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"Visiting Bletchley Park was a truly enlightening experience. Walking through the halls where history was made gave me chills. The exhibits are incredibly well-curated and offer a deep dive into the world of codebreaking."
Emily R.
"A must-visit for anyone interested in history or technology. The stories of the codebreakers are inspiring, and the interactive displays kept us engaged for hours. I left with a newfound appreciation for the unsung heroes of WWII."
James L.
You will recall from our previous newsletter that the society was dealing with a legal issue for which we were seeking legal advice. I am now in a position to let you know that we have instructed solicitors to act for us in the hope of settling the matter.
THE ISSUE
Some of you will be aware that the society owns the works of John Flamsteed, the 1st Astronomer Royal and an Old Derbeian, namely the Atlas Coelestis and the Historiae Coelestis ( 1st Edition 1722), two very valuable books. The Old Derbeian Society has owned these books for some years and has housed them since 2001 within Derby Grammar School for safe keeping on a permanent loan basis, together with other valuable books and items from the archives. We have evidence to prove the loan.
It has since come to our notice that in 2024, the Derby Grammar School Trustees decided to sell the Flamsteed books to a bookseller, without any recourse to the society, and received money from the sale. We maintain that the books should not have been sold as we, the society, hold the right of title to the books. We believe that one of the books has been sold and the other remains with the bookseller.
We maintain that the City of Derby should benefit from these books being placed within its museum for all to see, and it is with this in mind that we wish to see the return of the books to us so that we can entrust them to the museum.
OUR LEGAL POSITION
Having taken advice from our solicitors, we are pursuing the matter on a no-win-no-fee basis as it is thought that we have a good case to retain our right of title to the books and have the books returned to us.. To add some weight to our case and look at the prospect of winning, we are having to fund the fees of legal Counsel who will look at the merits of the case and give a view on a positive outcome for the society. This particular fee is outside of the no-win-no-fee arrangement with our solicitors.
OUR LEGAL FUND
The society has very limited funds and, indeed, since the school takeover by ILG (Inspired Learning Group), has no source of funding save for what it already has. We therefore need to raise funds to enable us to pursue that case against the school Trustees for the illegal sale of the books.
We urgently need funds to support our claim. We know that times are hard for many people at the moment, but if you could donate whatever you can, that will help us to ensure the return of these books to Derby forever.
Donations are being received in our society bank account:
Royal Bank of Scotland
Old Derbeian Society
Sort code: 12-09-26
Account No: 00635202
Ref: Flamsteed Fund
Cheques to:
The Treasurer
Old Derbeian Society
The Corner House
59A Hall Farm Road
Duffield
Derbyshire DE56 4FJ
Thank you so much for reading and supporting this cause. We really do appreciate it.
Graham Bennett
Chair
Old Derbeians Society
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