The British Combinatorial Conference returns to Scotland in 1995 with the fifteenth in a series of international meetings concerned with all branches of Combinatorics. Nine distinguished researchers, representing both Mathematics and Computing Science, have been invited to deliver the principal lectures, and this volume contains the survey articles which they have submitted in advance. These contributions certainly justify the early interest shown in the conference, and should pave the way towards another successful meeting. The second essential ingredient is the series of short talks presented by delegates out with the plenary sessions, and papers contributed in conjunction with these will be considered for a special edition of Discrete Mathematicsb edited by Douglas Woodall.

The year 1995 marks the hundredth anniversary of the death of the Rev.T.P.Kirkman, and one day of the conference will be designated ‘Kirkman Day’ in his honour. The talks on this day, including those by Rosa and Spence, will be devoted to topics related to Kirkman's achievements in Combinatorics.

I am grateful to the authors and referees for their co-operation in meeting the necessary deadlines, and I am indebted to Roger Astley of Cambridge University Press for his assistance in the preparation of the text. The British Combinatorial Committee acknowledges with thanks the financial support provided by the London Mathematical Society and the Institute of Combinatorics and its Applications.