The Annual General Meeting of the Society was held at 2pm on Saturday 5th June, 2010, in the Beveridge Hall, South Block, Senate House, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU. The President, Andrew Burnett, was in the chair and welcomed members and non-members to the AGM of the Society's centenary year. He referred to the highly enjoyable celebrations which had been held at the British Museum two days earlier to mark the one hundredth anniversary of the first meeting of the Society on 3rd June, 1910. He also noted some of the other centenary events, especially the very successful End of Roman Britain conference held in March at the British Museum, organised by Mr Sam Moorhead and Dr Fiona Haarer. He read out messages of congratulations sent by Dame Professor Averil Cameron on behalf of FIEC, and (in Latin) from the Australasian Society for Classical Studies.
He then referred to some of the highlights of the last twelve months: firstly, the successful return of the Library to the South Block to its new splendid accommodation on the Third Floor. He thanked everyone who had been involved with the move, especially the Honorary Librarian, Professor Michael Crawford, the Librarian, Mr Colin Annis, and all the Library staff who had worked exceptionally hard to ensure a prompt and smooth re-opening. He noted that the Society had signed a five-year Memorandum of Understanding with the University of London. Secondly, he referred to the transfer of the Society's two journals, the Journal of Roman Studies and Britannia, to Cam-bridge University Press who will now publish them on behalf of the Society and administer all institutional subscriptions. He thanked those who had been most involved in overseeing the transfer, especially Dr Lynn Pitts, Dr Simon Esmonde Cleary and Dr Fiona Haarer.
The Hon. Treasurer, Mr G.E.A. Kentfield, presented the accounts for 2009, noting that the surplus shown (about £70,000) included the capitalised purchases of books for the Library and that therefore the actual cash surplus was about £20,000. He noted the future increased space costs (of about £20,000) and hoped that the Society would therefore break even. He referred members to Larkings' statement approving the Accounts. He invited questions from members and Mrs Bradley queried why the Society had two bank accounts. Mr Kentfield explained that the CAF (Charities Aid Foundation) bank specialised in charity accounts, while the NatWest was used for processing all direct debit and credit card payments.
The Report and Accounts for 2009 and the remuneration and reappointment of Larkings were approved on the proposal of Dr J. Prag, seconded by Professor A. Bowman.
Dr J. Prag and Professor A. Bowman seconded the following nominations for election: as Vice-Presidents for 2010–11 Professor A.K. Bowman, FBA, FSA, Professor M.G. Fulford, FBA, FSA, and Rev. Professor J.S. Richardson, FRSE; as Hon. Treasurer and Hon. Secretary for 2010–11 Dr Philip B. Kay and Mr T. Sam N. Moorhead, FSA respectively; and as Council members for 2010–13: Mr S.R. Clews, Dr E.J. Gowers, Dr C. Holleran, Dr G. Liveley, Dr G. Manuwald, Dr N.B. McLynn, Mr D.A. Stuttard and Dr R.J. Sweetman, FSA. The President thanked the outgoing members of Council for their contribution to the Society over the previous three years, and he welcomed the new members, especially the new Honorary Treasurer and Secretary.
All proposals were passed nem. con. with no ab-stentions.
The President presented the Society's Centenary PGCE prizes offered for the best research paper submitted by students studying for a PGCE in Classics at the University of Cambridge and King's College London. The winners were Jay Weeks (Cambridge) for his paper on: “Primary School Latin: an evaluation of the methods and motivations for the teaching and learning of Minimus” and (in absentia) Eleanor Nicholl (KCL): “Differentiation strategies for teaching a new Latin grammar point to a mixed ability class.”
The President then referred to the retirement of two long-standing officers of the Society, the Honorary Secretary, Mrs Elaine Matthews (after twenty-one years), and the Honorary Treasurer, Mr Graham E.A. Kentfield (after nineteen years). Both responded warmly to the President's speeches (printed below).
The AGM was followed by a programme of talks including the Presidential Lecture delivered by Andrew Burnett on (very aptly) Roman Anniversa-ries. This was followed by Professor Mary Beard: ‘Perhaps our expectations were wrought up too high’: visiting Pompeii in the nineteenth century; Dr Simon Esmonde Cleary: ‘Western Aristocracies and the Imperial Court’: or why the fourth-century British élite looked the way it did; Professor Andrew Wallace-Hadrill: Herculaneum Revisited; Professor Timothy Barnes: The Election of Ambrose as Bishop of Milan. The day ended with a reception at which Dr Armand d'Angour read his Latin celebratory verses, a gift from the Hellenic Society, and Colin Sydenham delivered his English translation. The celebrations concluded with lighting the candles on the Society birthday cakes (modelled on vota inscriptions on Roman coins) which had been very kindly made by the Senior Library Assistant, Mrs Sue Willetts.
Elaine Matthews, retiring Honorary Secretary
Elaine, our retiring ab epistulis: you have been Secretary of the Society since 1989, so only for 21 years! It is my pleasant duty to record the enormous gratitude of all the Presidents of that period, of the Society and I think of everyone here today for your selfless contribution to our affairs. You have nursed the Society through many difficult matters. I first encountered you in this role many years ago when you established the Advisory Council which you were kind enough to invite me to join. Among many other things, it solved the potential governance problem of the way that the Hon VPs might have had an undue impact on the Council, the body really responsible for the good conduct of our affairs. You also took a leading role in the recent – and lengthy, as well as often difficult! – discussions about the future of the library.
I think you probably don't realise that we all rather stand in awe of you; though a perfect diplomat with sometimes difficult and often opinionated people (well, we are Romanists after all), the firmness of your intellect and the charm of your manner have always succeeded, it seems to me, in resolving any matter in hand to the mutual satisfaction of those involved.
More recently you have continued your role as Hon. Secretary despite your own considerable health problems, and I know I am not alone in this room when I simply say how much we admire your spirit and fortitude. We are grateful for all you have done for us, and we would like to mark it in two ways.
First, I am delighted to announce that you have been elected an Honorary Vice President, an honour that, once again, seems trivial in comparison to your efforts and contribution.
Second, a personal gift, which is of two maple trees which you will be able to grow in your garden, a constant symbol, I hope, and reminder to you of the continuing activities of the Society. Latin literature is not, I am afraid, encouraging about the acer or maple: the Trojan Horse was trabibus contextus acernis (put together from beams of maple: Verg. Aen. 2.112); Horace records a banquet on a mensa acerna (a maple table: Hor. Sat. 2.8); while Ovid refers to vile acer as the material of writing tablets (Am. 1.11). But perhaps I can annoy you here by cheating, and refer instead to maple's homonym, the word acer. In some of its uses, it can mean both saga-cious and zealous. You could perhaps indeed be an acerrimus civis societatis (a most ardent servant of the Society, to adapt Cicero: Ep. Ad Fam., 10.28). Indeed you are! Thank you.
Graham Kentfield, retiring Honorary Treasurer
Graham has served as our Honorary Treasurer for only (!) 19 years, since 1991. Your tenure, Graham, of the office of comes sacrarum largitionum, or, as perhaps you would prefer, given your interest in the early empire, a rationibus, has been exceptional and exemplary; though no less than, I suppose, one might expect of a man who was Chief Cashier of the Bank of England. As if signing all the country's banknotes and – as was the case then – regulating the banking industry was not enough, you felt unfulfilled unless you had signed the Roman Society's accounts and regulated our affairs for four lustra. A correct sense of priority, as all here will agree!
Keeping our finances sound and exercising good stewardship of our investments has been and is crucial to the well being of the Society, though often taken for granted by all. Yet, any problem can rapidly turn into a disaster; on the other hand, when things go well financially, nobody notices yet the affairs of the Society can go from strength to strength. As indeed they have, although there have been difficult and serious matters, not least the recent history of the library.
But your indomitable spirit has seen us through all of them, and I think I can probably speak for all the other officers over the last 19 years when I say how much we admire the straightfor-ward, and indeed often welcomingly laconic, way in which you have conducted yourself. Long disquisitions from members of Council, or indeed officers of other societies, have often been met with a pithy and trenchant observation that has brought us all back to the heart of the matter in hand, and usually with a solution offered. And that your observations have not infrequently been expressed in your characteristically Tacitean Latin has made them all the more memorable, if at times somewhat to the consternation of our auditors!
I could go on, but time does not allow. But to mark the occasion we have decided to do two things. First, we have unanimously elected you as an Honorary Vice President of the Society, a small, indeed very small, token of our appreciation of your achievements on our behalf and a means of keeping you nearby where we can use you should the need arise – no, you don't escape the Society that easily!
Second, and in a more personal way, we have got you a gift which I hope you will feel is appropriate for a Treasurer. It is a coin, and even though this actual piece may itself perhaps never have been a part of the Roman aerarium or imperial fiscus, it does perhaps symbolise the strength and stability of the Roman imperial monetary system, which may perhaps be seen in this context as a metaphor for the way in which our Society's finances have been so successfully regulated by you over the last vicennium. Also it is a coin of the emperor Hadrian, which we have chosen because he, perhaps best of all emperors, can symbolise the twin interests of the Society, in Roman affairs in general but also in Roman Britain, in particular.
Graham, please accept this coin, this piece of aes, which, to adapt Horace, we hope you will regard as a monumentum of our friendship and admiration carmine perennius. Thank you.
