Membership

Membership of the Fellowship is open to anyone interested in the life and works of Edward Thomas. All members are sent a Newsletter twice a year and advised of forthcoming events and publications of significant interest.

There are also electronic communications (eBulletins) sent out to all members at various times throughout the year when there is other news and information to be communicated.

The Fellowship frequently organises seminars, visits and other events for its members.

Everyone is welcome to join our Birthday and other Walks each year, free of charge.

How to Join

The annual subscription for full membership from 1 January 2025 and payable on 1st January, is £20.00 for individuals over the age of 25 or families living at the same address in the UK. Membership for subscribers joining after 1st October will continue through to the end of the following year.

PLEASE NOTE – MEMBERSHIP FEES INCREASED BY £5 PER ANNUM, EXCLUDING UNDER 25 MEMBERSHIPS, WITH EFFECT FROM 1 JANUARY 2025. IF YOU CURRENTLY PAY BY STANDING ORDER YOU MAY DOWNLOAD AN AMENDMENT FORM HERE, OR MAKE YOUR OWN AMENDMENT IF YOU USE ONLINE BANKING.

As The Edward Thomas Fellowship is now a registered charity you are able to claim Gift Aid on membership fees, currently worth 25p in the £ to us.

You are eligible to claim Gift Aid if you pay income or capital gains tax each year equivalent to or greater than your charitable donations. If this is the case and you would like the Fellowship to benefit you may download a Gift Aid declaration here.

If you are below the age of 25 there is an individual membership rate of £5 which provides membership of the Fellowship with electronic copies of the twice-yearly Newsletter and receipt of all eBulletins.

If you are an overseas resident there are different rates, for full membership, depending on whether you live in the EU or elsewhere.

For EU residents, or members with postal address in the EU, the rate is now £25 per annum (including post and packing of two Newsletters per annum).

For postal addresses outside the EU the rate is £30 per annum to include postage for the two Newsletters.

There is a further option of a ‘lighter’ Full Membership involving electronic versions only of the two Newsletters at £15 per annum.

These rates now apply to new and existing full members from 1 Jan 2025.

From an administrative point of view, it is preferable to pay subscriptions by standing order but direct payments can be accepted.

To join, please print off and complete the over 25 or household membership application form available here, or write a letter, and mail it with payment, to

Nick Denton

Landfall

Tilmore Road

Petersfield

Hants

GU32 2HW

For new individual members under the age of 25, please print off and complete the application form available here.

If you are joining or renewing, particularly from overseas, you may pay by PayPal. If you are a new member paying by PayPal please also complete the membership application form as above.

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Please be aware that the Fellowship has to pay a transaction charge on payments by cheque or bank transfer at 40 pence per item. If you are able to add 40 pence to your payment by either of these methods that would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Aims & Objectives of the Fellowship

The Fellowship was founded in 1980 and exists to:

• Perpetuate the memory of Edward Thomas and foster interest in his life and works
• Foster a continuing relationship with the family and descendants of Edward Thomas in such a way that contributes to the aims and objectives of the Fellowship
• Conserve the countryside known to Edward Thomas and recorded in his writings
• Assist in the preservation of places and things associated with the writer
• Keep people in touch with relevant happenings and to arrange events which extend the Fellowship

Noticeable Achievements

Since its foundation, the Fellowship has arranged or assisted with various events and activities including:

• Placing plaques on houses lived in by Edward Thomas
• Arranging recitals of Edward Thomas’s poetry and prose writings and performances of Elected Friends, Lights Out and For You, Helen, dramatic works based on his life and influence
• Placing a seat below the memorial stone on the Shoulder of Mutton Hill near Steep, in memory of Rowland and Cherry Watson whose enthusiasm led to the dedication of the memorial to Edward Thomas in 1937
• Encouraging publishers to reprint editions of Edward Thomas’s prose works
• Helping to institute in Poets Corner, Westminster Abbey, a memorial to Edward Thomas and 16 other poets of the First World War
• Helping various bodies, including the Imperial War Museum, to stage exhibitions
• Campaigning against proposed developments which have threatened to damage the countryside known and loved by Edward Thomas
• Leading walks around places associated with Edward Thomas
• Holding an annual ‘Birthday Walk’ on the Sunday closest to Edward Thomas’s Birthday of 3rd March
• Organising seminars, concerts and other events
• Administering the Edward Cawston Thomas Memorial prize for original writing related to Edward Thomas and his concerns
• Publishing notecards and a CD
• Creating the Edward Thomas Study Centre at Petersfield Museum and Art Gallery – near Thomas’ home in Steep, Hampshire
• Establishing the biennial Edward Thomas Literary Festival which takes place in Petersfield. From 2026 the Festival will move to March biennially, to coincide with Edward Thomas’s birthday

The Edward Thomas Fellowship is a member of the Alliance of Literary Societies and is affiliated to the Campaign to Protect Rural England.

Committee Members

The current members of the Committee are shown here (please click on this link), together with their current roles and contact email addresses where appropriate. New members of the committee are always welcome and if you would like to know about being a committee member please contact a member of the committee.

There are currently three committee meetings a year (following changes brought about as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic and Climate Change it is planned that up to two of these meetings will be held by electronic means) and an AGM which is held in March following the annual Birthday Walk.