The League Of Freemen Fan Club UNITED KINGDOM

The League Of Freemen Fan Club UNITED KINGDOM
Leaders:	September 1985 till 6th December 2011: Adrian J Andrews 6th December 2011 till Today: Graham Richards
URLs:	http://club.the-tripods.co.uk/ groups.yahoo

The League Of Freemen (The Official BBC Tripods Society) was founded in 1985 just prior to the screening of Season Two.

Founded by Adrian J Andrews the group began quite modestly, publishing a quarterly news fanzine (Gazette du Mont Blanc) and holding six meetings a year in Twickenham, Middlesex.

In September 1986 The League staged what is perhaps the most unusual Science-Fiction convention in the history of Fandom. A cross between a treasure hunt and a sponsored walk, TREK TO THE WHITE MOUNTAINS recreated the first season of the television show for real and dropped it's fans right into the middle of things.

Participants were given the first of several maps bearing a message from Ozymandias, warning them to be careful to whom they spoke as ordinary villagers could turn out to be agents for The Tripods. When they found legitimate "Free Men" the walkers were given the next map in the series which would take them to the next check-point half a mile away, and eventually to the end. (The tournament ground at Chateau Ricordeau. In reality, Saltwood Castle in Hythe, Kent; an actual location used in the show). Three fifteen-foot tall Tripods were built especially for the event, none of which were seen for the first three miles of the walk. Two silver Tripods were present and one armed Red tripod.

Later, the League Of freemen staged costume and prop exhibitions, Capping Ceremonies and other social events before it folded three years later with just 100 members worldwide on it's books.

In the 21st Century the League was re-launched on the Internet and is free to join. It is still headed by Adrian J Andrews who nowadays is assisted by Graham (Graz) Richards. As before, it tries to make it's members feel personally involved with the show and retains it's close association with the cast and makers of the programme.

The League is proud to say that it has the biggest collection of TRIPODS props, models and costumes in the world, which it occasionally displays in special exhibitions in the UK.

Adrian always disliked the term "Fan Club" as in his opinion it didn't suit the diverse age range of it's membership, so these days the club operates under the new title of "The League Of Freemen, The Official BBC TRIPODS Society." It's membership is over five times bigger than it was in the 1980s and has annual meet-ups of it's members on the first Saturday of September every year; often at actual locations used for filming by Watermill Productions and the BBC.

You can find the group's website at http://club.the-tripods.co.uk/ and their membership group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/theleagueoffreemen