British Fantasy Library membership 1947-1949

The British Fantasy Library (BFL) was a successor to the British Fantasy Society, becoming a separate organisation in January 1947 and continuing for an unknown period although after 1949 it seemingly no longer issued publications aside from, presumably, bare lists of its books and magazines.

Only one list of members has been found so far. The British Fantasy Library Handbook likely dates from late 1947 and that lists 30 names although these don't include the organisers, Ron Holmes and Nigel Lindsay. Further new members were reported in issues of its OO/clubzine Booklist and the first run of Operation Fantast or can be identified from other sources (e.g. Thomas D. Moore said he was a member in an [N3F bio). When Walt Willis mailed Booklist around Christmas 1948 there were 41 paid up members although some of the original 30 may have lapsed.

An alphabetical listing of known members follows. It is likely very incomplete. The fourteen names with an asterisk had previously been members of the British Fantasy Society. Americans Koestner and MacInnes, marked (H), were honorary members (presumably connected to gifts of books and magazines that Britfandom had received).

1. Norman Ashfield
2. Jack Banks *
3. Peter B. Bell
4. M. A. Boyd
5. Daphne Bradley
6. Colin Brown
7. Arthur Busby *
8. M. Charity
9. Jimmy Clay
10. I. Clay-Jones
11. T. Cunningham
12. S. R. Dalton
13. Jim Donaldson
14. Arthur Duell
15. Charles Duncombe
16. George Ellis *
17. D. W. Evans
18. P. D. Fortey
19. Derek Gardiner *
20. W. Arthur Gibson *
21. N. C. Gourley
22. R. H. Greaves
23. F. J. Grimes
24. Mrs Helliwell
25. R. Henery
26. Phil Hetherington
27. Ron Holmes *
28. Ian R. Innes
29. E. R. James *
30. Bill Johnson
31. Kenneth Johnson *
32. W. Kerr
33. John E. Koestner (H)
34. Shivaji Lal
35. Nigel Lindsay *
36. Harold Loney
37. Allan Longton *
38. E. Lumer
39. Thomas L. MacDonald
40. Harry Manson *
41. Dave MacInnes (H)
42. D. McNaught
43. Peter G. Medcalf
44. Thomas D. Moore
45. Tom Moulton
46. S. Nodleman
47. P. Pennington
48. C. H. Pepper
49. Derek Pickles
50. A. E. Prince
51. Francis G. Rayer *
52. E. W. Roberts
53. Stanley Roberts
54. J. Michael Rosenblum *
55. Ken Slater
56. D. R. Smith *
57. E. F. Smith
58. R. Smith
59. M. J. V. Steer
60. L. G. Street
61. Myrtle Taylor
62. Joyce Teagle
63. Terry O. Trollope
64. Cedric Walker
65. A. E. Williams
66. I. G. Williams
67. Walt Willis
68. F. D. Wilson

The following five don't appear on any membership list but may have been members:

• Vin¢ Clarke who distributed Booklist with Science Fantasy News.
• John Gunn who took over as editor of Booklist in 1948.
• Bert Lewis appears on the list of people wanting magazines in Operation Fantast 2.
• Walter I. Norcott appears on the list of people interested in trading magazines in Operation Fantast 2.
• J. Frank White who according to Booklist 6 stopped answering letters.

After 1949 the BFL sections were operated by Jim Donaldson (books), William Dawson and Vera Douglas (magazines split by title), with Dawson and Douglas (not in the members list above) continuing until at least 1959 by which point the organisation had become "British Fantasy and Science Fiction Library" (showing the evolution of the genre terminology, see discussion at BFS).

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Club

1947—????

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!