Minutes of the General Meeting of the Lyme Regis Branch held on 7th February 2008 at The Woodmead Hall, Lyme Regis, commencing 19:00hrs.
(These minutes have been edited to protect the privacy of members and beneficiaries. A full copy is available to members on request from the Secretary)
Present:Mr C. Quick, President; Mr K. Whetlor, Chairman; Mr M. Kirkby, Secretary; Mr W. Reed, Service Secretary; Mr D. Humphrey, Membership Secretary; Rev J. Harrisson; Mrs A. Driver; Mr E. Bignall; Mr K Austin; Mr M. Webb; Magna Housing.
1. Exhortation: The President.
2. Apologies:Lt Col R. Bennett, Mr M. Jones, Mrs A. Manners, Mr D. Manners, Mr M. Lloyd and Mr N. Hampton-Rumbold.
3. Minutes of the Last Meeting held on 10th January 2008.
The Minutes were presented, agreed as a true record and signed by The President.
4. Matters Arising:The re-election of Mr Keith Austin back onto the Committee.
Proposed: The Secretary
Seconded: The Chairman
Agreed by all present.
Processing of foreign coins received.
The Secretary has contacted the County Treasurer. Foreign coins can be sent to County for processing at Headquarters. The Service Secretary enquired about delivery. The Secretary replied that he could deliver them to the County Treasurer personally.
Branch Award Certificate.
Raised by the Membership Secretary. This was not a matter arising so it was postponed for later discussion.
5. Chairman’s Report:
The Chairman announced the creation of the Branch’s blog pages and a forthcoming webpage. The Secretary using his laptop computer demonstrated the blog pages to the Committee. The Internet presence will be used to pass information to branch members and can be viewed by anyone. For those without computers there are publicly accessible computers available at Lyme Net and in the town library.
The web address for the blog is http://rblymeregis.blogspot.com, which also contains links to the other pages. The Chairman and Secretary exercise editorial control.
The Welfare Secretary was concerned that private or financial details would be publicly available but assurance was given by the Chairman that these would be withheld from anything published online.
6. Secretary’s Report: Attached.
When discussing the Youth Affiliation issue, Mrs Driver suggested that talks could be given to secondary school pupils to raise the profile of the Legion with them. The Secretary wished to request assistance from the Events Organiser who teaches at the school and is therefore well known to pupils. Unfortunately the Events Organiser was not available for this meeting.
The President and the Welfare Secretary stated that talks and remembrance events had taken place at the Woodroffe School in the past but had slowly faded over the years. The President was also concerned that the School Roll of Honour had apparently been transferred from its original place in the school hall to a corridor and considered this to be a disgrace to the memory of those who had given so much, many of whom had been former school friends.
All present agreed that Mr Manners be asked to investigate the matters raised. Rev Harrisson asked that this be done in a gentle and discreet manner to avoid confrontation.
Mrs Driver was invited to attend a branch management course if a place could be found on the June course. Details will be forwarded to her in order for her to check her availability.
The Secretary announced that a recent conversation with the County Secretary had revealed that County were discussing plans for some County level training courses. These should take place later this year and details will be confirmed soon.
The Treasurer will be asked to donate £50 to this year’s County Fund.
7. Treasurer’s Report: (Edited) Apology Received.
The Chairman presented copies of the account statements on the Treasurer’s behalf.
Accepted as true statements.
Proposed: The Chairman,
Seconded: The Secretary,
Agreed by those present.
8. Service Secretary’s and Welfare Report: (Edited)
The Service Secretary announced to the Committee that he is no longer allowed to complete the A2001 welfare forms for those requiring assistance, as he is not a trained caseworker despite having done this for many years previously. The amount of assistance that the Branch is authorised to offer on each occasion is limited to a maximum of £30. If a larger sum is required the branch must apply for a trained caseworker from County. The Membership Secretary said that he knew of a trained caseworker and branch member. She is fully qualified, has dealt with mental health workers and is a qualified member of the Institute of Chartered Housing Authorities. She is willing to assist the Service Secretary if her qualifications are acceptable to County. The Service Secretary replied that he thought that she should also be a Committee member to do this but the Membership Secretary stressed that she did not wish to be on the Committee but would be willing to assist the Service Secretary in the areas where he was unqualified.The Membership Secretary will contact Mr Fairman at Blandford to assess if his proposal is acceptable with the Legion.
There are 3 beneficiaries being helped at present.
The Service Secretary reminded the Committee about the availability of the Taxi Service for medical visits. This will be promoted on the web site and a new poster will be posted on the town notice board. The Secretary will arrange this.
Rev Harrisson advised that there is a charity in the town, Lyme Regis Welfare Charity, whose funds were presently underused. The Charity meets twice yearly but modest funds may be applied for at any time. The amounts available are measured in tens of Pounds but could supplement the limited help that the Service Secretary can provide from the Branch Welfare account.
9. Membership Report:
(Edited) There are currently 121 members, 1 has passed away, there are 3 new members and 1 has transferred from Salisbury Branch.34 Members pay by Direct Debit, 78 pay by cash, there are 6 members excused payment and 2 Life members.
The Membership Secretary has received a reminder from the County Secretary that membership fees for cash payers will be deducted from the Branch Account on 1st March 2008.
The Membership Secretary asked what happened to members of disbanded neighbouring branches and whether they should be invited to join this branch. He was aware of two members from Charmouth who were already members of this branch but didn't know if were any more who might be persuaded to join us.
The Secretary will contact Charmouth Women's Section for more information.
10. Poppy Organiser’s Report: Apology received.
11. Events Organiser’s Report: Apology received.
12. Standard Bearer’s Report: Absent
13. Correspondence:County Newsletter, Minutes of the 81st County Conference, County Plan.Some members were not receiving the County Newsletter. The Secretary reminded them that they could ask County to add their names to the mailing list. They could also receive a copy by e-mail if preferred.
Before proceeding to Any Other Business, the Secretary announced that he had been asked to Propose, on behalf of the Poppy Organiser, a change to the frequency of the Committee meetings.The proposal is to hold the meetings on alternate months starting with the March meeting.
Proposed: Poppy Organiser,
Seconded: The Service Secretary.
The Committee retain the right to hold additional meetings if necessary.Agreed by all present.
The Membership Secretary reminded the Chairman that he now wished to discuss the Branch Certificate of Appreciation Award. His proposal is for the award of a Branch Certificate of Appreciation to the Poppy Organiser, Mrs Angela Manners, for her outstanding service and achievements organising the annual Poppy Appeals. He reminded the Committee that for higher awards to be made at County and National level a member must have first been awarded the Branch certificate. The framed certificates are available from County at a cost of £8 and are signed by the County President.
Proposed: Membership Secretary,
seconded: Mrs Ania Driver,Agreed by all present.
14. AOB: (Edited)
The Secretary asked if any thought had been given to ideas for this year’s Veterans Day on the 27th June. He thought it a good opportunity to make a formal presentation of Veterans Badges to those interested and to award the Branch Appreciation Certificate to the Poppy Organiser. The Chairman suggested that it be carried over to the next Agenda for further discussion.The Service Secretary will bring the records of all honours, awarded to Branch members, to the next meeting.
Mr Webb of Magna Housing attended the meeting at the invitation of the Chairman. The Chairman thanked him, on behalf of the Branch, for the new fence that was now in place around the Polish Airmen's Memorial.Mr Webb explained that the fence required no painting as it had been galvanised and the front section of the fence was removable to allow easy access for the laying of wreaths in November.
The Chairman announced that he would be conducting a series of interviews on Lyme Regis Radio, with the residents of Hallets Court and other senior residents of the town. He suggested that he conduct the interviews in the name of The Royal British Legion Lyme Regis Branch Chairman, as those interviewed would have a better understanding of why the interviews were being conducted. There were no objections to him doing this.
The Chairman reported that a recent local newspaper article about the Red Arrows had prompted the Secretary to contact the Red Arrows Public Relations Team in order to clarify the situation regarding fees for displays as he felt the original article might have damaged the reputation of the RAF within the town. He had discovered that the main reason for the Red Arrow's absence in the town this year was their Flight Safety Week, which coincided with that of Lifeboat week, and not a cost issue as was alleged in the original story. The Red Arrows do reserve the right to make a charge towards insurance and accommodation expenses but these are usually waived for Lyme Regis due to their close ties with the Lifeboat. A later article published the Secretary's findings and also mentioned his connection with the Branch.
The Service Secretary enquired about the progress of the Branch Rule amendments. The Secretary replied that he had a draft of the proposed amendments but was postponing the formal presentation of these until he'd discussed some of the changes with the County Secretary. The Secretary is also moving home this month, which will cause some disruption to his communications.
Mr Webb asked the Committee if they would investigate the whereabouts of medals belonging to Mr Kennealy. They had apparently been passed to the Events Organiser who was to arrange for them to be cleaned and remounted.The Secretary will ask for an update from the Events Organiser.
Meeting Closed: 20:27 hrs.
Please note. The next meeting will be held on Thursday 6th March 2008 at 19:00 hrs.
Secretary's Report
1. MOD Defence Discount Scheme
I would like to bring your attention the existence of the MOD Defence Discount Scheme. It is available to any serviceman or veteran of the Armed Forces. It is an online scheme so can only be accessed from the Internet and you do have to register to obtain discounts for goods and services. Internet access is available at the library however and I believe courses are run locally to assist those who have not previously used a computer.
2. County Plan
a. Youth Affiliations.
The Legion wishes to see the affiliation of local youth organisations and Branches to help raise the profile of the Legion with tomorrow’s adults some of whom will become members of the Armed forces themselves.
b. Training.
Many members including those of us on committees are unaware of the contents of the latest Royal Charter. County wish to see all branch officers trained in their role. They hope that by improving our knowledge we’ll become more confident and therefore more efficient.Courses are run throughout the year. Both Dave Humphrey and I have applied for the Branch Management course in June. If anyone else is interested I will check on the availability of the course for him or her.
c. Membership and Funding
Last year Dorset lost 6% of its membership, twice that of the national figure. County want us to increase our recruitment as well as improve on the retention of existing members. Once again Direct Debit is seen as a way of retaining members. Headquarters claim to have proof of this. Only 25% of members in Dorset pay by Direct Debit and this is reflected at our Branch level.
The General Fund received £430000 from Gift Aid last year but only 1/3rd of the members have signed a Gift Aid declaration. If every tax-paying member had signed the declaration then the General Fund would have received £900000. So if you are a taxpayer please sign the Gift Aid declaration and return it to Legion HQ. The forms are available from me if you haven’t got one.
On a cautionary note; Sherborne Women’s section has recently had to close not because they lacked members but because nobody was willing to take office on the committee. This is a real threat to many of the branches as the age of the membership increases. So we really do need to recruit younger members.
Mr Tuck, the County Treasurer has requested donations to the County Fund if there is a surplus in our Branch funds.
