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© F.Coakley , 2026
[from A.M Harrision's Descriptive List of Insular Societies]
The Isle of Man Times of 10 April 1897 reported that 'The party of public-spirited gentlemen in Douglas who have for many years past exulted in the name of "the Fossils'......... met at the Talbot Hotel on Thursday 8 April to celebrate the termination of their corporate existence'. ' "The Fossils" as such were emphatically declared to be dead, and the discussions of the evening chiefly consisted of reminiscences of a glorious past'
The Association was first formed 'on account of the deplorable condition of fire-extinguishing appliances in the town, and the first thing they did was to have a football match and concert to raise funds for a volunteer fire brigade'. Since then they had looked for areas of neglect or want in Douglas, primitive and far from perfect even by the 1850's and 60's, as Hugh Stowell Brown described in his critical account of his early life on the Island and raised money for their improvement . They gathered £240 for the families bereaved by the loss of the fishing boat, Mackerel and raised money to give an annual trip to each child in the Industrial Home. They had collected subscriptions for the demonstrations at the opening of the Queen's Promenade and 'done a great deal of good in Douglas by organising entertainments and sports, and helping forward various philanthropic movements.'
The members included R.J. Grindley, H.R. Fielding, Jonn Bregazzi, George Duce, W.J. Rennison, M.P. Everard, F. Frost, F. Malden, Thomas Weston and only one certain native Manxman, Louis Kelly.
The small remaining balance of £4 was to be divided equally between the Lifeboat Institution, the Hospital, the Industrial Home and the Free Dinners Fund. So nostalgic was the atmosphere that the very pleasant evening of reminiscences and entertainment resulted in a proposal to reorganise the asssociation, but the matter was deferred to a future meeting to be called for that purpose.
M.N.H.L., Isle of Man newspapers uf supra, all newspapers, 1860's -1897 passim
"Hugh Stowell Brown", a paper read to the members of the Douglas Progressive Debating Society,February 1908, including "Speech delivered to the Liverpool Manx Society, November 25th 1876", Manx Quarterly, vol. 1, no. 5 November (1908) pp.404-414.
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