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MINUTES OF THE 24th ANNUAL GENERAL
MEETING
ON 26 AUGUST 2017
AT KÖNIGSHOFF HOTEL, KÖNIGSLUTTER
INTRODUCTION
AND LAST POST
The
meeting, attended by 54 members, honorary members and German
guests, was opened at 1100 hrs by the Chairman, Rod Goddard. He
welcomed everyone to the meeting and thanked the Bürgermeister,
Herr Alexander Hoppe, for being in attendance.
The
Chairman then invited the meeting to stand as he read out the
names of those members who had passed away since the last
meeting:
Alan
Caine
Peter Todd
John
Gant
John
Plaskitt
Following the Exhortation, recited by the Chairman, a minute’s
silence was observed during which the standard was lowered by
Standard Bearer Robbie McCallum.
APOLOGIES
The
Secretary read out apologies from those who had been unable to
attend the reunion:
Derek Fowler, Clive Sanders, Gerry Kane, Dave Street, Bill Hogg,
Ray Armstrong, Rod Walker and Bob Wells.
MINUTES OF
THE 23rd ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
The
minutes of the 23rd Annual General Meeting had
previously been circulated on the branch website. Robin Seaward
proposed and Jim Husband seconded that the minutes were a true
reflection of proceedings at that meeting.
MATTERS
ARISING
Commemorative Plaque
A
plaque had been added to the Branch Bench at the National
Memorial Arboretum to commemorate the late, much missed
President, Maj Gen Peter Baldwin CBE.
Branch
Donation
Following the donation of €1,000 to a charity of the
Bürgermeister’s choice, a small delegation had accompanied the
Bürgermeister to the Rudolph Deisel School, Königslutter, which
had benefitted from the donation. A wonderful school for
physically and mentally handicapped children, with impressive
facilities and which was a very happy place. Riding for the
Disabled was much loved by all of the children and was where our
donation was spent.
PRESIDENT’S
ADDRESS
The
President, Maj Gen Tim Inshaw CB, addressed the meeting saying
that he felt very humble as those present represented hundreds
of years of service, he had never actually served in Langeleben,
and that he was born in the same year that 2 Squadron, 1st
Wireless Regiment was formed! He talked in glowing terms of the
Branch, its website, Listening Post, continued connection with
Königslutter and the spirit and comradery that so obviously
exists within the membership. He felt it a great privilege and
honour to have been asked to be President.
He
then went on to deliver an update on the Army and the Corps.
Currently the manning levels within the British Army are at its
lowest since Cromwell. That said, there is considerably more
importance now based on the roles of the Royal Corps of Signals
and the Intelligence Corps. He felt that those two bodies
together probably make up a higher percentage of manning within
the Army than ever before. Both Corps are soon to be enhanced
and better exploited within an Information Manoeuvre Command and
are at last getting the profile and resources that they have
always deserved.
BÜRGERMEISTER’S ADDRESS
The
Bürgermeister, Herr Alexander Hoppe, thanked the Branch for the
invitation to be present at the meeting and welcomed the Branch
again to Königslutter. He made mention of the town’s twinned
association with Taunton and emphasised that, despite the
discussions and consequences of Brexit, this would not have any
influence on the friendship with the town of Taunton or the
Langeleben Branch. He went on that, in these times of dastardly
terrorist attacks, the Langeleben Stone stands as a symbol of
the unprecedented bonds of friendship between British soldiers
and the inhabitants of Königslutter. He was very pleased that
the Branch are now regular guests of the Schützenfest thus
helping to uphold historic local traditions. He wished all a
very happy stay in Königslutter and looked forward to welcoming
us again in 2018.
HORST FUNKE
ADDRESS
Herr
Funcke again welcomed the Branch to Königslutter and presented
the Chairman with a very impressive cup as a memento of the
weekend.
TREASURER’S
REPORT
The
Treasurer, John Rosson, presented the financial statements for
2016 and up to 27 June 2017. The current balance of the Branch
stands at £3,894.29.
SECRETARY’S
REPORT
The
Secretary, Charlie Charlesworth, reported that since the last
Annual General Meeting six new members had joined the Branch
bringing the total of active and honorary members to 459.
He
then went on to thank:
·
Tom
Perkin for maintaining and updating the Branch website
·
Marlene Brooks for preparing, editing and distributing the
Listening Post
·
John
Richardson for all of the local arrangements that need to be
made in Germany to enable the weekend run seamlessly.
ELECTION OF
OFFICERS
The
Chairman, Treasurer and Secretary had all indicated a
willingness to continue to serve in those posts. John Evans
proposed, and was seconded by Stuart Macleod that they should
all continue for a further year. The vote was unanimous.
25th
ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATIVE TIES
100
high quality, 100% silk, hand-made, 25th Anniversary
Commemorative Ties, designed by Robin Seaward, had been produced
for sale to the membership at £20.00 each and were on sale after
the meeting. These to be sold during the course of the year and
again at the 2018 meeting, stock allowing.
25th
ANNIVERSARY LELM PROPOSAL
Herr
Heini Feddeck proposed that during the course of the 2018
weekend a function be held in the Lelm Sports Club. The Chairman
thanked Herr Feddeck for this opportunity and reported that it
would be considered by the Committee when making arrangements
for the 2018 Reunion..
WEEKEND
ARRANGEMENTS
Our
“Man in Germany”, John Richardson, gave details and timings for
the activities taking place over the weekend.
2018 25TH
ANNIVERSARY ARRANGEMENTS
The
Chairman, Rod Goddard, asked the meeting for suggestions for the
25th Anniversary weekend. Dennis Weir suggested, and
was seconded by Farmer Vaughn, that the Saturday celebrations
take exactly the same format as in 2009. This suggestion was
accepted by majority vote.
There had been a suggestion, by John Richardson, that the
Schützenfest theme for 2018 could be “British” but, if this was
the case, the Branch would need to embrace the event. This was
unanimously agreed by the meeting.
The
suggestion for a formal dinner on the Sunday evening was
proposed but was not carried.
ANY OTHER
BUSINESS
Dennis Weir proposed that, in this day of social media, the
Branch should have its own Facebook page set up as a closed
group. Chris Jones had been willing to set this up and the
suggestion was accepted by majority vote.
DONATION
Frau
Ilona Hawxwell addressed the meeting and, having been the
beneficiary of a will, had donated part of the proceeds ( €500)
to the Branch. This was greeted by a very grateful round of
applause.
There being no further business, the meeting closed at 1200 hrs.
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