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Should you wish to contact the
society or require general information please contact ASTRA
using the following Email address: Should you encounter any problems
with this Web
Page please
email: Jan.18. J.W. Campbell of Royal
Observatory, Scotland, lectures on 'Space Age
Astronomy'. Feb.8. Discussion meeting,
'What I Want from Space', in the Geneva Room, Green's
Playhouse (later the Apollo Centre). I started the
discussion, the first time I gave a talk to the
society. Apr.3. 'Space & Scotland'
circular from Andy
Nimmo reveals severe
problems. The BIS had invoked a bye-law requiring all
correspondence to be handled by the London Secretary, and
was insisting the project be stopped. There wasn't even the
prospect of transferring the work to London because it was
going too well, generating too much correspondence for
London to handle. As the project was for the benefit of
Scotland, this was not well received. Another time-bomb was the status of
Scottish members like myself. I was then receiving 3s. per
week pocket money, and was having to save for the whole
month just to attend the Glasgow meetings. To pay a further
four guineas, the BIS 'Student Rate', was quite out of the
question. Married couples had similar grievances. 'Associate
Membership' had been discussed several times by the BIS
Council, but always ruled out. A letter from London saying
that anyone who wouldn't pay the full subscription wasn't
really serious about space, didn't help; especially because
there was also disagreement about the percentage of Scottish
subscriptions being returned to the Branch. Apr.12. Archie
Roy introduces the
Presidential Toast to Spaceflight, held on the anniversary
of Yuri Gagarin's flight or nearest convenient date. This
meeting was hosted by Mr. Nimmo senior, at 35 Dunearn St.,
Glasgow. June 28. Annual General
Meeting; dissolution discussed. Sept.20. 'Space &
Scotland' project declares itself independent of BIS
Scottish Branch. Oct.11. Meeting recognises
that the Scottish Industries Exhibition deadline can no
longer be met. Discussion begins on forming an entirely new
society. The need for the 'Space &
Scotland' report was to remain clear for the next 23 years,
though it remained beyond our resources to do it. The
nearest we came was in 1979, when perhaps two- thirds of the
work was encompassed within the 'High Frontier' exhibition
and programme, financed by the Scottish Arts Council, but we
were unable to complete it on our own. In late 1982 Oscar
and I tried to persuade the AUEW to commission it as part of
their study on the British aerospace industry, but we heard
nothing further. Much later, in 1987, some of our objectives
were met by the compilation of the first British National
Space Centre Directory, not just for Scotland but for the
whole of the United Kingdom, just as the BNSC's own major
crisis broke with the cancellation by Margaret Thatcher of
the British National Space Plan. Even then, there was no
assessment of the future possibilities, many of which had
just been wiped out, for the third time. As regards what the
original programme would have done for Scotland, we never
did complete the proof that we set out to achieve; but in
retrospect, by 1963, October the First was already Too
Late. A constitutional committee was now
set up, including Margaret
Schwiglhofer, Tom Dutton,
Drummond Mansbridge and myself, to work out the basis for
the new society. We were determined that it shouldn't simply
duplicate the activities of the BIS, and the stated aims
emphasised stimulating public interest in all aspects of
space research, 'and all subjects relating thereto', as well
as to engage in practical research if we could. After the
acronym 'ASTRA' had been agreed, the name thrashed out was
'The Association in Scotland for Technology & Research
in Astronautics'. Nov.20. ASTRA Constitution
adopted. Tom Dutton elected President, Andy
Nimmo Vice-President,
Margaret
Schwiglhofer
Secretary. 1964
1962
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Date Last Modified: 31 07 1999