January 29, 2013
Committee Comments: Sir Robert Worcester
Chair, Magna Carta 800th Committee
Welcome to the first newsletter of the Magna Carta 800th commemorations. It is my honour to have been asked by the Magna Carta Trust to take on the task of Chairman of the 800th Committee and lead the efforts to fittingly commemorate a very rare thing indeed: a distant historical event which is still impacting the lives of each and every one of us today, here in the UK and right around the world.
There is of course a big focus on events in 2015, but it is important that we remember that the ‘Great Charter’ didn’t just come about overnight. 2013 will see the 800th anniversary of the first drafting of the Magna Carta being marked in St. Albans. Lesli Good of St. Albans City and District Council, outlines what they are planning in this newsletter.
Similar events will be taking place at all of the charter towns in the following two years, culminating at Runnymede on June 15th 2015.
The 800th Committee has a list of ‘aspirations’ which amounts to some 140 ideas. These can be viewed on our https://magnacarta800th.com/ website funded generously by HCL. Some of these have already been achieved, and we were delighted to be able to announce last year that the Queen has agreed to be patron of the Magna Carta Trust, as noted by Lord Dyson in his article.
There is still a long way to go, and we will not be able to get near our aspirations target without the effort of volunteers from up and down the UK and right around the world. Many have already shown remarkable effort and enthusiasm; their work to date is enormously appreciated and as we move towards 2015 will be both challenging and rewarding.
I would like to offer a sincere thank-you to everyone who has committed time and resources to this project so far, and make an open offer to anyone who thinks they can help, or who has ideas about what we should be doing.
Please do get in touch through our direct email addresses, [email protected], [email protected], our Magna Carta 800th website, our MagnaCarta800th twitter account, or our Magna Carta 800th Anniversary Facebook page.
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