The York Young People's Fellowship was founded in 1942, during wartime conditions, as a means of making the Meeting House premises more accessible to the local community, and particularly to increase its use for youth work. The Fellowship was run by young Friends, notably Michael Graveson, and its membership drawn from pupils at local elementary and secondary schools. By 1945, it had 230 members, with meetings attracting attendances of over 80. The main activities provided were recreational, including various sports and discussion groups. It was a pioneering youth club in its early days, bringing together children from different social backgrounds. Michael Graveson continued to run the Fellowship until 1972, although the numbers of other Friends involved were few. It moved to a new centre in Falsgrave Crescent in 1968. In the mid 1980s, the club began to attract an increasing number of young travellers. The Fellowship was wound up as a youth club in 1995 and its work continued by the York Young Travellers' Project and the York Travellers' Trust.
From the guide to the Records of York Young People's Fellowship of the Society of Friends, 1953-1975, (Leeds University Library)
