From: igriggs@easynet.co.uk (ian griggs) To: aad29@dial.pipex.com, mikeb@admin.inetport.com, Date: Wed, 11 Dec 1996 20:37:24 GMT Subject: DPUK Group News - November/December 1996 Dear Member 11 December 1996 The main event since your last newsletter from me was obviously the 33rd anniversary of the assassination of President John F Kennedy. The group was very well represented in Dallas with a dozen members making the annual pilgrimage this year. As usual we attracted a lot of media attention and most of us were interviewed by various people at one time or another. PATRICK SILKE was interviewed and quoted by the Dallas Morning News whilst RICK CASTER and I underwent a video interview by two eight-year-old schoolgirls equipped with a camcorder which seemed bigger than they did! These were just two of many such interviews on the Grassy Knoll on the morning of Friday 22nd. It was a strange situation in Dallas this year as there were two conferences running at the same time - JFK/LANCER at the Dallas Grand Hotel and COPA at the Paramount. This was very definitely an unsatisfactory arrangement and it is to be hoped that these two organisations can work out something more acceptable next year. Not only does it cause researchers and authors to choose which one to attend but it also deprives people like ourselves of the chance to see and learn from everyone who attends. The second issue of our journal "The Dealey Plaza Echo" was published right on time just prior to the Dallas trip and the opportunity was taken to distribute it out there to members and non-members alike. Like the first issue, it was received very well - and it was also instrumental in several new members joining the group. We were also able to launch the DEALEY PLAZA UK T-SHIRT! See the cover picture on the new journal for the design. The group's name, etc. is featured on the back. The T-shirt is white with black printing. Most of us wore them in Dallas and they proved a lively talking point. (We have completely sold out of all sizes except Medium but Large and X-Large can be ordered. Price =A315 ($22) any size.) Perhaps our most significant "new member" is that most modest of researchers, MARTIN SHACKELFORD (from Saginaw, Michigan). Martin was invited to become our first Honorary Member in recognition of his outstanding contributions to research in the case over many years. More than that, however, is the fact that he has never been unwilling to share his data and he has been of great assistance to many researchers on both sides of the Atlantic. Personally, I cannot recall ever being at a research conference in the USA when Martin was not present. Martin was also one of five guest speakers at the DEALEY PLAZA UK GROUP MEETING in the Gold Room at the Dallas Grand on the afternoon of Sunday 24th November. His fellow presenters were CRAIG ROBERTS, GEORGE MICHAEL EVICA and HAL VERB and the meeting ended with SHARI ANGEL delighting us all as she answered a variety of questions on Jack Ruby, the Carousel Club and the city of Dallas in the early 60s. We are delighted to announce that the entire meting was recorded on video by two of our members present. The next group event is our THIRD ANNUAL CHRISTMAS DINNER, to be held this year at the Long Island Exchange Restaurant, Rickmansworth, Herts on the evening of Friday 20th December. As we have been required to supply exact numbers of those attending to the restaurant, bookings for this event are now closed. NEXT REGULAR GROUP MEETING will be at our usual venue at Old Harlow on Sunday 5th January (2.00pm start). Meals, drinks, etc. available at the Green Man (400 yards away) from noon onward. We are pleased to announce that our visitor from Japan, Ray Brown, will be with us. The main presentation will be Jonathan Notman's video record of the Dallas visit. Jonathan was seldom seen without his camcorder sticking out of his face and this edited version will include footage at all the major assassination-related sites plus the proceedings on the Grassy Knoll on the 22nd. itself. One of the highspots was a two-hour conducted tour of the City Hall police station and Jonathan will include some seldom-seen film taken there, including the roof, the basement, the cell-block, Captain Fritz' former office in the Homicide & Robbery Bureau and the 'line-up room' where Oswald underwent all those identification parades. Now is the time to remind you all that ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTIONS FOR 1997 fall due on 1st January and should be sent to Membership Secretary Jonthan Notman (19 Carreg Yr Afon, Glan Yr Afon, Godre'r Graig, Swansea SA9 2DR). RATES for 1997 have had to be increased slightly and are now as follows: Full Membership =A315; Retired/Unemployed =A38; Junior (under 18) free; Junior (under 24 and in full-time education) =A38; Overseas =A315 ($25). We know that several of you have already renewed or= paid two years subs when you joined in 1996.=20 The group's first ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING will be held on a date yet to be arranged in February. It was suggested that this be at a prestige London venue but we feel that in keeping with our 'national' image, the Midlands would provide a more accessible location and this is currently being explored. All members will receive formal notice of the AGM at least 28 days prior to the date. On that note, I will close this newsletter by conveying to each and every one of our members the best wishes of the Dealey Plaza UK Committee and the hope that you will enjoy a great Christmas and a successful and fulfilling 1997. IAN =20 --------------------------------------------------------------------- "The only crime I have committed was carrying a pistol in a movie." (Attributed to Lee Harvey Oswald by DPD Sergeant Gerald Hill - 7H 58) --------------------------------------------------------------------- Contact me for full details of DEALEY PLAZA UK, the national British=20 research group. We publish "The Dealey Plaza Echo" three times a year, plus a monthly newsletter. We meet regularly at various locations in the UK and are represented at all major JFK symposia and conferences in the UK and the USA. ----------------------------------------------------------------------