Organisations

Some of these, strictly speaking, would be better described as institutions rather than organisations.

Foundations

Founded in 1090 by Hasan–I–Sabah; rewarded with hashish		Assassins
Founded in 1660 by Charles II to promote scientific research		Royal Society
Founded in 1750 at the Star & Garter Coffee House, Pall Mall		Jockey Club
Founded in 1755 by Sir Francis Dashwood		Hellfire Club
Founded in 1824 by Sir William Hilary		RNLI
Founded in 1824 following a meeting in Old Slaughter's Coffee House, London, which was chaired by Thomas Fowell Buxton MP		RSPCA
Founded in 1844 in London by George Williams		YMCA
Formed in 1863 as a result of Jean–Henri Dunant's book Un souvenir de Solferino (1862) – describing the suffering of thousands of wounded soldiers of the Battle of Solferino in 1859		Red Cross
Founded in 1866, and named after an 18th century penal reformer: the world's oldest penal reform organisation		Howard League for Penal Reform
First met in 1868 at the Manchester Mechanics' Institute (on what is now Princess Street)		Trades Union Congress (TUC)
Founded in 1883 by Sir William Smith in Glasgow		Boys' Brigade
Founded in 1888 in Washington DC: characteristic logo is a yellow rectangular frame		National Geographic Society
Founded in 1891 by the merger of the Plumage League (founded in 1889 in Manchester, by ladies who pledged not to wear feathers in their hats) and the Fur, Fin and Feather Folk (founded around the same time in Croydon) merged; gained its Royal charter in 1904		RSPB
Founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Canon H. D. Rawnsley		National Trust
Founded in 1896 as the Union of Ethical Societies; adopted its current name in 2017		Humanists UK
Founded in 1897 as Our Dumb Friends' League (animal charity)		Blue Cross
Formed in 1905 to provide scouts to warn motorists of police patrols		Automobile Association
Founded in 1905 in Chicago by Paul P. Harris: the first		Rotary Club
Founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith		Sinn Fein
Founded in Manchester in 1905, by six women including Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughter Christabel; adopted a colour scheme of "purple for loyalty and dignity, white for purity, and green for hope"		Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU)
Founded in 1907 by Robert Baden–Powell		Scouting (Scout Movement)
Founded in 1910 by Agnes Baden–Powell, his younger sister, on his initiative		Girl Guides
Founded in 1915 by Tubby Clayton, for British soldiers in Belgium		Toc H
Founded in 1916 on the initiative of department store magnate (Lewis) Rodman Wanamaker		US PGA
Founded in 1917 by Maria Dickin		PDSA
Founded in 1919 by sisters Eglantine Jebb and Dorothy Buxton		Save the Children (Fund)
Founded in 1921 by Ernest Bevin		TGWU
First planned in 1914, when delegates from 24 countries met at the invitation of Prince Albert I of Monaco; officially founded in 1923 in Vienna; headquarters moved to Berlin in 1942, St. Cloud (Paris) in 1945, Lyon in 1989		Interpol
Founded in 1924 by Henry Amos and Ernest Bell		League Against Cruel Sports
Founded in 1926 by Eamon de Valera		Fianna Fail
Founded in 1928 by John Flynn (Australian non–profit organisation)		Royal Flying Doctor Service
Founded in 1935 by William Wilson ('Bill W') and 'Dr. Bob' Smith of Ohio; an early adopter of the so–called Serenity Prayer (written by American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr)		Alcoholics Anonymous
Founded in 1942 by Canon Richard Milford (and others), to provide relief for victims of famine caused by the Axis occupation of Greece		Oxfam
Founded in 1946 at Lincoln College, Oxford, by Roland Berrill (an Australian barrister) and Lancelot Ware (a British scientist and lawyer)		Mensa
Founded in 1946 by Peter Scott (as the Severn Wildfowl Trust); headquarters (then and now) at Slimbridge, Gloucestershire		Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust
Founded in 1953 by Anglican priest Chad Varah		The Samaritans
Founded in 1958 by Alec Dunn (died 1994)		Voluntary Service Overseas
Founded in 1961 by lawyer Peter Benenson		Amnesty (International)
Founded in 1963 in Addis Ababa		OAU
Founded in 1969, in California, by David Brower (died 2000)		Friends of the Earth
Founded in 1971 by the Rev. Ian Paisley (political party)		Democratic Unionist Party
Patrick Moore (but not the famous British astronomer and broadcaster) was one of the principal founders (Canada, 1971) of		Greenpeace
Political party founded in 1983 by David Edward Sutch, a.k.a. Screaming Lord Sutch		Official Monster Raving Loony Party
Founded in 1995 as the successor to GATT; headquarters in Geneva		World Trade Organisation
Political party founded in 2015 by former journalist and author Catherine Mayer and TV presenter Sandi Toksvig; first leader is Sophie Walker		Women's Equality Party
Political party founded in April 2016 by Emmanuel Macron – formerly a senior advisor to François Hollande, and Finance Minister in his government – who was elected as President of France 13 months later		La République En Marche

Founder of the Modern Hospice movement

Dame Cicely Saunders

NATO

North Atlantic Treaty signed in Washington DC		4 April 1949
Treaty comes into effect		24 August 1949

The twelve founding members

	Belgium		Canada		Denmark		France
	Iceland		Italy		Luxembourg		The Netherlands
	Norway		Portugal		UK		USA

The next two to join (18 February 1952)

Greece

Turkey

Other

Joined in 2017 as the 29th member – the first since Albania and Croatia in 2009

Montenegro

The European Union (and its forerunners)

Treaties

Signed	Effective	Measures		Name
Mar 1957	Jan 1958	Established the European Economic Community		Treaty of Rome
Feb 1992	Nov 1991	Created the European Union and the euro		Treaty of Maastricht
Oct 1997	May 1999	Amended the previous treaty, devolving powers from national governments to the European Parliament in several areas		Treaty of Amsterdam
Feb 2001	Feb 2003	Designed to facilitate the entry of Eastern European countries		Treaty of Nice
Dec 2007	Dec 2009	Includes the famous Article 50, setting out the process for withdrawal from the Union		Treaty of Lisbon

Members

The six founder members of both the European Coal and Steel Community (1952) and the European Economic Community (1957) were, in alphabetical order:

Belgium

France

Germany

Italy

Luxembourg

Netherlands

Left in 1962 (on gaining independence from France)		Algeria
Joined on 1 January 1973 (making 9 members)		Denmark
		Republic of Ireland
		United Kingdom
Voted by referendum not to join, in 1973		Norway
Joined in 1981 (10th member)		Greece
Left in 1985 (6 years after independence from Denmark)		Greenland
Joined in 1986 (11th and 12th members)		Portugal
		Spain
Joined in 1995 (making 15 members)		Austria
		Finland
		Sweden

The following ten countries joined in 2004, bringing the number of members up to 25:

	Cyprus		Czech Republic		Estonia		Hungary		Latvia
	Lithuania		Malta		Poland		Slovakia		Slovenia

Joined in 2007 (26th and 27th members)		Bulgaria
		Romania
Joined in 2013 (28th member)		Croatia

Article of the Treaty of Lisbon (signed in 2007, effective 2009) that sets out the process for withdrawal from the Union		Article 50
The UK formally left the European Union on (date)		31 January 2020

United Nations

UN Secretaries General

Years		Name		Nationality	Died
1946–53		Trygve Lie		Norwegian	1968
1953–61		Dag Hammarskjold		Swedish	1961
1962–71		U Thant		Burmese	1974
1972–81		Kurt Waldheim		Austrian	2007
1982–91		Xavier Pérez de Cuéllar		Peruvian	2020
1992–97		Boutros Boutros–Ghali		Egyptian	2016
1997–2006		Kofi Annan		Ghanaian	2018
2007–17		Ban Ki–Moon		South Korean
2017–		António Guterres		Portuguese

UN Security Council

Permanent members		5
Non–permanent members		10
Total		15

The five permanent members of the UN Security Council are:

China

France

Russia

UK

USA

Original number of member states (24 October 1945)		51
Number of member states (since South Sudan joined in 2011, and not counting the two observer states, Palestine and the Holy See)		193
UN organisation with one representative from each member state		General Assembly

The Commonwealth

The Commonwealth of Nations was formally established in 1931 by the Statute of Westminster, which established the independence of the self–governing Dominions of the British Empire: Canada, Australia, Pakistan, India, Malta, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State. The last of these never adopted the Statute (see below).

Other British colonies became eligible to apply for membership following independence. Burma, and several states in the Middle East and North Africa, chose not to apply.

Two countries have joined the Commonwealth despite never having had any constitutional link to Britain or any other member:

Mozambique

Rwanda

For more details, see below.

Number of countries in the Commonwealth		53
Joined in 1995, 35 years after independence		Cameroon
Joined in 1961 following independence in 1960		Cyprus
Membership lapsed in 1987 after a military coup imposed a constitution contrary to Commonwealth principles; returned in 1997, after starting constitutional reform; suspended again in 2009		Fiji
Withdrew in 2013		The Gambia
Formally left in 1949 when it declared itself a republic		Ireland
Joined in 1982, 17 years after independence		Maldives
Joined in 1995, 20 years after independence from Portugal		Mozambique
First country to be suspended (1995); suspension lifted 1999		Nigeria
Left in 1972, when other member countries recognised Bangladesh; returned after the democratic elections of 1989; suspended following the overthrow of the democratically elected government in October 1999; readmitted in 2004, but suspended again in 2007 "pending the restoration of democracy and the rule of law"; readmitted in 2008		Pakistan
Joined in 2009, 47 years after independence from Belgium		Rwanda
Joined in 1970, 8 years after independence		Samoa
Withdrew in 1961 when it became clear that its reapplication for membership on becoming a republic would be rejected; readmitted in 1994 after democratic elections took place		South Africa
Suspended in 2002 following a controversial presidential election; withdrew in 2003		Zimbabwe

G6, G7, G8 ... etc.

The Group of Six (G6) was formed in 1975 as an unofficial forum, bringing together the heads of the world's six richest industrialized countries. The first G6 summit was held (in 1975) at the Château de Rambouillet, on the outskirts of Paris.

Two countries joined the G6 in later years, turning it into the G7 and then the G8. The eighth member was suspended in 2014 over its role in the Crimea crisis, since when the organisation has been once again known as the G7.

When the G6 was originally formed, there was already a rather less–known group, which was called the G10. This has its origins in an agreement made in 1962, under which ten members of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) set up something called the General Agreement to Borrow, or GAB, whose purpose was to make more funds available to the IMF. The G10 included the seven countries that would later make up the G7, plus three others. They were later joined by two more countries, making it the G12. Finally, in 1984, they were joined by a 13th country – but, just to confuse us even more, they kept the name G12.

		G10 (1962)	G6 (1975)	G7 (1976)	G12 (?)	G12 (1984)	G8 (1998)
	France	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
	Germany	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
	Italy	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
	Japan	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
	UK	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
	USA	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
	Canada	✔		✔	✔	✔	✔
	Belgium	✔			✔	✔
	Netherlands	✔			✔	✔
	Sweden	✔			✔	✔
	Australia				✔	✔
	Spain				✔	✔
	Switzerland					✔
	Russia						✔

Scouts and Guides

Programme launched in 2021, for boys and girls aged 4 to 6		Squirrels
Boys and girls aged 6 to 8		Beaver Scouts
Boys aged 14 to 18 (replaced Venture Scouts in 2003)		Explorer Scouts
Girls aged 5 to 7		Rainbows
Girls aged 14 to 18		Rangers

Appointed as the youngest ever Chief Scout, in 2009, aged 35; in 2024, became the second longest serving Chief Scout after Lord Baden–Powell		Bear Grylls
Former Blue Peter presenter, preceded the above as Chief Scout (2005–9)		Peter Duncan

People

First President of CND

Bertrand Russell

Organisations A–M

Learned body on matters relating to the French language, established by Cardinal Richelieu in 1635		Academie Francaise
First property acquired by the National Trust (1896) was in		Alfriston, (E.) Sussex
UK–based charitable organisation, founded in 1979: symbol is the forget–me–not (organises the Forget Me Not Appeal in June each year)		Alzheimer's Society
A burning candle surrounded by barbed wire is the symbol of		Amnesty International
The Blue Cross is a British charity, founded in 1897 to promote		Animal welfare
Founded in 1989 by Iraq, Jordan, North Yemen and Egypt		Arab Co–operation Council
Founded in Cairo, 1945, to co–ordinate economic, cultural, social and health affairs in Arab countries		Arab League
Dignitas (Switzerland) and EXIT (based in Australia but with branches in other countries including Switzerland) exist to promote		Assisted suicide (euthanasia)
Saddam Hussein's political party		Ba'ath(ist)
Bliss, founded in 1979, is the UK's leading charity for		Babies (newborn)
Queen's Badge: highest award in the		Boys' Brigade
States its mission as "To enrich people's lives with programmes and services that inform, educate and entertain"		British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
Founded in 1921: Earl (Douglas) Haig was its first president		British Legion
Formerly known as Brown Owl		Brownie Guider
Welsh equivalent of English Heritage (the name is a Welsh word meaning 'keeping' or 'preservation')		Cadw (cad–oo)
First met in November 1957, following an article in New Statesman by J. B. Priestley criticising Aneurin Bevan's U–turn on nuclear disarmament. First Chairman was Canon John Collins, President was Bertrand Russell; executive committee included Priestley, Michael Foot, journalist James Cameron, and nuclear physicist Joseph Rotblat. RC priest Bruce Kent was Chair 1977–9 and 1987–90, General Secretary 1979–85		Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND)
Formed 1971 to oppose the growing mass production of beer and the homogenisation of the British brewing industry; now said to be the UK's largest single–issue consumer group; based in St. Albans, Hertfordshire		Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA)
The brewing industry's initiative, founded in 1997, to halt the decline in real ale sales		Cask Marque
Informal association of people whose lives have been saved by a parachute – named in recognition of the debt they owe to the creatures that made the silk threads		Caterpillar Club
Branch of a printing or journalists' union		Chapel
Charity founded in 1986 by TV presenter Esther Rantzen (as a result of a campaign run on her programme That's Life!); became part of the NSPCC in 2006		ChildLine
Pudsey Bear is the mascot of		Children in Need
Set up in 1939 to help people affected by the war (World War II) with evacuation, bomb damage, rationing etc.; now run by a network of independent charities throughout the United Kingdom		Citizens Advice
In the UK, air traffic control is jointly governed by		Civil Aviation Authority
		Ministry of Defence
Headquarters are at Langley, Virginia; has its origins in the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), founded during World War II and modelled on Britain's MI6 and Special Operations Executive (SOE)		CIA
Principal fore–runner of the EEC: European		Coal and Steel Community
Fund–raising organisation for the Nixon administration, responsible for the Watergate break–in (the acronym CREEP was not officially used)		Committee for the Re–Election of the President
Intergovernmental organization formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, comprising all former Soviet republics except the Baltic states (which continue to regard their membership in the Soviet Union as an illegal occupation); Georgia withdrew in 2008, and Ukraine (effectively) in 2018		Commonwealth of Independent States
Represented in parliament, 1945–50, by Philip Piratin and William Gallagher		Communist Party
London headquarters of the TUC (Great Russell Street)		Congress House
Ruled India for its first 30 years of independence		Congress Party
Full name of the UK Conservative Party (since 1912)		Conservative and Unionist Party
STOPP is opposed to		Corporal punishment in schools
Formerly known as the British Field Sports Society		Countryside Alliance
Name for ISIL, coined by Syrian activists opposing it, and taken up by Western leaders (who encouraged the Western media to use it): formed by translating the name that in English forms the acronym ISIL, into Arabic, and forming an acronym (in Roman letters) from that		Daesh
Women who can prove descent from someone who helped to achieve US independence		Daughters of the American Revolution
US political party: headquarters are Tammany Hall, New York, symbolised by a donkey		Democratic Party
Name shared by a Swiss organisation involved in assisted suicides and an international organisation dedicated to preventing and treating AIDS		Dignitas
Medillin Cartel		Drug trafficking
Formed in Coventry, in 1972, as the PEOPLE Party; known from 1975 until 1985 (when it became the Green Party) as		The Ecology Party
Formed in 1983 as an executive non–departmental public body of the British Government; became a charity in 2015; as of 2021, its portfolio includes Stonehenge, Dover Castle, Tintagel Castle and the best preserved parts of Hadrian's Wall		English Heritage
Logo has been described as "[suggesting] the plan of an ancient building with the buttresses shown as square protrusions around the exterior"
British actors' union		Equity
Founded in 1884, with the purpose of establishing a democratic socialist state in Great Britain, by evolution rather than revolution; named after a Roman general who advocated tactics of harassment and attrition rather than full–on battle; members included George Bernard Shaw, H. G. Wells and Virginia Woolf		Fabian Society
Spanish political movement founded in 1933 by José Antonio Primo de Rivera (son of a former prime minister) – the name is a reference to a military formation used in ancient Greece; co–opted by Franco during the Civil War		The Falange
Bundle of rods tied together with an axe in the middle: symbol of		Fascist movement
The former London Society for Women's Suffrage has been known since 1953 (after the feminist activist who in 2018 became the first woman to be commemorated by a statue in Parliament Square) as the		Fawcett Society
In 2014, following ongoing corruption scandals, Sony and Emirates Airlines withdrew their sponsorship of		FIFA
Italian political party founded in 2009 by comedian and blogger Beppe Grillo; in the 2018 general election, it became the largest individual party in the Italian Parliament and entered government		Five Star Movement (M5S)
EFDSS (HQ at Cecil Sharp House, London): concerned with English		Folk Dance and Song
Formed at the Freemasons' Tavern, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, 1863		Football Association
Britain's largest landowner (over 2.5 million acres – about four times as much as the National Trust) – a "non–ministerial government department"		Forestry Commission
Claims to trace its origin to the building of Solomon's Temple; members required to profess a belief in the Great Architect of the Universe; logo is the "Square and Compass"		Freemasons
Forerunner to Hitler's German Nazi party (Hitler, then an army corporal, joined September 1919; name changed February 1920)		German Workers' Party (DAP)
Supplies Bibles to be placed in hotel rooms worldwide		Gideons
The UK's principal charity for single parent families – founded around 1970 by Tessa Fothergill, merged with the National Council for One Parent Families in 2007, relaunched as Gingerbread in 2009		Gingerbread
The Golden Trefoil is the symbol of (global organisation, founded in 1909)		Girl Guides
The largest single employer in Gloucestershire; a building nicknamed The Doughnut, in the suburbs of Cheltenham, houses the main offices of		Government Comms HQ (GCHQ)
Copyright of Peter Pan was donated by J. M. Barrie in 1925 to		Great Ormond Street Hospital
G–7, G–20. etc.: G stands for		Group
Mediaeval association of Baltic and North Sea trading cities		Hanseatic League
Popular name for a number of supposed exclusive clubs for high society rakes in Britain and Ireland, 18th century – the first founded in London by Philip, Duke of Wharton in 1719, the most infamous by Sir Francis Dashwood c. 1749; motto "Fais ce que tu voudras" (Do what thou wilt)		Hellfire Club
Israeli right–wing party, founded in 1948 by Menachim Begin; merged with Likud (his new party) in 1988		Herut
UK government department that administers the police, immigration and prisons		Home Office
Julian Huxley (1963–5), George Melly (1972–74), Claire Rayner (1999–2004), Linda Smith (from 2004 until her death in 2006), Polly Toynbee (2007–13), Jim Al–Khalili (2013–16) and Shappi Khorsandi (2016–19) are all former presidents of		Humanists UK
The full name of the Royal Society is The Royal Society for		Improving Natural Knowledge
Established by the Rome Statute of 1998; opened in 2002, in The Hague		International Criminal Court
Charity founded in 1996 by Camila Batmanghelidjh to support deprived inner city children; largely funded by government grants, it was wound up in 2015		Kids Company
Official mark of approval of the British Standards Institution – registered as a trademark in 1903		Kitemark
Political club of 18th century London, whose name inspired those of a confectionery brand and the fictional club featured in the musical Cabaret		Kit–Cat Club
Founded in the USA, in 1865 or 1866, by veterans of the Confederate army, seeking to overthrow the Republican state governments in the South, especially by using violence against African–American leaders; died out in the early 1870s, but re–established in 1915 following the success of D. W. Griffith's film Birth of a Nation; faded away in the 1940s, but revived in the 1950s (in localised, independent groups) in opposition to the Civil Rights movement; led by a Grand Wizard in the first incarnation (Nathan Bedford Forrest was the first), Imperial Wizard in the second; name is derived from the Greek word for 'circle' (kyklos) – first used by Plato to symbolise the cyclical nature of government		Ku Klux Klan
Founding and ruling party of the Republic of China (Taiwan): founded in 1894 by Sun Yat–sen		Kuomintang
US President Woodrow Wilson and UK Under–Foreign Secretary Robert Cecil, assisted by South African defence minister Jan Smuts (also a member of the British War Cabinet) were the principal architects of the		League of Nations
Founded in 1934 (as the National Council for Civil Liberties, which remains its official name); Shami Chakrabarti was its Director from 2003 to 2016		Liberty
Israeli centre–right party: founded in 1973 by Menachim Begin, who became its first prime minister; Ariel Sharon left in 2005 to form Kadima; name means Consolidation		Likud
UK charity, founded in 1948: adopted the daffodil as its emblem in 1986; runs the Great Daffodil Appeal in March each year		Marie Curie
Founded in 1777, voted to admit women members in 1998		Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC)
Humanitarian organisation, based in Geneva: formed in 1971 by a group of French doctors and journalists, in the aftermath of the Nigerian Civil War		Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) medecins sans frontieres
The world's largest organisation for people with high IQs: name is Latin for 'table', to demonstrate its round–table nature – the coming together of equals		Mensa
Sir John Sawers, in 2010, gave what he described as the first public address by the head of		MI5
Replaced the Milk Marketing Board in 1994		Milk Marque
General Strike, 1926: called in support of		Miners' Union (NUM)
The Meteorological Office is administered by the		Ministry of Defence
Right–wing Tory pressure group, founded in the early 1960s in the belief that the Macmillan government had taken the party too far to the left, and with the aim "to evolve a dynamic application of traditional Tory principles"; dubbed by Harold Wilson, "guardian of the Tory conscience"		Monday Club
UK trade union, of which at one time 80 MPs were members; formed in 1988 by the merger of ASTMS and TASS; merged with the AEEU in 2001 to form Amicus, which in 2007 merged with the TGWU to form Unite; shares its initials with a humanitarian organisation based in Geneva		MSF

Organisations N–Z

Logo depicts oak leaves		National Trust
The treaties of Dunkirk (4 March 1947) and Brussels (17th March 1948) were early steps towards the foundation on 4 April 1949 of		NATO
Popular name for the Conservative Private Members' Committee – the parliamentary group of the Conservative Party in the House of Commons, consisting of all Conservative backbench MPs; formed after a famous meeting at the Carlton Club, in which Conservative MPs successfully demanded that the party withdraw from Lloyd George's coalition government		1922 Committee
Children's club founded in 1935 around a show on Radio Luxembourg, and named after its sponsor		Ovaltineys
Benefited from the sale of the Duchess of Windsor's jewellery		Pasteur Institute
US honorary society for distinguished scholars – name derived from the initial letters of the Greek for 'Philosophy is the guide to life'		Phi Beta Kappa
Spanish political party, formed in 2014 by former university lecturer Pablo Iglesias: soon became the country's second largest party, by membership; name (previously used by parties in Venezuela and Bolivia) means 'we can'		Podemos
Established in 1883, to promote Conservative principles in Britain – named in honour of Benjamin Disraeli, after his favourite flower; Lord Randolph Churchill (father of Sir Winston) was a founder member		Primrose League
President of Save the Children, since 1970		Princess Anne
Moslem equivalent of the Red Cross		Red Crescent
Musicians' collective, formed 1985 by Billy Bragg and Paul Weller, to support the Labour Party		Red Wedge
Founded in 1997 by Sir James Goldsmith; failed to win any seats in the General Election (but did briefly hold one seat – see George Gardiner in Members of Parliament); ceased to exist soon after his death in July 1997		Referendum Party
Formerly the Marriage Guidance Council		Relate
US political party symbolised by an elephant		Republican party
Political party founded in London in 2005, a.k.a. The Unity Coalition: George Galloway was one of its most prominent members, and its only MP, but at the height of its success in 2007 it also had nineteen councillors in local government; deregistered in 2016, after loss of support		Respect
Charitable organisation that took over responsibility for the annual Britain in Bloom competition from the British Tourist Board, in 2002		Royal Horticultural Society (RHS)
Formed 1990 by the merger of NUR and NUS		RMT
Early 17th century philosophers who claimed occult powers (name derived from the Latin for 'rosy cross'		Rosicrucians
Headquarters in Sandy, Beds; TV presenter Kate Humble was appointed as its President in 2009		RSPB
Bought the Old Man of Hoy in 1983
Previous name of Blind Veterans UK – the charity that supports vision–impaired ex–Armed Forces and National Service personnel in the UK		St. Dunstan's
Effectively founded in 1877 to provide first aid training to railwaymen and colliers; a separate group was founded in 1887 to provide practical and life–saving work; these two merged in 1968		St. John Ambulance
Formed a Badgers branch in 1987 (to mark 100 years of providing first aid at public events) to train seven–to–ten–year–olds
Befrienders Worldwide is the international network associated with (UK–based organisation)		Samaritans
Formed in 1951 as the National Spastics Society; changed to its current name in 1994		Scope
Founded in 1907 by Robert (later Baron) Baden–Powell		Scout Association
Founded in 1966 by the Rev. Bruce Kenrick, and coincidentally launched 10 days after the screening on BBC television of Ken Loach's social drama Cathy Come Home		Shelter
Sean Connery's campaign to ban private ownership of firearms, following the 1996 Dunblane tragedy		Snowdrop Campaign
Formed 1981 following the Limehouse Declaration		Social Democratic Party (SDP)
Formed by Arthur Scargill; first stood in Hemsley by–election, 1996		Socialist Labour Party
Provides certification for organic farms and produce in the UK		Soil Association
Trade union that emerged in 1980 at the Gdańsk Shipyard, Poland, led by Lech Wałęsa: the first trade union in a Warsaw Pact country that was not controlled by the Communist Party		Solidarność (Solidarity)
Laurel & Hardy appreciation society		Sons of the Desert
Ceremonial guard of the Vatican City		Swiss Guard
Formed in 2004 as an alliance, founded as a party in 2012: took power in Greece in 2015 under Alexis Tsipras; name is an abbreviation of the Greek for 'Coalition of the Radical Left', and also an adverb meaning 'from the roots' or 'radically'		Syriza
Strict Muslim movement that ruled Afghanistan between 1996 and 2001 – name means 'students'		Taliban
IBT, the largest trade union in the USA – represents transport workers – originally founded in 1903: International Brotherhood of		Teamsters
UK and Europe's largest HIV and AIDS charity: founded in 1983, named after the Hansard reporter who was one of the first people to die of AIDS in the UK		Terrence Higgins Trust
Formed 1915 by 'Tubby' Clayton, to fight loneliness and hate and encourage Christian comradeship; named after its headquarters (Talbot House)		Toc H
Haitian militia controlled by Francois 'Papa Doc' Duvalier (created 1959 – named after a traditional bogeyman, known in English as 'Uncle Gunnysack'		Tonton Macoute
The FDA (First Division Association) is a trade union for		Top civil servants
Association of left–wing Labour MPs: took its name from the newspaper that it was formed to support, in 1964 (whose editors included Aneurin Bevan 1941–5 and Michael Foot 1955–60)		Tribune Group
The official authority for lighthouses in England, Wales, the Channel Islands and Gibraltar		Trinity House
The Anti–Federalist League – founded in 1991 by Professor Alan Sked of LSE – changed its name in 1993 to		UK Independence Party (UKIP)
Britain's largest trade union: formed in 1993 by the merger of NALGO, NUPE and COHSE		UNISON
Symbol is a globe flanked by two olive branches		United Nations
UK trade union: formed on 1 May 2007 by the merger of Amicus and the Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU); general secretary Len McCluskey (from its inception); the UK's second largest trade union (2018), after UNISON		Unite the Union
Children's charity – open to all volunteers but with strong links to showbiz and sport; founded in the USA in 1927, now has 55 "tents" around the world; chairman is known as Chief Barker (cf. Grand Order of Water Rats)		Variety (Club)
Political party formed 2005 by Robert Kilroy–Silk		Veritas
British showbiz charity for the benefit of showbiz people, founded in 1889 by comedian Joe Elvin; chairman is called King Rat: the Grand Order of (cf. Variety)		Water Rats
Political party, founded in 2015 by comedian and broadcaster Sandi Toksvig and American–born British journalist Catherine Mayer		Women's Equality Party
Founded in 1897 following a meeting of the Farmer's Institute in Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada: the speaker, Mrs. Amanda Hoodless, President of the Hamilton YWCA, suggested forming a group to broaden knowledge of domestic science and agriculture, as well as to socialise. The British movement was founded (independently) in Llanfairpwll (Llanfair PG), Anglesey, in 1915 – by which time there were hundreds of branches in Canada		Women's Institute
Formerly known as the World Wildlife Fund; symbol is a giant panda		World Wide Fund for Nature
Japanese equivalent of the Mafia		Yakuza
Founded in the reign of Henry VII for the protection of the Royal Person		Yeoman of the Guard
Founded in 1930: moved its headquarters from Welwyn Garden City to St. Albans in 1955, and from there to Matlock (Derbyshire) in 2002		Youth Hostels Association (YHA)
American youth–oriented radical and countercultural revolutionary offshoot of the free speech and anti–war movements of the late 1960s: founded on 31 December 1967, advanced a pig (named Pigasus the Immortal) as a Presidential candidate in 1968		Youth International Party (Yippies)
Robert Mugabe's party (Zimbabwe)		ZANU–PF

Other

Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales – changed its logo in 2006, from the traditional green and red triban (three peaks) used since 1933, to a stylised representation of a yellow flower with the Latin name Meconopsis cambrica – known in English as the		Welsh poppy
Symbol of the Liberal democrats		Yellow bird (species unspecified!)

© Haydn Thompson 2017–24