The Doc Weir Award The Dr Arthur R Weir Memorial Fund was discussed and it was agreed that the money collected during the past year, some fourteen pounds, should be devoted to a Fan Recognition Award in Doc’s name. Skyrack #42, 27 April 1962, ed: Ron Bennett …and that’s how and when the Doc Weir Award came into being. That £14, equivalent to about £284 today, funded a handsome silver cup on a black base, later housed in a wooden presentation box. It was first presented at the 1963 Eastercon, Bullcon in Peterborough. Since then, the Doc Weir Award has been presented every year except 1982, 1983, 1986 and 1988. Winners’ names were added first to the base of the cup and then, when that filled up, to plaques on the box itself. Each year, members of the Eastercon vote for the person who they think is most deserving of the award, generally somebody who has made a significant contribution to fandom which has largely gone unrecognised, one of the unsung heroes if you like: The scheme, then, is that a trophy be presented annually to ‘the person (fan) voted the person one would most like to see win the said Award’ Ken Cheslin, quoted in a letter from Archie Mercer to Ken Bulmer, dated 28th April 1962 In typical fannish fashion, the reward for hard work is more work: today, the winner of the award is responsible for arranging for the engraving of their name, insuring the cup and running the following year’s voting process. This booklet is intended to remind people about the contributions made by past winners of the award, from the Hugo winners to the ones who make you ask “Where are they now?” (and sometimes receive the response ”Working hard to make the convention work, just like every year”). They include authors, booksellers, fanzine editors and writers, convention runners, club organisers and people who just do stuff that needs doing, and we thank them all. The BSFA is the British Science Fiction Association, formed in 1958. An APA is an Amateur Publishing Association, a kind of communal fanzine in which each member produces several copies of a short fanzine, which are then collated and one set sent out to each of the contributors. OMPA, the Off-trail Magazine Publishers’ Association, was the first APA in the UK, but many others exist. TAFF is the Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund, which uses donations from fandom to send North American fans to European conventions and European fans to North American conventions. The Big Heart Award is given at each Worldcon to a fan who embodies ”good work and great spirit long contributed”. Winners marked (d) are sadly deceased. 1963 Peter Mabey Peter was one of the first members of the Cheltenham Circle and the BSFA, acting as Librarian of the BSFA lending library when the collection was also held at Cheltenham; he later served as a BSFA committee member after the organisation’s incorporation. He was one of the founders of the Order of St. Fantony and was presented, in his absence, with the first Doc Weir Award at the 1963 Eastercon (Bullcon). He was a member of the organising committee for the 1965 Worldcon (Loncon II) and was responsible for its Publications. He has continued to attend conventions well into his 90s. 1964 Archie Mercer (d) Archie was the founding treasurer of the BSFA and an editor of the BSFA Bulletin and Vector, the BSFA’s critical journal. He published many fanzines, some jointly with his wife and 1969 Doc Weir winner, Beryl. They met in the early 1960s; an early encounter in print saw Archie writing an article as an established fan in response to Beryl’s from the perspective of newcomers. As well as fanzines, he wrote a fannish novel, Meadows of Fantasy, and contributed to APAs including OMPA and the BSFA’s PaDS (Publishing and Distribution Service), which he helped to run. He was on the committee of the 1966 Eastercon (Yarcon) and, with Beryl, handled publications for the 1967 Eastercon (Briscon). 1965 Terry Jeeves (d) Terry was a fan artist, writer and publisher, known for welcoming and helping newcomers to the world of fandom. He produced 166 issues of his solo fanzine Erg between 1959 and 2005, as well as co-editing Triode and Con-Science. His artwork (including the unmistakable alien ‘Soggies’) appeared in many fanzines and won him the 2007 Rotsler Award. He was a founding member of the BSFA, on the committees of the 1957 Worldcon (Loncon I) and the 1959 Eastercon (Brumcon), and was one of the founders of TAFF (for which he ran, unsuccessfully, three times). He was inducted into the First Fandom Hall of Fame in 2010. 1966 Ken F Slater (d) Ken was a fan, book dealer and reviewer. He played a major role in restarting British fandom after WWII, including helping to found the Science Fantasy Society (which ran the 1949 Eastercon) and running Operation Fantast to help fans to get around post-war import and currency restrictions when buying foreign SF publications. He helped to found the BSFA and TAFF, was a member of First Fandom, and was on the committee of the 1957 Worldcon (Loncon I). His first convention was the first ‘Eastercon’, Whitcon, in 1948. He published many fanzines and APA contributions, and was a Guest at a number of conventions including (with his wife and 1984 Doc Weir winner Joyce Slater) the 1987 Worldcon (Conspiracy). In 1995, he received the Big Heart Award. 1967 Doreen Parker (d) Doreen was a long-time fan who was active in the BSFA in the 1960s and 70s; she was an editor of Vector, the BSFA’s critical journal, and served for some time as the organisation’s Secretary; she and 1966 Doc Weir winner Ken Slater helped the BSFA though a financial crisis in 1966. She put her legal training to fannish good use, acting as a director and Company Secretary of fellow Doc Weir winner Ken Slater’s book dealing business. She later married 1971 Doc Weir winner Phil Rogers. Fellow fans variously described her as ”a cheering presence at UK cons for many years” (Dave Langford), and as being at the centre of ”a kind of portable fiesta” (Dan Morgan). She was the Guest at Novacon 2 in 1972. 1968 Mary Reed Mary published fanzines in the 1960s, including Link (with 1969 Doc Weir winner Beryl Mercer) and Crabapple, around which Kinkay Fandom developed (a group including Beryl along with fellow Doc Weir winners Archie Mercer and Arthur Cruttenden, who all went on to found the Herts Science Fiction and Fantasy Group together). These fanzines included her ‘Tribe-X’ stories which were an early example of fan fiction. Mary emigrated to the USA in 1976; she now writes mysteries with her husband, fellow fan Eric Mayer. 1969 Beryl Mercer (d) Beryl, née Henley, was active and influential in British fandom from the 1960s, including the BSFA. She produced and contributed to a range of fanzines, some with her husband, Archie Mercer, and one with Mary Reed – both fellow Doc Weir winners. She also helped to run PaDS (the Publishing and Distribution Service) for the BSFA. She was on the committee of the 1966 Eastercon (Yarcon) and with Archie handled publications for the 1967 Eastercon (Briscon). 1970 J Michael Rosenblum (d) Mike was active in Leeds fandom from the mid-1930s and attended the 1937 Leeds Convention, the first ever SF convention. He was on the committee of Midvention in 1943. In the 1950s, he helped form the Leeds Science Fiction Association and was active in the BSFA. He published fanzines from the 1930s to the 1950s, including Futurian War Digest, credited with keeping British fandom connected during WWII, and was a regular at British conventions into the 1970s. He was known for having one of Europe's largest collections of SF. A conscientious objector, he spent the war working on a farm and, during night-time air raids, as a fire watcher. His son, Howard, was also a fan, as is his granddaughter Michelle. 1971 Phil Rogers (d) Phil was involved in fandom for 40 years from the late 1950s. He was on the committees of the Eastercons in 1962 (Ronvention) and 1966 (Yarcon) and was the Toastmaster for the 1971 Eastercon (Eastercon 22). He was active in the running of the BSFA both before and after its incorporation as a limited company in 1967. He was married to 1967 Doc Weir winner Doreen Parker. Phil was a wine maker and keen gardener, using the products of his well-stocked greenhouse in the meals that he and Doreen created for fellow fans. Prior to 1967, when the practice of winners arranging for the engraving of their own names on the cup came into being, Phil paid for the engraving. He also paid for the box in which it was stored until 2019. 1972 Jill Adams (d) Jill was active in fandom from the 1950s, making an impression on 1964 Doc Weir winner Archie Mercer and others at the 1957 Worldcon (Loncon I) for ”apparently being able to go without sleep altogether for several nights on the trot and still look just as fresh as at the beginning”. This might have helped her long involvement in the running of the BSFA from its inauguration the following year, including stints as both Treasurer and Secretary, as part of which she was responsible for arranging the engraving of the Doc Weir Award winners’ names onto the cup prior to 1967. 1973 Ethel Lindsay (d) Ethel joined Glasgow fan group the Newlands SF Fan Club in 1952, and attended the 1954 Eastercon (Supermancon). After moving there in the 1950s, she became very active in London fandom. She was secretary of the 1965 Worldcon (Loncon II) and on the committees of the Eastercons in 1961 (LXICON) and 1964 (RePetercon). She published the long-running fanzines Scottishe and Haverings and was involved in Femizine. For some years she helped to run OMPA and was the UK agent for SF Chronicle. She was the 1962 TAFF delegate (publishing a full trip report called The Lindsay Report), and was a Guest at the 1972 Eastercon (Chessmancon). 1974 Malcolm Edwards Malcolm Edwards is an SF editor, fan and critic. He was chairman of the Cambridge University SF Society, and was very active in fandom in the 1970s and 80s. He was one of the organisers of the successful Britain in ’79 Worldcon bid, and chaired the 1987 Worldcon (Conspiracy ’87) until about nine months before the convention. He was a Guest of the 2014 Worldcon (Loncon 3). As well as publishing fanzines, he edited the BSFA’s critical journal, Vector, from 1971 to 1974, was one of the founders of Interzone, and was SF editor for Victor Gollancz. He also edited the Science Fiction Foundation’s journal, Foundation, from 1978 to 1980. 1975 Peter Weston (d) Peter’s many and varied activities include co-founding the Birmingham Science Fiction Group, editing the Andromeda series of original anthologies, chairing the 1979 Worldcon (Seacon ’79), and editing the award-winning fanzine Speculation. Inspired by Speculation, he organised science fiction symposia in Birmingham and in 1971 he both helped start the Novacon conventions and was on the committee of Eastercon 22. He won TAFF in 1974 and was a Guest at the 1974 and 2002 Eastercons (Tynecon and Helicon 2) and the 2004 Worldcon (Noreascon 4). His personal history of British fandom, With Stars in My Eyes, was published for the 2004 Worldcon and nominated for the 2005 Best Related Book Hugo. For many years, Peter’s former metal-working business has produced the rockets for the Hugo Awards. 1976 Ina Shorrock Ina discovered fandom in 1950 and her first convention was the 1952 Eastercon (London SF Con). She was another founder member of the BSFA, which she later chaired, and of the Liverpool Group with her husband Norman; they were renowned for their hospitality. She was also a member of the Science Fiction Club of London and active at conventions. She was an early Nova Award judge and won a special ‘Best Fan’ Nova in 2003, followed in 2005 by the Big Heart Award. Ina continued to volunteer at conventions into this century. 1977 Keith H Freeman Keith was one of the first members of the BSFA and was subsequently active in its running (in several roles, at different times, over many years). He was responsible for the programme at the 1962 Eastercon (Ronvention). He was a member of The Fan Squadron, a group of fans who were also aircraft buffs and produced The Damned Patrol. He also produced his own fanzine, KE-WE. Keith was one of the founders of the Reading Science Fiction Club in the 1970s. Keith is still involved in fanzine fandom and still just as interested in aircraft. 1978 Gregory Pickersgill Greg has been active in fanzine production, fanwriting and conrunning since 1967. His first convention was the 1968 Eastercon (Thirdmancon), and he served on the committee of many conventions, including the 1977 Eastercon (Eastercon ’77), the Mexicons, and the Worldcon in 1987 (Conspiracy ’87). He ran fan rooms at many conventions from the 1970s to 2001. His biggest project is the Memory Hole, a combined fanzine archive and redistribution system comprising at one time over 10,000 issues of nearly 2,000 fanzines. He won TAFF in 1986 and was a Guest at the 1988 Eastercon (Follycon) and the 2005 Worldcon (Interaction), for which his fanwriting collection, Can’t Get Off the Island, was published. 1979 Rog Peyton Rog is a fan, bookseller, editor and publisher. He owned Andromeda Bookshop and ran Replay books. He has been an active member of fandom since 1961, when he co-founded the Birmingham Science Fiction Group and edited its newsletter. He edited the BSFA’s critical magazine, Vector, in the mid-’60s. He also started the BSFA's fiction fanzine, Tangent. He was on the committee for the Eastercons in 1965 (Brumcon II), 1972 (Eastercon 22) and 1977 (Eastercon ’77), Star Trek conventions, and several Novacons, chairing the twelfth in 1982. He was a Guest at Novacon 30 and at the 2008 Eastercon (Orbital 2008). 1980 Bob Shaw (d) BoSh was a fan, fanwriter, fan artist, novelist and journalist. In 1950 he joined the group Irish Fandom, which met in Belfast. He contributed to Hyphen and Slant, the group’s fanzines. He won the Hugo Award for Best Fan Writer in 1979 and 1980. With Walt Willis, he co-wrote The Enchanted Duplicator in 1954. Professionally, he published his first story in 1951, and is best known for ”Light of Other Days” (ASF, Aug 1966), the story that introduced the concept of slow glass. For many years at Eastercon he would deliver a Serious Scientific Talk, actually a humorous speech, which many fans remember fondly to this day. He was Guest at many conventions, in the UK and around the world. 1981 John Brunner (d) John joined fandom as a teenager at the start of the 1950s and sold his first fiction while still at school. He was on the committees of the 1957 Worldcon (Loncon I) and the Eastercons in 1969 (Galactic Fair 1969) and 1984 (Seacon ’84). He was a member of OMPA as well as publishing the fanzines Pogrom, Stopgap, and Noise Level. He also had a prolific professional writing career from 1959 until the mid-1980s. Stand on Zanzibar, for which he won a Hugo Award, is probably his most famous novel. He was Guest at many conventions, in the UK and abroad. An early campaigner with CND, he wrote their Marching Song. He died while attending Intersection (1995 Worldcon) in Glasgow, and was eulogised with considerable feeling by Robert Silverberg during the Hugo Ceremony. 1984 Joyce Slater (d) Joyce’s long-running activities in fandom were usually bracketed with those of her husband, 1966 Doc Weir winner Ken Slater, with whom she was a Guest at the 1987 Worldcon (Conspiracy ’87). They married in 1948, not long after the creation of Operation Fantast, and her support for Ken and warmth towards fandom in general were a near-constant presence, particularly at their Dealers’ Room table, for many decades. 1985 James White (d) James was active in Irish Fandom in the 1950s, working on both Retro Hugo-winning Slant (with Walt Willis) and Hyphen, and a member of Irish Fandom (in Belfast) and Dublin fandom. He co-authored Beyond The Enchanted Duplicator...To the Enchanted Convention with Walt Willis. He also had a successful career as a professional science fiction writer, most famously of the Sector General series of hospital-based novels. He was Guest at many conventions, in the UK and around the world. In 2000, the James White Award for short SF was created in his honour. 1987 Brian Burgess (d) Brian is probably now best remembered as the fan who, in the days before cheap 24-hour hotel food, brought suitcases of pork pies and, later, long-life milk to conventions and sold them on to desperate attendees in the early hours of the morning. An early content provider for British fanzines, he was also long remembered for a failed convention prank at the 1954 Eastercon (Supermancon) involving animal entrails and for his frequent participation in the Fancy Dress, as it was then called. An extensive traveller, he was active in fandom for over 40 years. In 1995, he missed his first Novacon (the 25th) but was awarded the ‘Best Fan’ Nova, which helped to make up for it. 1989 Vin¢ Clarke (d) Vincent was an active fanwriter and editor from 1948. In 1954, he became the first winner of TAFF, but was unable to take the trip. Also in 1954, he co-founded OMPA with Ken Bulmer and Chuck Harris. He was among the founders of the Science Fantasy Society, the first post-WWII British SF club. He was on the committee for a number of conventions in the 1950s, including Festivention in 1951, the Eastercon in 1956 (Cytricon II) and the 1957 Worldcon (Loncon I) and was instrumental in generating interest in founding the BSFA. He left fandom during the 1960s and 70s, but returned in the early 1980s and ran the Fanzine Library (his collection of over 7000 fanzines that fans could borrow or request photocopies of for the cost of postage and copying). He was a Guest at the 1995 Worldcon (Intersection) and was elected Fan Guest of Honour at Conception in 1987 (celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first convention in Leeds). 1990 Roger Perkins Roger was one of the founder members of the City Lit Science Fiction evening class in the 1960s, through which he discovered fandom. He was on the committee of all the BECCON conventions, and the Eastercons in 1987 (BECCON ’87) and 1989 (Contrivance). Roger was the mainstay of the BECCON quiz and charades teams until his retirement and semi-GAFIAtion to the wilds of Wales, where he has a boat called Chrestomancy. 1991 Pat Brown Pat (later Pat Silver) was on several convention committees, including the 1988 Eastercon (Follycon), and assisted with Tech at many other conventions, where her extensive range of practical skills were invaluable. She wrote several articles on Tech good practice for Ian Sorensen’s fanzine Conrunner. She was a well-known a cappella filker and stalwart member of The Far Isles, a medieval reenactment society. 1992 Roger Robinson Roger is a London-based fan and small press publisher. He discovered fandom in the 1970s when he joined the City Lit Science Fiction evening class. He was on the committees of some of the BECCON conventions in the 1980s, including the 1987 Eastercon (BECCON ’87), and used the name for Beccon Publications, his small press which has been publishing SF criticism and filk books since 1981. He is a keen quizzer, for many years a regular in the Dealers’ Room and used to act as auctioneer for many conventions. He is very active in the filk community, and was a Guest at the 2002 British Filk Convention. He was also a Guest at the 1995 Eastercon (Confabulation). He is the Research Editor for The Encyclopaedia of Science Fiction, and played a key role in establishing the Science Fiction Foundation. 1993 Bridget Wilkinson Although Bridget lives in London, she is very active in promoting European fandom. She published Worlds Apart and later the Fans Across the World newsletter from 1990 to 2007, has reported on conventions across Europe for Concatenation, and was on the European Science Fiction Society’s committee for 25 years. She has been a Guest at a number of conventions, both in the UK and in Europe. With James Steel, she published Consequences: An Unreliable History of the British SF Convention. She was also a member of The Women’s Periodical APA. 1994 Tim Broadribb Tim is a regular Eastercon, Novacon and Discworld Convention attendee. For many years, he was the Tech crew for Eastercons, as well as working with others to provide Tech for Star Trek and other conventions. He established Rockhopper Records, which issued ”Ten Inch Tribble”, a Star Trek filk recording that he also produced. He’s very keen on penguins, and complains that he has a lower credit limit than his teddy bear. 1995 Bernie Evans Bernie was active in Birmingham fandom from the 1970s, serving on numerous Novacon and other convention committees and chairing Novacon 17 in 1987 and Novacon 20 in 1990. As well as contributing to APAs including The Women’s Periodical, she edited The Tudor Dynasty in support of Martin Tudor’s (successful) candidacy for TAFF in 1996, in addition to It Must Be the Sixties — Bernie's Pregnant! 1996 Mark Plummer Mark served on club committees (ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha and the BSFA) as well as being a member of the Friends of Foundation; he was a Science Fiction Foundation judge for the Arthur C Clarke Award from 1992 to 1995. He organised Eastercon Dealers’ Rooms for over ten years, and has worked more broadly on Eastercons and Worldcons as well as small conventions including Corflu (fanzines) and Conrunner. Since 1996 he has co-edited, with his partner Claire Brialey, the award-winning fanzine Banana Wings and a range of fanwriting collections and convention publications. He has won numerous fanwriting awards and is a member of ANZAPA despite not having lived Down Under. Mark was a Guest of the 2001 Eastercon (Paragon). 1997 John Harold John has been doing things at conventions since he walked into the 1987 Worldcon in Brighton (Conspiracy ’87) and asked if he could help out. He has been on the committees of a number of Eastercons, including those in 2011 (Illustrious), 2015 (Dysprosium), 2017 (Innominate) and 2019 (Ytterbium). Even when not on the committee, he is usually to be found working through Eastercons and Worldcons, most often as part of the Operations team (where his renowned stealth techniques come in handy when providing convention security), or working in the Art Show or Dealers’ Room. 1998 Andy Croft Andy was a member of the committee for the 1997 Eastercon (Intervention). As well as being part of the Facilities team at the 2014 Worldcon (Loncon 3), Andy is often part of the Tech crew for Eastercons. He was the first UK fan to emphasise the importance of health and safety laws for conventions, and to encourage and embed risk assessment and other forms of good practice in the area. 1999 đr Cruttenden Arthur was a member of Kinkay Fandom in the late 1960s, along with fellow Doc Weir winners Archie and Beryl Mercer and Mary Reed, with whom he was a founder member of the Herts Science Fiction and Fantasy Group. He was involved with many fannish projects in the 1970s and 80s, and continues to attend conventions today. His first convention was the 1965 Worldcon (Loncon II). He was a member of the committee for the 1987 Eastercon (BECCON ’87) and is one of the few remaining fans who has been to all of the Novacons. He is well known in the UK and abroad as a provider of powerful punches and other interesting alcohol to fannish and convention bid parties. He is also a mainstay of the Art Show auction team, keeping track of the sale prices and bidders. 2000 Tim Illingworth Tim is from the UK but now lives in Tennessee. He was a member of the Cambridge University Science Fiction Society. He was on the committee for the Eastercons in 1987 (BECCON ’87) and 2002 (Helicon 2) and chaired those in 1989 (Contrivance) and 1993 (Helicon). He chaired the successful UK in '95 Worldcon bid and initially co-chaired the resulting convention, Intersection. He has been on the committee of numerous other conventions in both the UK and the US, and many UK fans have fond memories of the quizzes that he used to run at Eastercons. 2001 Noel Collyer Noel discovered fandom in the mid-1980s through ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha, the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy appreciation society. He is infamous for his appearances as Tool Man in Banana Wings, co-edited by Claire Brialey and 1996 Doc Weir winner Mark Plummer. He was on the committee of the Eastercons in 2003 (Seacon03) and 2006 (Concussion). In keeping with his reputation as a useful man to have around, Noel is usually to be found at conventions working with the Tech crew, or in the Operations team. 2002 Dave Tompkins Dave’s first convention was the 1979 Worldcon (Seacon ’79), where he found himself helping out. He has since worked on many conventions in many capacities, from gophering to committee, and is now almost invariably found building a convention’s art show. He possesses hard-won knowledge about the best way to assemble the display boards and, just as importantly, to get them back into the van at the end of the con; he has also provided the invaluable service of storing them between conventions. 2003 Bill Burns Although he has lived in New York for many years, Bill is a regular migratory visitor back to the UK, attending every Eastercon since 1965. Having found fandom in 1964 through the Delta SF Film Group of amateur film makers, he was one of the founders of the Leeds University Science Fiction Group in 1966, and was on the committees of the Eastercons in 1968 (Thirdmancon), 1970 (SciCon ’70) and 1972 ChessManCon). Along with his wife, Mary, he was a Guest at the 2009 Eastercon (LX) and will be a Guest at the 2019 Worldcon in Dublin. Bill is a fan historian who is best known for creating and maintaining eFanzines.com, where many fanzines are published electronically and for which he has received at least a dozen awards from grateful fanzine fans. He also moderates several fannish email lists. 2004 Robert NoJay Sneddon Nicknamed “NoJay”, to distinguish him from another fan of the same name, NoJay was once surprised to arrive at a convention and find that his randomly allocated room-share companion was Robert J Sneddon. These days, he’s most likely to be found in the Art Show, usually found up a ladder playing with the lighting, assisting with Move In and Move Out, or helping with overnight security. 2005 Dave Lally Although originally from Ireland, Dave has lived in London for many years. Dave founded Six Of One, the Prisoner Appreciation Society and is currently involved with the BSFA. He has introduced many an unwary fan to rare and obscure SF TV shows with convention screenings, but is now probably best-known for the “Lally Wall”, a collection of hand-annotated notices about upcoming conventions in the UK and Europe, which he sets up on a suitable blank wall at conventions. He was on the committee for the 2016 Eastercon (Mancunicon) and has acted as UK agent for Octocons (the Irish national convention) and Eurocons. He also often organises linking tours between pairs of conventions, helping visiting fans to fill the time as fannishly as they can. He has been a Guest at a number of conventions in the UK and Europe. 2006 Steve Lawson Steve has been managing memberships and registration for Novacons and a range of other conventions for many years; he was also the chair of Novacon 41 and is taking the role again for Novacon 49 this year. He has been on the committees of at least seven Eastercons and worked on plenty of other conventions, including Worldcons, often alongside his wife, 2010 Doc Weir winner Alice Lawson. The couple were Guests at the 2014 Eastercon (Satellite 4). 2007 Sue Edwards Sue found fandom through the Cambridge University Science Fiction Society. She first volunteered at the 1990 Worldcon in the Netherlands (ConFiction) and has worked in the Green Room for most Eastercons and UK Worldcons since then; if you have been on the programme, she’s probably bought you a drink. She ran the Green Room at the 2014 Worldcon (Loncon 3) and was also on the committee for the 2013 Eastercon (EightSquaredCon). 2008 Eddie Cochrane Eddie has been on the committee for three Eastercons, the 1995 Worldcon (Intersection), and other conventions including the Redemption series, which he helped to found in 1999. He has worked on many more; these days you will often find him in Operations but he has also worked on Publications, including convention newsletters, and Promotions. He has been a long-standing member of the Reading Science Fiction Group. 2009 Kari Kari was a member of the Cambridge University Science Fiction Society, and attended her first mainstream convention in 1979. She began volunteering almost as soon as she arrived, starting out in the Dealers’ Room before moving into Green Room. She has either run or worked in Green Room for three Worldcons and at least twenty Eastercons. She’s still often to be found there, unless she’s busy running the Programme, which she also enthusiastically takes part in. She began conrunning in 1990. She was a founder committee member of Octocon and was involved in running the first two. She was on the committee for the Eastercons in 2013 (EightSquaredCon) and 2018 (Follycon) and served on the committee of several New Hall conventions, some of which were Unicons. She was a member of The Women’s Periodical APA, is a professional historian, and is the author of two fantasy novels written under the name Kari Sperring. 2010 Alice Lawson Alice was co-chair of the 2014 Worldcon (Loncon 3), chair of the 2001 Eastercon (Paragon), and chair or co-chair of two Novacons and two Conrunners. She has been on the committee of numerous other Worldcons, Eastercons and Novacons, often with her husband, 2006 Doc Weir winner Steve Lawson. The couple were Guests at the 2014 Eastercon (Satellite 4). 2011 Mark Young Mark is a member of the Reading Science Fiction Group and is the driving force behind many of the group’s events. At conventions, including Eastercons and Redemption conventions, he is usually to be found in the Operations room. He is also a keen player of role-playing games. He was on the committees of the Eastercons in 1993 (Helicon) and 2008 (Orbital). 2012 Pete “Smudge” Smith Ever since he was shown how to use a camera at the 2002 Discworld convention, Smudge has been a key part of the Tech team at every convention he’s attended, even though his time in the armed forces should have taught him not to volunteer. If you want a square peg putting in a round hole, he’ll find a way to do it. Eventually. 2013 Jan van ’t Ent The first winner never to have lived in the British Isles, Jan is a Dutch fan and member of the Nederlands Contactcentrum voor Science Fiction. For over 25 years, he has been organising editor of DAPPER, a Dutch-based English-language APA. He was also on the editorial team of the NCSF clubzine, Holland SF. At conventions, he’s usually to be found in the Newsletter office, where his skills with a recalcitrant printer are renowned. 2014 Mark Meenan Mark’s first convention was Albacon II (the 1983 Eastercon). He enjoyed it so much that he became a regular convention volunteer. His first committee role was for Albacon 85 and he has since served on the committees of four Eastercons, most recently Satellite 4 (Eastercon 2014). He was responsible for site liaison for the Glasgow Worldcons in 1995 (Intersection) and 2005 (Interaction). He has a keen interest in the history of Glasgow fandom and in bringing new blood into conrunning. He recently co-edited an issue of the fanzine Journey Planet on forty years of Glasgow conventions. 2015 Martin Hoare Martin believes that he holds the record for serving on the largest number of Eastercon committees, but he also describes himself as a part-time mad scientist. He chaired the Eastercons in 1984 (Seacon ’84, jointly with 1981 Doc Weir winner John Brunner) and 2002 (Helicon 2). He has also worked on Worldcons, and supplies and operates Tech equipment for a range of smaller conventions, now regularly including Novacon (his first convention was Novacon 3, in 1973). He is heavily involved with the Campaign for Real Ale, and often uses his contacts there to organise a real ale bar at Eastercons. 2016 Kathy Westhead Kathy was an attendee of the City Lit Science Fiction evening classes, and went on to be on the committees of all of the BECCONs, the Eastercons in 1987 (BECCON ’87) and 1993 (Helicon) and the 1995 Worldcon (Intersection). For many years, she ran Eastercon Green Rooms, often being helped out by her fannish children (one of whom was once overheard in the playground asking a friend “Don’t your parents have committee meetings?”). A keen filker, gamer and costumer, she continues to promote and support these interests within the fannish community. 2017 Serena Culfeather and John Wilson Serena and John were the first joint winners of the Doc Weir Award. One or both of them is usually to be found running the Art Show at any convention they attend (including Eastercons, Worldcons and Novacons), although they have occasionally been tempted to take charge of the Dealers’ Room instead (or as well). They have acted as Guest of Honour Liaison for several Eastercons, and John ran the publications office for the 2005 Worldcon (Interaction). In 2019, John made a new box to house the Doc Weir Award cup, replacing the one that had been in use for the previous fifty years. 2018 Flick Flick put this booklet together. As such, she feels entirely exempt from having to write anything about herself. She did it with help from Fancyclopedia, Rob Hansen’s THEN, Greg Pickersgill’s GOSTAK, Dave Langford’s Unofficial TAFF site, and the archives of Ansible, Checkpoint, Relapse, SFN and Skyrack. Claire Brialey provided oodles of information from the fanzine mines and is greatly thanked, as are: Brian Ameringen, Chris Bell, Bill Burns, Rob Hansen, Christina Lake, Caroline Mullan, Mark Plummer, Mike Scott and John Wilson. Dr Arthur Rose Weir Born in 1906, Doc Weir lived in Czechoslovakia during the 1930s. While there, he gained his PhD, married a Czech woman, and got to know SF author and playwright Karel Čapek. He was an Associate of the Royal Institute of Chemistry. During WWII, he taught at a boarding school founded by the Czechoslovak government in exile for children of exiles and those evacuated to the UK shortly before the war. He discovered fandom in 1958 and joined the Cheltenham Circle. He was member number 49 of the BSFA, for which he acted as Secretary as well as writing for Vector, its critical journal. He died on 4 March 1961 at the age of 55. [He] was probably the most learned personality on the British fan scene. […] Despite his constant battle against asthma, Doc was always cheerful and full of an enviable vitality. […] Without doubt Doc greatly enriched the fan scene during his short stay with us and all fans will mourn his untimely passing. Skyrack #40, 13 March 1961, ed: Ron Bennett

The printing of this booklet was kindly paid for by Ytterbium, the 2019 Eastercon. After the convention, the contents will be available on efanzines.com, and “writing your predecessor’s biography for the website” will probably end up being added to the unofficial list of jobs that winners of the Doc Weir Award have to do. Sorry about that, future winners.