British Fantasy Society membership 1942–1946‎

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British Fantasy Society membership 1942-1946
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The first British Fantasy Society (BFS) ran from 1942–1946 and had about 132 members through to August 1946 when the last update was reported in British Fantasy Society Bulletin #27.

The Society published full membership lists in its fifth and tenth Bulletins (another, in effect, in the Directory of Anglofandom but see below for some of its errors) and other issues announced the names and (usually) addresses and membership numbers of new recruits so it is possible to almost entirely recreate the full list. There remain a few uncertainties.

  • Douglas Slack doesn't seem to have been assigned a membership number but from context he is either 113 or 114 (although see below).
  • There is a complication concerning T. W. Strange (or Stronge) and D. R. W. Stronge (or Strange). They were brothers, and thus presumably both either Strange or Stronge but we don't know which. T. W transferred his membership to D. R. W. in June 1945 because of problems receiving mail, although D. R. W. then paid a triple-rate sub. So they may both be member 28, although if so it's unclear whether that should be seen as sequentially or concurrently; or possibly D. R. W. is member 113.
  • 128 and 129 may have been assigned to members announced in bulletin #26, a copy of which hasn't been traced as of 2024. It's a mystery what happened to member 131 as bulletin #27 announces members 130 and 132.

In December 1942 prozine editor Alden H. Norton was made an honorary member for arranging complimentary subscriptions for some UK fans. In Bulletin #10 in August 1943 the Society set out its position on American members and honorary memberships generally, saying that American fans would not be eligible for membership unless they were honorary. Existing members Forrest J Ackerman and John M. Cunningham were given honorary status. In January 1944, honorary memberships were also given to Myrtle R. Douglas, William H. Evans, Joe Gibson, Milt Rothman, Paul J. Searles and Bob Tucker, without assigned numbers anymore. In September 1944, Walt Dunkelberger and Bill Watson were added, again without numbers. – See also the almost-alphabetical listing in the Directory of Anglofandom page (21), January 1945, which contains only 9 Americans, without Rothman and Watson. Of course, due to contingencies of its production and many obvious errors, this can be easily explained away as an inevitable oversight.

Names marked * had also been members of the pre-War Science Fiction Association. Even though the BFS was formed only three years after the SFA was suspended there are only 17 people who were members of both. Names marked H are honorary members, some of whom don't have membership numbers as noted above..

The final issue of the BFS Bulletin was #28 published in November 1946 but a copy hasn't been located and so we don't know if there were any more last minute members before the Society dissolved.

Club 1942—1946
This is a club page. Please extend it by adding information about when and where the club met, when and by whom it was founded, how long it was active, notable accomplishments, well-known members, clubzines, any conventions it ran, external links to the club's website, other club pages, etc.

When there's a floreat (Fl.), this indicates the time or times for which we have found evidence that the club existed. This is probably not going to represent the club's full lifetime, so please update it if you can!

  1. ↑ Sometimes referred to as 'Gibs' in the bulletin.
  2. ↑ Referred to as 'Gompertz' in the bulletin.
  3. ↑ In Directory of Anglofandom, "Addenda" page (21), Nigel is listed as "Lindsay; Norman", an obvious mistake just like his "Exexter" in his address. More interestingly his number is given as 104 (seemingly overtyping a "100"); however in the BFS Bulletin 21 from March 1945, he is reported as "Linday, N." with the (clearly correct) #103 while 104 went to March, not listed in the Directory. See scan https://fanac.org/fanzines/Brit_Fantasy_Soc_Bulletin/british_fantasy_society_bulletin_21_smith_1945-03-23_fido_39.pdf
  4. ↑ Sometimes referred to as 'Sheel' in the bulletin.
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