The dieletrics discussion group (UK) and the dieletrics society platforms for dieletrics research

This article is a slightly amended and extended verison of a talk given by the writer at Dieletrics 2009, organized by the Dieletrics Group of the Institute of Physics (IOP), London UK and held at the University of Reading 15-17 April 2009. It gives a breif history of the Dieletrics Discussion Group (1968-1974) and the Dieletrics Society(1974-2001) in the United Kingdom and summarizes some of the major advances in studies of dynamics of polymeric materials that occured during that period and subsequently using broadband dieletric spectroscopy (BDS).