Members of the New South Wales branch of the Richard III Society will be sad to hear of the passing of John Shaw, the husband of long-time member Margaret Shaw.
John Eric Shaw was an Antarctic Researcher and a scientist with CSIRO. He was not a member of our Society, but a welcome attendee at many of our occasions celebrating events in the life and times of Richard III. John’s knowledge and humour made his company such a pleasure. How we missed him when his health prevented him from joining us.
Many of us have partners, family, and friends who, even when if not members of the Richard III Society, give us interested support that is beyond value. Our love and thoughts are with Margaret (“Maggie”) and her and John’s large and loving family.
Julia Redlich
We are pleased to announce the World Premiere of 4th episode of Searching for Richard III – One Man’s Journey by documentary film maker Mark Porter
Sunday 20 November 2016 6pm
Valley Kitchen, 290 Wellington Bundock Drive, Kooralbyn Qld
$20 including film and dinner
Contact: Mark Porter on 0412 231 902
You can see the first three episodes of the mini-series online:
EP1 “Bosworth”
EP2 “Leicester”
EP3 “York”
November 1st saw the New South Wales Branch welcoming Ricardians from Victoria, Queensland and South Australia to the conference held between biennial conventions. The Society’s Vice President Rob Smith from New Zealand also found time to join us. The Manor House Hotel in Albury was a great venue – all those beams and white roses everywhere made us feel quite at home. However, as Queenslander Peter Stride commented at the start of his presentation “Mock Tudor is not a style; it’s an order!”
The first evening saw registration, dinner and reunion with old friends and making new ones, plus a viewing of a cleverly abridged version of The Trial of Richard III. A prompt start on Wednesday introduced a series of great presentations such as the oft-ignored battle of Ferrybridge, and a look at the town of Gloucester in Richard’s day. We were introduced to Dr Hobbys, “the promiscuous king’s promiscuous doctor”, followed by a colourful talk about Jacquetta of Luxemburg – and her husbands! After lunch the portrayal of Richard III by Sir Thomas More and Shakespeare were discussed and we learned some historical deaths were not always what might have been recorded. Then a trip to London and a great guide to where everyone we’ve read about in Richard’s time lived. The final presentation was on what went on behind the scenes in Leicester in March 2015. King Power was obviously at work …
The day wound up with the raffle draw and final session at the sales table before preparing for the banquet with Kevin’s challenging quiz and toasts to absent friends, to Richard III and the Richard III Society.
Conclusion: more please! Some of us find it hard to meet up with our good Ricardian friends in distant parts only once every two years.
We are pleased to provide some more information on the agenda and speakers for the Mini Conference to be held on 2nd November in Albury NSW.
Peter – Dr William Hobbeys – the personal physician to the Yorkist dynasty and who continued in this role to Elizabeth of York and her offspring till his death . He will also do an analysis of medieval medical studies , training etc.
Hazel – Jacquetta of Luxembourg.
Michael – The Decisive Battle of Ferry Bridge – the prelude to York’s convincing win at Towton\Touton , in 1461.
Carol – The Gloucester city of Richard’s time.
Anne – The nobility and their homes .
Rita – The sources upon which The Bard drew in writing his wonderful play.
Julia – The Midsummer Murders perpetuated throughout time.
Glad to report we have members attending from : N.Z. , Qld , A.C.T., Victoria , South Australia and of course N.S.W.
Helen , Denise and Dorothea are presenting an edited version of their DVDs re the recent re-internment and we hope David Johnson will see his way clear to join them.
If time permits there will be some group activities involving knowledge of the medieval period in general and Ricardian times , in particular :-
a) Ricardian Celebrity Heads .
b ) Medieval History Relay.
c) An individual quiz to be handed out at registration and completed prior to Medieval Banquet .
Please click on the links below to download Information and registration forms for the 2016 Biennial Mini Conference.
The registration form contains information on where to send once it is completed.
Richard III 2016 registration form
Richard III 2016 conference info
The above forms are in PDF format. The following forms are the same as above but in document format and the registration form can be completed using Microsoft Word or similar PC program.
RIII Mini Conference 2016 Registration Form
Richard III Mini Conference 2016 Information and Contacts
9 April 2016 Richard III Society – NSW Branch General Meeting
The branch met on Saturday, 9 April 2016, at the Sydney Mechanics Institute on Pitt Street, with a good turnout of regular members. Following some brief welcoming remarks from our Chairperson, our featured speaker, member Judy Howard, presented her talk about the Crusades from the Byzantine perspective.
Following the presentation, Judith requested that members come up with any suggestions for guest speakers for next year’s programs or for members to volunteer to give a presentation themselves. Also, the Executive Committee is in need of assistance as it is running on a skeleton crew. If you can offer some of your time please contact her to discuss. The position of Affinity Editor will also be available at the next AGM in October so please consider contributing some time to helping out the Branch in the coming year.
Scrabble letters were then drawn by those members willing to give a talk in October on a topic starting with the letter they drew. After that the raffle prizes were drawn and we had a lavish afternoon tea provided by Joan. The next meeting will be 11 June 2016, when our guest speaker will be Tony Cunneen on the topic, “How Shakespeare’s Machiavellian View of Richard III has shaped history.”
13 February 2016 Richard III Society – NSW Branch General Meeting
The first branch meeting of the New Year was held on Saturday, 13 February 2016, at the Sydney Mechanics Institute on Pitt Street, with a good turnout of members. Welcoming remarks were offered by our Chairperson, then we stood for a minute of silence in remembrance of the recent passing of our long-time member Robin who was always such a warm and welcoming presence at meetings.
A steering committee of three keen members is beginning to organize a ‘mini-conference’ for 1 – 3 November 2016 to be held in Albury at a medieval themed hotel. They are hoping that members of the Victorian Branch will be able to attend, as well as New South Wales members. If people are interested in getting involved, helping out, or being on the mailing list for further information please contact Kevin directly. Details of the mini-conference will be provided via the branch website and newsletter as they become available.
Our guest speaker was Mr Gerard Windsor, a well-known Sydney author and literary critic. He has published books of poetry, fiction, documentaries, essays and literary criticism. One of his particular interests is Pilgrimage, and he has taken a number of his own pilgrimages to various important medieval sites. Gerard’s topic was “The Middle Ages in Our Australian Consciousness.”
After the presentation, the raffle was drawn and we adjourned for a lovely afternoon tea provided by Joan. It was a good start to the new year.
Leslie McCawley
Friday, 23rd October saw a grand number of Ricardians arrive at the Angus Inn in Lower Hutt for our biennial convention. The evening found us in the Inn’s Tatler Room, having the pleasure of greeting old friends and making new ones. New Zealand’s chair, Deirdre Drysdale, and Secretary/Australasian Vice President Rob Smith welcomed us with a rundown of proceedings and read a message from Dr Phil Stone wishing us a successful and rewarding gathering. A highlight of the evening was, of course, the traditional candle ceremony when representatives of each Branch lit a candle representing our members and for Richard. Then delicious nibbles (a feast in themselves) and wines and great conversations were enjoyed.
Saturday morning, we arrived promptly at 9am in the Woburn Room for two days of splendid programming organised by Annette Parry, covering a wealth of topics to keep everyone considering and sometimes rethinking for a long time to come.
Tony Dodgson (from Yorkshire) took us on The Road to Middleham, an imaginative interpretation of what might have been Richard’s life. This was followed by Margaret Manning’s account of Richard’s head – and her recent meeting in Scotland with Dr Caroline Wilkinson whose incredible skills had created the new image of King Richard that now seems so familiar to us all. Comments afterwards revealed our pleasure in his assured and untroubled appearance – and the fact that he wasn’t a blond!
Memories of Leicester came from several of those fortunate enough to be in the city for the re-interment. The overwhelming feeling was the warmth of Leicester, its people, the hospitality, the volunteers and the genuine interest in Richard III from the thousands of visitors, not just the Society members. Denise Rawling particularly remembered the Bishop of Leicester, fully robed, walking among the lengthy queues early each morning, happy to talk to everyone.
White roses were of course everywhere, but Denise also mentioned that there had been some ardent Tudor supporters placing red roses where they weren’t wanted and how they had been quickly hidden. Victoria’s Michael Iliffe spoke about meeting our Patron, HRH the Duke of Gloucester, whose interest in Richard III and Australian Branches led to an interest in Australian cricket and the Ashes …
Following this, Julia Redlich said “Let Us Tell Stories”, with a look at medieval prose and poetry ranging from Chaucer and the Pastons, to Julian of Norwich and Mallory. This included some delightful input from other Branches’ members as well as our own Maureen Gray, whose lovely reading of “I Sing of a Maiden” was one of the poems by the ubiquitous Anon. The finale was the rousing ballad “Bring Us Good Ale” in which all delegates joined in the chorus. And of course, an excellent buffet lunch followed!
Before the afternoon events there was a chance to buy raffle tickets for the covetable array of prize options, as well as swoop on the display of Maureen’s delightful White Rose jewellery that she had brought. New South Wales members will not be surprised to know how rapidly they were all sold. A white rose necklace was presented to Deirdre on behalf of the NSW Branch.
First talk after lunch was from Kaye Bachelor who intrigued us about her experiences of taking part in an archaeological dig, although not the one in the car park. She told of the slow process of removing top soil, bad weather, detailing and identifying the finds and the poignancy of uncovering human remains, always treated with respect. The gradual connection of items, so painstaking until the final picture, be it of a pottery jar or a king’s skull is revealed. The worth of sound research seemed familiar.
A complete change of subject followed with the Victoria Branch’s “An Interview with Henry VII”, another of Michael Iliffe’s clever interpretations of history, following his “Battle of Towton” and “An Interview with Richard III” at previous conventions. We were royally entertained by seeing Henry’s sneaky ways of avoiding the truth and the manipulative skills of his followers. Then we were taken on a trip of places with history with great illustrations: Emma Holmes told us of the Isle of Man and its connection with the Stanley family, and Pam Killalea spoke of the stories behind Belvoir Castle and Haddon Hall.
Time to go back to the future when Jane Orwin-Higgs, whose Ricardian short stories are familiar to many of us, chose to talk about Richard III Online. How different the world has become since the founding of The Society of the White Rose that later became The Richard III Society. Richard is now a man of the 21st century where he is talked about worldwide – and not just the man in Shakespeare’s play, although there are still plenty of objections from the traditionalists. But we contact each other by email, via Facebook, Twitter and through our websites – and books about Richard III and his life and times are available at the click of a mouse. There are pros and cons with all the new formats we use, but with this virtual world King Richard, as it has been said, is boldly going where no king has gone before.
Last item on Saturday’s programme was from NSW’s Helen Portus and Denise Rawling with a presentation titled Controversy. A wealth of illustrations showed how the world, since the discovery in the Leicester car park, has taken a fresh look at the last Plantagenet king. We saw how the media regarded him – the good and bad reports, the absurd ads that featured him and golden oldies that made us smile. There were messages from Philippa Langley and John Ashdown-Hill, comments from Phil Stone and Michael Ibsen, plus a rundown on the impact the discovery of Richard’s skeleton had made on Leicester, the attention, involvement AND the income. And, of course, the awards and recognition for Philippa and John, and Leicester University. Then came a dvd of journey from the university via Bosworth to Leicester and the crowds who were there to acknowledge King Richard passing by and finally the reinterment. Could any of us see it too many times?
With the promise of a continuation of this presentation on Sunday, the business end of the day ended. By 7 o’clock though we were all gathered together again in the Tatler Room, most in sumptuous medieval costumes and enjoying some bubbly before heading back to the Woburn Room that had been transformed for the banquet. Toasts were proposed and drunk to Her Majesty the Queen of Australia and Queen of New Zealand, to King Richard III and to the Richard III Society. A splendid feast for us followed, and conversation flowed throughout the evening when all delegates realised the reward of friendship with our fellow Ricardians.
Sunday morning saw us eager for the final day’s programme. Annette Parry took us on a tour of Wakefield, with many illustrations from her recent visit there. We viewed the battlefield, the positions taken by Richard of York and Margaret of Anjou’s armies, the tower where Richard of York’s papercrowned head was hung. Later we were taken to Fotheringay to visit the church and the remains of the castle to which his youngest son Richard, now Duke of Gloucester, escorted the bodies of his father and brother, Edmund of Rutland for dignified burial.
Hazel Hadju from Victoria took the stand next, her subject was Bosworth: The Birth of Tudors. She particularly wanted to recommend this book by Yorkshire MP Christopher Skidmore, which takes a fresh look at Bosworth and further exploration of the role of Catherine de Valois, Henry V’s widow, and Somerset, the man who may have been the father of Edmund Tudor. An excellent bibliography was included, and Hazel is looking forward to the publication by Wiedenfeld and Nicolson of Skidmore’s next book The Lives of Richard III.
Consideration of Margaret Beaufort followed and Victoria’s Gillian Laughton picked up on the implication of the Tudors’ parentage. Margaret’s marriages were many, wed so very young to Edmund Tudor to whom she bore her only child, Henry. After Edmund’s early death, she was married to Henry Stafford, the second son of the Duke of Buckingham. Another Lancastrian you might imagine, but in fact, he fought for the Yorkists, although recognising her ambition for her son. Their marriage ended with his death, and her final marriage was to the then Yorkist supporter, Thomas Stanley.
Denise and Helen took up the tale of the reinterment and some inconvenient truths, such as the lack of mentioning the contribution of Philippa, John and the Society on university websites (thankfully adjusted). It was as John Ashdown-Hill commented like “the Wars of the Roses Part Two”. There were countless abusive and hurtful comments about the Society online and the unfortunate clash with the newly minted Plantagenet Alliance that wanted its way regarding the site for reinterment, and then the lengthy, expensive inquiry and final judgement that the first decision was the right one. Even the undertakers, the Leicester firm of E. C. Gilbert responsible for the basic reinterment arrangements, had been refused the loan of a special carriage by the Royal Household and the Military, hence the simple and effective carriage with its growing tributes of white roses that were more effective than all the regal trappings that might have been.
Then we had the privilege of meeting many of the unsung heroes introduced by Helen and Denise. They included Fraser and Jenny Gilbert, Richard Buckley and the chaplain from the University of Leicester, the pallbearers from the army, the horse handlers, the volunteers and the little Brownie who laid the crown, designed and donated by John, on the coffin. At Bosworth Field, we met Becky, the falconer presenting a display there; in Leicester those staffing the tea-carts to refresh those in the massive queues. And, maybe the most moving, we were taken to Swaledale in Richard’s Yorkshire to see the selection the stone for his tomb.
This was the final presentation of the convention in a year that has meant so much to all Ricardians, one in which the world is coming to realise that we are not myth-makers but have a genuine cause to research the life and times of Richard III.
And our work in this will not stop. The necessary business end of the convention was conducted by Rob Smith, unanimously re-elected as the Australasian Vice President. He spoke of the important meeting that he, Dorothea from NSW, and representatives from the USA and Canada had with the Executive earlier in the year. The subject of proxy votes would be seriously considered for the USA, Canada and the Australasian branches, and the momentum of the Society’s work meant the acceptance of online communication, the use of social media such as Facebook, Twitter and the ever-developing number of programs created for instant information and connection. It is vital for all individual branches and groups to accept this. It is the way the world lives now, totally embraced by the new generation who will carry on the work of the Society for us in years to come.
The Australasian Branches will meet again in 2017, the convention being in the safe hands of the Western Australia Branch. The convention ended with the raffle draw and results of the two quizzes – the revised History by the Stars from Julia and a challenging one based on the Dukes of York in history from Lorraine McArthur. And so to lunch and laughter before rather reluctant farewells and thanks to the New Zealand Branch for a truly memorable time. Loyaulte me lie
The Annual General Meeting of the NSW Branch of the Richard III Society was held on Saturday, 10 October 2015, at the Sydney Mechanics’ Institute. Chair Judith welcomed all members and visitors. Concern was expressed for members who have been facing illness and injury recently, with the sincere hope for their successful treatment, full recovery, and swift return to our meetings. Kevin was back after a year’s absence, and it was wonderful to see him looking well.
Judith gave a summary of our busy Ricardian year with the excitement of the reinterment ceremonies for Richard III in Leicester, the lineup of excellent speakers we were privileged to hear, the annual service, at St James Anglican Church to commemorate the Battle of Bosworth and remember Richard’s life and reign. Thanks were expressed on behalf of the branch members, for the hard work by the committee members throughout the year; the committee members then officially stepped down. Special thanks and a round of applause went to Dorothea for her 8 years’ service as a very active and dedicated webmaster and publications officer who attracted many international readers to our website.
Carole then facilitated the annual elections for the 2015-2016 committee positions. A number of officers returned unopposed to their roles, including Judith as Chair, Rachel as Secretary, Lynne as Sales Officer, Leslie as Affinity Newsletter Editor, and Joan as the afternoon tea lady. Newly elected committee members included Tim and Lawrence as webmasters, and Christine as Treasurer, with Joan expanding her duties to include Deputy Chair.
Our featured speaker was Mr Christopher Puplick AM, a long-time member of the NSW branch and a keen medievalist. His topic was “The Garter Knights of Richard III”, these being the various men that Richard selected for the honour of being made knights of the garter, that ancient order of chivalry. Hopefully a transcript of this interesting presentation will be posted on the website soon.
After the raffle was drawn, members enjoyed a lovely afternoon tea provided by Joan. The next meeting will be on Saturday, 12 December 2015. Our guest speaker will be Judith Mee, speaking on the topic of “Spoken and written English in Richard III’s time”. There will also be a Bring & Buy table, with proceeds going to the branch. It will be a good opportunity to recycle books and other items of interest. Please be prepared to take home anything that does not sell, however, as there is no provision for storage on site.
After eight years as webmaster of the NSW Branch of the Richard III Society, I have decided it was time to let others have a go. Therefore I did not stand again for the post at our AGM yesterday.
These eight years were a very interesting and rewarding time and I will remember them with a lot of pleasure. I would like to thank all who contributed for their time and effort, the regulars like Julia, Leslie and Kevin, but also all the others.
However, now it is time for me to move on to other projects and to let go of my “baby”. Of course, my interest in medieval history and my involvement with the Richard III Society remains.
We all welcome Rachel and Lawrence to the position of webmasters. This blog will be in good hands. We are wishing them all success and lots of fun.
