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Reunions
2013

Minutes of the AAJLR Comrades Association
Annual General Meeting
by Mike Owsley


Held at the Min-Y-Mor Hotel, Barmouth, Wales
Saturday 23rd. March 2013 at 1735 hours
33 Members Present

Apologies for Absence:
The following tendered their apologies:-
 David Patterson     Lenny Kalter     Colin Sibary 
 Alan Moore   Terry Scriven   Mick Chapman 
 Chris Elsey   Brian Simpson   Bob Shedden 
 George Bilton   John Wiseman   Peter Wooldridge 
 Mick Bradley   Tom Silverside   ChuckPettit 
 Malcolm Palfrey   Tam Forrester   Tony Hattersley 
 Gus Boag   Henry Holmes   Bruce Watson 
 John Burns   Eddie Nuttall   Ivan Scott-Lewis 
 Ian Drew   Peter Rogerson   

Opening Address
The President opened the meeting at 1735 hours with the following:
The President welcomed everyone who made it to Barmouth in particular those who have made it for the first time, he welcomed:
Tom Gracie
Stan Preece
Ken Hare
Brian Kemp
He also restated that decisions made by members at this meeting are binding.
The President asked members to stand to remember the comrades who have passed on in the past year.
The President has been asked by the daughter of the lady due to marry Major Gerry Owens just before his early death, if anyone had any information to help her remember him. Gerry was the Platoon commander for Dettingen Platoon and also ran the Climbing and Hockey hobbies.

Minutes of the Previous Meeting
There were no comments on the minutes.
Proposal: That the minutes be passed as read.
Proposed By: Geoff Brown
Seconded By: Sam Gribben
Carried

Secretary’s Report
This year we have opened up a new page for the Association on Facebook, I am well aware it is not everyone’s cup of tea, however it is another means of communication and a way of attracting new members who are not on the Forum or find the Forum difficult to use. So far I have identified a source of new members through Facebook, in particular the many RASC/RCT juniors who attended Tonfanau.
The Association Membership list runs into many pages, however the numbers who attend do not match the numbers on the list. It is my intention to clean the list up and to confirm again both home and the e-mail addresses. This year I had over fifty returned e-mails which confirms to me that the list is wrong.
My intention is to write to everyone asking for their correct e-mail address, confirm that the postal address is correct and hopefully that way I will receive returned mail.
This evening we will have the first photograph taken of the members attending the reunion which will take place after this meeting; if the wind has dropped it will be taken outside the Hotel. The photographer will then stay for our evening function and take pictures which he will put on a disc and sell for £5.00; £2.00 of which will go to our nominated charity. Hopefully, we shall get the group photo back tonight for viewing.
A number of members had problems in booking a room at the Min-Y-Mor, if you do please phone or e-mail me and I will help out. Again please let me know if you are attending so that we can get the seating and the buffet right, it is unfair to the hotel to just turn up and expect to be seated and to dine.

Treasurer's Report
The 2012/2013 Accounts circulated. Currently we have £438.22 in our account, but that will hopefully be swelled considerably – if previous years are a guide – during this weekend. Any cheques received since I typed my report last week will be banked after this weekend.
Monies are held in a simple Nationwide Treasurers Book account which produces about a couple of pence a year interest; details are recorded on an Excel spreadsheet as circulated. There is no legal requirement for audit. Copies can be supplied to any member requesting one at any time throughout the year – just e-mail me.
Entries in red are obviously payments out of the account.
Entries in blue indicate where members pay in excess of the five pounds annual subscription the surplus then being carried over to the following year, or even years. Unless specifically stated the surplus is never taken as a donation. These are very generous and are appreciated by the charities but unless you are making a donation then £5.00 per year is sufficient. To date John Burns and John Reid are already paid up to 2015, Geoff Graves to 2016, and Mel Smith and Terry Jamieson until 2017!
‘Shop’ items (Association tie, plaque and lapel pin badges) are available from Mike. For those who are unaware we buy the badges for £2 each and sell them for £5; the surplus going to our chosen charity.
We have circulated envelopes and if you are paying your annual subscription, buying shop items or making a donation would you please use those envelopes, marking it clearly with your name and for what the money is intended. This cuts down the likelihood of money going astray, or of my not being able to work out from whom it derived.
It is a fact that such is the nature of our Association we do not even insist that those attending reunions have to be fully paid up members; however we cannot give to military charities or meet our occasional costs without sufficient funds. To that end I would request that those who have not paid their subscriptions for 2013/2014 – due on 1 April – should do so by means of the previously mentioned envelopes.
The cost of accommodation and for the buffet – separately for those staying elsewhere to this hotel – must be paid direct to the Min-Y-Mor.

Charities
Since 2007 we have supported certain charities. Although we have sent some donations to Help for Heroes, the Army Benevolent Fund, St Dunstan’s and Outward Bound Wales Mountain Rescue, our main charity was Combat Stress to where we have sent a total of £2,521.00. It was decided at the AGM last year that our recipient charity would be SSAFA Forces Help which, to date has received £350.00 from this Association. In addition, as you’ll see from the Accounts we have paid £47.50 for a wreath for Barrie Jeffrey, £40.00 to Combat Stress – this being a personal donation from a member – and the Cadair Plaque at £88.54.
The sum of £50.00 was sent to Ken Hart to assist in the running of our website but that too was donated by a member and the only money from funds was £12.00 which is the unavoidable cost of a Canadian Dollar cheque; our account does not have a direct transfer facility.
Sending a similar sum to Ken for this year was agreed by a show of hands. [Addendum: Subsequent to the meeting an Association member offered to personally donate £50.00 for the Webmaster and ensure that it was passed to him without any charge to our account]
Given that SSAFA has only been our chosen charity for a year you may wish to stay supporting that following this AGM, but it is the decision for the membership and if anyone wishes to propose an alternative now is the time, and a vote will be taken.
The following charities are those suggested and that chosen for the year 2013/14 will be by a show of hands.
Combat Stress
Help for Heroes
The Army Benevolent Fund
The Royal British Legion
The Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association
The Blind & Limbless Ex-Servicemen's Association
Blind Veterans UK (formerly St. Dunstan's)
There were votes for most of the list however by a substantial majority the meeting nominated Combat Stress as the members’ chosen charity for the coming year.
Richard Rothwell proposed that, whilst there were Association members who wished to climb Cadair Idris over the reunion weekends and thus the potential for injury that the sum of £50.00 should be sent annually to the local Mountain Rescue organisation. A vote was taken and the proposal carried. The Treasurer will take the necessary action.

Any Other Business
Informal Reunions
‘Mini-Reunions’ are held throughout the year – to date I believe all have been held in London, though there are of course other get-togethers, e.g. Stan and Ken in Oz. Over here since last year we have held the now annual St Fagg’s Day Luncheon on 26 April, where we turned out seven former Tonfanau ‘inmates’ and then the Joint AAJLR/ICCY Luncheon in November where a similar number of us were on parade. These were both held at the Civil Service Club – where we are well looked after – and are arranged by John Sabini. This year the St Fagg’s Day is on Thursday 25th next month and if anyone would like to be kept informed about it or the November one – date still to be arranged – please let John have your e-mail address and/or contact numbers.
Changes of Address
It was suggested by Herbie Slaughter that when members changed their telephone, mobile numbers and e-mail addresses they should notify the Secretary as a matter of priority.
Thanks for the Committee
Members wished their thanks for the organisation of the Association by Mike, Richard and Larry minuted. Larry stated that he “answered a few e-mails and makes a comment or two throughout the year, but its Mike and Richard who do the work”. The committee thanked the membership for their support and stated that they were content to continue in post; in fact that running the Association was a pleasure.
Wives and Partners
Jim Sherville requested that we have some means of recognising the partner of our members; the Secretary can if need be produce a name tag, but members must let him know if this is the wish of the majority.
Location of Reunions
David Scott raised the question of the date for the reunions and that it would be better if they were a month later.
René Dee suggested a change of venue to perhaps a central location in England.
Both of these ideas have been brought to the Annual General Meeting in the past and on occasions a vote taken. The result in those instances being that members preferred to come to a base near to Tonfanau and that our date does not clash with other Regimental and Corps reunions; the “Gunner Boys” being one.
The Secretary agreed to add both suggestions as separate questions in his intended letter to members.
It was noted by the meeting that despite the excellent work carried out by René Dee in organising a Cader climb for this weekend the very adverse weather conditions precluded their going up the mountain, though a start was made. The Committee wished to thank René for his efforts and the point was made that now the mechanism is in place to involve the Duke of Edinburgh Award office, Wales, and others that this can be more easily transferred to subsequent years. Despite the climb being called off the Association were still welcoming William Powell AM to our buffet dinner this evening.
Closing Notes
The President again thanked those for attending, particularly in the prevailing weather.

Venue/Date - AGM 2014
This will take place at 1700 hours, on Saturday 28th. March 2014 in the restaurant of The Min-Y-Mor Hotel, South Promenade, Barmouth, Gwynedd.

There being no further business the meeting closed at 1838 with members retiring for a group photo.

Mike Owsley
Honorary Secretary
AAJLR Association
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If you have any reunion photos I would love to show them.


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