Konrad Koerner's account of the pre-history of the Henry Sweet Society ends with his personal involvement at the meeting he describes in Oxford, and with his further attempts to obtain support from academic colleagues; a brief account of the remainder of the pre-history of the Society may be appropriate here, especially for those members of the Society who have recently joined and who have not seen the earlier brief account in Newsletter 1.

At the meeting in August 1983 it was agreed to explore the likelihood of support for such a society in the English-speaking world, which was the major target. The ad hoc secretary circulated all those linguists, and some others, who she believed might be interested, and she was very gratified with the responses-all were favourable, and many, indeed, enthusiastic, and several became founder-members, helping to fund the administrative expenses with generous loans. Another ad hoc meeting was held in January 1984 at which it was agreed that there was sufficient support to call a formal meeting. This also was held at 5 Rotha Field Road, and attracted linguists from far afield.

The first task of this meeting was to draw up a constitution, and the first elections, by those present, were of Professor R.H. Robins as President and Professor Ian Michael as Vice President; next was the election of the late Leslie Seiffert as Chairman of the Executive Committee, of Vivian Salmon as Hon. Secretary, John Flood as Treasurer, and David Cram as Editor of the proposed Newsletter.

The next task was to find a name for the Society which should be as inclusive as possible, while making clear that this was an organisation directed at the English-speaking world, and should be concerned with theoretical as well as practical issues. Many names were suggested, among them Müller's, but it was generally agreed that the name of Henry Sweet would be most appropriate. He was a British scholar, known to linguists throughout the world, concerned with both the theoretical and the practical study of language. It was also a minor element in his support that to name our society after him would perhaps be a small recognition of his distinction, which was not always recognised in Oxford in his lifetime. As it happens, Sweet's grave in Wolvercote cemetery is less than half an hour's walk from Rotha Field Road. During conferences members often make a pilgrimage to the grave which is regularly planted with flowers on behalf of the Society.

With the establishment of the Society, the next task was to plan for our first conference. There was no difficulty in obtaining offers of papers, and it was a proud day for the Committee when the conference opened in St Peter's College, Oxford, in September 1984 with a paper from Mike MacMahon on the work of Sweet. It was also very gratifying that Sweet's nearest surviving relative, a great-nephew, was able to be present on that day.

Many other projects were still in the future, including the establishment of a Henry Sweet library at Keble College (where the Hon. Sec. was at that time a Lecturer) by kind permission of the Warden, Sir Christopher Bull, himself a scholar specialising in the history of the English language. Keble was also generous enough to offer accommodation at the College for members of the Society visiting Oxford to work in our library or elsewhere, and many members have taken advantage of this privilege. Other projects included the establishment of a series of monographs, the first attempts failing because the Society did not have the funds at the time to support publication.

Regular annual conferences have, of course, continued, with the proviso that in years when ICHOLS meet there is only a one-day conference in the UK. This is held in London, at Senate House-a more convenient venue for those coming from abroad for a brief visit than either Oxford or Cambridge.

The Henry Sweet Society is now only one of a number of relevant societies; several were founded after 1984 but, until the North American Society was founded, it remained the only one directed at the English-speaking world.

Vivian Salmon
Flat 13, 32 Bolton Gardens
London SW5 0AQ