At an online presentation ceremony on Wednesday 15 July 2020, our President, Mr Ian Dickens, announced the winner of the competition organised earlier this year by the Journalists’ Charity in partnership with the Dickens Fellowship.
The winner was Mr David Whewell with his character Barbara Copeland – ‘the B of the Q’ at a famous DIY store!

Although the coronavirus pandemic prevented the annual wreath-laying in Westminster Abbey on 9th June taking its usual form, the 150th anniversary of Dickens’s death was commemorated when the Dean of Westminster laid wreaths on behalf of both the Fellowship and the Dickens family.

The Fellowship are very sorry to announce that the Présidente of the Boulogne-sur-mer Branch of the Fellowship, Mme Janine Watrin, passed away on 25 May.

Janine was a stalwart member of the Boulogne branch and, for many years, an ever-present at DF Conferences. Janine was author of the bilingual ‘Charles Dickens and M. Beaucourt-Mutuel: Une Histoirie D’Amite’ (2013) and the guidebook ‘Parcours sur Les Pas De Charles Dickens & Boulogne-Sur-Mer’ (2019).

We were very sorry to learn of the death, on 24th. April, of Mike Quinn, founder of the Friends of Dickens New York. He had been ill for some time. A few words from his widow, Su Quinn:

"Mike's love of all things Dickens was greatly enhanced by meeting so many wonderful people; it is also true that Mike's love of people was greatly enhanced by reading so many wonderful Dickens stories.

The Management Committee of the Fellowship have been monitoring the advance of the Covid-19 virus in this country and, in London in particular, where the figures for those infected have been highest. We are also mindful of government advice on the need to avoid social gatherings, which are only likely to spread the infection. The current advice is that social distancing may be required for the next twelve months.

We were very sorry to learn of the death, on Friday 11th March, of John Knott, Vice-President and former Chairman of the Fellowship’s Rochester and Chatham branch. His funeral will take place on 2nd April at 2 p.m. at Medway Crematorium, Robin Hood Lane, Blue Bell Hill, Chatham, ME5 9QU. Family flowers only, please.

Given the current Covid-19 outbreak, it is likely that all events organised by each and every branch of the Dickens Fellowship will be cancelled for the immediate future. Please check with the relevant branch before travelling if you are unsure whether the event will proceed or not.

Congratulations to the Carrara branch of the Dickens Fellowship for persuading the local council to name a street after Dickens. The ceremony, performed by the Mayor and Fellowship President Ian Dickens, took place to  commemorate the 175th anniversary of Dickens's visit to 'the Capital of White Marble.'

The forced closure of places where people mingle in close proximity includes museums. Small museums with no access to public funds are particularly hard hit. The Charles Dickens Museum at 48 Doughty Street is one of these. Dickens lived here as a recently married man between March 1837 and December 1839. It is only surviving London home that is open to the public. The building was  originally purchased by the Dickens Fellowship in 1922 and opened as a Museum 3 years later.

The 200th anniversary of the Cato Street conspiracy took place in London on Sunday. Members of the Rochester and Chatham Branch of the Fellowship added some local colour and deservedly won prizes for costumes (Bottles of vintage Cava and Gin). In addition, they enjoyed a discussion on costumes with actor David Benson (Dads Army Radio Show and Good Night Sweetheart) and talked with descendants of conspirators transported to Australia visiting from Sydney.

The annual Dickens Fellowship Birthday Dinner took place at the Oxford and Cambridge Club in Pall Mall on Friday 7th February. The toast to the Immortal Memory was proposed by Armando Ianuccii whose film version of David Copperfield had just been released. Photos courtesy of Lucinda Hawksley.

The Dickens Fellowship is delighted to assist the Charles Dickens Museum in Doughty Street to acquire a remarkable collection of material from a private collector in the United States. The financial help amounted to a donation of £800K – made possible by a bequest from the estate of the late Ronald Gordon Hill. The donation from the Fellowship fulfils one of our aims: “to assist in the preservation and purchase of buildings and objects associated with his name or mentioned in his works.”