MINUTES OF THE BLYTHE SAPPERS

43rd MANAGEMENT MEETING

Held on Wednesday 4th October 2006 at the Army & Navy Club, London

(Chairman Spr Jeffrey Lewins)

            Those Present

                        Sapper Lewins                        Chairman

                        Sapper Muller                         Past Chairman

                        Sapper S Sinclair                     Future Chairman

                        Sapper Wilsher                       Honorary Treasurer  

                        Sapper Peacey                        Honorary Auditor

                        Sapper Hamilton                    Membership Secretary

                        Sapper McLennan                  Honorary Secretary

            Item 1.            Opening Remarks.

1.         The Chairman Sapper Lewins welcomed the Committee.

            Item 2             Apologies                 

2.         Apologies received from Sapper Caulfield

            Item 3             Minutes of the meeting of 31st May 2005.

3.         Spr Peacey questioned the accuracy of the Minutes. There was discussion about The Derby Day Draw and 'Gentlemen & Players! Of successive Chairman, the Grant for the West Ridge Adventure Training exercise on Mount Everest. The Minutes were adjusted to include these matters.

4.         The Minutes were noted and signed.

            Item 4             Matters Arising.

5.         Spr Peacey questioned the accuracy of the numbers of Members, Spr Hamilton will check the numbers and the numbers adjusted if he can support the changes

6.         Spr Wilsher stated that the money for the West Ridge had already been granted and allocated to the expedition.

            Item 5             Finance.

7.   Report.   Spr Wilsher gave his report The Blythe Sappers Account Trial Balance as at 24 Sept  -  attached at Annex A

8.         Cost of Lunches for 2007   The Committee agreed that the costs of the Lunches for 2007 will be raised to £42.50 - the Chairman to inform all at the AGM after lunch.

9.         Book.   Spr Muller thanked the Committee for the book sent whilst he was unwell, the book about the discomforts in WW1 made his stay in hospital seem comfortable in comparison.

10.       Subscriptions            Spr Sinclair asked how it is possible to have an odd £5 in subscriptions when the BS annual subscription is £10  --  Spr Wilsher explained that one of the BS Members has continued paying £5 per annum going back over many years and has been paying in advance for his membership until 2013.

11.       Deceased Standing Orders Spr Sinclair asked about standing orders of those who had passed away. It was decided that those standing orders for the current year should remain and not contact the family of the deceased.

12.       Budget 2006 Proposal                      The Committee took note of the budget with a comment on an apparent double entry of Luncheon Guests. The Treasurer concluded by saying that at year end there would a closing balance of about £2,800.

            Item 6             Corps Report           

13.     Report              The Corps Report is attached at Annex B. Spr Hamilton informed the meeting that recruiting is good but retention of soldiers is causing concern. The Corps is very busy and this is reflected in the lack of Adventure Training requests. It was pointed out that the TA and the Ghurkhas are eligible to apply for these funding from the BS fund.

14.       Spending Authority  Spr Sinclair asked if the Chairman Blythe Sappers is consulted prior to the spending of Adventure Training funds. Chairman Lewin said that there had been discussion on this and that the Committee will be informed in retrospect when funds, previously allocated, are spent through the Corps Report. Spr Sinclair said he disagreed with this arrangement.

Item 7 Casualties Since Last Report

15.       Spr Hamilton will post a new list of Members shortly.  The following Sappers had died, since May 05 (or where we have recently been informed), Sprs Raper, Grove, Plummer, Anderson, Wright & Howell.

16.       The following Sappers had resigned, Lister, Cantlay, Spaight, Sherett, N Jordan, Lewis, Julius, RL Jordan.

17.       This brings the total number of The Blythe Sappers to 304.

            Item 8             Nominations for New Members

18        The following were nominated for Membership:

All five were duly elected bringing the total membership to 309. (but not included until standing order is complete)

            Item 9             Attendance & Arrangements for Luncheon  --  4^th October 2006.

·        There will be 84 taking lunch which includes 10 guests. Field Marshal Sir John Chapple is the Principle Guest.  The following to be invited to stand for his introduction:  Sappers Carr-Hill, Ruddy, A Keeley, Sturgeon

            Item 10           Any Other Business

19.       Handover of Chairman                               The Chairman informed the meeting that due to business commitments he will be unable to attend the December meeting and will be handing over his Chairmanship to Sapper Sinclair after the AGM proceedings. It was agreed that he should don the Chairman’s Badge of Office.

20.       BS Director of Music                                  The Chairman asked if Spr Ed Keeley is to remain the BS Director of Music and it was so agreed.

21.       Honorary Status                                           Spr Hamilton raised the question and principle of Honorary status Blythe Sapper should be offered to any distinguished person. It was agreed by the Committee that Blythe Sappers would continue to avoid offering Honorary status.

22.       Honorarium                                                  It was agreed to raise the Honorarium for the Honorary Assistant Secretary to £350 with effect from this year.

23.       The Blythe Sappers Guest Night Spr Sinclair asked if the Chatham Dinner Secretary may attend the next mtg to discuss points raised by letter by Spr Ian Stewart. The letter raised matters of the reception, issues through the evening and the costs of employing extra staff to do “the slips”.  The Secretary will obtain a comparison of the costs for the Guest Night to include the number of staff required for the slips and also for not carrying out the slips. Spr Hamilton pointed out that the position of Mess Manager was vacant following the premature departure of the previous incumbent. Timings are to be made clearer for the next dinner.

24.       Minutes of Meetings.                                  Sapper Peacey made the point on the excellent quality of the Minutes of the AGM 2004 but criticised the Minutes 2005. The 2004 Minutes were signed. Spr Peacey agreed to re-draft the 2005 minutes and present them to Spr Sinclair for signing.

25.       Bank Statements                                          The Honorary Treasurer drew the Committee attention to some numbers that appear against a credit on the bank statements without explanation from where the money has come. He wrote to the Clydesbank for clarification to be informed that the cost of a search would be about £40per hour. The Committee agreed that this would an unnecessary expense.

            Item 11           Date of Next Meeting                    

26.       The date the next meeting will take place at 1100hrs on 6^th December 2006.

Annex A to Blythe Sappers Management Mtg 4^th Oct 06

THE BLYTHE SAPPERS

FINANCIAL NOTES FOR THE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE MEETING

OF 4 OCTOBER 2006

FINANCE

a.             The Hon Treasurer tabled papers of the Trial Balance for the account as at 24 September 2006 and the previously accepted Budget Proposal for 2006.  Spr Wilsher reminded the Committee that the Statement of Financial Activities (SOFA) and Balance Sheet for the year ended 31 Dec 05 had been endorsed and signed at their last meeting on 31 May 06.  Copies of the SOFA were to be tabled at the AGM which was to follow today’s Lunch.

b.  Income.    Referring to the Trial Balance paper, the Treasurer reported:

(1)       Cash at the Bank.  Cash at the bank on 31 Aug 06 was £9198.61. 

The September statement had not yet been received. 

(2)      Guest Dinner Night 5 Aug 06.   Sixty Members and their Guests attended the Dinner on 5 August.   The total fees collected were £3153.00.  The bill for the August Guest Night had not yet been received from Aramark.                          

(3)       Bank Interest.  Total gross interest received Jan – Aug was £105.93

(4)       Subscriptions and Joining Fees.  Subscriptions and Joining Fees so far this year totalled £3225.

(5)      Donations.  Three donations were received.  Total £115. One donation of £50 was paid to the ABF in remembrance of Spr Howell.

(6)      Sweepstake.  Income from the sale of tickets was £487,  a lower figure than recent previous years.  Two prizes, £150 and £50 were paid out to Spr McLennan and Spr I Charlesworth (Dragon Dancer).  The winner of the second prize, Spr Lloyd-Owen (Dylan Thomas), donated the £100 to The Blythe Sapper funds.

c.   Expenditure.  The Treasurer, continuing to refer to the Trial Balance, stated:

(1)      2005 Guest Dinner Night.  A small profit of £233 was made mainly due to the

non-attendance of the Commandant and the Commanding Officer, 1 Regt, with their spouses  were unable attend.  They were to be guests of the association.

(2)      Adventurous Training & Challenging Pursuits Fund.  A grant of £1000 was

made to the Adventurous Training & Challenging Pursuits Fund bringing the balance held in the RE Corps Central Trust as £5339.  Due to the ongoing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan there have been no applications for grants so far this year. 

(3)     Lunches.  The March and May lunches cost £4689.85 which included the two

Speaker’s costs.  £4743 was collected from members attending, showing a small profit of £53.15.

(4)     Committee Expenditure.  The cost of hiring a committee room remained at £90

per session.  There was also a charge for coffee and biscuits for the annual Council meeting in May.  £8.99 was spent on a book for the past Chairman during his indisposition.  Spr Muller expressed his thanks for the thoughtful gift. 

(5) The Secretary’s expenditure for postage and copying was £82.81 so far this year.

Annex B to Blythe Sappers Minutes

Dated 4^th Oct 06

BLYTHE SAPPERS MANAGEMENT MEETING 4 OCT 06  --  CORPS REPORT

Overview

1.         Royal Engineer effort remains dominated by ongoing Operations, for which we continue to deliver outstanding support recognised by commanders at all levels.  Ops TELIC (Iraq) and HERRICK (Afghanistan) remain our main commitment but we also have soldiers on Ops in the Balkans, Sierra Leone, Cyprus, Northern Ireland (NI) and on the UK Mainland. 

2.         Major Infrastructure (Infra) works in Afghanistan, Iraq and NI were critical elements of their respective theatre campaign plans and were all delivered on time. The enduring requirement for multi-skilling and the fundamental importance of soldiering skills has been reinforced as Sappers have frequently switched between Close Combat, Close Support and General Support without a pause between them.

3.         Behind this Op success lies significant change in organisation, training and equipment.  Both Future Army Structures (FAS) and TA Re-Balancing are resulting in some significant structural changes for the Corps, reflecting the need for a more expeditionary Army.  Both regular and reserve elements of the Corps continue to increase in size at a time when many other parts of the Army are reducing.

Operations

4.         In MND(SE) in Iraq the operational situation continues to be challenging with infrastructure and force protection tasks dominating.  35 Engr Regt is currently deployed with 3 armd sqns, a sp sqn, elements of 2 x STRE’s and an EOD Tp.

5.         Southern Afghanistan remains a volatile operational situation which has involved sappers in numerous close combat operations.  We currently have 51 Para Sqn, 523 STRE and an EOD Tp deployed.  They are currently being reinforced with the 28 Engr Regt including RHQ, 64 HQ & Sp Sqn and 42 Fd Sqn.   

6.         The key commitments pressure points remain the specialists; Infra and EOD. 

Manning (as at 31 Aug 06)

7.         Officer strength is 1129 against a liability of 1245; under manning is 9% although the liability has increased.  The trend for officer voluntary retirement is downwards and is now realigned with historical norms.  Officer recruiting is very healthy in quantity and quality with over 1100 potential officers currently being “nurtured” and with 3 RMAS applicants for each vacancy in the Corps.      

8.         Soldier strength is 7386 against a liability of 8292; under manning is 11% although the liability has increased.   Voluntary outflow continues to be high with a regimental average of 6.7% which is 1.2% above the army average.  The current overall RE recruiting figure for the first 5 months is 82% enlisted or recruited to RE.  This masks the challenge of recruiting into the “hard to recruit” trades such as ME Geo and ME Design and ME Ftr Gen.   Last year the Corps recruited 107% of its recruiting target and the trend appears good for this year.   

Equipment

9.         The in-service date for TITAN and TROJAN (replacement AVLB and AVRE) remains 31 Oct 06 and both are currently on Batch testing of the first increment. 

FAS

10.       Between Aug 07 and Jul 08, 25 Engr Regt (RHQ and HQ & Sp Sqn) will move from Northern Ireland to Waterbeach to create a second air support regiment taking under command 2 sqns from 39 Engr Regt.   33 Fd Sqn’s title will move to 26 Engr Regt and 33 Armd Engr Sqn will stand-up in Ludgershall in Apr 08. 

11.       At the same time, 38 Engr Regt will move to Antrim in the light role. 

12.       The new 24 Cdo Engr Regt will be based at RMB Chivenor although 56 Cdo Sqn will be formed and temporarily based at RNAS Yeovilton. 

Regimental Affairs

13.       Institution.       At a recent meeting of the Institution of Royal Engineers Council, it was unanimously agreed that the Institution will go forward with the intent of obtaining a full licence from the Engineering Council (UK) to award Engineering Technician (EngTech), Incorporated Engineer (IEng) and Chartered Engineer (CEng) as Military Engineers. The latter two awards may not be available for up to two years, but it is hoped that the Institution will be in a position to make the first EngTech awards by the middle of 07. In addition the Institution Council has agreed that membership will now be widened and opened through the ranks to LCpls, and to those who previously reached the rank of LCpl and have now retired. Also, in the New Year, it is the intention that the Institution will award the post-nominal letters of MInst RE to members. 

14.       RE Museum and Library.  At the time of writing, visitor numbers have matched those of last year, the best for eight years. Overall users are about 24,000. The website, which is thoroughly recommended, is at www.remuseum.org.uk

15.       RE Band.   Major Ed Keeley has sadly retired and will be replaced shortly by a new Director of Music, Capt Bruce Miller, who arrives 2 Oct.    This year saw the Band’s 150^th anniversary with a number of events to mark the occasion topped off with a reunion during the Corps Memorial Weekend.

16.       Corps Website.            The Corps’ website continues to flourish and is at www.royalengineers.com

Sport and Adventure Training

17.       The Corps continues to support all Army and Inter-Corps competitions, however Op commitments in 2006 have had a marked effect on availability and team performances at both Representative and Unit level.  In the minor sports there were some good team and individual performances with Basketball, Boxing, Fencing, Judo, Hang Gliding and Rowing to the fore. 

18.       The following Sappers: Maj (now Lt Col) Dave Wilson, Capt Mike Treffry-Kingdom, Capt Phylip Scott (TA) and WO2 Dick Gale were members of the Everest West Ridge climb in Jul that was led by ex-sapper, David Bunting, now APTC.  In the event the Team Leader aborted the final push on safety grounds.  The Corps contributed £1,350 and the Blythe Sappers awarded a further £850 to offset the personal contributions of the four RE participants.