Originally a part of the
Association of Belarusians in Great Britain, the Society was established on 16 March 1954 using contacts within British political and academic circles developed by the Belarusian community in the early 1950s. At the height of the
Cold War, there was a growing interest in British Belarusians as representatives of one of the
Captive Nations. The founders of the Society were
Auberon Herbert and
Pavel Navara.
Auberon Herbert also became the first acting chairman. The first president of the Society was
David Ormsby-Gore. A long-serving President of the Society was Frances Ward (Lady Phipps), wife of
Eric Phipps. Another woman who was actively involved in the Society was
Katharine Macmillan, a vice-chairman of the
Conservative Party in 1968. She served first as the organisation's Vice President and then President. The Society, despite its "Anglo-" label, was by no means intended to exclude Scotland, Wales and other parts of the UK. Among the early cultural activities of the Society was the publication of a regular pamphlet on Belarus and the organisation of concerts of Belarusian church chants, folk songs and dances in
Westminster Cathedral Hall in 1950s. In 1965 the Society began publishing the
Journal of Belarusian Studies, with an introduction by
Prof. Robert Auty. The Journal was distributed annually to universities, libraries and private subscribers in the UK, the US, the Soviet Union and other countries throughout the world. As well as articles on
Belarusian literature, linguistics, history and art, each number of the Journal included book reviews, a chronicle of current events, and a comprehensive bibliography for the preceding year. A booklet “An Introduction to Byelorussia” was also published by the Society in 1965. For many decades, the Society and the Journal have provided a development platform for a number of prominent scholars of
Belarusian studies and researches of Belarusian culture, including
Guy Picarda,
Vera Rich,
Arnold McMillin,
Jim Dingley,
Bishop Ceslaus Sipovich,
Fr Alexander Nadson,
Peter Mayo and others. == Present day ==