Three Fandoms in England

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Title:	Three Fandoms in England
Creator:	Douglas Webster
Date(s):	Published Sept. 1942
Medium:	Print
Fandom:	Science Fiction
Topic:	Numbered Fandoms as applied to England
External Links:	Hosted online by fanac.org. Spaceways #30 pp. 3-4. Sept. 1942.
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Three Fandoms in England was a 1942 essay by English science fiction fan Doug Webster, who sought to group fandom in his country into three basic groups based on when they'd entered fandom and their general attitude.

At the time of writing, England, Canada and Australia all had limited access to prozines due to wartime economy, and their main source was from American fans who managed to ship them individual issues. Webster said that one group of fans was perfectly fine with that, as they'd grown sick of professional science fiction anyway.

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Webster explained that he saw English fandom as three separate groups, similar to Jack Speer's theory of Numbered Fandoms, from which he borrowed some labels. He'd been mulling the idea over since J. Michael Rosenblum pointed it out to him.

First Fandom is comprised of those described--sometimes accurately--as the real Old-Timers. Carnell, Chapman, Gillings, Temple, Clarke, Johnson, Russell, Clarke, and so on. The men who started the SFA, and, what is more important, are so temperamentally disposed as to put in all the work to keep the SFA--and the BIS and so on--steaming ahead. They have been reading stf for God knows how long. I don't know how long. Far too long, I should say. Most of them still read it, and many of them--this is a significant point, for we are considering England, not USA--still read all of every promag they can lay hands on, and regard science-fiction as a sort of ritual rather than as bed-time reading or comic-relief. They are, on the average, in the late twenties in age, they are much given to drinking beer, singing songs, and being merry, which is Good; they do not like fighting or harsh words; the more extreme support this war, as they would support any war, unquestionably; the less extreme think more deeply, and are saddened; they support the war too; many of them write science-fiction stories, or edit science-fiction magazines, or run science-fiction services; most of them do not understand Poetry, and are rendered uncomfortable by any exhibition of consideration about politics or interest in the Arts; which is Bad.

Those are the old-timers, a rough and merry crowd. Here is Second Fandom, and ArtWithACapitalA.

In Second Fandom are Webster and others. The others are much more important than Webster, because I've never been nor had any desire to be a Famous Fan. They number amongst them Youd, Burke, McIlwain, Hopkins, Medhurst, Rathbone, Turner, Smith, Needham, and a few others. These gentry are among the most conceited in fandom, and rightly so, of course. They look with indulgence and almost a secret contempt on First and Third Fandoms; just what the latter think of them would be rather interesting to know. Those in Second Fandom are almost of an age; just now they range from 19 to, say, 22--or perhaps 24 if you include Hanson and Smith.

The history of fandom of all these young men is very similar. They started reading stf in the early 30's--I, for instance, find that I probably first read magazine fantasy in 1928 or 1929, and the American brand about '32 or '33. On the whole, they gave it up again about 1939 or 1940. Having read it on and off for some years, and sneered at it well-nigh continuously, they were unworried by the lack of war-time stf and only glanced at such magazines as came into their hands. They came into organized fandom with the SFA in '36 or '37, and among them have edited quite a few fanmags--the best that England has produced. Second Fandom, however, has another God--Art--to which it pays obeisance in many forms. It doesn't worry about becomes of the SFA or Astounding, but it is concerned with where the world's going, and why, and how better it could be steered on its way. It is composed of serious young men, introverts all, and the serious young men are equipped with hot tempers, not a little command of language, fiery pens, a very great confidence in themselves, a conceit that tells them they are in a small measure acquainted with culture and capable of producing work a damn sight better than their fellow fans. They write novels and poems and all sorts of stories, and they listen to good music and read intellectual books. All of which is a Good Thing or a Bad Thing, according to how you look at it.

Third Fandom, again, is not confined to such narrow limits of age. On the whole, its members have appeared in fandom or even have started reading stf only since the beginning of the war. Ages range from Houston, at 14, to Busby, at 23, the preponderance being somewhere below military age.

It seems to me that they are much nearer in temperament and general character to First than to Second Fandom. They are the ones who would carry on the magazines avidly insofar as they can lay hands on them, and will cluster round this new society, BFFF or British Fantasy Society or whatever it may eventually be called. I haven't been able to fathom any reasons for its being formed in the first place, other than that it should be a means whereby the newer fans--as George Medhurst sardonically calls them--are brought into contact and given the chance to cooperate; just as others were brought into contact by the forming of the SFA. Which is a reasonable enough idea.

That, then, is the outline. As I said, the conclusions are interesting, for in considering the writing or career of any particular fan you can first slip him into his category, roughly or exactly, and thereby obtain a much fuller idea of why he carries on as he does. Naturally, the members of each Fandom are fairly intimate and there's a good deal of hard feeling and mass opinion.

Of course, it must be emphasised that the characteristics I've mentioned are only means, and group characteristics. Individuals within each Fandom may diverge partly or completely in several instances. Then again, you'd expect a certain number of fans to be borderline cases, or not easily fitted into one or another Fandom. Thus, Michael Rosenblum places himself between First and Second Fandoms, and others, such as Maurice Hanson, DRSmith, Sid Birchby, and Ego Clarke, might be similarly placed. And then Edwin Macdonald, who's some 17 years old and a comparative newcomer, is yet temperamentally more included to Second than to Third Fandom. And Ron Holmes, who by virtue of his and stage of fan experience might be thought to fall into Second Fandom, is really at home only in the Third.

To take an instance illustrating what I say: A couple of days ago, March 21st, Voice of the Imagi-Nation dropped in, and I glanced at portions of a letter from R. George Medhurst, a shining light in Second Fandom.

Says RGM: "On this side of the Atlantic we've completely demolished the legend of 'The Skylark of Space'. This unfortunate opus is universally rejected, from Sam Youd to the Bibliophan, with Donald Raymond Smith maintaining an uncomfortable silence." This is not strictly true. In point of fact, Second Fandom in a mass rejects an EESmith story as something unpleasant, ridiculous and childish. Smith, on the outskirts, has at one time or another spoken in favour of his namesake, but being prudent maintains his peace in the face of unanswerable arguments. But in First Fandom, among Ted Carnell and Ken Chapman, you will find several who gobble up Smith at face value. They take the thing, perhaps, less seriously, and don't ask for adult fare where they know they can't get it. And Third Fandom seethes with Smith fans: for all fans, in the lush of their virgin years, are hypnotised by the great names.

So that here, as elsewhere, you can the more easily explain, and more fully understand, an individual's actions and opinions by reference to his group. A man is known by the company he keeps. After a while it becomes a fascinating game, and you can spend whole days turning out analyses of screwy behaviour. However, should a case ever defeat you, baffled and desperate, you always know my address. Or if you don't, you ought to.