The Society Celebrates with Isolde Wigram

On Sunday, 2nd April, a small group of members visited Isolde Wigram, the Society's senior Vice Presient, at her home in Hampshire to celebrate her contribution to the re-founding of the Society in 1956. Amongst the party were the Society's President, Mr Peter Hammond, and his wife Carolyn who is also a Vice President of Society, Chairman Dr Phil Stone and his wife Beth together with several members of the Executive Committee and Rita Diefenhardt-Schmidt from the Continental Group.

Isolde Wigram on the arm of her cousin Gail. In the background are Rita Diefenhardt-Schmitt, Howard Choppin and Carolyn Hammond.

Isolde was presented with a large bunch of flowers, mainly carnations, but which also included gold-coloured roses, which seemed a good alternative to white ones for celebrating a golden anniversary.

A full report will be give in the Summer issue of the Ricardian Bulletin.

The Society celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of its re-founding this year. The Society was originally founded in 1924 by S Saxon Barton as the Fellowship of White Boar but activity declined in the late 1930s with the onset of world war.  In the 1950s a number of key events raised the level of interest in the controversies surrounding Richard III, including the release of Olivier’s film of Shakespeare’s Richard III and the publication of Paul Murray Kendall’s sympathetic biography of the king. Of most significance was the publication in 1951 of Josephine Tey's classic crime detective novel The Daughter of Time.

Inspired by Tey’s novel, Miss Isolde Wigram tracked down and found Saxon Barton and the fellowship was re-formed in 1956 and changed its name to the Richard III Society in 1959.

‘Isolde Wigram receiving her insignia as a Vice President of the Society in November 2004. In the background Dr Phil Stone (Chairman), HRH The Duke of Gloucester (Patron) and Peter Llewellyn-Jones Garter King of Arms)

The first significant event of the anniversary year is the launch of the Society’s new website with three key expanded or new sections on Richard III, The Wars of the Roses and The Fifteenth Century.  Other new features include:

Ricardian Archaeology
FAQs
Membership Section
Society Events Diary
Ricardian Articles

The Society has put in place a programme of celebratory events which include two one-day seminars at the Tower of London and Windsor Castle, a reception at Staple Inn with the Patron, HRH The Duke of Gloucester, as the guest of honour and an Anniversary Weekend and AGM in York. There will be four commemorative editions published during 2006 of the Bulletin, the Society’s magazine

‘Anniversary logo designed by Geoffrey Wheeler'

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