The Greenwood Tree – September 2025
Posted on 30th August 2025
The September issue of The Greenwood Tree is special in several ways. It is not only the 200th edition of the magazine, it also marks a celebration of the publication’s 50th anniversary. At 52 pages, it is also the biggest issue we have produced for quite a few years. Editor Paul Radford previews the magazine which can already be viewed or downloaded from the Members’ Area of the Society’s website.
For once, most of the magazine is given over to a retrospective look at the 50 years of The Greenwood Tree’s existence. The front cover features five covers from the past, including the original one in 1975, the Channel Islands Special in 2002 and the Football Special in 2005. Three pages are devoted to a history of the magazine itself, including the 11-year editorship of Colin Dean during which the special editions mentioned above were produced. Most of the remaining content is a year-by-year look at past magazines and some of the stories that have been told – from amusing anecdotes, to significant developments in the history of the Society or unusual family history stories.
There are few member contributions this time though Jeannette Simpson has written in to tell other members what The Greenwood Tree means to her. There is also a contribution from volunteers Patricia Spencer, John Damon, Michael Hanson and Barbara Elsmore on a Society project to update the monumental inscriptions information originally collected by our founder Sir Mervyn Medlycott on Castleton Church near Sherborne Old Castle.
Tim Jones has provided a story of a 19th century shipping disaster off the Dorset coast and the bravery of local men Involved in rescuing passengers and crew.
In our continuing interview series, The Greenwood Tree editor meets his predecessor in the post, Bob Barber.
Regular features include Somerset Spotlight, this time on Butleigh, the Dorset History Centre Roundup, What the Papers Said, the SDFHS Photographic Project and Letters to the Editor.
Paul Radford