Cytricon II

Eastercon 7, Cytricon II, was held in Kettering over Easter, March 31–April 1, 1956 (though April 2 was listed as being for "farewells"). There was no GoH. The committee was Vin¢ Clarke and Joy Clarke.

The convention was notable for attracting several overseas fans, including Larry Shaw, Lee Hoffman Shaw, Ellis Mills, Dave Kyle and Richard Wilson (all United States)), Jan Jansen from Belgium and Anne Steul from Germany. The membership list gives 87 names.

Eric Jones, writing in Sidereal 3.1, claimed that none of the Kettering fans attended Cytricon II and this is borne out by the membership list in the combozine. Denny Cowen, the chair of Cytricon appeared for a very short time on Sunday but he was obviously 'just passing thru'.

Preparations

The attendees at Cytricon in 1955 were focused first on the London in '56 Worldcon bid with the idea of a second Kettering convention in 1956 very much a fallback position. However, at the Cleveland Worldcon, and in the face of overwhelming support for New York in 1956, the London bid was withdrawn without a vote. The bid would return as London in 1957 and at some point Cytricon II was arranged although this time in the hands of the London fans. Vin¢ Clarke wrote:

London fans have stepped into the breach again and are booking the George Hotel, Kettering, Northants, scene of 1955's extraordinarily successful 'do', for the '56 Convention. It will be attempted to run it as an International Convention, for many visiting fans are expected from other countries, and the experience gained is going to be very, very useful for the 1957 Convention, which will call for a concerted effort from fan groups all over the country.

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

This list is a work in progress. Names to come.

Future conventions

History.

____

---

Cytricon I	Cytricon	Cytricon III
Cytricon I	Eastercon	Cytricon III
	1956

This is a convention page. Please extend it by adding information about the convention, including dates, GoHs, convention chairman, locale, sponsoring organization, external links to convention pages, awards given, the program, notable events, anecdotes, pictures, scans of publications, pictures of T-shirts, con reports, etc.