Committee

BSSRS set up a National Committee, which established working groups on particular topics.

Probably its most prominent members in the early days of BSSRS were Steven and Hilary Rose, though other members were also well known figures or became so. Other key characters include Jonathan Rosenhead, David Dickson, Judith Walker, Dot Griffith, Tim Shalice....

More successful then the initial working groups were the many local groups which developed organically and pursued local campaigns, published newsletters etc. Among the most active of these were groups at Brighton, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Manchester and Sheffield. BSSRS started to produce a Newsletter which soon metamorphosed into the magazine Science for People.

Two formative early events were:

i) a 3-day conference in 1969 on The Social Impact of Modern Biology with audiences averaging 700. Its papers came out in book of the same name, edited by Watson Fuller;

ii) a intervention at the 1970 British Association meeting at Durham – BSSRS members raised ‘political’ questions at what were supposed to be technical sessions, distributed leaflets, organised a street theatre performance as attendees were exiting from the Presidential Address. SeeDurham for more.