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The Orwell Society
Founded	4 April 2011; 13 years ago
Founder	Dione Venables
Type	NGO
Registration no.	1159072
Legal status	Charity
Focus	The life and works of George Orwell
Area served	England
Patron	Richard Blair
Revenue	£11,749 (2019)
Expenses	£10,379 (2019)
Website	orwellsociety.com

The Orwell Society is a literary society and a UK registered charity. It was founded in 2011 with the aim of promoting the understanding and appreciation of the life and work of George Orwell (the pen name of Eric Arthur Blair 1903–1950). Its patron is Richard Blair, George Orwell's adopted son.

The society has no political affiliation and does not speculate on what Orwell might have thought of current political issues were he alive today.

History

In 2006 the late Dione Venables, of Finlay Publishers, published a revised edition of Eric & Us, a memoir written by Jacintha Buddicom who died in 1993. The book was originally published in 1974 by Leslie Frewin and focused on Eric Blair's childhood and teenage years. Buddicom was Venables' first cousin who left Venables the copyrights to the book in her will. The acclaimed Orwell biographer, Gordon Bowker,^[2] in agreeing to review the book, suggested certain clarifications and in late 2006, Eric & Us: The Postscript Edition was published.^[3] The postscript edition was regularly discussed on a website called "Orwell Direct", creating a small community of enthusiasts whose first contributor was Sir Bernard Crick.^[4] The community, which included Orwell's son Richard Blair, began to ask why there was no Society to promote the life and works of George Orwell, prompting Venables to focus her efforts on constituting one.

On 27 December 2010, a group gathered for the first informal meeting at Phyllis Court, Henley-on-Thames (which the young Eric Blair had often visited). The day was hosted by Venables and, of those attending that day, Christopher Edwards agreed to be the society's first Chair. Richard Blair accepted the role as Patron, Charles Wiggin as Treasurer, Dominic Cavendish took on the editorship of the society's website, and Venables agreed to be Membership Secretary. Later on, Ron Bateman took on the Secretary role and Chris Organ was appointed to provide legal input. The formal inaugural meeting was held on 19 April 2011 and in the same year, Quentin Kopp, whose father Georges Kopp had been Orwell's commandant and friend during and after the Spanish Civil War, joined the committee as Events Secretary and the society was launched.^[5] On 28 April 2012, The Society held its first Annual General Meeting at Senate House, London, next to Room 101, made famous in Nineteen Eighty-Four.^[6]

Charitable purpose

The Society has a charitable purpose to advance education about Orwell's life and work for the public benefit. This is achieved through a number of student bursaries and prizes,^[7] as well as memorials and commemorative plaques.^[8]^[9] The society also organises a number of member events including to Spain (to visit sites that feature in Homage to Catalonia, Orwell's memoir of the Spanish Civil War)^[10]^[11]^[12] and to the island of Jura,^[13] where Orwell completed the final draft of Nineteen Eighty-Four.

Some historical antipathy towards George Orwell from the people of Wigan was rectified in 2017,^[14] 80 years after the publication of The Road to Wigan Pier, by demonstrating that Orwell had not been critical of Wigan people.^[15]^[16] Richard Blair participated as one of the narrators in "Beyond Wigan Pier", an opera first performed in 2018,^[17]^[18] aimed at attracting funding for students to attend Music & Drama school.

Governance

The Orwell Society is currently governed by nine elected trustees, who administer the UK registered charity. Current trustees are^[19]

Patron – Richard Blair
Chair – Quentin Kopp
Secretary – Chris Harrison
Treasurer – Mark Courtenay
Journal Editor – Masha Karp
Education – Ian Bloom
Information and Web Presence – Les Hurst
Publicity – Benedict Cooper

Annual General Meeting (AGM)

The Society's Annual AGM is typically held towards the end of April, usually at a location in London, each featuring a notable guest speaker. The first AGM in 2012 was held at Senate House, London, when an Honorary Life Membership was awarded to Professor Peter Davison for his unparalleled contribution towards the editing and publication of Orwell's work, including the twenty-volume The Complete Works of George Orwell.^[20]

Publications

The twice-yearly Society Journal started out as the annual 'Newsletter,' the first two editions being edited and designed by Ron Bateman and Christopher Edwards. In 2013, Ron Bateman took over the editorship of the publication, which was renamed, "The Orwell Society Journal". He stepped down as editor in 2016 to be replaced by Masha Karp. In 2015, Dione Venables published the first collection of George Orwell's Poetry,^[21] which was approved for public release a few months later,^[22] with all proceeds from the book being donated to the society.

Orwell Statue

On 7 November 2017, a statue of Orwell sculpted by Martin Jennings, was unveiled outside Broadcasting House. The idea for the statue and its location came from Ben Whitaker MP who created a Trustee Board of distinguished people to raise the money. Following Ben Whitaker's death in 2014, the fund raising was completed by his widow Baroness Janet Whitaker and the sculpture was commissioned after securing the commitment of the BBC.^[23] Baroness Whitaker and Richard Blair delivered short speeches before unveiling the Statue. The wall behind the statue is engraved with the words: "If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear", a quote attributed to Orwell's proposed preface to Animal Farm.^[24] Baroness Whitaker and the Trustee Board invited The Orwell Society to take over ownership of the Statue. The handover was completed in 2021.^[25]

References

^ "Charity register". charitycommission.gov.uk. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
^ Bowker, Gordon (2003). George Orwell. London: Abacus. ISBN 0349115516.
^ Buddicom, Jacintha (2006). Eric & Us. Chichester: Finlay Publisher. ISBN 0955370817.
^ Crick, Sir Bernard (8 November 2011). "Orwell as Comic Writer (2008)". FinlayPublisher (extinct). FinlayPublisher. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
^ Davison, Professor Peter (22 October 2011). "Hail to the Orwell Society website". Orwell Society Newsletter. 1. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
^ The Orwell Society. "History". The Orwell Society. The Orwell Society. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
^ Whymark, Bethany (2 May 2019). "Teacher turned writing student secures prestigious literary prize". Eastern Daily Express. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
^ "George Orwell's Southwold home gets fresh plaque". BBC News. 21 May 2018. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
^ Butler, Robert (February 2015). "Orwell's World". The Economist 1843 Magazine. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
^ Keeley, Graham (18 May 2015). "Orwell's son fights to save Spanish civil war trenches". The Times. 1GM (News): 3.
^ Cultura, ABC (19 May 2015). "El hijo de Orwell pisa los escenarios de la Guerra Civil donde luchó su padre". ABC Cultura (in Spanish). ABC. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
^ Villanueva, José (18 May 2015). "El Hijo de Orwell recorre los escenarios del frente de Huesca que inmortalizó su padre". Heraldo de Aragón: 63.
^ Crossan, Rob (8 June 2019). "A tour of Orwell's Jura, where he wrote 1984". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
^ "... and artists celebrate Orwell". Wigan Today and Leigh Observer. The Guide: 57. 21 February 2017.
^ Charles Graham (30 January 2020). "New Orwell bursary goes to a Wigan school". Wigan Today. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
^ "Celebration to mark The Road to Wigan Pier anniversary". Wigan Today (Wigan Observer and Wigan Post). 6 February 2017. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
^ Mackenzie, Paul (25 April 2018). "Beyond Wigan Pier - the story behind the George Orwell musical". Lancashire Life. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
^ Pier, Wigan. "Wigan Pier Project". Wigan Pier Project. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
^ "Trustees". Retrieved 3 March 2021.
^ Davison. The Complete Works Of George Orwell. Secker and Warburg, 1998.
^ Venables. George Orwell - The Complete Poetry. Finlay Publisher 2015.
^ Cowdrey, Katherine (3 November 2015). "Orwell estate allows poetry to go on general sale". The Bookseller. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
^ BBC. "Orwell Sculpture - 100 objects that made the BBC". BBC Science Museum Group. BBC. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
^ "Orwell statue unveiled". BBC. 7 November 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
^ The Orwell Statue. "The Orwell Statue". The Orwell Society. The Orwell Society. Retrieved 3 September 2021.