In 1967 The Credit Union League of Great Britain was founded. During this period the directors of Hornsey Co-operative Credit Union along with representatives of other West Indian Credit Unions from Hove and Highgate in London were also discussing the formation of their own national Association. In October 1967 the Credit Union League of Great Britain (CULGB) was formed.
The directors of Hornsey Co-operative Credit Union were totally unaware of Wimbledon Credit Union’s existence until they saw a copy of the handbook, published by Ted Sammons. So on the 4th September 1967 Hornsey Co-operative Credit Union met for the first-time officials of the National Federation of Credit Unions.
Following on from the first meeting a series of further meetings took place , which were attended by Paddy “AA” Bailey of the World Extension Bureau (WEB). Bailey was now Managing Director of the WEB having begun his career in credit unions during their formation in Jamaica in 1941.
His involvement in the British Movement came about because of his friendship with a number of the directors of Hornsey Co-operative Credit Union and Wimbledon Credit Union. On the 9th October 1967 he attended a meeting between the newly formed Credit Union League of Great Britain (CULGB) and theNational Federation of Savings and Cooperative Credit Unions (NFSCCU). The next day he chaired a further meeting between these two bodies. Its purpose was to discuss the amalgamation of the two organisations. The idea behind this initiative was the creation of one organisation to promote and represent credit unions throughout the country. By the end of the meeting a draft constitution for the setting up of a Central Credit Union Council of Great Britain (CCUCGB) had been formulated. Paddy Bailey saw the setting up of one national body as the only way forward for the development of credit unions in Britain. On the 2nd Nov both the National Federation and the Credit Union League agreed to the draft constitution.
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