THE MILITARY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
President: FIELD MARSHAL SIR JOHN CHAPPLE GCB CBE DL.
MINUTES OF THE 62nd ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING,
SATURDAY 10th OCTOBER 2009,
LOWER BOARD ROOM, IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUM, LONDON.
Present:
Colonel Denis Wood MBE Vice President.
General Committee Members:
Colonel Tim Wright Chairman.
Mr. Michael Taylor Secretary & QM.
Lt. Col. Nicholas Beswick Committee Member.
Mr. Bill Herbert Grant Aid Secretary.
Lt. Cdr. Keith Hook Committee Member.
Mr. Alan Jeffreys Deputy Editor.
Mr. Dennis Pillinger Co-ordinator of Talks & Visits.
Lt. Col. Bob Wyatt Editor.
Members:
Mr. David Hunter Secretary, East Midlands Branch.
1. Welcome.
Colonel Tim Wright welcomed members to the 62nd AGM of the Military Historical Society.
2. Apologies.
Apologies for absence had been received from Field Marshal Sir John Chapple, John Atherton, Philip Buss, Gordon Dine, Caroline Eddlestone, Clive Elderton, Peter Grove and Richard Tatham.
3. Minutes of the 2008 AGM.
The draft minutes of the AGM of 11th October 2008 had been published in Bulletin issue 235 of February 2009. The proposal that they be adopted was moved by Nick Beswick, seconded by Keith Hook and approved nem con.
4. Matters Arising.
a. The 2008 AGM agreed that Branches should continue to receive £50.00 financial support annually. In practice this is being implemented in respect of active Branches. Where expenditure is less than £50 the organiser should put in a claim for actual expenditure, for example in relation to efforts to get a Branch off the ground.
b. The Lummis Cup, 2008 had been awarded to Philip Haythornthwaite.
5. Reports from Officers and the Committee.
a) Secretary.
Nothing not covered elsewhere.
b) Membership Secretary.
Membership remained stable, with some twelve losses and the same number of new members.
c) Branches.
i) East Midlands.
David Hunter said that the Branch had acquired a number of new members and had enjoyed much greater support from existing members for Branch events over the year. A number of talks from outside and internal speakers had been well attended and the idea from a member for an exhibition had been well supported from within the Branch and outside. He would report on this through the Bulletin. He circulated a copy of the Branch newsletter.
ii) West Midlands.
The Branch continued to work on the Hopton Heath project. There had been a successful public launch of the site in 2009 with a further event planned for March 2010 to mark the erection of information boards.
iii) Southern.
Gordon Dine had reported that the Southern Branch had had a successful year, all eight meetings being well attended. Talks given included one on an earlier Gulf Medal award, and another on the Commando Muskatoon Operation. MHS members who may be in the Dorchester area would receive a warm welcome to Branch meetings.
iv) Northern Ireland.
Gavin Hughes was still working towards making an active Branch.
v) Financial support.
The Chairman said that the Committee wished to recommend to the AGM the continuation of the annual grant of £50.00 to each Branch, subject to the comments in Minute 4 a) above and ongoing review by the Committee. This was agreed nem con.
d) Co-ordinator of Talks and Visits.
Nothing to report.
e) Editor.
i) Bob Wyatt said he wished to thank all contributors for their ongoing support.
ii) He gave a brief summary of the past year. A Special publication on Militia Buttons was scheduled for 2010.
f) Treasurer.
The Treasurer had submitted to the Committee a projected account for 2009 that indicated a probable net loss. He had put forward some thoughts on the longer-term management of Society finances. These matters were scheduled for detailed discussion by the Committee for report as appropriate to the Members.
6. Adoption of the Society's Accounts for the year ended 31st December 2008.
The accounts had been published with the AGM agenda in the Bulletin.
Adoption of the accounts was proposed by David Hunter, seconded by Denis Wood and approved unanimously.
7. Appointments.
a) Independent examiner.
i) Colonel G. J. Spate OBE TD DL had agreed to continue as the independent examiner of the Society’s accounts for 2009. His election was unanimously approved.
ii) The Committee wished to go on record as thanking Colonel Spate for his services.
b) Confirmation of John Chapman as a Committee Member.
This was unanimously approved.
8. Annual Report to the Charity Commission.
The Chairman said that he had submitted the annual report to the Charity Commission in September. He had received no feedback.
9. Membership participation in Society events.
The Chairman said that it was regrettable that the Branches appeared to enjoy greater support from their members than the centre, although the majority of members were from London and the South East. The turnout for visits to museums etc. and for the quarterly talks in London has been so poor in recent years that they had been abandoned, other than for a talk after the AGM. A Chairman's Challenge (where members are invited to bring items from their collections to show and talk about) was successful in March 2009 and a similar event was scheduled for April 2010. The question of what members want from their Society other than the excellent quarterly Bulletin was difficult to determine but the Committee remain open to suggestions.
10. Subscriptions.
The Chairman reminded the meeting that two years ago a single subscription was set of £15 for all members other than those outside Europe who wish the Bulletin sent airmail, who pay £20. A recent review of postal costs following the last increase in postal prices indicated that there was insufficient basis for recommending an increase in subscriptions to the AGM this year. The Committee would keep the situation under review.
11. Exhibition: Farnham, 27th September 2009.
a) The Chairman said that the Exhibition seemed better attended than the previous year and that it could be considered a success. A full report would appear in a forthcoming Bulletin.
b) The Society has now run out of the gold medals given to winners of the Duke of York’s and Lummis Cups. To replenish stocks will cost around £412.00 and the Committee wish to recommend to the AGM that such a sum be approved for this purchase. This was agreed nem con.
12. Award of the Lummis Cup 2009.
The Chairman reported that the Lummis Cup for 2009 had been awarded to Mssrs. Smith and Knight for their Special publication on Uniforms of the Imperial Yeomanry and series of Bulletin articles on the Derbyshire Yeomanry.
13. Any other business.
a) The Chairman said that the Committee wished to recommend to the AGM the donation of £100.00 to the IWM in recognition of its offering meeting room facilities. This was approved nem con.
b) The Chairman reported the transfer of the Lummis files and archive to the National Army Museum.
c) Denis Wood proposed a vote of thanks to the Committee for their work on behalf of the Society, in particular the Editors for their work on the Bulletin and Special publications.
14. The 2010 AGM is scheduled for Saturday 9th October 2010, 12.30 at the IWM.
The meeting closed at 12.25.
......
M. Taylor. Tim Wright.
Secretary. Chairman.
9th October 2010.
THE MILITARY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Charity Number 289326
INCOME & EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST DECEMBER 2008
2008 / 2007£ / £
INCOME
Members subscriptions / 9,964.78 / 8,150.44
Advertisements / 799.00 / 682.55
Sales of publications / 1,011.52 / 542.61
Donations / 130.00 / 150.00
Interest Received / 558.23 / 691.67
Income tax recoverable under Gift Aid / 1,289.82 / 872.01
Total Income / 13,753.35 / 11,089.28
EXPENDITURE
Bulletin printing & distribution / 9,507.40 / 9,403.79
Administration / 873.43 / 1,276.38
Printing & stationery / 368.57 / 253.81
Annual exhibition / - / 62.50
Branch expenses / 200.00 / 150.00
Donations to charity/ branches / 150.00 / 150.00
Meeting room hire / - / 238.19
Special publications / 2,428.00 / 1,691.00
Total Expenditure / 13,527.40 / 13,225.67
Surplus for the year (2007 deficit) / 225.95 / ( 2,136.39 )
BALANCE SHEET
AS AT THE 31ST DECEMBER 2008
2008 / 2007£ / £
Assets
Bank balances / 26,234.23 / 27,496.39
Stock (see note below) / - / 6,127.30
Debtor - HM Revenue & Customs, Gift Aid / 1,289.82 / -
Total Assets / 27,524.05 / 33,623.69
Less Liabilities
Creditors / 1,171.71 / 1,370.00
Net Assets / £26,352.34 / £32,253.69
General Fund
Balance as at 1st January 2008 / 32,253.69 / 34,390.08
Less stock written off / 6,127.30
26,126.39
Add Surplus for the year (2007 Deficit) / 225.95 / ( 2,136.39 )
Balance as at 31st December 2008 / £26,352.34 / £32,253.69
Change in Accounting Policy
The Committee are of the opinion that the stock of publications is slow moving and has such a restricted market that the values hitherto shown in the accounts do not represent a realistic disposal value. It has been decided to write the stock down to Nil in these accounts. In future income from sales and the cost of publications will be shown in the years in which they occur. Consequently certain figures in the 2008 accounts are not directly comparable with those for 2007.
Peter H Grove
Honorary Treasurer
Independent Examiner's Report
I have examined the records and documents of the Society presented to me and am of the opinion that the above accounts are in accordance therewith. I have not verified the Assets or Liabilities of the Society.
G.T.Spate Col. OBE, TD, DL
Independent Examiner.