Bulletin Magazine of the Richard III Society
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Ricardian Bulletin Magazine of the Richard III Society ISSN 0308 4337 December 2012 Ricardian Bulletin December 2012 Contents 3 From the Chairman (Colour section cont’d) 4 Future arrangements for the Bulletin ii Scenes from the Greyfriars dig 5 Annual General Meeting 2012 iii Scenes from the Greyfriars dig and The 10 Living in exciting times The Chairman’s Penn Roll project Address to the Society’s AGM 2012 iv Greyfriars graphics by Emma Vieceli 11 Another AGM perspective 43 Media retrospective: painful puns and Sue and Dave Wells prognostication Geoffrey Wheeler 13 The Augustinian Friary, Lendal, York 48 More points from the dig Lynda Pidgeon Cris Reay Connor and Peter Hammond 14 Society news and notices 51 Media retrospective: an Antipodean 19 Society news from North America perspective Rob Smith and Dorothea Preis 21 Future Society events 51 More on the King in the Car Park 22 Society reviews Geoffrey Wheeler 26 Other news, reviews and events 53 The City Mayor’s Annual Lecture 2012 31 The Man Himself: Looking for Richard – the Wendy Moorhen Greyfriars project 54 Emma Vieceli’s Greyfriars graphics 31 The search for Richard III – DNA, 54 Managing the opportunities – a public documentary evidence and religious relations (PR) strategy Peter Secchi knowledge John Ashdown-Hill 56 Our Olympic Diary: part 2 32 Has the King been found? Sue and Dave Wells Philippa Langley 58 Focus on the Sales team 34 Statement from the University of Leicester 61 Photo caption competition 37 Leicester’s Greyfriars Project Roll of 62 Ricardian crossword 2 by Sanglier Honour 63 Correspondence 38 Greyfriars archaeological dig open day 65 Book reviews and notices Matthew Lewis 67 The Barton Library 39 Initial reflections and press coverage 69 Branches and Groups Bruce Watson and Geoffrey Wheeler 77 New members Centre colour section 78 Recently deceased members i The Society’s AGM and Members’ Day 79 Obituaries 2012 80 Calendar The Ricardian Bulletin is produced by the Bulletin Editorial Committee. © Richard III Society 2012. Individual contributions and illustrations © the contributors except where otherwise stated. Printed by Micropress Printers Ltd. For details on sending in future contributions, please see p. 4 Bulletin and Ricardian Back Numbers Back issues of The Ricardian and the Bulletin are available from Judith Ridley. If you are interested in obtaining any back numbers, please contact Mrs Ridley to establish whether she holds the issue(s) in which you are interested. For contact details see back inside cover of the Bulletin 1 IN MEMORIAM This issue is dedicated to the memory of Dr Lesley Boatwright MBE 1932–2012 Editor of the Ricardian Bulletin 2009–2012 2 From the Chairman ever before has an issue of the Bulletin been so tinged with sadness and joy in equal measure N– sadness for the death of Lesley Boatwright and joy at the prospect offered by the Greyfriars dig. I would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank all officers of the Society who have rallied around and taken on much extra work as a result of these two events. In particular, my gratitude goes to the Bulletin Team, who have put together this issue in such trying circumstances. I think you will agree that it is one worthy of Lesley. Lesley will be greatly missed by us all. She has been our friend and colleague as well as a tireless worker for the Society. Her contribution, particularly to our research agenda, has been immense and we will try to do full justice to that in the March Bulletin. Shortly before her death she was appointed a vice-president of the Society and was made aware of this. At the moment it is very hard to imagine the Society without her. The Leicester Greyfriars project has been a landmark event in the Society’s history, and perhaps its full impact is yet to be realised. Even if the remains do not belong to Richard III, it will have achieved considerable success in improving our knowledge of the site while raising the profile of ‘Good King Richard’. There has been extensive coverage in the press and media around the world, most of it positive and advantageous to the revisionist cause. Since the dig began back in August we have had over 200 new members, which compares with the 111 for the whole of the previous year. In just two years, our Facebook page reached 1000 ‘likes’ early in August and now it has over 2000. So, again I thank Philippa Langley and John Ashdown-Hill and all the others who have contributed to making a dream become a reality and, in so doing, inspiring us all. This is a bigger issue than usual but, of course, there is a big story to cover. The Man Himself dominates, with its wide coverage of the dig and its impact. Appropriately, we have articles from two of the project’s leading lights, Philippa Langley and John Ashdown-Hill, illustrated with photographs from the dig in a special colour insert. The archaeologist Bruce Watson casts an expert eye over the evidence and Geoffrey Wheeler comes up trumps with his coverage of the media, including a splendid collage of the headlines. We take a look at some of the inevitable jokes and cartoons, and it just goes to show that it is even possible for a parking ticket to have its funny side! We have our usual in-depth coverage of the Members’ Day and AGM held in York, which was very well attended, with an atmosphere of considerable excitement and expectation. There is an abridged version of my AGM address and you will see I have now completed a full decade as your chairman, an anniversary which coincided rather nicely with the Greyfriars dig! I spoke about the importance of the voluntary spirit and, appropriately, there are two articles in this issue which exemplify this: the second part of Sue and Dave Wells’ Olympic Diary and the focus on our hard working sales team. There is also a report on another successful event, the joint AGM of the American and Canadian branches. We welcome the new American branch chairman, Jonathan Hayes, and wish him well. You can also read about some of the things we are doing to take advantage of all the publicity that the Greyfriars dig is generating. We have a new press officer, Peter Secchi, who is a public relations professional and thus well placed to give us advice on how to cope with the modern media in all its forms. As events unfold over the coming months we are determined to take advantage of all opportunities to promote the Society and King Richard’s cause. 3 There is understandably much debate as to where the Greyfriars remains are finally to be laid to rest. Until the bones are confirmed to be those of Richard III and we are asked our opinion about the place of reinterment, the Society is not expressing any opinion. If we are asked we will take into account the various views that have been expressed by members and pass them on to the authorities. As we go to press the government has indicated that it is planned to inter the remains in Leicester Cathedral. We will accept wherever is chosen, of course. At this stage, all we can ask is that, whichever religious establishment is given the honour of holding the remains of Richard III, they are reinterred with the solemnity and dignity befitting an anointed king. What a year lies ahead, what opportunities, what challenges. No matter, we are ready for them all. Beth and I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year. Lesley Boatwright The Bulletin Editorial Committee is deeply saddened by the death of its editor-in-chief Lesley Boatwright on 4 October; we are dedicating this issue to her memory. In March’s Bulletin there will be a full obituary and other tributes, together with details of our plans to celebrate her life and protect her legacy. Her funeral was held on 22 October, with a very good attendance by Society members. In lieu of flowers, donations are requested to Médecins Sans Frontières or Macmillan Cancer Support. She leaves an enormous gap. Her unique range of skills, which have been of immeasurable benefit to us, are now simply irreplaceable. The editing and production of this issue has been a truly team effort, with contributions from committee members in this country and overseas. I am very grateful to them all. For the future we will need to consider how to manage the Bulletin in the absence of Lesley, and we will keep members informed of our thinking and about any developments. In the meantime we have some big stories to cover, so watch this space. John Saunders, Chair of the Bulletin Editorial Committee FUTURE ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE BULLETIN Contributions are welcomed from all members. All future articles and other items for the Ricardian Bulletin should be sent to the new dedicated Bulletin email address: [email protected]. Alternatively, the contact details on the back inside cover can be used. The editorial team would prefer to receive contributions as Word file attachments to emails wherever possible, since we have limited capacity to transcribe and type up written submissions and there may be delays in using them. Bulletin items submitted over the past two months which have not been acknowledged, or do not appear in this issue, should be sent again to the above email address. Thank you. Bulletin Press Dates 15 January for March issue; 15 April for June issue; 15 July for September issue; 15 October for December issue.