I’d like to start by saying how honoured I feel to be elected as your President. I have been a Fellow of the Society since 1984 and, having previously served as Director and Treasurer I have some familiarity with the various different aspects of the Society’s work. I’d also like to pay an especial tribute to my predecessor, Paul Drury, who has led us through an exceptional difficult and challenging period. As I said briefly the Anniversary meeting, there are big hurdles ahead, and anything that we achieve during my presidency will be built on the foundations that Paul has laid.
I do not want to dwell too long on the most significant challenge which is finding a resolution to the problem of the unaffordability of the rent we pay for Burlington House. Suffice it to say that the General Secretary, Officers and Council are working hard on a number of fronts to solve this and we will keep the Fellowship informed as the situation develops. We very much appreciate the support that Fellows have provided for the campaign, ensuring that politicians across the political spectrum are fully aware of our case.
Instead, I want to say a few words about the broader future of the Society. We are an institution with more than 300 years of history and we have thrived through changing in response to the needs of the world in which the Society has existed. The range of our activities has developed significantly even in the period during which I have been a Fellow and they must continue to evolve if we are to remain effective in promoting and communicating knowledge and understanding of the material past of ‘this and other countries’. When I was previously an officer and sat through meetings I was always in awe of the range of high quality work represented in the Fellowship, and the dedication and enthusiasm that lies behind that work. However we may differ in attitude and approach we are united by our common interests, and that is what lies at the heart of our Fellowship. At present we number just over 3000, and the available evidence shows that we are less representation of the population at large than we should be. Consideration of this led council to establish a working party to look at equality and diversity, and at its last meeting, council received their report and endorsed its recommendations. We will be sharing these will the Fellowship shortly, but for now I’d like to make one key point – the average age of the Fellowship is unhealthily high, and there seems to have been a gradual trend towards the average age at election increasing. One way we ensure that we remain a strong Society is to elect active and talented younger people to the Fellowship. The time is right to do this as our subjects are flourish as a result of trends like the growth in commercial archaeology and the increased academic interest by historians and social scientists in material evidence. I would therefore urge each individual Fellow to look around and to nominate at least one younger colleague for the Fellowship. If we all do this, we will ensure that the Society continues to evolve in ways that respond to the contemporary interests of all those who also have a passion for knowledge and understanding of our shared material past.
Martin Millett FSA
President, Society of Antiquaries of London