Eric Gill explains - The British Toastmaster History - How it all Began

Eric Gill The Wedding Toastmaster & Master of Ceremonies.

History of Toastmasters.

The history of the Toastmaster is in many ways shrouded in mystery, as very little documentation has survived. It is known that there have been Keepers of the Wine and in ancient times, the controller of the wine was called the Arbiter Bibendi; it was these who dictated the flow and service of whatever beverage was being served to the gathering.

However there is evidence that since biblical times, following Noah and the Ark, people have pledged one another over a libation. Indeed, the first historical recording of wine can be found in the book of Genesis. The first act of Noah and his sons when they returned to dry land was to 'make himself an husbandman and plant a vine'. Within four verses in that book, they planted the vine, grew it, matured it, drank it and got drunk!

Amongst many other words too numerous to list here, the pledges of ancient times were called Bumpers or Hazzahs and the words used were Hebrew words like lechayim (to life) or the Anglo Saxon term, vass hael (wassail) meaning literally good health.

For centuries, the beverages served to guests were mead, porter, sack or very poor wine, as they had little skill in wine making. In the early days, someone was appointed to look after the cellars in the big houses and he would experiment with various flavorings in the wines to improve their flavor. At banquets, he would have before him a large bowl of the brew and in smaller bowls would have herbs and spices. He would take a small piece of bread, hold it before a fire or in a flame until it was toasted; he would then dip that into the herbs and spices and stir it into the bowl of wine. This man was known as The Master of the Toast. It was, apparently, a highly skilled occupation and they were much prized for their talents.

Around the year 1649, an article appeared in Tatter magazine about a banquet that was held in Bath at The Pump Room, adjacent to the Spa. There were two young revelers at the party who wandered into the Spa where there was a 'lady of the town' bathing in the waters and covered in little more than confusion. One of the two young beaus wanted to jump in to be with her. He was prevented in his attempts by his friend who scooped some water from the bath in the vessel he was holding, at the bottom of which was a small piece of toast (known later as a sop) from the Master of the Toast at the banquet. He said, 'Nay, though likest not the beverage (the water from the bath) I will TAKE THE TOAST to this lady', and he proceed to drink - water, toast and all. That is the first time the word Toast was used in pledging a health. It was a Toast to the Ladies, which makes that Toast the oldest Toast of all.

Toastmasters were used in various ways at banquets. In very early days, before printing was commonplace, guests at banquets had no idea who was who at High Table. The Master of the Toast would be required to stand behind each person at that table and proclaim, in a very loud voice, the name of the person sitting there.

Masters of the Toast were then 'promoted' to be a kind of Chairman of the event, along with the host or person holding the occasion. In the library of the British Museum, there is a small book, published during the 1 ih Century, listing the names of Toastmasters of the time. There were hundreds of them and they were engaged, not to make formal announcements and be somewhat apart from the function as they are today, but to invent and can out Toasts, Bumpers or Huzzahs. They would spend the whole evening inventing and calling dozens of different toasts and would be engaged for their wit, humor, originality and general personality.

There was also another tradition connected with these banquets. It was essential that for every Toast honoured, the drinker should drain the glass empty and hold it upside down to prove that there was no more beverage in it. It is hardly surprising that these events earned the terrible reputation of drunken and debauched occasions. However, the Toastmaster was able to stay aloof to all the drunkenness by using what was known as a Toastmaster's Glass. This was a small, eggcup size vessel made of very cheap, thick glass with a small receptacle for liquid. It also had a flat, solid bottom, which the Toastmaster used to bang upon the table. He was thus quite able to drink a 'glassful' (about sufficient to fill a thimble) tip it upside down to show that it was empty each time, but to stay sober.

The history of the red coat is also uncertain. It is believed that the first Toastmaster to don a scarlet jacket was a Mr William Knight-Smith who worked in London from around 1895 until his death around 1932. A portrait of this gentleman hangs in The Cafe Royal.

The red jacket is not permitted at a City function. The Toastmaster, sometimes called the Announcer, is required to wear a black tailcoat with full evening dress and a red and white City of London Sash over the right shoulder. This was the dress, which was traditionally worn by all Toastmasters or Announcers prior to the arrival of Mr Knight-Smith. At any other function within the City of London, wearing the Red Coat is permissible.

The profession of Toastmastering is no longer a male preserve and there are many female, or Lady Toastmasters as they are known. There are currently eight in the National Association of Toastmasters, comprising some 14% of the membership. One of these, Christine Akehurst, may well have been one of the first lady Toastmasters, having been a very successful professional for over twenty-five years. She became the President of the National Association of Toastmasters in 1995, an event so special that it was reported upon in The Times. together with a group picture of the President and other members of the Association. She was also awarded the Freedom of the City of London to mark: her achievements within the profession.

Since the beginning of the 20th Century, the Toastmaster has forgone the 'chairmanship' of banqueting duties and has tended to become simply an announcer required to make formal pronouncements and statements. He or she is no longer permitted to allow their personality to be used and is little more than a servant to the organization engaging them.

However, this is beginning to change and there are now functions all over the world that require far more entrepreneurial skills from the practitioners of our profession than they did before. The student is therefore urged to treat each engagement on its own merits. At some he or she will be required to play it straight and just make formal announcements as instructed, whilst at others, they will be given certain license to make announcements in their own style. At some, they will have a completely free hand to say whatever is required at the time in whatever way they choose. It is, however important to remember our history and be certain that at no time does one over-step the mark and become more of a personality than the event requites.

There is no doubt that ours is one of the oldest occupations in the United Kingdom. It is also quite certain that there are no similar professions in any other country in the world/. Ours is, therefore, a uniquely British, very ancient, highly dignified and extremely vital profession within the vast world of banqueting, conferences, dinners, luncheons, weddings and the countless other events where a person of good voice, intelligent approach, dignified appearance and strong personality is required. We pride ourselves on our traditions and expect students of the profession to do so and treat the whole matter with the seriousness it demands.

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