The Blythe Sappers

Minutes of the

Annual General Meeting 2006

held on Wednesday, 4^th October 2006

The Chairman, Sapper Jeffery Lewins opened the meeting welcoming all those in attendance. There were 34 Blythe Sappers present.

Item 1             Apologies.                                         There were no apologies received.

Item 2             Minutes of AGM 2004 & 2005.       Members may recall that the minutes of the  2004 AGM were not tabled at the 2005 AGM.  In 2006, the Chairman informed the meeting that these had recently been prepared and would shortly be signed  by the Chairman of the 2005 AGM, Sapper Muller.  In 2006, the minutes of the 2005 AGM were similarly unavailable.  The Chairman requested those present to grant him discretion to check and sign those 2005 minutes when they were ready.  This was agreed, but only after requests from those present to ensure that the minutes of the previous AGM should in future be ready and issued in good time.  The Secretary would comply.    

Item 3             Matters Arising.                               There were no matters arising

Item 4             Chairman’s Report                          Chairman Sapper Lewins gave his report to the                                                                               meeting and this is attached at Annex A.

Item 5             Membership Report                        Sapper Hamilton gave the Membership                                                                                            Report. This is report is attached at Annex B

Item 6             Archivist’s Report                            Sapper Lloyd-Owen gave Archivist’sReport.                                                                           This report is attached at Annex  C

Item 7             Honorary Treasurer’s

                        Report 2005                                       Sapper Wilsher gave his  Honorary Treasurer's.  The 2005 report is                                                                                 attached at Annex D

Item 8             Events & Speakers &

                        Biographical Notes 2007   The Chairman elect provided details of the Principle Guest speakers for 2007. The dates  and speakers 2007 is attached at Annex E

Item 9             Blythe Sappers appointment         

                        of Officers 2007                  The following were proposed for appointment to hold offices in the Blythe Sappers in 2007.  They were all elected, unopposed, en bloc:

Chairman Elect 2007                          Sapper Stuart Sinclair

                        Vice Chairman                                    Sapper Jeffery Lewins

                        Chairman Elect 2008                          Sapper John Fitzmaurice
                        Hon Secretary                                     Sapper John McLennan

                        Hon Assistant Secretary                     Miss Suzanne Robinson

                        Hon Treasurer                                    Sapper Roy Wilsher

                        Hon Auditor                                      Sapper Charles Peacey

                        Hon Archivist                                     Sapper Robin Lloyd-Owen

                        Hon Musical Director                        Sapper Ed Keeley

                        Hon Religious Adviser                      Sapper Richard Whittington

                        Hon Membership Secretary               Sapper David Hamilton

                        Hon Chatham Dinner Secretary        Sapper Larry Inge

Item 10           Report on The BS Fund

                        for Adventure Training            The following Royal Engineers: 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.

Item 11           Any Other Business             The Chairman elect encouraged Sappers to set the Luncheon dates for 2007 in their diaries, the details are included on the  website.           

Item 12           Date of Next Meeting will be Tuesday 2^nd October 2007 (after lunch)

Signed………………….. Sapper Stuart Sinclair, Chairman                  October 2007

Annex A To Blythe Sappers AGM 2006

Chairman’s Annual report to The Blythe Sappers 2005/6

I had the privilege of taking over as your Chairman from Sapper Muller who handed over an organisation on good shape.

 Supported by the committee and the Council of past Chairmen, the Blythe Sappers have remained I hope on an even keel.

Membership will be reported on in detail by the Membership Secretary but we are benefiting by the procedure to encourage serving officers, Regular and TA, to join.

 A notable event was the election of our first woman member; I hope more women Sapper officers can be invited and encouraged to join.

            Events. The programme of lunches for the year has included:

                        Lt Col Darren Bowyer, commissioning through OTCs1 March

                        Lt Col Joe Fuller, changes at the Defence Academy, 31 May

                        Field Marshal Sir John Chapple, 4 Oct

And to come:   Major General Andrew Cumming 6 Dec

These luncheons have all been scheduled for the Army and Navy Club. Your committee is conscious of the cost of holding our meetings and compare prices with other institutions. We feel that at present, at least, the Club provide an ambience that justifies the cost. The Guest Night at Brompton Barracks was well supported. With the election of women members we have agreed to call this the Guest Night rather than the Ladies Night. I could have put it better at the time when I said that some of our guests were not ladies but very welcome anyway. The cost of the Brompton dinner continues to be of concern with the implications of the private contract catering arrangements. It would be unthinkable not to enjoy the HQ Mess while we can but it was clear that the additional cost of extra staff at the end of the evening to carry out the traditional removal of the long table runners would have been unacceptable. I for one regret this economy and wonder if some sort of self help, ‘do it yourself’ might be feasible: volunteers to the Secretary in good time to be trained for next year perhaps.

 The Corps Report includes the Blythe Sappers support for Adventure Training. The Treasurer’s report will cover the contribution of funds we made for Adventure Training, largely coming from the traditional Derby Day sweepstake. Applications are handled through the Corps Committee and I commend their report to you. We retain our policy of supporting TA as well as Regular Units but only for fully adventurous proposals. I also presented on your behalf the Blythe Sappers Cup competed for by UK Sapper Regiments and  won this year by 25 Engr Regt on a well-fought game against the RSME Regt.

            I will be handing over to Sapper Sinclair and I could not think of a safer pair pf hands on the wheel. I should mention that our Director of Music and Director of the Corps Band, Sapper Keeley has taken leave of the latter post in spectacular fashion by getting married during the last week of his service; we wish him well and thank him for his service in both capacities. I am sure that he will continue as an enthusiastic Blythe Sapper.  I am also grateful to all the committee, not least to the Secretary

Annex B to Blythe Sappers AGM Minutes 2006

The Blythe Sappers   --  Membership Report 2006

New Members elected since Mar 2005

Sapper Bassett                        Sapper Mans                            Sapper H Walker

Sapper Beck                            Sapper P Marsh                      Sapper C K Walker

Sapper Berry                           Sapper Moore-Bick                Sapper G Watts

Sapper Carter                         Sapper Mornement                 Sapper Washington

Sapper Carr-Hill                     Sapper Owen                          Sapper H Webber

Sapper Clements                    Sapper Parfit                           Sapper J R White

Sapper Coney                         Sapper Pride                           Sapper J Winter

Sapper Cross                          Sapper Purvis                         Sapper S Wright

Sapper Davy                           Sapper M Reynolds                Sapper M Wyatt

Sapper Dell                             Sapper E Robinson               

Sapper Francis                        Sapper Ruddy                         Total - 47

Sapper Gathercole                 Sapper Saunders

Sapper Grainger                     Sapper C Scott

Sapper Grimshaw                   Sapper Scoble

Sapper P Hornby                   Sapper Shananhan

Sapper A Keeley                    Sapper Sturgeon

Sapper E Keeley                     Sapper Summers

Sapper J MacKenzie               Sapper Tuggey

Sapper Mantell                       Sapper Waddell

Deceased

Sapper Raper – Member since 1995 DOD 2005

Sapper Plummer – Member since 1986 – DOD 6 Dec 05

Sapper Grove – Member since 1985 – DOD 31 Dec 05

Sapper Anderson – Member since 1978 DOD Dec 2005

Sapper Wright – Member since 2004  DOD 14 Jan 05

Sapper Howell – Member since ? – DOD 26 June 06

Resigned/Suspended

Sapper Lister – Member since 2003

Sapper Cantlay – Member since 1977

Sapper Spaight – Member since 1993

Sapper Sherett – Member since 1972

Sapper N Jordan – Member since 2003

Sapper Lewis – Member since 1994

Sapper Julius – Member since 2004 – Remains Suspended.

Sapper R L Jordan - Suspended

Total Membership  304

Annex C to Blythe Sappers AGM Minutes 2006

                                                                                             The Blythe Sappers

Archivist’s Annual Report

There have been no requests for access to archive material since the last report.

Very little new material has been received since the last report, but it is assumed that all minutes are now stored electronically, so copies of these on CDs can be handed over eventually. A few copies of the latest edition of the Historical Note are now in the archive. At least one copy of each edition that has been produced is held.

Work has been completed to place all the archive material in durable box files, which will provide protection and neater storage, in addition to making it easier to locate documents when required.

Robin Lloyd Owen

August 2006

Annex D to Blythe Sappers AGM 2006

The Blythe Sappers

FINANCIAL NOTES FOR THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

OF 4 OCTOBER 2006

ITEM 7.   Honorary Treasurer’s Report for 2005

The Hon Treasurer tabled the Statement of Financial Activities (SOFA) and the Balance Sheet for the year ending 31 December 2005. The SOFA and Balance Sheet had been endorsed by the Management Committee and the Council at their respective meetings on 31 May 2006. Also tabled was the previously accepted Budget Proposal for 2006. 

The Treasurer reported to the AGM on the Income and Expenditure for 2005.  There were net incoming resources of £331.49.  The cost of the Quarterly lunches which included hire of the banqueting hall, catering, wines and gratuities was £13,222.50.  Fees from Members amounted to £13,237.05.  There were refunds of £78 which meant an overall deficit of £92.55.

Donations accounted for an income of £109.  This included £50 from Spr Lloyd-Owen who had won the third prize in the Derby Sweep and kindly returned it to the funds.  The Assistant Secretary was paid an Honorarium of £250 and a Christmas Staff Gratuity of £100 was paid to the Army & Navy Club.  The allocation of £2500 to The Blythe Sappers Fund for Adventurous Training & Challenging Pursuits brought the total donated to date to £24,150 (£21,650 in 2004).  After all grants of £1,690 committed during the year, the uncommitted balance held by RE Corps Funds was £5,339.

The Treasurer took Members through the Budget proposal for 2006 reporting that after donating £2500 (£1700 in 2004) to the Adventurous Training & Challenging Pursuits Fund, the balance of the Account was estimated to be £2800 at 31 December 2006.

The Blythe Sappers

Statement of Financial Activities 2005

Annex E to Blythe Sappers AGM Minutes 2006

Biographical Notes for Speakers in 2007

March 2007 Luncheon: Wednesday, 7^th March 2007

Rear Admiral Richard Cobbold took up his appointment as Director of the RUSI (Royal United Services Institute for Defence & Security Studies) in September 1994. He is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, and a Governor of the London Nautical School.  He has been a specialist adviser to the House of Commons Defence Committee since 1997.   He served in the Royal Navy for 33 years, specialising as a seaman officer and then as a helicopter observer. Later in his career he commanded the frigates HMS MOHAWK and HMS BRAZEN, and was Captain of the 2nd Frigate Squadron in HMS BRILLIANT.   He was a member of the Royal College of Defence Studies in 1984 and his appointments in the Ministry of Defence included Director of Defence Concepts in 1987, looking to the capabilities required by the three Services 25 years ahead. Promoted Rear Admiral in 1991, he served as Assistant Chief of Defence Staff Operational Requirements for Sea Systems until 1994, and additionally as ACDS (Joint Systems) from 1992.   He retired from the Royal Navy in March 1994.

Derby Day 2007 Luncheon: Wednesday, 30^th May 2007

Viscount John Douglas Slim OBE served in the Regular Army between 1944 & 1972:
Indian Army 6th Gurkha Rifles 1944,
Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders 1948,
Special Air Service 1952;
Staff College Camberley 1961;
Joint Services Staff College 1964

His subsequent business career has included Chair, Peek plc 1976-91, Deputy Chair 1991-96, Consultant 1996-2003;    Director, Trailfinders Ltd, and other companies.
Other organizations with which he is associated:

President, Burma Star Association 1971-;
Vice-President, Britain-Australia Society (former chairman);
Vice-Chair, Arab-British Chamber of Commerce 1977-96;
President SAS Association (former chairman) 2000-

Master, The Clothworkers' Company 1995-96, Fellow, Royal Geographical Society 1983

October 2007 Luncheon: Tuesday 2^nd October 2007

General Sir Kevin O' Donoghue, KCB, CBE, Chief of Defence Logistics, Ministry of Defence.   Chief Royal Engineer and Colonel of the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment.

 Christmas 2007 Luncheon: Wednesday 5^th December 2007

Sir Charles Masefield, M.A., C.Eng., FRAeS, FIMechE, FRSA joined British Aerospace in 1979 and became General Manager and Managing Director of the Commercial Aircraft Division.   1993 he was appointed Commercial Director of Airbus Industries in Toulouse, France responsible for all Airbus marketing, sales, contracts and sales finance.   In 1994 the British Government appointed him to the Ministry of Defence responsible to the Defence Minister and Prime Minister for all the UK's defence exports, interfacing with heads of government around the world.   In 1998 he was appointed Vice Chairman of GEC and in 1999 was appointed to the Board of BAE Systems PLC, becoming Vice Chairman in 2002.   He was the 1993/94 President of the Royal Aeronautical Society. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a Fellow of the Commonwealth Partnership for Technology Management. In 1997 he was knighted for services to British exports.   In 2000 he became the first non-American to receive the US James Doolittle Award for services to Aerospace.   In 2002 he was European Chairman of the Trans Atlantic Business Dialogue interfacing with the EU and US administrations on behalf of European industry.   He is a Board Member of Microsulis Limited, the Swiss Bank, Banque Piguet, and a Board Member of the Qatar Foundation.