HMS GANGES ASSOCIATION
Minutes of Meeting held at
RNA Uxbridge
388A Long Lane, Uxbridge, Middlesex UB10 9PG
9 May 2018
PRESENT:
Colin Gent Chairman
Cliff Snelling Secretary
Phil Bridge Treasurer
Ken Bushnell Membership Secretary
Des Kerrigan Events & Standards
Tony Willders Reunion Co-ordinator
Florrie Ford Certificates Secretary
George Barnham
Topsy Turner
Observers: Jim Goddard, Dennis Cracknell, Annette Bushnell, Christine Snelling
Meeting opened: 1112
1. Opening Remarks
The Chairman, Colin Gent, welcomed everyone to the meeting and thanked them for attending. He also thanked the Chairman and Committee of RNA Uxbridge for providing the venue and refreshments for the meeting.
Colin said that this meeting was predominately a review of Reunion & AGM 2018, and to put in place a programme to go forward to Reunion & AGM 2019. He thanked the wives who gave up most of their time to run the Raffles, help with Membership, and generally support the Committee whose hard work made Reunion 2018 such a success.
2. Minutes of Previous Meeting
The minutes of the previous meeting held on 10 January 2018 at RNA Tamworth were approved as a true record and accepted. There were no matters arising.
3. Secretary’s Report
The Secretary, Cliff Snelling, said he had received several emails congratulating the Committee on
another successful Reunion. Everyone had mentioned what a great job the Committee had done and that without our commitment and dedication the Reunions would not be the success that they are.
4. Financial Report – Reunion 2018
Treasurer, Phil Bridge, provided an analysis of the income and expenditure for Reunion 2018. This
detailed all cash received over the weekend from various raffles and donations, and the expenses
incurred, including donations to the Sea Cadet units, the Pipe Band, the Awesome Cabin Buoys, and Grand Draw winners. The figures showed a small loss of £254.57, much lower than in previous years.
The Rum Maiden Raffle raised £820 which was donated to the Scarborough SCC Fund. The Church
Collection raised £522.40 and this was donated to Prostrate Cancer UK; we have received a letter of
thanks from them. The Grand Draw made a profit of £3,586.20.
5. Membership Report – Reunion 2018
Membership Secretary, Ken Bushnell, said that MemSec station was very busy on the Saturday with
members requesting their new Membership Cards, and this led to the station being re-opened again on the Sunday.
As at 7 May 2018:
Active Members 1250
Life Members 727
Associate Members 83
Lapsed 366 (216 Life Members)
TOTAL 2426
Crossed the Bar 7
New Members 10
The above stats are since the AGM at Mill Rythe on 14 April 2018
Ken said that there was an increase of friends and guests of Ganges Boys requesting to join the
Association as Associate Members. Those people requesting Associate Member forms praised the whole weekend as being well organised, very well run, and most enjoyable.
6. Certificate Secretary – Reunion 2018
Certificate Secretary, Florrie Ford, said the presentations had gone well this year, and was well organised. He already had some names for next year. Sir James Burnell-Nugent was impressed with the certificates and had asked if his signature could be embossed.
Action: Florrie to investigate further.
7. Reunion 2018 debrief
Reunion Co-ordinator, Tony Willders, said he had received nothing but positive feedback. The new Uckers boards were well received, the Pipe Band was excellent, the Saturday evening entertainment was great, Mill Rythe in-house entertainers were very good, Shep and the Awesome Cabin Buoys were of course ‘awesome’.
8. Reunion 2019
Tony said that booking forms for next year would be sent out with the Summer Gazette. IOW Tours have already received nearly 200 bookings.
Tony stated that we need a decent Union Jack and Ensign for Reunion, and we need to gather all flags in one place. Topsy Turner volunteered to be the official custodian of the flags.
Tony said we needed to purchase two more Uckers boards, this expenditure was approved by the
Committee.
Florrie suggested a Drumhead service for the church service next year.
Action: Florrie and Tony to put together an outline to be discussed at the next committee meeting.
Jim Goddard said that on the IOW Tours website they offered free places when booking groups and asked how the Association allocated these. Tony said that the contract agreed between HMSGA and IOW Tours was not the same as we require sole exclusivity when booking a venue, and we as an Association cannot negotiate better prices than IOW Tours. All members attending Reunion pay the same rate for their accommodation. Committee Members and their wives also pay the same rate, they do not receive any discounts. If we do not achieve the minimum number of bookings required to cover the cost of the venue no cost is incurred by the Association; any loss is borne by IOW Tours.
9. GDPR
The General Data Protection Regulation comes into effect on 25 May 2018. This changes the law on how organisations handle personal information, particularly with an increasingly digital era. HMSGA takes your privacy seriously and will only use your personal information to administer your membership, to provide you with your Gazette, and inform you of any events.
Our Membership Secretary, Ken Bushnell, had been appointed as the person responsible to ensure that the Association complies with the GDPR.
Action: Membership Sec: Copy of Privacy Policy to be sent to all members with option to opt out;
Membership forms to be updated; personal information to be monitored.
Secretary: Confidentiality letters to be obtained from IOW Tours and Gazette Printers.
10. Articles for Summer Gazette
The Secretary reminded Committee Members that their submissions for the next Gazette needed to be sent to Dick Lloyd, by the 1st June deadline. Booking forms for the next Reunion and the Privacy Policy also need to be sent.
11. Committee Meeting Dates & Venues
The next Committee Meeting is Wednesday 12th September at 1200.
Venue: Gillingham Golf Club, Woodlands Road, Gillingham, ME7 2AP
It was suggested that a future Committee Meeting may be held on HMS Belfast.
Action: Secretary to contact
13. Any Other Business
• Des Kerrigan and Florrie Ford attended the V E Celebration Day on board HMS Belfast on 8 May.
They were welcomed aboard by the Hon Tim Lewin, Vice-President of the HMS Belfast Association,
and presented a cheque for £100 from the HMSGA to help offset the costs of the celebrations. A full
report and photos will be included in the Summer Gazette.
• Phil Bridge said that Sir James Burnell-Nugent reported that the medals awarded at HMS Raleigh to the class leaders and deputies of the HMS Ganges Division are really appreciated.
• The plate on the Ganges Trophy needs some repair. HMS Raleigh is to investigate the possibility and costs.
• Phil Bridge said that some shrubbery is required around the Mylor memorial. It was agreed to
provide £200 for the purchase of the shrubs. It was also agreed to increase our annual payment to
the gardener to £250 to cover the cost of maintenance of the memorial, regular grass cutting, and
planting and looking after the new shrubs.
Proposed: Des Kerrigan Seconded: Florrie Ford
• Phil Bridge said that he attended the HMS Ganges Association Museum AGM and a new Chairman had been elected.
The Chairman thanked everyone for making the effort to attend.
Meeting closed: 1425
