CENTENARY to grow, setting up branches in Oxford, Cambridge, Liverpool and Glasgow. Most of these regional branches were linked to universities in order to accomplish the Society’s educational mission. For instance, the association contributed to the founding of the King Alfonso XIII Professorship of Spanish Literature, which was established officially at Oxford University in 1927. The Society was restructured during 1924 to 1925, the main purpose being to ensure its stability and continuity. Nevertheless, activity was minimal and the organisation’s branches grew apart from the London headquarters. The decline of the institution came in the late 1920s, particularly during the Great Depression in 1929. The Hispanic and Luso-Brazilian Council assumed the functions of the AngloSpanish Society, which reduced its activities in the late 1930s. World War II caused the end, with a dissolution of the Society in 1947. Henry Thomas (1878–1952), a well-known Hispanist and librarian at the British Museum, became the last chairman to hold the post at that time.
I
n 1950, an Anglo-Spanish League of Friendship was founded, but its dynamic was different from the AngloSpanish Society. It was no longer intimately related to the British Foreign Office, but rather it followed the policy articulated by the Spanish Embassy in London, leaving the subject of Latin America aside. Another important change was the creation of the Quarterly Journal, which was introduced in August 1951. Among the Spaniards who helped to found the League was Mabel Marañón Moya (1918–2008), daughter of the doctor Gregorio Marañón. Although she did not hold a political position, Marañón Moya’s contribution was essential in the creation of this new association. During its first stages, the League faced many financial problems and, under the influence of Spanish diplomacy, its activities were politicised. Everything changed in 1958. In that year the League was rebranded as the Anglo-Spanish Society, but, above all, the association was creating its own socio-cultural space, where members have interacted for decades. John Balfour (1894–1983), a former British Ambassador to Madrid, was appointed chairman. He and other members created a stable administrative framework. In the 1960s membership increased progressively, corporations sponsored the association’s activities and its finances were much more stable. These improvements allowed members to schedule a great number of social events and to promote Spanish culture in London, which became the Society’s field of action in the second half of the 20th century. Without doubt Nan Baxter, honorary secretary of the association from 1956 to 1977, was a key driver of the Society’s success in this period. The end of the dictatorship and the transition to democracy in Spain had a significant impact on the AngloSpanish Society, which was updated to better deliver on its mission. The Society was committed to its educational and social aims, but at the same time it started a legal process which would enable it to become a registered charity, that is, a non-profit organisation with philanthropic goals. In this last period, members pursued exclusively pedagogical and cultural objectives through events, publications and an important scholarship scheme for students, scientists and artists from both Spain and the UK. The association was modernised in many ways, for example, women were progressively involved in leading the organisation. In 2009, Denise Holt became the first woman to hold the Chair position. In addition to this, Jimmy Burns, the current chairman, contributed to the launch of the Society’s new magazine: La Revista, which is now edited by Amy Bell.
Images, from the top of this page: Nan Baxter, Lord Latymer, Israel Gollancz, John Balfour.
Spring-Summer 2016 • La Revista 15