The Mace-Bearer Magazine - Guild of Mace-Bearers

The appointment received a small amount of press
coverage; the Hampshire Chronicle was particularly
interested in the official robes and hat, detailing how
they were made and of what materials. The story
reached the ears of Dr D B McNeill, the very first
Esquire Bedell of the University of Southampton
appointed in 1952 who had retired to Ireland. Dr
McNeill and I exchanged several letters, his gave
wonderful details of the original graduation
ceremonies held in Southampton’s Civic Centre,
including Mayors quibbling over who took precedence
in the procession, maces falling off stands and rolling
across the platform and much quaffing of sherry in
the Mayor’s parlour prior to ceremonies. Dr McNeill
was the Esquire Bedell present at the Installation of
the first Chancellor of the University, the Duke of
Wellington. I was privileged to be the first female
Esquire Bedell to attend an Installation of a
THE GUILD ON-LINE
Chancellor, Sir John Parker. Recently there was
another first for the University, the Installation of the
first female Chancellor, Dame Helen Alexander DBE
and I was honoured to be the Esquire Bedell attending
her at the ceremony.
Besides sharing in the delight of all the families at
graduation, my favourite part of the ceremony is the
hooding of the PhD graduates, as Esquire Bedell I
prepare the hood for the Presiding Officer to place it
on the graduate. I now have it down to a fine art and
take great pride in ensuring the hood is ready and sits
well. The number of students graduating at
Southampton has grown, so that our graduation
ceremonies now take place over 6 days – too much
for one officer, so we are now 3 Esquire Bedells – all
dedicated to ensuring the ceremonies run well and
that our graduates know that their achievement is
celebrated but also given the gravitas it deserves.
Jo Nesbitt – Esquire Bedell
University of Southampton
The Guild website www.macebearer.com
continues to be the place to keep in touch with
what the Guild is up to and to get advice and
information about all civic protocol matters.
Non members can access information about
the Guild, why membership is useful and how
to join, along with a gallery of uniforms from
across the country and have a go at our two
quizzes.
Members can also register for access to the
pages containing contact details for other mace
bearers, the on-line Manual of the Mace – the how-to guide
to civic work, details of training and other Guild events, our on-line shop, minutes of Guild meetings,
back issues of the Guild magazine and much more. Whether it’s the correct line up for a procession, or how to
organise a completely new event for your Mayor the members’ message-board is the place to get a quick answer to
that problem you are struggling with! Don’t forget that registered members can now sign up for email notifications
of new messages by emailing webmaster@macebearer.com and if you have an interesting photo or story about your
job why not share it with us on the message board or by sending it to the webmaster.
Peter Legg, Webmaster
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