Gordon Shapley was first appointed Hon Secretary to the British Puppet Guild in 1956 and after what can only be described as forty years of active and devoted service, the Editor asked Gordon to look back over his long and distinguished period of office. He became interested in Puppetry completely by accident. In the early days all puppetry organisations were voluntary, basically just the Guild and the EPA then came the JIC (Joint International Committee), followed by the establishment of British UNIMA and the first fully professional organisation was set up. In London, for instance you could attend a British Unima Meeting at the EPA HQ which might not finish until close to midnight, but London Transport could still safely take you home to the suburbs.