The following report on the AGM of the Richard III Society in London is by Rosemary Burgess, a Friend of our branch.

When visiting my family in London last October, I phoned Babs Creamer, Secretary of the Richard III Society’s Dorset Group.  I had originally met Babs when I first joined the Society and attended the Australasian Convention at Sydney University in 2005.  Since then Babs has become a regular visitor to New South Wales Branch meetings and events, when she visits her daughter who lives in Sydney.

I was very lucky that my visit coincided with the Annual General Meeting of the Richard III Society in London on Saturday, 1 October 2011.  It was an extremely hot day, so we were all very glad to arrive at the large and air-conditioned auditorium of The School of Oriental and African Studies in London.

The day commenced at 10.30am with coffee and biscuits, followed by the Keynote Lecture by Dr David Starkey on “Yorkist sentiment in the reign of Henry VII”.  By the very title of this talk it was going to be controversial and amusing.  It was both – as well as being very interesting.

After our lunch break we returned for the commencement of the AGM, followed by open forum.  Living so far away and not being involved with the main centre of business, I was most impressed by the way in which the Society is managed.  All the office bearers gave interesting and professional reports, and I was proud of the report given by Hazel Hadju, the Secretary of the Victoria Branch who was also in attendance.  I was also extremely proud of the report sent by our Branch Secretary, Julia Redlich, which was very professional, and it was the only overseas branch to send a report to be read at the AGM.

There are several special events taking place in the UK in 2012, so I’ll mention them in case some of our members may be able to attend:

Sunday, 29 August 2012: Bosworth visit*
Saturday, 29 September 2012: AGM at the Merchant Adventurers’ Hall, York*
Saturday, 15 December 2012: Christmas at Fotheringay*

It was of great interest to visit what we might call “Head Office”.  It strengthened my appreciation of the Richard III Society and made me realise that we all belong to a large and very well-organised Society.

*Further details of these events will be found in copies of the Ricardian Bulletin.

(Photograph of The School of Oriental and African Studies taken by C. Ford; obtained through Wikimedia Commons. )

Tags: Richard III Society