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Ricardian Bulletin Contents Winter 2006 2 From the Chairman 4 The Robert Hamblin Award 2006 5 Society News and Notices 11 Media Retrospective 14 News and Reviews 20 Celebrating 50 Years: Members’ Weekend and AGM 29 Celebrating 50 Years: Chivalry, the Order of the Garter and St George’s Chapel 39 Ricardian Heroes: by John Saunders 42 The Guildhall Dinner: by John Saunders 43 Memories from the Early Days: by Val Alliez 44 Our Longest Serving Members 45 The Man Himself by Keith Dockray 47 An Adventure in Historical Research: by Toni Mount 49 Constabulary Duty: by BM Cron 52 Cirencester Parish Church: by Gwen and Brian Walter 54 Completing the Set: Henry VIII’s Other Wives: by Stephen Lark 55 Logge Notes and Queries: by Lesley Boatwright 57 Translation service 58 On the Horns of a Bosworth Legend Dilemma: by Randolph Jones 60 Review Article by Helen Cox 62 Annual Report of the Richard III and Yorkist History Trust 63 Correspondence 69 The Barton Library 71 Letter from America: An American Member’s View of the AGM 74 Report on Society Events 79 Future Society Events 82 Branches and Groups 86 Palaeography by Post 87 New Members 88 Calendar Contributions Contributions are welcomed from all members. All contributions should be sent to the Technical Editor, Lynda Pidgeon. Bulletin Press Dates 15 January for Spring issue; 15 April for Summer issue; 15 July for Autumn issue; 15 October for Winter issue. Articles should be sent well in advance. Bulletin & Ricardian Back Numbers Back issues of the 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 The Ricardian Bulletin is produced by the Bulletin Editorial Committee, General Editor Elizabeth Nokes, and printed by St Edmundsbury Press. © Richard III Society, 2006 1 From the Chairman ur anniversary celebrations draw to a close and we look back on a most enjoyable and suc- O cessful year of special events. The Members’ Weekend in York at the beginning of October was a particular success and it’s good to see that we have reviews of all the events that took place over the three days in this issue. There are also reviews of the equally enjoyable Windsor Semi- nar, which was crowned by hearing Evensong in St George’s Chapel, where I had the good for- tune to sit in the stall containing King Richard’s own Garter Plate. There are changes to the Executive Committee to announce. These are outlined in full later in this issue, but the most significant is that we have a new Society Secretary in Jane Trump, who is already well known through her work as the Barton Librarian. After many years of service to the Society as Secretary, Elizabeth Nokes has stepped down from the post and also from the Execu- tive Committee. I know that all members would wish me express their thanks for all that she has done during her time in office. Though standing down from one of her jobs, Elizabeth will con- tinue to play a full and important role within the Society with her continuing responsibilities as Secretary of the London Branch, as a member of the Visits Committee and as the senior trustee of the Ricardian Churches Restoration Fund. My Chairman’s Piece is shorter this time as an abridged version of the address I gave to the AGM follows. This provides a review of the past year as well as setting out some thoughts about the future. Further details about this will be published next year and we will also keep you fully informed as we review the voting systems, as agreed at the AGM. Even though this piece is shorter than usual, there must be a mention in print of my thanks to Wendy Moorhen for her seemingly tireless work in organising the special events for this celebratory year. She tells me, ‘It's my day job,’ but as I've said before, the work still has to be done and she has done it. Wendy, my thanks, as always. As you can see, this is another bumper issue of the Bulletin. It contains a wide range of arti- cles, reviews and Society news and together they make for excellent reading material for the Christmas holidays, and on that seasonal note, may I wish you all a very merry Christmas and a peaceful and prosperous New Year. Phil Stone The Chairman’s Keynote Address to the Society at AGM Change, consolidation and celebration are the three words that can be used to sum up this past year, as we continue to make important changes whilst we consolidate those already made, and at the same time, we celebrate all that has been achieved since 1956. Last year, I spoke about the tough decisions that have had to be made in recent years to im- prove our financial position. As a result of these reforms, our accounts for the 2005 - 2006 finan- cial year show a surplus after too many years of deficit. In order to ensure that things do not slip again, we will continue to review the way we operate, seeking yet more ways to do things better and more efficiently, whilst improving the services we provide for members. Our research capacity continues to expand and we very much hope that 2007 will see the first 2 published results of the Wills Project. The continuing excellent scholarship of The Ricardian, as well as the lively, informative and entertaining Bulletin, continue to display all that is best in our Society to the membership and to the wider world. Our poster and essay competitions proved a considerable success, attracting entries from schools all around the country and culminating in the splendid event at Barnard’s Inn in the pres- ence of our Patron and many of the prize winners, their parents and teachers. Looking back at the event, we can be heartened by the knowledge that the debate over Richard’s posthumous reputa- tion should be safe in the hands of the next generation. I am very pleased to report that we are making progress with our initiatives to encourage younger people to become more aware of the work of the Society. Combining the skills and ex- perience of several members who are teachers, we are producing an education pack of material relating to Richard III for use in secondary schools. The future is not just about engaging with young people, of course. There is also the ever in- creasing challenge to interest and involve the wider population in our history, which is why it is especially pleasing that the Society has joined the History Matters campaign recently launched by The National Trust and English Heritage and other similar bodies. My thanks must go to all the members of the Executive Committee and to all the officers of the Society for the work they have undertaken during the year. In particular, I thank John Ash- down-Hill, who is retiring from the Committee. John has been a hard working member of the Executive and the good news is that, whilst he is stepping down from it, he is not giving up all his responsibilities. He will continue in his Branch Liaison role. I must also thank Jane Trump for her work with the Barton Library. During her tenure, we have seen changes in the nature and use of the library, possibly brought about by changes in the availability of books and information on the internet. When Jane recently expressed a wish to reclaim her living room, serious thought was given to whether the library was still viable but I am relieved to say that it was agreed that the library should be kept as a Society amenity. A new vol- unteer was found and I welcome Keith Horry to the post of non-fiction books librarian. This year, of course, we are celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the 1956 refounding of the Society. Saxon Barton founded the Fellowship of the White Boar in 1924, but by the early 1950s it had almost faded away until, that is, Isolde Wigram came on the scene. I think it is safe to say that without her the Society would not have been refounded. We thank her. As I stressed last year, despite our achievements so far, there is much still to be done and it’s not yet time to rest on our laurels. Research, publication and education will always be our prima- ry purpose and we will continue to ensure that sufficient resources are available to promote this work. As well as maintaining the good reputation of our research, we will remain committed to objective research, that which is aimed at securing a reassessment of Richard III’s role in our history; research that is respected by historians, by writers and by the media, for it is only with their respect that we can have any influence. No respect, no voice. Publicity and promotion, memorials, commemorative events, social events and branch activi- ties all help to advance the cause of Richard III, and we will, of course, continue to promote the wide range of activities that involves the Society. In terms of promotion and publicity, there is still room for improvement and new ideas. All too often, we see the media, etc, recycling the old negative myths about King Richard, with no recognition of his positive qualities.