Doctor Who Appreciation Society
- 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 production office and later by BBC Worldwide although it was never actually licensed. It now operates independently of the BBC. It is run by a committee of volunteers known as the DWAS Executive.
The Society publishes a monthly print magazine for its members called 'Celestial Toyroom'. It also has an online eMagazine called Cosmic Masque, available to everyone via the Society website at dwasonline.co.uk, and once a year produces 'The Celestial Toyroom Annual. In 2020 the DWAS announced its intention to return the fan magazine 'TARDIS' to print. This title started in 1976 before the Society itself and ceased publication in 1998, aside from 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 replaced by Colin Baker.
Membership[[edit] | [edit source]]
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[[edit] | [edit source]]
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]
