Fred Robinson

Mike Wilson, front,
with Fred Robinson, 1952.
From the collection of Vin¢ Clarke, courtesy of Rob Hansen.

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Fred Robinson was a fan and fanzine editor from Cardiff, Wales, active from about 1951 to 1954. He was certainly in contact with other fans in the UK and the United States by 1951 and attended that year's Festivention as well as the 1952 Loncon and Mancon. Also In 1952 he also formed the first known Welsh fan group, The Cymrades. In 1953 he attended the Coroncon and was part of the committee that established TAFF.

His first fanzine, Straight Up, was a notionally monthly newszine. After five issues he switched to the more general interest Camber which in its first issue was billed as the official organ of the Cymrades group. However, after one more issue he seemingly lost interest. Alan Dodd wrote to Robinson to enquire about the status of Camber and Robinson proposed that he and Dodd co-edit, although that came to nothing and Dodd took over the fanzine wholesale from issue 3. Dodd described what happened in Ploy #4 although his timescale doesn't make sense as it implies about three years between Camber #2 and #3 whereas it wasn't much more than a year.

According to Dodd, Robinson was drawn away from fandom by 'his other hobbies of photography and women'.

Robinson was a bookbinder, although it's unclear whether this was as a professional or enthusiastic amateur, and advertised his work in the Operation Fantast Handbook. He also served as a sergeant in 53rd (Welsh) Division, possibly as a Territorial and equally possibly as part of National Service.

Greg Pickersgill wrote of Robinson:

Even if nothing else he was (probably) the first Welsh science fiction fan of any real substance, at least the first to issue a substantial run of fanzines, and was a character who can be clearly seen today as a genuinely fannish sf enthusiast, who while not the greatest writer in the world conveyed a deal of charm and enthusiasm in his work. He even had an idea of mobilising all Welsh sf fans as The Cymrades as a gesture against the almost habitual sense of righteous dominance that emanated from the London area. That was, alas, just the first time an attempt to cohere Welsh fandom failed.

• Greg Pickersgill's profile of Fred Robinson.

Fanzines and Apazines:

• Camber (with Alan Dodd)
• 'Our 'Zine (with Vin¢ Clarke, Jim Rattigan, Bob Shaw, and Mike Wilson)
• Straight Up

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