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The Sir Richard Burton Medal – On 12 April 1921 the Council of the RAS agreed to found a Richard Burton memorial lecture in commemoration, that year, of the 100th anniversary of Burton's birth. A fund was established to finance the lecture and by 1923, £60 had been subscribed. It was decided in March 1923 that part of this would be used to fund the Burton Medal. This would be awarded to the person chosen to deliver the lecture, which was to deal with Burton, his travels or some suitable subject of exploration. The presentation and the lecture would take place triennially. The medal was designed in 1924 by Pinches, to be cast in silver and gilded. In practice those chosen to give the Burton lecture were expected to have undertaken exploration and research in the East, and more particularly in close association with local people, or in difficult circumstances. A fund was established to finance the lecture and by 1923, £60 had been subscribed. It was decided in March 1923 that part of this would be used to fund the Burton Medal.
This archive contains papers pertaining to the inauguration and awarding of the Sir Richard Burton Medal

The Papers includes:

• Correspondence
• Administrative documents
• Printed materials including newspaper articles
• Examples of the Medal
• Photographs

Letter from Norman Mosley Penzer in which Penzer accepts the invitation to serve on the committee of the Burton Memorial Medal.

Letter from Norman Mosley Penzer to send a copy of the Minutes of Second Committee Meeting at which Lord Chalmers was elected chairman. Penzer writes that at the next meeting the design of the medal will be decided.

Letter from Norman Mosley Penzer to Reginald Campbell-Thompson to notify him that Sir Percy Sykes and Sir Richard Temple will arrange the next committee meeting for November or December.

Letter from Norman Mosley Penzer to Reginald Campbell-Thompson in which Penzer gives details of the accounts of the committee fund. He reflects on the weather in Brighton and Campbell-Thompson's trip to the Norfolk Broads.

Letter from Norman Mosley Penzer to Reginald Campbell-Thompson to send a draft copy of the appeal leaflet (not present) for Campbell-Thompson's comments. He also suggests that the appeal leaflet will be included in the next issue of the RAS journal.

Letter from Norman Mosley Penzer to Reginald Campbell-Thompson in which Penzer thanks Campbell-Thompson for agreeing to the position of Honorary Treasurer. He further discusses the potential composition of the committee. Penzer emphasises that names that are well known to the public are essential to the committee for raising funds. He argues that the committee should be as big as possible and should "appeal to the natural snobbishness of the English race, and sprinkle titles about freely, but, secondly, have names that everybody knows...it is of the utmost important to get a man like [Rudyard] Kipling". He gives an invitation to lunch the following week and writes that he seeks another woman to sit on the committee, potentially the English travel writer and explorer Rosita Forbes. Penzer suggests the name Rider Haggard (adventure novelist) might also appeal to the public.

Letter from Norman Mosley Penzer to Reginald Campbell-Thompson in which he raises the concerns of the Honorary Secretary, F. Grenfell Baker, regarding the lack of promises to attend the first committee meeting. Penzer mentions he has written to T.E. Lawrence and has received a "very nice letter" from Kipling, although he cannot attend meetings. He confirms the date of the first meeting as June 14th 1921 at 5.30pm.

Letter from Norman Mosley Penzer to Reginald Campbell-Thompson in which Penzer asks Campbell-Thompson to approach T.E. Lawrence to sit on the committee. Penzer suspects Lawrence will remember him from a previous meeting. Rider Haggard will be removed from the draft committee list as he is "too busy to join". Penzer mentions that he wrote to Rudyard Kipling but received nothing in reply. An initial committee list is with the letter.

Letter from Norman Mosley Penzer to Reginald Campbell-Thompson in which he details shortening of the name to "The Burton Memorial Fund" as agreed by the Committee. he writes that leaflets for the Fund Appeal will be enclosed in July's Geographical Society Journal and the Geographical Society agree to guarantee "about £20" to fund the printing of promotional materials.