further along was the Haverton Hill Working Mens Club, which in the late forties/early fifties was managed by a Mr. Cummings. I can recall that in the late forties the Empire did much good in the community by doubling – up as a soup-kitchen, and I’m sure that I may have benefitted from this on at least one occasion. Your particular photo of the Empire, by coincidence, is very similar to one taken by myself in the 1970’s, the only difference being that mine is more full-frontal. (Excuse the expression)’.
Photograph and details courtesy of Bruce Coleman and Eddie Rose.
Picture Stockton Archive 
I was waiting at the traffic lights in Haverton Hill on my way home from work today & looked over at the old club building, boarded/bricked up but obviously still in use as an industrial unit, there is still a sign on the side wall which I could not read but it looked like a Tetley advertising sign with the clubs name on it.
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My Dad George Wray was a Shipwright at Furness’s Ship Yard, I remember sitting at the bottom of a flight of stairs inside the main door why my Dad was upstairs doing something to do with the Union??? Would that have been correct?
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Eddie is interested in contacting any old Havertonians, especially those born in the war years, if anybody wishes to get in touch with Eddie then please email me at billinghamlad@gmail.com. This is an email for a school photo album I am working on if you wish I can give you a download address for the album, the album is an interactive computer program that will run on any Windows computer, and it is completely free to all.
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