Portrait of EH-A by Kay Vaughan
Portrait of EH-A by Kay Vaughan

News and Events 2009


March

The Annual Heron-Allen Lecture was held in Talbot Hall, Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford on Friday 6 March 2009 at 5.15, preceded by a reception in The Old Library.

The lecture was delivered by Professor E J Milner-Gulland, Professor in Conservation Science, Imperial College London. Professor Milner-Gulland will speak about "Conserving the Saiga Antelope: Science in a changing world". The underlying theme of her work is the interaction between the population dynamics of exploited species and the incentives experienced by the people who hunt them. She is chair of The Saiga Conservation Alliance (SCA), a network of scientists and conservationists working to save the critically endangered saiga antelope from imminent extinction.

The Heron Allen Lecture is given annually in honour of Armorel Daphne Heron Allen (1926), who died shortly after receiving a first class degree in Natural Sciences (Zoology). A scholarship in Life Sciences and a travel grant are awarded each year in her name.

The Society's Opusculum XII - 'Treasures: Decorative, Egyptian and Musical: More from Heron-Allen's Collections. Proceedings of the 8th. Heron-Allen Symposium, 2008' - was published and distributed to members. Articles included '"A Cornucopia of Treasures and Trivia": Heron-Allen's Miscellanea in the Royal College of Music Collection" by Pam Thompson; 'The Heron-Allen Collection of Egyptian Scarabs' by Joann Fletcher and 'Tea at the De Keyser Hotel - Edward Heron-Allen's Colleagues at M.I 7(b)' by Peter T. Scott.

April

The Society's Newsletter No.14 was published and distributed. Articles include; 'The Heron-Allen Collection at West Sussex Record Office, Chichester' by Timothy J. McCann; 'A Birthday Party: Drawing-Room Duologue by Edward Heron-Allen' by Joan Navarre; 'A Fatal Fiddle: Edward Heron-Allen and Cricket' by Timothy J. McCann and obituaries of Dominic Wood, Saxon Jones and Alethea Pitt.

July

The Society's ninth annual symposium was held on Saturday 4 July 2009 at The Dorothea Bate Room, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London. The theme of the Symposium was 'Edward Heron-Allen and Literature'. Talks will include, 'Edward Heron-Allen's Ballad of Lord Bateman' by Timothy J. McCann; '"Chicago Palmistry": Eugene Field's Portrait of Edward Heron-Allen in America' by Joan Navarre;, 'The Sette of Odd Volumes Incident of 1892-1893: Le Gallienne versus Heron-Allen' by John P. and Barbara P. Mahoney; 'EH-A accomplice to fraud - The Legacy of EH-A's work on the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam' by Garry Garrard; and 'Edward Heron-Allen's Travel Journal Account of his trip to the International Zoological Congress in Monaco in 1913'.

On 8 July, Society member Garry Garrard delivered a lecture entitled, 'Edward Heron-Allen's Analysis of Fitzgerald's Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam and its legacy' to the Omar Khayyam, Fitzgerald and the Rubaiyat Conference at Trinity College, Cambridge.

September

On 13 September, Society Member Joan Navarre delivered a lecture entitled, 'Food for Thought': Ye Sette of Odd Volumes Dining Society' to the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery at St. Catherine's College, Oxford.

On 21 September, Society Chairman Timothy McCann delivered a lecture on Edward Heron-Allen to the Havant Science Society at Warblington School, Havant.

October

On 2 October 2009, The Society held a joint seminar with the Royal Irish Academy at the Royal Irish Academy, Dawson Street, Dublin, Republic of Ireland. There was an opportunity to visit the Praeger Collection at the Academy, and to view Heron-Allen's scientific and travel journals relating to the Clare Island Survey, together with other items relating to the 1911 expedition from the collection of the Natural History Museum in London. Talks delivered included 'The Clare Island Survey. 100 researchers, six nationalities and an outstanding landmark in Irish natural history' by Timothy Collins; 'The singular life of Edward Heron-Allen' by Timothy J. McCann; and 'Heron-Allen's travel journals from Clare Island by John E. Whittaker. Seventeen members and their families attended the seminar.

Report

November

The Society's Opusculum No. XIII - 'Edward Heron-Allen on Literature and Leisure; Proceedings of the 9th. Heron-Allen Symposium, 2009' - was published and distributed to members. The issue was dedicated to Dominic Wood, our former Honorary Secretary. Articles included 'Edward Heron-Allen's Ballad of Lord Bateman' by Timothy J. McCann; '"Chicago Palmistry": Eugene Field's Portrait of Edward Heron-Allen in America' by Joan Navarre; 'Edward Heron-Allen - Accomplice to Fraud. The Legacy of EH-A's Work on the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam', by Garry Garrard; 'A Response to his Oddship the President and Members of the Sette of Odd Volumes: "Le Gallienne versus Heron-Allen"' by John P. Mahoney and Barbara Mahoney; and 'Edward Heron-Allen's Holiday Journal account of his visit to the ixth International Zoological Congress, Monaco, 1913', by John E. Whittaker.