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Alfred Clark

What follows is a collection of Photographs and memories of Alfred Clark who was a member of the Frank and Peggy Spencer Ballroom Formation Team, Professional Formation Team.  Also his Wife Joyce Marie  Goff.

 We are deeply grateful to their niece Karen for all of the following and  for allowing us to add and display the collection on our website.

The items displayed on this page are shortly to join Peggy Spencer's archive at the Bishopsgate Institute in London to be preserved for posterity and all to see.

Karen writes :-

ALFRED AND JOYCE’S DANCING STORY

 Alfred Henry Clark was born 11th January 1921.

Joyce Marie Goff was born 5th September 1926

The early information about Alfred is unclear apart from the knowledge that he joined the army and fought in The Battle of Monte Cassino. After the war it appears that his love of dancing led him to the Royston Ballroom where he spent several years training hard to reach a high standard.

Alf later became captain of the Frank and Peggy Spencer Formation team. In 1958 he was invited to perform at the Royal Command Performance, held at the London Coliseum.  

( Continued after photos )

He also had the honour of performing with the formation team at Buckingham Palace in 1961.


In 1969 they left the ships and  settled in Eastbourne where they set up The Clark School of Dancing. After only a year they were running three schools specialising in Ballroom and Latin American dance.

Several happy years later they retired to live a quiet life in Lincolnshire, where they eventually married in 2001 and spent many years together. ( Scroll down for many more items )

After 9 years of teaching at the Peggy Spencer Dancing school he and his future wife Joyce were invited to both teach and perform, on the cruise ships of the Union Castle Line. They mainly worked on the RMS Edinburgh Castle travelling between UK and South Africa. Joyce often spoke about the lovely people she had met on her travels to South Africa commenting on the kindness she and Alf had been shown by the locals.

(Below ) A magazine from Alfred’s collection with references to his competition career.

(Notice that Ron and Maureen Fox who used to teach at Peggy’s are also mentioned ! )

Filming for T.V. At the Hammersmith Palais.

Year unknown

The team and Peggy at Butlins at Filey 1956.

Peggy’s daughter Helena is fourth from the right.

Back stage at the London Palladium at the Royal Command Performance with Tony Hancock.

Kindly sent to us by Helena Anderson ( Peggy’s Daughter ).

Alf is standing next to Peggy with his hand on his hip.

Helena remembers him as the cheekiest boy in the team !

Filming for T.V. At the Hammersmith Palais.

Year unknown

Dancing at the Albert Hall in 1955

Dancing at an unknown dance competition

Filming for T.V. At the Hammersmith Palais.

Year unknown

(Above )In amongst Alfred’s collection was this lovely presentation box, carefully preserved for 62 years and clearly one of Alfred’s treasured possessions.


( Above ) The lovely little box of matches with a gold label, complete with the original matches.

(Above ) On opening, this is what is inside.

It contains a compliments card, a little brooch or charm and a box of matches with the original matches still inside ! ( See photographs below )

This box must have been presented to the guests at the awards ceremony.

I wonder what else was in the box ?

( Above ) The brooch in it’s cellophane packet alongside a modern 50p piece to give you an impression of it’s size.

( Left ) The reverse side of the label in the brooch packet.

( Left ) The compliments card with embossed gold lettering

Again very many grateful thanks to Alfred’s Niece Karen for the above items.

Also thanks to Helena Anderson and the Bishopsgate institute for agreeing to accept these items into their collection.

Other photographs of Alfred can be seen on this website, especially on Joan Booth’s page.