MINUTES OF THE BLYTHE SAPPERS
49th MANAGEMENT MEETING
held on Tuesday 4th March 2008
at The Army & Navy Club, London
Present
Sapper John Fitzmaurice Chairman
Sapper Brian
Pearce Chairman
Elect 2009
Sapper Stuart Sinclair Past
Chairman 2007
Sapper Charles
Peacey Honorary Auditor
Sapper Roy Wilsher Honorary
Treasurer
Sapper John McLennan Honorary Secretary
Sapper David
Hamilton Membership
Secretary
1.
Introduction. The Chairman Sapper Fitzmaurice
welcomed the Management Committee.
2. Apologies:
Sappers Inge, Caulfield,
3. Minutes of the meeting of 5th Dec
07.
The
Minutes were noted and signed. The Hon Sec informed the Ctee that the new
Assistant Sec is Mrs Tammy Cook.
4. Matters Arising.
1.
BS
Shield. The Hon Sec showed a pewter plate inscribed “Blythe
Trophy Minor Units Plate 1979”. It is not clear if this is the shield referred
to but as no other items have been found it is to be assumed this is it and no
other enquiries need to be followed. (afternote:
the 2008 Blythe Sappers FA Cup is to be on Friday 16 May 2008).
5. Finance.
a. The Chairman informed the Hon Auditor
that he felt the “notes” on the accounts were not very helpful and less than
constructive.
b. Cheques
for the BS Luncheons should be paid in as soon as possible.
c. The
Hon Treasurer gave his report, attached
at Annex A. He added that the balance of £3,670 is more than is usual but
that the net incoming resources amounted to £197.47 and this is a bit tight and
that we should not go into a negative income situation. Sapper Peacey made the
point that the balance should not be too great to avoid the attention of HM
Revenue & Customs.
d. Budget 2008 The Hon Treasurer went
through the budget for 2008. It is attached
at Annex B. The Chairman authorised the payment of the gratuity of £100 to
the Army & Navy Club.
e.
The Blythe Sappers Adventure
Training & CP Fund would now be called “The Blythe Sappers Adventure
Training & CP or other charitable donations” fund.
f. It
was agreed to make a grant of £1,000 to Combat Stress.
g. It
was agreed that the Honorarium for the Assistant Sec should remain at £250
rising at £50 per year for loyalty.
h. It was agreed that the cost of the Luncheons for the Secretary
and the Treasurer would be met by the Blythe Sappers.
6. Corps Report.
The report was given by the Hon Sec on behalf of the Regt Col. The report is
attached at Annex C.
7. Casualties.
The Committee noted
the passing of the following Sappers:
Lt
Col Ken Scott MC* Died
25 Dec 07 Blythe Sapper since 1998
Lt
Col HR Jarrett Died
18 Jan 08 Blythe Sapper since 2007
8. Nominations
for new members.
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Applicant
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Proposer
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Seconder
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Col Tim
Bradwell OBE
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Sapper
J Fitzmaurice
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Sapper
A Craig
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Lt Col
Martin Coulson OBE
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Sapper
G Hornby
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Sapper
D Hamilton
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Col
David McIlroy
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Sapper
J McLennan
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Sapper
S Sinclair
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Lt
Peter Pugh
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Sapper
G Hornby
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Sapper
J McLennan
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Lt Col
David Hall OBE
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Sapper
J McLennan
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Sapper
J Drake
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Col Andy
Pope MBE
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Sapper
J McLennan
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Sapper
D Hamilton
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All were duly elected.
9. Attendance and Arrangements for 4th
March Lunch.
There
will be 73 taking lunch which includes 10 guests.
The
Principal Guest Major General Albert
Whitley CMG CBE.
To
stand for introduction -- Nil.
10. Any Other Business
a. Upgrade of FileMaker Pro9 upgrade payment
for software £223.05 Approved.
b. Approve
payment for LostCostNames – 1 year (website hosting)£58.75 Approved.
c. Chairman to continue to enhance the
contacts with The Institution of Civil
Engineers, The Engineer Logistics & Staff Corps and Sappers in the City.
d. Change
of date for the Dec Lunch when the Chief Royal Engineer is to speak has been changed to 2 Dec 08.
e. Corps Secretary Lt Col Charles Holman
is to be the future BS Membership
Secretary.
f. Derby
Day --
Application forms and requests for tickets are to be included in the
lunch application form.
g. The Hon Treasurer informed the
meeting that there has been a problem with the
bank details -- to be checked.
Sapper John
Fitzmaurice
Chairman
The Blythe Sappers
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Sapper John R McLennan
The Blythe Sappers,
Honorary Secretary
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June 2008
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April 2008
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11. Date
of Next Meeting The next BS Management meeting will be at 1000hrs
on Wed 4 Jun 08 to be followed by the Blythe Sappers Council Mtg at
1100hrs.
Annex A to
Blythe Sappers Management Mtg
4th March 2008
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THE BLYTHE SAPPERS
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STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL
ACTIVITIES
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Year
ended 31 December 2007
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INCOME
& EXPENDITURE
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INCOMING
RESOURCES
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Notes
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2007
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2006
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Lunches
plus transfers
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12,940.50
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12,367.00
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Dinner
Costs
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3,757.34
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3,153.00
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Subscriptions
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3,055.00
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2,985.00
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Overpaid
Subscriptions
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50.00
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130.00
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Joining
Fees
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110.00
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190.00
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Sweepstake
Ticket Sales
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729.00
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487.00
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Donations
to AT & CP Fund
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25.00
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-
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Bank
Interest
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254.61
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173.12
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Donations
& Honorariums
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155.00
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115.00
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TOTAL
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21,076.45
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19,600.12
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RESOURCES
EXPENDED
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Lunches +
Refunds
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12,636.40
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12,162.35
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Lunch
Refunds
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45.00
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82.00
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Guest
Night Dinner Costs
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3,468.05
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2,812.97
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Guests
Lunches/Dinner
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297.50
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205.00
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Refund
Subscriptions
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-
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130.00
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Sweepstake
Prizes
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300.00
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300.00
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Donations
to Adv Trg & Chal'g Pursuits
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1
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2,800.00
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2,000.00
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Sundries
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2
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22.80
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16.49
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Donations/
Honorarium
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3
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500.00
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500.00
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Committee
Exp/Room Hire/Domain renewal
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378.25
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538.55
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Treasurer
Expenditure
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4
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164.30
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57.83
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Secretary
Expenditure
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4
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266.68
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187.64
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Debtors
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56.00
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Creditors
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-
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TOTAL
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20,878.98
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18,992.83
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Net
Incoming/ (Outgoing) Resources for
the Year
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197.47
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607.29
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Net
movement in funds
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197.47
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607.29
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Balance
as at 01 January
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3,472.57
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2,865.28
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Balance
as at 31 December
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3,670.04
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3,472.57
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All
income and expenditure arises from the continuing activities of The Blythe
Sappers. There are no
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recognised
gains or losses in the current or preceding year other than shown above.
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THE
BLYTHE SAPPERS
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BALANCE
SHEET AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2007
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CURRENT
ASSETS
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2007
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2006
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DEBTORS
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Sundry
Debtors
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85.00
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Cash at
Clydesdale Bank
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3,585.04
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3,643.57
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Total
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3,670.04
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3,643.57
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CREDITORS
Amounts falling due within one year (and already paid)
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Spr Bown,
lunch refund
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41.00
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Overpaid
subscriptions
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130.00
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Total
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171.00
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NET
CURRENT ASSETS
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3,670.04
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3,472.57
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NET
ASSETS
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3,670.04
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3,472.57
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BANK
RECONCILIATION
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Statement
as at 31 December 2007
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7,580.29
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Less
cheques not yet presented
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308 ABF Donation
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25.00
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309 TRBL Donation
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25.00
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311 A & N Club Lunch
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3,945.25
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Total
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3,995.25
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3,995.25
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As shown
in account
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3,585.04
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Approved
by The Blythe Sappers Management Committee
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at the
Management Committee Meeting on 4 March 2008
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and
signed on the behalf of the Committee by:
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SAPPER
JOHN FITZMAURICE
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Chairman
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SAPPER
ROY WILSHER
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Honorary
Treasurer
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DATED 4 March 2008
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NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS
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Year
ended 31 December 2007
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ACCOUNTING
POLICIES
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Accounting
Convention
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The accounts
are prepared under the historical cost convention. Income and
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expenditure has been accounted for on an
accruals basis.
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Fund
accounting
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The Blythe Sappers Association’s funds
comprise general unrestricted funds that are dispensable
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at the
discretion of the Council in furtherance of the objectives of The Blythe
Sappers.
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Such
funds may be held in order to finance both working capital and capital
investments.
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INFORMATION
REGARDING THE COUNCIL AND MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
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No
Council or Committee Members, nor connected person or party, received any
remuneration from
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The
Blythe Sappers during the current or preceding year.
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NUMBERED
NOTES
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1. The allocation of £2,800 to the Blythe
Sappers Fund for Adventurous and Challenging Pursuits
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brought the total donated to date to
£28,950 (2006 £26,150). There were
five grants totalling
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£2350 in
2007. The uncommitted balance of
the Fund held by RE Corps Funds stands at £5939.
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2. £22.80 was refunded to Spr Lewins for
travel to early Management meeting.
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3 Three donations of £50 were made in
memory of past Chairmen. An
Honorarium of £350
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was paid
to the Assistant Secretary
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4. Secretary and Treasurer's expenditure was on postage, copying, and
travel.
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INDEPENDENT
EXAMINER'S REPORT
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I have
examined the accounts for the year 2007 together with supporting papers.
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I am
satisfied that the accounts have been properly maintained and that the
foregoing
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statement
of income and expenditure gives a true and fair view of the transactions
during the year
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and of
the financial state of affairs of The Blythe Sappers as at 31 December 2007
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March 2008
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SAPPER J C PEACEY
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Hon Independent Examiner
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Annex C to
Blythe Sappers
Management Mtg
4 March 2008
BLYTHE
SAPPERS 4 MARCH 2008 – CORPS REPORT
1. Support to operational
capability continues to be our main effort.
Ops TELIC (Iraq) and
HERRICK (Afghanistan) remain
our main commitments but we also have soldiers on Ops in Sierra Leone, Cyprus,
Falklands, Northern Ireland (NI) and on the UK
Mainland.
Operations
2. Iraq MND(SE).
The UK
force is now bedded in the Combined Operations Base (COB)
at the Basra Air Station and will gradually reduce down to around 2500 by May
08. UK forces are now getting involved
in Security Sector Reform (SSR).
Engineers continue to provide close support to brigade operations,
infrastructure and force protection works.
21 Engr Regt Gp deployed in Nov 07 until Jun 08 and include 2 x Fd Sqns
(4 and 73 Sqns), 7 HQ&Sp Sqn and half of 62 Wks Gp and 21 Fd Sqn (EOD). They will reduce to a Joint Force Engineer
Squadron Grouping by the end of their tour.
3. Southern Afghanistan. The force continues to consolidate the
gains around Musa Qaleh, although this has further stretched already taut
engineer resources. Engineers continue
to be involved in close support of current strike operations and continue to
provide the reconstruction and the development leadership focus on projects
province wide. The main effort is
currently Force Protection tasks and consolidating Forward Operating Bases and
Patrols Bases. Once 16 Air Assault Bde
are firm in Afghanistan
the engineer group will be preparing for more kinetic based operations during
the summer months. 36 Engr Regt Gp
deployed in early Sep 07 with 2 x Fd Sqns (20 and 69), 50 HQ&Sp Sqn and
half of 62 Wks Gp and 21 Fd Sqn (EOD).
They will be replaced in Mar 08 by 23 Engr Regt Gp.
Manning (stats are as at 31 Jan 08)
4. For 07/08 recruiting period, the Corps
is currently (as at 31 Jan 08) recruited to 92% against a Recruiting Group
target of 1479 (2 months to run). This
masks shortages in pinch point trades (Ftr ACR,
Ftr Gen, Res Spec) but the situation is generally positive. Officer recruiting is currently suffering a
downturn with applications down by 17% for the Army and AOSB passes down 8%,
female applicants entering RMAS are down by 45%.
5. Officer strength is 1223 against a
liability of 1202, overmanning is 1.7% or +21 officers. This hides an in-balance for DE Capt and Maj
which is partially filled by LE personnel.
PVR is currently increasing and is now higher than the Army average of
4.3%.
6. Soldier strength is currently 8395
(this appears to be a big jump from the last reported figure of 7690 and this
is because figures now include soldiers in the training pipeline). Our liability is currently increasing as the
FAS enhancements for 24 Cdo Engr Regt, 33 Armd Engr Sqn and 52 Armd Engr Sqn
come on stream. Against the enhanced FAS
liability we are currently 592 in deficit (an improvement of 268 since 1 Oct
07). Soldier retention has stabilised
at approx 7.8% (Army 5.8%) measures to increase retention are starting to have
an impact. Other interesting statistics
include the RE soldier non-FE (i.e. Fit Everywhere) rate is 17.4% (Army 18.9%)
and females now make up 0.5% of soldier strength.
Regimental Affairs
7.
The Slipway Project in collaboration with Chatham Dockyard will be opened on 29
April 2008.
8. The Corps will exercise the Freedom of
Medway on 17 May to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the
formation of the current Borough Council.
9. The Corps band will perform a “Proms
in the Park” concert on the Regimental
Square at Brompton on Friday 25 July 2008 to raise
money for the Museum Foundation and specifically the Museum and Library
Transformation Project.