- You may be looking for the fictional society from the comic book Doctormania.
The Doctor Who Appreciation Society or DWAS, is a non-profit making organisation and the longest running Doctor Who fan club in the world. For many years it was recognised as the official face of Doctor Who fandom by the BBC’s Doctor Who production office and later by BBC Worldwide, although it was never officially licensed. It now operates independently of the BBC. It is run by a committee of volunteers known as the DWAS Executive.
Having been a paid membership organisation since 1978, the society’s social media/promotions officer Tony Jordan announced on 3 March 2024 that the membership fee would be dropped from 1 April 2025, with the by-then quarterly print newsletter, The Celestial Toyroom, being published digitally only.
History[]
The origins of DWAS were in a local college Doctor Who club and the fanzine, ‘Tardis’; the latter was joined in 1976 by a newsletter/pen pals/swaps listings title called The Celestial Toyroom. Before 1978, “membership” of DWAS was fairly loosely defined—both society “members” and “non-members” able to buy copies of Tardis, The Celestial Toyroom and the various synopses and fact-sheets produced by the society’s new Reference Department.
However, anxieties expressed by the Doctor Who production office and the BBC's legal department about the reproduction of copyright material contributed towards the introduction of a membership fee with effect from January 1978. (The public profile of the DWAS had also grown, not least after attracting some press attention for organising the first British Doctor Who convention in 1977.) Restrictions on the exchange of copyrighted material (such as off-air audio recordings) through the society's publications were also introduced at this time.
From January 1978, The Celestial Toyroom – which, for lack of an editor, had been merged into Tardis during 1977, was relaunched as the society’s monthly newsletter, carrying news about the programme, associated merchandise, and the society. (Subsequent editors of “CT” included Gordon Roxburgh, Gary Russell, and Brian J Robb.) Members would continue to pay for Tardis, which shifted to an initially bimonthly schedule, and other society-published titles such as the new fan-fiction zine Cosmic Masque.
In later decades, the society’s publishing activities were focused increasingly on The Celestial Toyroom; in 1985, Tardis was incorporated into CT as a quarterly supplement, and finally ceased in 1998—aside from a once-off special in 2003.
The world's first Doctor Who Convention was presented by DWAS in 1977 and this led in later years to 'Panopticon' - which for many years was the premier UK Doctor Who event until other rivals such as 'Phoenix' and "Manopticon' came onto the scene.
Following a financial crisis caused by failure to register for VAT in the late 1980s/1990s Panopticon and the Society's more commercial activities were hived off to a limited company called 'Dominitemporal Services Ltd' which was in turn 'taken private' by some of the directors a few years later leaving DWAS with a minority holding. In response to this a later Executive Committee of 2000 formed its own company 'Space Rocket Ltd' to undertake a similar role, ensuring that it always remains under the Society's control by incorporating it as 'limited by guarantee' meaning there were no shares to distribute.
Since 2016 Space Rocket Ltd has presented 'The Capitol' on behalf of DWAS - currently the Society's flagship event.
The members of DWAS elected Jon Pertwee as their Honorary President in 1992. Following Pertwee's death in 1996 he was succeeded by his friend and colleague Nicholas Courtney; Courtney, after his own death in 2011, was succeeded by Colin Baker.
Membership[]
For an annual fee, members received a membership card and a monthly magazine entitled The Celestial Toyroom. Discounts are also offered on Society's events, merchandise and publications.
Other publications[]
The Society also produces a quarterly fiction and reviews magazine 'Cosmic Masque' as a free download from its website and once a year 'The Celestial Toyroom Annual' is available as both a print copy and download. TARDIS is a features driven journal and was re-launched by DWAS in 2020.[1]
