The latest branch meeting of the Richard III Society of New South Wales was convened on Saturday, 13 August 2011, at the Sydney Mechanics Institute of Arts.  Opening remarks were made by Chair Judith Hughes, who then informed us of the sad news of the passing of Reginald Fulford, husband of member and former chairperson Carol Gerard.  There was a minute of silence to mark our respect and shared sorrow at this news.  A card was passed around for all to add their own comments which will be sent to Carol.

Continuing with the meeting, Judy Howard, our new Treasurer, assured us the Branch was solvent.  Those happy few who attended the recent Richard III conference in Melbourne spoke informally about the excellent speakers, the appealing package with Richard III designs handcrafts, and how worthwhile it had all been.

Julia Redlich then spoke about the 2013 Australasian Convention, which will need effort from all Branch members in order to be as great a success, and it is not too early to start now to consider what your contribution might be.  Julia also requested that new people consider volunteering to be on the committee when elections are next held, at the AGM in October.

Social Secretary Jane Roberts said she is still trying to find an appropriate venue for the luncheon after this year’s commemorative Bosworth Service, which will be held at St Mary’s the Virgin in Waverley 10 am service.  This Anglican Church is located at 240 Birrell Street, Waverley.  It is an easy bus ride (361, 360) from Gate K at the Bondi Junction Interchange.  It was decided that a Bondi Junction may be the best choice.

Webmaster Dorothea Preis then gave us her report, asking for more contributions from members.  The site has plenty of visitors from all over the world, but constantly needs new material in order to be of continuing interest.

Tewkesbury Abbey (photograph by Judy Howard)

This month’s program was the highly anticipated presentation by the three ‘Scrabble’ speakers:  Judy Howard spoke on the Tewkesbury Battle and Abbey, Jane Roberts spoke about the life of Anne Neville, and Xavier de Saint-Simon spoke about what is known about the death of Richard III.  It was a pleasure to hear the different approaches to these topics taken by different members, and we are grateful for the time they were able to put into their research.

We then drew the raffles and adjourned for afternoon tea.

The next meeting will be convened on Saturday, 8 October 2011, which will also be the Annual General Meeting.

Tags: Anne Neville, NSW Branch, Richard III, Tewkesbury