Conventions in the UK before 1948

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The first iteration of the British National Science Fiction Convention, more succinctly the Eastercon[1], is traditionally regarded as the Whitcon in 1948. The sequence was not codified until 1971 when Peter Weston realised that nobody had a clear idea of how many Eastercons there had been. Thinking that it might help when negotiating with hotels to demonstrate that this was a regular event of some longevity and track record, Weston in conjunction with Peter Roberts and Ken Bulmer produced a list using Whitcon as a starting point, even though – and as the name implies – it hadn't been at Easter. They confidently asserted that the 1971 Eastercon was Eastercon 22, creating a simple naming convention for the future that has been largely ignored ever since.

However, there were a number of pre-1948 conventions, some of which were held at Easter – unlike Whitcon – and in one case was even called Eastercon. Some don't appear much like conventions by modern standards and all were relatively small, the largest attracting 40-odd attendees and the smallest only six. However they were all announced as conventions (or some synonym thereof such as 'conference') in advance.

They came in two clumps. The first British convention, and by some metrics the first anywhere, was held in Leeds in 1937 and this was followed by London conventions in 1938 and 1939. The sequence of annual conventions might have continued – fans in Liverpool were keen to run a convention in 1940 – were it not for the outbreak of the Second World War. There were then no conventions in the UK for four years.

In 1943 fans in the Midlands staged a convention originally slated for Birmingham but at the last minute relocated to Leicester. This was followed by a small gathering, the Norcon in Manchester, over the 1943–4 new year. Then at Easter 1944 the Cosmos Club of Teddington in west London staged the first convention to be explicitly called the Eastercon and this was followed by a smaller followup to Midvention, the Midventionette, again in Leicester, and a second Norcon in Leeds at the end of 1944.

And that was it for British conventions for three-and-a-half years. There was talk of a an Eastercon in Leicester in 1945 and a third Norcon over new year 1944–5 but nothing came of these ideas and there would not be another UK convention until the Whitcon of 1948.

These are the eight British conventions before 1948, with their significant milestones:

1. First British Science Fiction Conference, January 3, 1937

The first British convention obviously and, depending on your viewpoint, perhaps the first ever. See Which Was the First SF Convention? for a discussion on who has primacy. A one-day event with 14 known attendees, seven of whom were from Leeds itself. Admission was by ticket but these were free.

2. The Second Convention and Annual General Meeting, April 10, 1938

Again a one-day event, this time in London and the first convention to be held at Easter. There were about 43 people present, making it or its successor the largest British convention before Whitcon. It may also have been the first to have a guest of honour, the caveat being that only the individual in question identified themselves as such.

3. The third SFA Convention, May 21, 1939

Another one-day event, in the same venue as 1938. Attendance was about 40 but that's sufficiently fuzzy that it may have been smaller or larger than its predecessor.

4. Midvention, April 23–26, 1943

The first wartime convention. While small, with somewhere between 14 and 20 attendees, it does qualify for a number of firsts. The convention issued distinct progress reports and may have charged a membership fee, the caveat here being that while they stated an intention to charge we don't know that they actually did. It was the first to be spread over two days. It was the first to have an arranged hotel for out-of-town attendees although the programme was held elsewhere. It was also the first to have an attendee from Wales, Terry Overton. Less auspiciously, it was the first UK convention to change its venue at the last minute.

5. Norcon, December 31, 1943–January 2, 1944

Arguably the first British convention with a foreign attendee, Gus Willmorth, a fan from Los Angeles then stationed in the UK. Rita James was the first woman to attend a convention although she was the partner of Ron Holmes and there is no evidence she was a fan per se.

6. Eastercon, April 8–9, 1944

The first convention to be called Eastercon. The wives of S. G. J. Ouseley and Wally Gillings attended part of the convention but again there is no evidence they were themselves fans. And another less auspicious innovation, it was the first to have a guest of honour (in the person of Professor A. M. Low) who didn't turn up – although 'unable to be present under military exigencies' is a pretty compelling reason.

7. Midventionette, September 1–2, 1944

Even smaller than Norcon, it is likely the smallest UK convention ever with only six attendees.

8. Norcon II, December 29–31, 1944

There is a slight uncertainty about the number of attendees as there are three accounts – all by the same author – that give slightly different lists of names. At minimum there were 14 attendees – oddly, three of the eight convention noted here had 'about 14' attendees – and at the upper end of the range it may have been the largest convention outside London prior to the Necon of 1951. Edwin Macdonald was the first fan from Scotland to attend a UK convention. The convention was also attended by Joyce Fairbairn, Brenda Gabrielle Lee and Miriam Harris. Information on the latter two is a bit sketchy and they may not have been fans but Fairbairn certainly was.

Attendees

There are 92 people who are known to have attended one or more of these conventions, with George Ellis and Ron Holmes attending five each. They include major names in science fiction and in fandom, but also some people where we don't even have an initial, let alone a first name, and know next to nothing about them.

Attendance is here defined as being mentioned in some contemporary report or other document, or identified through a photograph. Names marked * are known attendees where there is no evidence that the person is a fan per se. In case it's not obvious, the number in brackets is the number of the convention(s) the person attended based on the list above.

Addendum: 'Bombcon', September 20–21, 1941

The 'Bombcon' of 1941 was in many respects as much a convention as some of the others, even down to having the magic number of 'about 14' attendees. However, they seemingly did not consider it to be a convention and the name 'Bombcon' was a retrospective coinage dating from 1956. Despite the dearth or women fans at other conventions of the time there were four women at the Bombcon, Irene Carnell, Lily Chibbett, Denise Laws and Lily Jaggers, all 'staunch weirdists' according to Ted Carnell.

See Early Conventions for how these events fit into a wider chronology.

Rob Hansen's website has considerably more detail on all of these events.

Fanhistory 1937—1944
This is a fanhistory page. Please add more detail.
  1. ↑ The term 'natcon' can be applied but it's rarely if ever used in the UK.
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