An Introduction to the Society

The society came into being as a direct consequence of the controversy in Thetford in 1963 following the offer of a statue of the town's most famous citizen. Opinion in Thetford concerning Thomas Paine had always been somewhat ambivalent, but the press and radio reports about the row over the statue revealed the extent of the ignorance about Paine's life, habits, work, ideas and actions, an ignorance that led a number of people nationally to urge that a society be established which would endeavour to set the factual record straight concerning him.

There was no intention to hero worship Paine, like everyone else he had made mistakes and did things that people objected to, but then who has not? The idea for the formation of the society was given publicity in all national papers, even those with a record of hostility to him, and an ad-hoc committee was formed to organise a public meeting to discuss the formation of a Thomas Paine Society, the South Place Ethical Society in London allowing the free use of their library in Conway Hall, in which to hold the meeting. This was very appropriate as Conway Hall was named after Moncure Conway (1832-1907) the author of one of the most important biographies of Paine.

Around eighty people attended the meeting, at which the sculpture's model of the statue was shown in public for the first time. The outcome of the meeting was unanimous agreement with the need for a society as proposed and following a vote it was established. Several individuals volunteered to serve on its committee, these included the distinguished historians E. P. Thompson and Christopher Hill. Michael Foot was elected President, an office he still holds, and the philosopher Bertrand Russell became the Vice-President.

A Lewes councillor, Gordon Hoile proposed the following which was accepted as the society's objective:

To promote the recognition of Thomas Paine's contribution to the cause of freedom, and to spread a knowledge of his work and activities with a view to encouraging the growth of a similar spirit of constructive criticism in every aspect of public life.

Since its formation the society has sought to carry this out by whatever means it could. One of its first acts was to assist in finding a suitable home for the Ambrose Barker collection of books by and on Paine, many of which were scare and valuable. A society member the late Ella Twynam had been left the collection and asked the society for their help in the task, as Ambrose Barker had hoped his collection, built up over many years, could be preserved and made available to scholars. It was suggested that it be presented to Thetford Public Library as a reference collection and the library jumped at the chance of having it. The presentation was formally made at a meeting in the library by the artist and writer, the late Herbert Cutner, a Founder Member of the society. The society later gave additional works to the library.

The finest private collection of books by and on Paine in Britain was owned by Christopher Brunel, the chairman of the TPS, and following his death this was presented to the Working Class Movement Library at Salford, where it is now available to researchers.

The society has promoted meetings in various parts of the country, usually in cooperation wit other organisations and organised exhibitions of Paine material, the first being in Lewes, the next in Nottingham. Others have been held in Cardiff, Leicester, London and Glasgow.

The late Mr & Mrs Jessie Collins funded the establishment of the bi-annual Thomas Paine Lecture at the University of East Anglia, and played a part in the organisation of a Paine symposium organised by the United Nations in New York . We have also established an annual Eric Paine Memorial Lecture, named after the late secretary of the society who died in 1999.

Membership of the society is national in scope but also includes several individuals abroad who live in countries such as France , the Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, Korea, Japan, Canada, the United States and Germany. All members receive our the society's Journal of Radical History and three newsletter a year. In addition we have published several pamphlets.

Key Members

Thomas Paine Society Officers

President: Michael Foot.

Vice-President: Tony Benn.

Chairman: Chad Goodwin.

Treasurer: Stuart Wright.

Editor: Robert Morrell, M.B.E.

Secretary: Barbara Jacobson.

All enquiries should be sent to the secretary at 19, Charles Rowan House, Margery Street, London, WC1X 0EH.

The National Portrait Gallery Acquires An Important Portrait Of Thomas Paine

The oil painting shown right, by the French artist Laurent Dabos (1761-1835) was painted about 1791, not long after Paine had written his Rights of Man .  It had been in a British private collection since the late 19th century. It fills a major gap in the gallery's collection. The painting measures 74.3 x 59.1 cm