The Royal British Legion Lyme Regis Branch Correspondence & Minute pages

Thursday, 5 September 2013

Minutes Of The General Meeting Of The Lyme Regis Branch. Held At The Woodmead Halls, Lyme Regis, Thursday 05 September 2013 At 19:00 Hrs.

Minutes Of The General Meeting Of The Lyme Regis Branch.

Held At

The Woodmead Halls, Lyme Regis,

Thursday 05 September 2013 At 19:00 Hrs.

Present:

	Mr Cecil Quick	President
	Mr David Manners	Vice Chairman
	Mr Tony Smith	Honorary Secretary
	Mrs Ania Driver	Welfare Secretary
	Mrs Sylvia Marler	Poppy Appeal Organiser
	Mr David Humphrey	Recruitment Advisor
	Mr Jon Hunt	Member/ Std Bearer
	Mr Mike Lloyd	Member
	Mrs Angela Manners	Member
	Mr Kevin Taylor	Member
	Mr Peter Ward	Member
	Mrs Jacqueline Ward	Member

01. Exhortation:

The President.

The Vice Chairman recorded best wishes from The Committee to The Chairman and hoped for a continued recovery.

02. Apologies:

	Mr Ken Whetlor	Chairman
	Mr Martin Jones	Honorary Treasurer
	Lt Col Ross Bennett	Welfare Chairman

03. Minutes of the Last Meeting:

The Minutes of the last Meeting held on the 4th of July 2013 were agreed as a true record and signed by The Chairman.

Proposed Ania Driver Seconded Angela Manners Carried Unanimously.

04. Matters Arising:

The Dorset Community Fund Raiser, Mr I J Jarvis, is unable to attend tonight.

The Chairman reiterated that it is an incredibly difficult job to contact all the Town organisations about Remembrance Day. Dave Humphrey made the point that all correspondence should be addressed to The Secretary and accurately recorded. This was agreed.

The two local papers have been given the new timings for the Remembrance Day Parade: The News has published them but The View From has not. A reminder will be sent.

There has been a disappointing lack of response from members to send their email addresses. I understand, from The Town Council, that ninety percent of the town population is now on email, but there has been no reply from non-committee members.

Dave Humphrey has a list of some members' emails which he will send to David.

Dave Humphrey commented on the minute stating there will be no further fund- raising events this year. He pointed out that if we are not raising money then we are not functioning as a Branch.

The Chairman asked if there had been any progress concerning the cadets. The Secretary has the notes compiled by The Treasurer which will be handed to Kevin Taylor at the end of the meeting.

05. Additions to the Agenda.

None.

06. Chairman’s Report.

Not present.

07. Vice Chairman’s Report.

A meeting was held with the Mayor concerning Remembrance Sunday. It was agreed that the Town Council would not be part of The Parade from the gardens, but would join us in St Michael's Church. The Council will not be present at The War Memorial when The Parade gives the complementary “Eyes Left.”

David has spoken to the two Town Mace Bearers, as requested by The Mayor. They are happy in principal with the changes but will discuss it further between themselves. The Secretary stated that their choices are: to accompany the Mayor as Mace Bearers; join The Parade as RBL Members; or accompany The Mayor to The Church and fall in at the rear of The Parade for The “Eyes Left.” David said they are aware of this.

At last there are three taxi companies in The Town. The one that is place at the moment for the benefit of members is Robin May's M Cabs, telephone 442222. Dave Humphrey emphasised that only beneficiaries are entitled to use the service. The definition of beneficiaries are people who have served for at least a week in HM Forces, including TA, and their dependents. All requests are initially referred to The Vice Chairman.

8. Honorary Secretary’s Report.

The Vice Chairman and I are due to attend a Branch Management Course at the end of November in London.

The details of the person running County Standard Bearer training were given to Jon. Kevin is to attend training on the 22nd of September in Bovington. Jon said he will also attend. On the 12th of October will be the Standard Bearers Competition.

The Branch Assets List should be completed in time for the AGM so that it can be sent to County as part of the MS 1 Form.

The only correspondence was the County Newsletter which has been distributed.

09. Honorary Treasurer’s Report:

The Secretary presented the Treasurer's report:

The Branch holds:	Last Report 04.07.13	This report 05.09.13
Current Account	£272.62	£544.98
Branch Funds at Head Office	£13,122.97	£13,213.82
Total	£13,395.59	£13,758.80

The forms for the new signatories for the HSBC Account were completed at the end of the meeting. Proof of identity is required at the local branch.

10. Welfare Chairman’s Report.

Not present.

11. Welfare Secretary’s Report.

The problem about a taxi for an ongoing case has been resolved.

The Chairman stated that the procedure for someone wanting to use a cab for a medical visit in Lyme, Charmouth or, sometimes further, was to contact him initially to explain the circumstances. The journey can then be authorised, up to a maximum of £20 per individual case, for each occasion.

12. Poppy Appeal Organiser’s Report.

The wreaths and poppies have been ordered. I have mentioned the new Parade timings to everyone involved with the wreaths and they all think it is a good idea.

13. Recruitment Advisor’s Report:

The Direct Debit cards have been sent to Members in the post, the cash cards will be delivered on 13th of this month. As I am out of the country, the branch cash cards will be delivered to the county office for me to collect from there on the 25th of the month when I am at my next meeting in Blandford.

The price of membership has gone up to £14:00 per year, and I am expecting some refusals once more this year bringing the membership down.

It has been decided that serving members of the armed forces can become members of the RBL for free by joining on line, this does not entitle them to vote on matters of the Legion, but it does get them interested in the organization and therefore possible full members. So if you know of any serving member who is not interested in joining the branch just yet please let them know about this new idea.

As for Welfare, I have visited two clients over the border in Devon over the last month, and these are ongoing cases.

14. Standard Bearer’s Activities.

I will attend the training dates so that I am trained sufficiently to carry out my duties.

15. Future Meetings.

The next General Committee Meeting will be held at 19:00hours, in The Woodmead Hall, on the Thursday the 3rd of October 2013.

GM Thursday the 28th of November 2013.

Meeting Closed: at 19:45 hours.

Thursday, 4 July 2013

Minutes Of The General Meeting Of The Lyme Regis Branch. Held At The Woodmead Halls, Lyme Regis, Thursday 04 July 2013 At 19:00 Hrs.

Present:
	Mr Cecil Quick	President
	Mr Ken Whetlor	Chairman
	Mr David Manners	Vice Chairman
	Mr Tony Smith	Honorary Secretary
	Mr Martin Jones	Honorary Treasurer
	Lt Col Ross Bennett	Welfare Chairman
	Mrs Ania Driver	Welfare Secretary
	Mrs Sylvia Marler	Poppy Appeal Organiser
	Mr Jon Hunt	Member/ Std Bearer
	Mrs Angela Manners.	Member
	Mr Peter Ward	Member
	Mrs Jacqueline Ward	Member

01. Exhortation:

The President

02. Apologies:

	Mr David Humphrey	Recruitment Advisor
	Mr Kevin Taylor	Member
	Mr Mike Lloyd	Member

03. Minutes of the Last Meeting:

The Minutes of the last Meeting held on the 9th of May 2013 were agreed as a true record and signed by The Chairman.

Proposed: David Manners

Seconded: Ross Bennett

Carried: Unanimously.

04. Matters Arising:

None.

05. Additions to the Agenda.

None.

06. Chairman’s Report

The Chairman had no idea why he had forwarded the following three items to The Secretary to include in The Agenda:

Clock presentation on the 9th of July.
Representation on other committees. (Ania pointed out that she is on The Woodmead Halls Committee, as had been agreed previously.)
Anniversary invites. Have we got any anniversaries coming up? The Vice Chairman commented that next year would be the centenary of WW 1.

(After Minute. The Secretary has checked the records and these three items were on the Agenda for the GM held on the 7th of July 2011.)

07. Vice Chairman’s Report.

The last two months have been taken up predominately by the Remembrance Sunday Service, and I would like to thank The Secretary for his invaluable assistance in helping our Committee and this Branch in reaching a very satisfactory outcome. It has been agreed that The Remembrance Sunday Service will now begin at 10 am rather than in the afternoon.

The Secretary read the message sent to The Reverend Skinner:

Dear Jane,

Thank you very much for arranging yesterday's meeting. We will now work on the following agreed programme for Remembrance Sunday:

08:55 hrs Parade assembles in Langmoor Gardens.
09:15 hrs Parade steps off.
09:40 hrs Parade arrives at St Michael's Church.
10:00 hrs Remembrance Sunday Service.
11:00 hrs Last Post – Silence – Reveille.

Remainder of the Service.

After church Parade reforms and marches past The War Memorial.

These timings will be used for all our future planning.

Thank you again for a most productive meeting.

The Vice Chairman said that the thing to impress on everybody is that the major change is the timings – the format remains the same, apart from the Act of Remembrance moving from the beginning of The Service to the end, so that it falls in line with 11 o'clock. So we are uniting, for the first time in seventy years, with the rest of the nation.

I have written to the local newspapers hoping it will be printed this week.

I have been in touch with The Town Council to obtain a list of all local organisations, but they are not permitted to give it to me due to The Data Protection Act. I would like to write to all of them to inform them of this significant change to the Town's Calendar. I will have to do that a long way round somehow.

A downside to this is that The Town Band might not be available; but the organist will be and also someone to sound The Last Post and Reveille.

I would also like all members who have email to forward their address to me so that we have a valid source of communication.

We lost Keith Austin recently and I was very disappointed at the standard of the wreath provided by The Legion. We are looking for something more dignified to represent The Branch on these occasions.

It has been suggested to me that we might like to be represented at The Christmas Tree Festival at The Baptist Church. I think this would be a good idea to help to give The Branch a more public profile.

It was confirmed that no other fund raising events are planned for this year. The block programme for 2014 could be considered at the next meeting. If the Town Diary is not a reliable source of all organisations' activities the TIC might be able to assist.

The Chairman recorded a vote of thanks for The Vice Chairman's and The Secretary's work on the implementation of the new programme for Remembrance Sunday.

08. Honorary Secretary’s Report.

Courses 2013.

There is now a Training Officer at County, Mr John Hurst. The Vice Chairman and I hope to attend a Branch Management course this year.

The lady in charge of Case Worker courses has informed me that there will be no training for Branch Members until the Autumn.

Details of Standard Bearer training, run by Jillian Hurst, will be sent to Jon Hunt.

Inventory.

A provisional list of Branch Property was produced at the last meeting.

I managed to track down the Oak Goblet and Certificate at The Town Museum. It had never been displayed but merely stored there. The current Director, Mr David Tucker, explained that it had no relevance to their area or collecting policy and he was keen that it should be returned to us.

I think it would be a good idea to mount The Goblet in a glass case with the framed Certificate alongside. The cost of this would be in excess of £100 but Steve Staples has kindly volunteered to help us out with this project. I suggest that a suitable location would be in the room where we hold our meetings.

Proposed: Tony Smith

Seconded: Angela Manners

Carried: Unanimously.

The only addition to the list is a Tombola kit held by David Manners. The Chairman has been unable to trace the Youth Club Cup but remains hopeful he can do so.

A draft format for a Property Book was agreed by the meeting. When this has been completed it will form part of our annual report to County.

Correspondence.

Another copy of The Annual Minutes for 2013 and an amendment were handed to The Chairman.

A letter has been received about this year's National Festival of Remembrance, on the 9th of November. Anyone wishing to attend should apply to The Secretary.

09. Honorary Treasurer’s Report.

I have started to research how to form an affiliation with the Woodroffe School CCF. Kevin Taylor currently works with cadets and is willing to be involved in this project.

Accounts.

The RBL is moving the end of the Financial Year to the end of June; this relieves the pressure on Branches during the busy period building up to November.

Three copies of the Receipts and Payment Forms as at the end of June were signed by The Chairman, Vice Chairman and Secretary, prior to sending them for audit.

The Branch holds:	Last Report 09.05.13	This report 04.07.13
Current Account	£256.33	£272.62
Branch Funds at Head Office	£13,015.00	£13,122.97
Total	£13,271.33	£13,395.59

Note: There are outstanding cheques from Jim McMurtry's funeral, £90 and £100 odd from the BFI account interest, which will credited on the 8th or 9th of July.

Jon Hunt and I have been talking about him taking over the accounts ans we have completed a practice trial balance. Jon should be able to take over in about six months or so.

On the Receipts Form there are amounts for donations, £300; interest £216 this year, but this for only tree-quarters of a year, it would be normally be in the region of £400.

This year we have no income from fund raising activities. My inclination is that it would be good if someone would revive the Monthly Draw or have other ideas for activities to raise money.

10. Welfare Chairman’s Report.

Nothing new; normal welfare visits continue.

11. Welfare Secretary’s Report.

I spoke to someone who is experiencing difficulty in getting a taxi when required. I checked with the taxi firm who stated there is no problem with system but no-one had ordered one. I ensured that the case knew this and gave him both the numbers for the taxi firm.

The Vice Chairman commented that there used to be a plethora of taxi firms in Lyme but we are now down to one. He understands the individual's frustration as they are very difficult to hire as they never answer the phone. He will visit the firm.

12. Poppy Appeal Organiser’s Report.

Nothing to report.

Ania mentioned that she and Sylvia had spoken to the CCF commander, after the Armed Forces Day Parade, to ask if it would be possible for cadets in uniform to help with the street collections. Angela pointed out that they would have to be 16 years old to do so.

The participation of the CCF might be more easily accomplished after closer liaison with Woodroffe School during discussions about a possible affiliation.

13. Recruitment Advisor’s Report:

The Secretary passed on a message from Dave Humphrey that because the dates of the last meeting had been changed, (due to local elections), The Dorset Community Fund Raiser had been unable to attend. However, Mr I J Jarvis is hoping to attend the meeting in September.

14. Standard Bearer’s Activities:

Jon apologised profusely for not attending The Blessing of The Boats on Rogation Sunday. It will be the last time it happens.

The Secretary pointed out to Jon that, during his absence at the last meeting, it was agreed that the dates when his attendance is essential are as follows:

Parade Dates

March/April Rogation Sunday (Blessing of The Boats) - 5th Sunday after Easter.
June Armed Forces Day - last Saturday of the month.
November 11 Armistice Day - always the 11th at 11:00 hrs at The War Memorial.
November Remembrance Day Parade - nearest Sunday to the 11th.
November AGM Woodmead Halls - last Thursday of the Month.

If there is a problem that prevents attendance at any of these events please let The Committee know in good time so that someone can be arranged to take your place.

15. Future Meetings:

The next General Committee Meeting will be held at 19:00hours, in The Woodmead Halls, on the Thursday the 5th of September.

AGM: Thursday the 28th of November.

Meeting Closed: at 19:48 hours.

Thursday, 9 May 2013

Minutes Of The General Meeting Of The Lyme Regis Branch. Held At The Woodmead Halls, Lyme Regis, Thursday 09 May 2013 At 19:00 Hrs.

Present:
	Mr Cecil Quick	President
	Mr Ken Whetlor	Chairman
	Mr David Manners	Vice Chairman
	Mr Tony Smith	Honorary Secretary
	Mr Martin Jones	Honorary Treasurer
	Lt Col Ross Bennett	Welfare Chairman
	Mrs Ania Driver	Welfare Secretary
	Mrs Sylvia Marler	Poppy Appeal Organiser
	Mr David Humphrey	Recruitment Advisor
	Mrs Angela Manners.	Member

01. Exhortation:

The President

02. Apologies:

	Mr Keith Austin	Member
	Mr Mike Lloyd	Member
	Mr Kevin Taylor	Member
	Mr Peter Ward	Member
	Mrs Jacqueline Ward	Member
Absent:
	Mr Jon Hunt	Member

03. Minutes of the Last Meeting:

The Minutes of the last Meeting held on the 7th of March were agreed as a true record and signed by The Chairman.

Proposed: Angela Manners Seconded: Ross Bennett Carried:Unanimously.

04. Matters Arising:

The Chairman had no idea why The Area Manager did not attend the Meeting.

05. Additions to the Agenda.

Armed Forces Day.

CCF Affiliation.

06. Chairman’s Report.

NTR.

07. Vice Chairman’s Report.

Remembrance Day Parade. The meeting in the church been successful. However, at the meeting with the other denominations The Reverend Skinner reports that they, and now she, are against the idea.

The Secretary will draft a letter for the Chairman to send to The Reverend Jane Skinner inviting her and the other churches to a meeting to resolve this issue.

The Town Band are incredibly busy during the summer but it is hoped a convenient date may be found for them to hold a concert on our behalf.

The Masonic Hall is happy to host a breakfast; dates need to be confirmed.

08. Honorary Secretary’s Report.

A letter of thanks was sent to The Golf Club following our dinner there.

I would like to propose a vote of thanks to Dave Humphrey who worked extremely hard to make this evening such a success.

Seconded: Ross Bennett. Carried: enthusiastically unanimous.

A draft letter was agreed for The Chairman to send to Keith Austin.

Courses: John Hurst is now The County Training Officer. Haig House has been approached to run Branch Management and Branch Treasurer Courses. If their staff cannot do so can County run them? An answer is awaited.

The Area manager, Christine Kitchener, deals with caseworker training and can be contacted direct.

Jillian Hurst will be in touch regarding Standard Bearer and Parade Marshal training.

Armed Forces Day, 29th of June 2013.

This will be a civic parade. The Salamanca Band from The Rifles and The Lyme Regis Town Band will play in the shelters. The parade will march from The Guildhall/Gun Cliff to the shelters, where there will be an exchange of gifts.

As this will be taking place before the next meeting, I will send an email after the meeting with The Town Clerk to confirm details. Please give this wide publicity and encourage people to take part in the parade.

Inventory.

It would be advantageous if we held an inventory of The Branch assets. The following items were identified by the meeting:

The Standard, Frog and Gauntlets.
The Plaque on the wall of The Woodmead Hall.
The Chairman’s Medal of Office.
The Goblet and Certificate in The Town Museum.
The Quiz Trophy with Sylvia.
The Jack Loveridge Trophy with David Humphrey.

The Chairman said there used to be a cup for the Best Member of The Youth Club; he will try and trace this.

The inventory will be checked annually and County will receive a copy.

The Final Agenda for The Annual Conference 2013. This held by The Chairman and a copy was given to Ross Bennett.

09. Honorary Treasurer’s Report:

The Branch holds:	Last Report 06.03.13	This report 09.05.13
Current Account	£69.29	£256.33
Branch Funds at Head Office	£13,847.00	£13,015.00
Total	£13,916.29	£13,271.33

Notes: Figures include donations of £230.33 made at Jim McMurty's funeral service.

Membership fees of £832 have been collected by Head Office.

A copy of The Policy Statement concerning the legitimate use of Branch funds was given to each member present.

As a former member of the CCF, Martin feels it would be beneficial to explore the possibility of them becoming affiliated to The Branch; he will liaise with the school.

10. Welfare Chairman’s Report.

Welfare visits continue to Care Homes and also people's homes if requested.

11. Welfare Secretary’s Report.

I have missed two meetings, but Ross and I have chatted and I will visit any female cases as required.

12. Poppy Appeal Organiser’s Report.

Nothing except that I have banked £211 from the raffle held at the Dinner.

13. Recruitment Advisor’s Report:

We have lost one member, Mr McMurtry, since the last meeting.

The membership now stands at 164 members.
105 Pay by Direct Debit
57 Pay by Cash
2 are Life members.

I am pleased to say we should soon have our first youth member, who is keen to wave a Legion flag.

The Welfare Form Alpha.

Dave explained the various pages that have to be completed on the form. There are sections for details about the proposed recipient and family, earnings, assets, income, expenditure and savings. To be eligible, candidates must have capital of under £10K.

This is a very thorough procedure and takes about two hours to complete. The final stage is the caseworkers report which is sent in for consideration.

14. Standard Bearer’s Activities:

No one knew why The Standard Bearer had not been at The Blessing of The Boats.

The Chairman will investigate and inform the next meeting.

15. Future Meetings:

GM	Thursday the 5th of September, at 19:00 hours in The Woodmead Halls.
AGM	Thursday the 28th of November 2013.

Meeting Closed: at 19:58 hours.

Thursday, 7 March 2013

Minutes Of The General Meeting Of The Lyme Regis Branch. Held At The Woodmead Halls, Lyme Regis, Thursday 07 March 2013 At 19:00 Hrs.

Present:
Committee:	Mr Cecil Quick	President
	Mr Ken Whetlor	Chairman
	Mr David Manners	Vice Chairman
	Mr Tony Smith	Honorary Secretary
	Mr Martin Jones	Honorary Treasurer
	Lt Col Ross Bennett	Welfare Chairman
	Mrs Sylvia Marler	Poppy Appeal Organiser
	Mr David Humphrey	Recruitment Advisor
	Mr Mike Lloyd	Member
	Mrs Angela Manners.	Member
	Mr Kevin Taylor	Member
	Mrs Jacqueline Ward	Member
Guests:	Mrs Lucy Eden	County Chairman.
	Mr Ron Eden	Christchurch Branch.

01. Exhortation:

The President

02. Apologies:

	Mr Keith Austin	Member
	Mr Jon Hunt	Member
	Mr Peter Ward	Member
Absent:
	Mrs Ania Driver	Welfare Secretary
	CJ Kitchener	Area Manager.

Before the Meeting started, The Vice Chairman introduced Mr Phillip Evans, who received a Certificate in recognition of his Meritorious Service to The Royal British Legion, Lyme Regis Branch, over the last seventeen years.

Mr Evans responded by saying he had always been a huge admirer and supporter of the RBL. It had been an tremendous privilege for him to compere the annual Festival of Remembrance. He said “I am enormously proud to have received this Certificate and I will treasure it for the rest of my life.”

03. Minutes of the Last Meeting:

The Minutes of the last Meeting held on the 3rd of January 2013 were agreed as a true record and signed by The Chairman.

Proposed: David Humphrey. Seconded: Kevin Taylor. Carried: Unanimously.

04. Matters Arising:

None.

05. Additions to the Agenda.

None.

06. Chairman’s Report.

I have not got a report. I had expected Madam Kitchener to address the meeting but she is not here. However, The County Chairman, Mrs Lucy Eden is here and I would like her to say a few words.

The County Chairman has only been in the chair for seven weeks but stated that “ My aim is to visit all Branches over the next three years and bring Branches together and work together again.”

Remembrance Parade:

The Chairman sent a letter to The Reverend Jane Skinner and to The Council asking for comments about changing to a morning parade. The Council is happy but there has been no reply from the church to date.

The Vice Chairman said that the programme cannot be rewritten until the church’s views are known.

(After Minute. The Chairman, Vice Chairman and Secretary met The Reverend Jane Skinner and Margaret McConkey in St. Michael’s Church on the 2nd of April 2013.

It was agreed in principal that the new timings should be:

10:10 hours Assemble in Langmoor Gardens.
10:35 hours Arrive at St. Michael’s Church.
10:45 hours Service begins.
11:00 hours Two Minutes Silence.
Post service March past the War Memorial.

The Reverend Jane will be attending a meeting with the other Ministers in Lyme on the 10th of April, and will inform them about these changes. No information has been received about the outcome of this meeting.)

07. Vice Chairman’s Report.

The Town band are aware of the changes to The Festival of Remembrance and the Remembrance Day Parade.

The Town Diary is the most underused document in the town. It is no help in planning our fundraising dates. At the next meeting I will bring details of all the activities in the town for 2013.

08. Honorary Secretary’s Report.

There are still no details of courses. The branch has a requirement for:

Branch Management
Branch Treasurer
Case Worker
Parade Marshal and
Standard Bearer Training.

The Secretary put in a plea to The County Chairman, whilst understanding that County is in a state of upheaval at the moment, this branch has a requirement for courses.

The County Chairman replied that there is now a Training Officer on board and it is recognised that appointees to committees need to be properly trained. It is hoped to run future course in Dorset.

Dave Humphrey has given all the details of Standard Bearer Training to Jon Hunt.

09. Honorary Treasurer’s Report:

The Branch holds:	Last Report 03.01.13	This report 07.03.13
Current Account	£1,077.79	£69.29
Branch Funds at Head Office	£13,738.10	£13,847.00
Total	£14,815.89	£13,916.29

Notes:

£832.00 will be debited by Head Office in the next few weeks for membership subscriptions.

The donation of £1,000 to County Welfare is now reflected in the above figures.

10. Welfare Chairman’s Report.

The visit programme continues.

I visited a 93 years old lady the other day who is basically suffering from the UK’s biggest disease – loneliness!

Lymewood visits to dementia patients continue.

Our Committee Member, Keith, has undergone a major operation and will no longer be able to serve on The Committee. He is now being treated at home.

Dave Humphrey proposed that a letter should be sent to Keith Austin accepting his resignation and thanking him for his attendance over the years. This was seconded by David Manners and unanimously agreed. The Secretary will draft a letter for The Chairman.

Ted Bignal is ill in The Ryeberry Ward in Bridport Hospital. As his wife does not drive some assistance is required. He will probably be going to Dorchester soon.

The Welfare Chairman recounted a story that he had given a brand new raincoat to a needy farmer who had given £10 for it. Ross had accepted it as a donation to The Legion. The farmer had been pleasantly surprised to receive a letter of thanks from Martin confirming the money had actually gone to The RBL!

11. Welfare Secretary’s Report.

Absent.

12. Poppy Appeal Organiser’s Report.

All the money for the wreaths has been received – including The Coast Guards!

13. Recruitment Advisor’s Report:

I have recruited one member since the last meeting, and I have my eyes on one other at the moment.

The membership now stands at 165 members.
106 pay by Direct Debit
57 pay by Cash
2 are Life members.

Badges:

I hold six Legion Membership Badges and £70.00. If any committee member knows of any member wishing to purchase a badge they are £5:00 each.

Legion Dinner:

I am in the process of organising a dinner for Legion members and guests at the Golf Club on Saturday 6th April. I have sent out 150 letters to the 165 members and I have to say I think it has been a poor response: 34 people will be attending as it stands at the moment. That is only a response from 17 members. However the minimum number required was 20, so the event can continue.

14. Standard Bearer’s Activities:

Not present.

15. Future Meetings:

The next General Committee Meeting will be held at 19:00hours, in The Woodmead Halls, on the Thursday the 2nd of May 2013.

Meeting Closed: at 20:03 hours.