I.B.M. British Ring 3rd Annual Convention 1933

The 3rd Annual Convention of I.B.M. British Ring No.25 takes place 23rd–25th June 1933 at Valentine’s Cafe, Gold Street, and the Town Hall, Northampton, with the Friday Magical Entertainment, two Special Outside Attractions, a Saturday Children’s Matinee for the Merry Comrades Cot Fund and the Grand Public Magical Entertainment, and a Sunday lecture by Max Sterling. The Ring’s Founder and President, Oswald Rae, opens the Convention on Friday afternoon.

The British Ring welcomes members and visitors to its Third Annual Convention. In the Souvenir Programme, Oswald Rae — ‘The Bewildering Humorist’, Founder and President of the British Ring, I.B.M., and British Representative of the I.B.M. — welcomes all magicians to the Ring’s Third Annual I.B.M. Convention. The Ring’s officers listed in the programme are Oswald Rae (President), Laurance Glen and L. Bofeys (Vice-Presidents) and Wm. G. Stickland (Hon. Secretary & Treasurer), with a Committee of Dleisfen, Dan Bellman, Archie Byford, Harry Kaye and George Blake. The Convention Committee is chaired by Archie Tear, with L. Bofeys, Archie Byford, Walter Kemp and Harry Kaye.

The Convention opens on Friday 23rd June at 3.0pm at Valentine’s Cafe, Gold Street, Northampton, with the Official Opening by the President. Two Special Outside Attractions start from the Guildhall: at 3.45pm Archie Byford will attempt to locate a hidden watch while driving a motor car blindfold through the main streets of Northampton, and at 6.45pm George Blake will attempt to escape from a regulation straight-jacket whilst suspended from the derrick of a break-down van driven through the main streets. An Impromptu Entertainment and Tea are followed by Supper at 7.0pm and, at 8.0pm, the Magical Entertainment at Valentine’s Cafe. Part I is arranged by the Northampton Magical Society and features Arthur De Val, Eric Lewis, Sydney Burdett, Billy Dooley, Archie Tear, Will Vaughan, A. G. Summers and C. Twiselton; Part II is arranged by the British Ring and features Frank R. Squire, George Blake, Donald G. Crombie, John Ramsey, Colin Donister, Ellis Stanyon, John Young and Calvin, with Stanley A. Cable directing the stage.

Saturday 24th June begins at 10.30am at Valentine’s Cafe with the Group Photograph, followed at 11.0am by a lecture from Will Blyth, M.I.M.C.: ‘How to present the Cups and Balls from a Public Platform’. The action then moves to the Town Hall. At 2.45pm the British Ring presents a Special Matinee for Children, under the auspices of the Northampton Mercury & Herald, with all proceeds going to the Merry Comrades Cot Fund; Walter Kemp is Master of Ceremonies, with Stanley A. Cable, Wm. G. Stickland, John Gambling, George Blake, Will Blyth, Archie Byford (and the ever popular Punch & Judy), Capt. Stone, Morris Ross and Billy Dooley, Harry Kaye directing the stage and Harry Ward and his Rhythm Boys providing the music. At 7.45pm the Town Hall hosts the Grand Public Magical Entertainment, compèred by Walter Kemp: after an Overture by Harry Ward and his Rhythm Boys come Will Dale (‘The Uncanny Scot’), Raoul (‘Wonders without Words’), George Blake (‘A Study in Black and White’), T. H. Chislett with his famous Spirit Paintings, The D’Alton Quintette (‘The Magic of Melody’), Oswald Rae (The Bewildering Humorist) and Sylvestre and Lady (‘The King of Sunshades’). After the Intermission and a Selection come Teddy Coll (‘Possible Impossibilities’), Wm. G. Stickland and his Merry Midgets with Poppy Gwynne at the piano, George Davenport (Magic of 1933), Archie Tear (Manipulative Magic) and Stanley Marelle in his Chef D’Oeuvre. Harry Kaye is Stage Manager and Archie Byford Box Office Manager.

The Convention closes on Sunday 25th June at Valentine’s Cafe with the General Meeting for Members Only at 10.30am, a lecture by Max Sterling, ‘Showmanship and Stagecraft’, at 11.30am, and an Impromptu Magical Entertainment at 2.30pm.

The Souvenir Programme, printed by Archie Byford, opens with Oswald Rae’s portrait and greeting and carries a hearty welcome from the Northamptonshire Magicians’ Club (Patrons: Col. C. L’Estrange Malone and Rev. J. Trevor Lewis, M.A.; President: Arthur Valentine; Vice-President: Chass. Lewis; Hon. Treasurer: P. F. Ruston; Hon. Secretary: A. E. Tear), whose headquarters are at Valentine’s Cafe, 36 Gold Street. Its pages are filled with greetings and advertisements — from Edward Bagshawe & Co., Ellis Stanyon & Co., L. Davenport & Co., Cecil E. Griffin (Wholesale Magic), Bofeys, The Mystic Two and many of the Ring’s members, and from the Angel Hotel, Bridge Street, Northampton — and with announcements from other societies. The British Magical Society of Birmingham (Headquarters & Library at the Imperial Hotel) meets on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays from 12th September 1933, invites members of the I.B.M. to a Special Meeting on Saturday 23rd September at which Ralph Delvin, M.I.M.C., will give an Exposition of Secrets, and fixes its Annual Night of Magic for Saturday 28th October. This year’s Conference of the Magic Circle and Affiliated Societies will be held at Southampton on Saturday 7th October 1933, with the competition for the Challenge Shield (present holders: the Yorkshire Magical Club) taking the form of a public entertainment at Chantry Hall, St. Mary’s Street. There is also a page for autographs and an invitation to ‘Join the I.B.M.’