The minutes of a committee meeting held at the School on Thursday 15 January, 2015
Members present: P. Lusted (in the chair), A. Snelling, D. Palmer, G. Barnes,
B. Gilbert, K. Shea, P. Taylor, M. Pack, S. Caveney, C. Laming
Apologies for absence: The President, N. Hancock, T. Akehurst
A minute’s silence was observed in memory of Kenneth Sears who had served the Association for more than 60 years and died in the autumn.
Minutes and matters arising: The minutes of the meeting held on Friday 3 October, 2014, were agreed and signed as a correct record.
A brief report was given about the service of remembrance that had taken place at the School on Saturday 8 November and the excellent talk given by Marc Stewart about OB Harold Locke. G. Barnes reminded the committee about Marc’s research and forthcoming publication of his “magnum opus” which will record the lives and service records of all those OBs lost in the world wars and other conflicts. The Association has pledged to support publication of the work in due course.
There were no other matters arising.
Correspondence: An email had been received from member Dave Bowra (66-73) offering to help with website coding but D. Palmer explained that, nice though the offer is, there is no current requirement for such support. The secretary to send a polite note of explanation to thank Mr Bowra.
Treasurer’s report: Accounts for years ending 31.7.13 and 31.7.14 were now finalised and had been signed off by accounts examiner, Peter Taylor.
Adjustment will need to be made in this year's accounts in respect of our donation of £2,500 to assist with the purchase of a laser cutter that did not proceed. The sum was included in the 2014 accounts as the cheque had been issued.
We have recently made a donation to the School of £1,000 in respect of the Hardship Fund.
Neil Hancock pointed out that we had not made a cricket bat award in our financial year 2013/2014. Committee decided that our aims would be better served by supporting an alternative cause. A. Snelling suggested that the school be asked to identify a suitable long-term project that we could contribute to over a number of years, perhaps by raising an appeal.
Deficit on 2014 dinner inflated by £130 due to deposit of this amount for 2015 dinner having been paid in 2013/2014 accounting period.
Current bank balance stands at £3,965.36.
A new banking mandate is in place with Barclays.
Mike Pack and Peter Taylor were thanked by the committee for their hard work in getting the accounts signed off.
Dinner report: An update was given on arrangements for the annual dinner on Saturday 7 March. This being the first year that email was used to notify members, it was noted that the emailing exercise had run reasonably smoothly and steps had been taken to send invitations by post to 20 or so members whose email addresses had been rejected. Dinner invitations would also be included with the website digests being sent to 20 members. It was decided to attempt to collect the email addresses of all dinner attendees at the dinner. A suggestion to place a website digest at every place setting was considered a good idea but probably not practical due to the costs and workload involved.
Memorial plaque: It was decided to proceed with a proposal to apply for a memorial plaque to be installed at St George’s Memorial Church, Ypres, in memory of OBs who gave their lives in the First World War. Peter Taylor and Neil Hancock would take the lead. Arrangements would be made in due course for a dedication ceremony in Ypres involving the OBA and, hopefully, the school. Costs for the plaque would be in the order of £200 with a further £100 to be made by way of a donation to the church where the late Ken Sears was a trustee.
Any other business: Mrs. Christine Ford, widow of John Ford, OB, had been in touch with Peter Taylor about her late husband’s subscription to the Association which she had paid after his death. She donated the money for this year but would now stop the direct debit.
There being no further business the meeting closed at 8.30 pm.
AGM and next Committee Meeting date: Friday 2 October, 2015 at 7.00 pm
Annual dinner: Saturday 7 March, 2015