Cytricon III

Cytricon III was the 1957 Eastercon, held April 19-21, 1957 (Easter weekend) at the George Hotel in Kettering, UK. There was no guest of honour. The committee was Dave Newman and Norman Shorrock.

It was the eighth convention in the Eastercon sequence and the third of four at the George hotel. There was no programme, no programme book or other publications, and probably no badges, although the convention is notable for the first public appearance of the Knights of St. Fantony. Membership seems to have been around 34, much lower than Cytricon II and the smallest Eastercon.

As with Cytricon II, the name Cytricon III seems to be a retrospective coinage, adopted because it was the third Kettering convention and the first was called Cytricon. However, contemporary reports don't seem to user Cytricon III.

This was for many years the 'lost' Eastercon. It was lost as early as 1959 when it was omitted from Fancyclopedia 2 (see Cytricon) and perhaps because of that it was omitted from the first list of Eastercons included in the programme book for Eastercon 22 in 1971 with 1958's Cytricon IV re-numbered as Cytricon III. The list was recycled in many subsequent Eastercon programme books until Rob Hansen rediscovered the original Cytricon III in 1989. It's not clear why nobody said anything earlier as at least one person present at Cytricon III was credited with 'advice and assistance' on Fancyclopedia 2 while others were present at Eastercon 22 when the list was first published. Hansen theorises that the omission from Fancyclopedia 2 and the 1971 list may have been deliberate, part of the north-south geographical fault line in 1950s UK fandom and a sense that Cytricon III was an 'illegitimate' distraction from Loncon.

Preparations

At Cytricon II the focus had been very much on the prospect of a UK Worldcon in 1957 although it seems that there was a contingency plan for a 'second international convention' in the style of Festivention in the event the bid failed. The bid was successful and became Loncon, the first British (and indeed first non-North American) Worldcon. Nevertheless, at some point after Cytricon II plans were made for what became known as Cytricon III at Easter 1957. This time the convention was in the hands of Liverpool fans. However there is nothing known by way of a per trail. As best we know there were no progress reports or indeed publications of any kind.

Venue

The George Hotel in Kettering was an old coaching inn dating back to 1639. It would host all four Cytricon Eastercons from 1955 to 1958 and the Kettering Minicon of 1960, as well as Cytricon V, a fiftieth anniversary gathering in 2008. It was later renamed the Naseby Hotel but sadly it closed permanently in 2016 and has been turned into flats.

Attendees

As there were seemingly no publications we have no membership list. The names below are thus all known attendees based on the relatively small number of convention reports. However, one of those was from Archie Mercer and he does seem to be namechecking everybody so it's likely the complete list. Names marked * are family members of attendees who likely weren't fans per se.

1. Ron Bennett
2. Eric Bentcliffe
3. Les Childs
4. Audrey Eversfield
5. Bill Harry
6. John Humphries
7. Terry Jeeves
8. Dave Jenrette
9. Rusty Jenrette
10. Eddie Jones
11. Eric Jones
12. Margaret Jones
13. Ken McIntyre
14. Archie Mercer
15. Jill Micklethwaite
16. Dave Newman
17. John Owen
18. Dorothy Ratigan
19. Jim Ratigan
20. Peter Reaney
21. Bob Richardson
22. John Roles
23. Sandy Sandfield
24. Eunice Shaddock *
25. Geoff Shaddock
26. Sandra Shaddock*
27. Ina Shorrock
28. Norman Shorrock
29. Ken Slater
30. Irene Tubb *
31. Ted Tubb
32. Norman Weedall
33. Cyril Whitaker
34. Jack Wilson

Dave and Rusty Jenrette were Americans; Dave was stationed in Britain with the USAF. Eric Bentcliffe said that they 'and Ted Tubb's wife' were the 'only newcomers to the Kettering scene ... and they fitted in nicely' even if Irene Tubb didn't rate a first name in his description.

Notable first-time convention attendees include Eddie Jones.

The convention

There was minimal fanzine reportage of the convention. The main written sources are Dave Jenrette's account in Ploy #10 (September 1957, ed. Ron Bennett) and Archie Mercer's in Excelsior #3 (June 1957, ed: Larry and Lee Shaw). Laurence Sandfield writing as 'Sandra Laurence' also contributed a piece to Triode #11 (August 1957, ed. Eric Bentcliffe and Terry Jeeves).

As usual, fans started arriving on Friday. Dave Jenrette at first didn't recognise the others as fans – 'No yelling, no strange costumes, no liquor bottles sprawling about' – until somebody remarked on the copies of Quelles Horreurs he and Rusty were holding. 'After this we felt right at home.' Jenrette was also 'introduced to that infamous expression D-----t N--o.' Here in the twenty-first century, nobody knows what he was talking about.

The convention had no formal programme, as previously noted. Archie Mercer said, 'I suppose you could generalize by saying the daytime was dominated by the camera, night time by the tape-recorder':

A machine is turned on at a party and left to record the proceedings, in hour-long reels. Then it's turned round and played back at the company then assembled. The result – noise, literally and illiterally. Party-sounds – mostly indistinguishable to the ear –interspersed with monologues from fen who've captured the mike and think they're being funny.

One wonders what Mercer would have made of social media.

Several fans brought along vinyl records and Mercer had his gramophone. The music included much trad jazz, but 'the patron ghod of Kettering Easter '57 is indisputably Little Richard'.

The convention did however host the first Knights of St. Fantony ceremony, presumably on Saturday evening. Members of the Cheltenham Group inducted Liverpool Group members Ron Bennett, Bill Harry, Eddie Jones, Dave Newman, John Owen, John Roles, Ina Shorrock, Norman Shorrock and Norman Weedall as Knights or Ladies.

Other events included games of brag, the playing of the 'Last and First Fen' tapera, Sandy Sandfield playing guitar, and the now traditional baiting of Peter Reaney, who was 'tried for that most heinous of all crimes – failure to consume alcoholic beverages during a convention'. And of course the 'Party-like madness [that] prevailed until early a.m.'

Jenrette concluded:

Total commentary on English fandom: it's practically impossible to tell it from the U.S. variety.

The absent Walt Willis said:

thanks to the fans who sent me from there an envelope-full of bus tickets, cafe bills, menus, pieces or cork, and other autographed souvenirs. I now have as many tangible effects from the Con as anyone. 

Publications

No publications have been traced and there may not be any.

Future conventions

There were seemingly no discussion of, or public plans for, a 1958 convention. In Science Fantasy News #15 (February 1958), Vin¢ Clarke would report 'the first public news of the progress of preparations for the 1958 S-F convention, one of the most closely kept secrets of modern fandom'. This would be Cytricon IV.

Links

• Rob Hansen's page on the convention at fiawol.org.uk.
• Transcripts of convention reports at gostak.org.uk.

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Cytricon II	Cytricon	Cytricon IV
Cytricon II	Eastercon	Cytricon IV
	1957

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