The title Grand Master of Memory was first awarded in 1995 at a grand banquet organised by The Brain Trust which took place in the Poole Hall of Hanbury Manor near Cambridge . The Awards were a conscious homage to the very first Chess Grandmaster titles which were awarded by Czar Nicholas 11 in 1914 to the greats of the world's most widespread Mind Sport.

The Grand Master of Memory awards on this occasion were presented by HSH Prince Philipp of Liechtenstein and were based on the international memory rankings developed by Tony Buzan.

The first people to attain the title of Grandmaster of Memory were Dominic O'Brien, Jonathan Hancock, Mark Channon , Andi Bell, Kevin Horsley, Patrick Colgan , Philip Bond and Creighton Carvello.

At the same time, Tony Buzan was also recognised for his contribution to mental literacy with a certificate presented by HRH Prince Philipp of Liechtenstein appointing his as an International Arbiter of Mental World Records.

A full report of the event was published in the Autumn / Winter 1995 edition ofSynapsia Magazine.