Fandom GPO
The Fandom GPO[1] (FGPO) was a correspondence mechanism proposed by Julian Parr and operated by J. Michael Rosenblum in the 1940s. Parr's proposal in Futurian War Digest #5 (February 1941) was that:
Each fan sends his letters, to other fans, or fan-mags in one big envelope (each letter in its own small envelope) to Michael Rosenblum, and encloses 1d for each letter. Mr. R, while publishing Fido sends it out in a large envelope, enclosing the letters received for him, to each fan.
In Futurian War Digest #8 (May 1941), Rosenblum listed 58 UK participants. The scheme operated as Parr had proposed and letters:
... will be mailed out at the end of the month with Fido, except those to editors of accompanying sheets who will be dealt with each fortnight. Please be careful as regards weight – don't overun two ounces per letter, or one ounce for foreign ones.
It's unclear how long the system lasted. In any event it can't have outlasted Futurian War Digest which ended in 1945 but Rosenblum reported no new recruits to the scheme after December 1941 so it likely ended much earlier.
Members[edit]
Most members were announced in FWD #8. Where they were added later the issue number is noted in brackets.
UK members
- Jack Banks (Eastbourne)
- Syd A. Beach (Aberystwyth) (9)
- Sid Birchby (London)
- Sydney Bounds (London)
- Ron Bradbury (Manchester) (14)
- John Briston (Morden)
- Ken Bulmer (London)
- John F. Burke (Liverpool)
- Arthur Busby (Birmingham) (9)
- Hal Chibbett (London)
- Ted Carnell (London) (13)
- Arthur C. Clarke (Forces)
- A. Vincent Clarke (London)
- Bernard H. Cohen (Leeds)
- John C. Craig (London)
- Donald J. Doughty (Downham Market)
- Marion Eadie (Glasgow)
- H. J. Ellis (Barrow)
- Ron Fishwick (Forces)
- Robert E. Folkes (Gloucester)
- Roland Forster (Forces)
- Derek Gardiner (Worthing)
- Jack Gibson (Parkstone)
- Walter H. Gillings (Ilford)
- John Goldsmid (Leeds)
- Harold Gottliffe (Forces)
- Maurice K. Hanson (Forces)
- Ron Holmes (Liverpool)
- Eric C. Hopkins (London)
- Donald Houston (Northampton)
- Tom Hughes (Birmingham, UK|Birmingham) (9)
- Leslie J. Johnson (Forces)
- R. Rowland Johnson (Leicester) (13)
- Ron Lane (Manchester)
- Bert Lewis (Preston)
- Eric Lloyd (Cradley Heath)
- Edwin MacDonald (Inverness)
- David McIlwain (Liverpool)
- R. G. Medhurst (Cambridge)
- John Morgan (Johnstone)
- Eric Moss (Forces)
- Eric Needham (Manchester)
- Ralph E. Orme (Coventry)
- Terry Overton (Cardiff)
- Julian Parr (Stoke-on-Trent)
- R. B. Pope (London)
- Anton Ragatsky[2] (Stoke)
- Rita Pitman (Oxford)
- James Parkhill Rathbone (Forces)
- J. E. Rennison (Blackburn)
- Osmond Robb (Edinburgh)
- Eric Frank Russell (Liverpool)
- D. Sadler (Derby) (9)
- Andrew Salmond (Glasgow)
- Bill Shelton (Forces)
- Robert J. Silburn (Aberystwyth) (10)
- A. G. Skeel (London)
- D. R. Smith (Nuneaton)
- William F. Temple (Forces)
- E. A. Thompson (Pinner Hill)
- Dennis Tucker (High Wycombe)
- Harry Turner (Manchester)
- Horace Vella (London) (9)
- Frederick W. Ward (Derby) (9)
- Arthur F. Williams (London)
- Eric C. Williams (Forces) (9)
- Frank Wilson (Southport)
- C. S. Youd (Eastleigh]
- Abraham Bloom (Hoylake)
Overseas members
- Leslie Croutch (Parry Sound, Canada)
- Bert Castellari (Sydney, Australia)
- Bob Gibson (Canadian army, based in the UK (13)
- Milton Rothman (Washington, DC, United States)
- Julius Unger (New York, United States)
- Harry Warner (Hagerstown, MD, United States)
____
- ↑ GPO, General Post Office, the UK state post carrier from 1635 to 1969.
- ↑ A pseudonym of Julian Parr
| Club | 1941— |
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