Committee Meeting Minutes

22^nd January 2009

A meeting of the Committee of the Tewkesbury Historical Society was held on 22^nd January 2009 at 7.00 p.m. at the home of Ken Flude.

Present:

Cliff Burd, John Dixon, Ken Flude, Janet Martin, Sam Eedle.

Apologies for Absence:

David Willavoys, Sue Norman

1. Approval of Minutes

The minutes of the previous meeting of 4^th September 2008 were approved and signed as a true record. Proposed: John Dixon Seconded: Cliff Burd

2. Matters arising from the Minutes

• Cliff Burd said that he had put up a display stand in Morrisons Supermarket in the hope of attracting new members to the Society.

2. Agenda Items

01/09	Rotating Chairman’s Report (Cliff Burd)	Action
	Chris Evans had given her collection of memorabilia to the Tewkesbury Museum. A Short History of the Old Alleys, Courts and Lanes of the Borough of Tewkesbury by John Rogers had been published for £4.99 each by the Tewkesbury Museum. This edition of John Rogers’s memories had been made possible by the kind permission of Chris Evans. Dave Wathen’s book is now in print and is being sold by Bill Treen for £7.00 each. John Dixon had been working with Tony Skelsey to edit his book about the history of Tewkesbury Cemetery but he had not heard from him for some time.
02/09	Publications Report ( John Dixon) Contributions for Bulletin 18 have to be in by the 31st January 2009.
	Acting Treasurer’s Report (John Dixon)
03/09	John presented the statement of accounts to 24 Dec 2008. The Society was in a strong position with £5,330 in the Bank. This included insurance payments and the cost of hiring the Methodist Church. John said that he was concerned about the membership and asked Ken Flude to write to members who have not rejoined in order to encourage them to rejoin. John said that he would write to those on email if Ken could send a letter to those not on email. The membership fee pays the running costs of the Society. We currently have about 50 members and we need between 60-70 members. Cliff Burd offered to talk to the Civic Society to try to recruit new members. Recommendations To leave membership fees and entrance fees for non-members as they are.	John Dixon/Ken Flude       Cliff Burd
	Secretary’s Report (Janet Martin)
04/09	Arrangements of Social Evening carried out – everyone seemed to enjoy it! Raffle raised £27, which has been credited to the THS bank account. About 25 people attended the evening. Woodard Award judging for Bulletin 17 has been carried and John Loosley and David Evans both hope to attend the AGM. Meeting of the Local History Committee 5 Dec 2008 Minutes (attended by Wendy Snarey). Members discussed the minutes. The Stonehouse History Group has been in touch asking about any tours of the Battlefield and the Abbey. John has been in touch with the to advise, offering Steve Goodchild as a battle field expert and himself for tours of Tewkesbury Town. Archaeology Service News Sheets. Distributed at the Social Evening
	Membership Secretary’s Report (Ken Flude)
05/09	Ken Flude reported that the THS had 42 members and that we probably had approximately 10 less than this time last year.
	WWI Project
06/09	John Dixon reported that he had held the exhibition entitled "A Noble Band of Heroes" to commemorate the 90th Anniversary of the ending of the great war in the Elmbury Road at Tewkesbury library in November. The exhibition demonstrated what the project had achieved so far. John Dixon said that he was pleasantly surprised. He had made good contacts and as a result had obtained more information for the project. He was currently writing biographies on each person killed in WW1. He had written 100 out of 189. He said that he was really enjoying it. He had spent £85 on a display folder and both the Abbey and the Town Hall will receive a copy of the finished work.	John Dixon
	Website
07/09	John Dixon reported that Derek Benson continued to maintain the website. It is very valuable to the THS as people are getting in touch with the Society every week via the internet.
	Programme Report
08/09	John Dixon reported that the programme planned for the meeting of the THS on 19th February 2009 – Members Research Evening, had been changed. Instead, Sam Eedle was going to talk about the "Princess Alice Disaster 1878". John Dixon asked the Committee that in future where meetings of the THS fell during half term i.e. on the 3rd Thursday of the month, could the meeting be held on the following Thursday. The Committee Members agreed that in future the date of the meeting would be arranged to accommodate his request. Therefore, the meetings would be held on the 3rd Thursday in the month except where they fell during School holidays. For the AGM of 2009, Brian Armstrong is to talk about his research into Twyning Churchyard. The planned programme for 2009/2010 is as follows: September - Tewkesburians enjoying themselves (Dixon/Burd) October - Martin Middlebank to talk about the Somme November to be arranged January – Social Evening February – Members Research Evening March - Chartist settlement in Tewkesbury April – Annual General Meeting - May – Possible talk about the restoration of the Hat Shop if a speaker can be arranged Committee members were asked to think about suggestions for speakers and to give the names to John Dixon for November and possibly May.
	Oral History Report
09/09	John Dixon said that he was waiting for someone to take this over, other than that there was nothing to report.
	Contemporary Archives Report
10/09	Cliff Burd reported that he had a tape recording and a draft from Leonard Holme about the old days in Tewkesbury when he was Mayor. Someone had also passed him photographic material about the Tudor House Hotel when the portico was knocked down 13 times in 3 years.
	Heritage Report
11/09	Cliff Burd stated that the Museum is not getting any funding from the Borough Council and as a result he had suggested to Peter Antill, the Strategic Director of Resources, that the Museum is transferred to the trustees. The Town Council has allocated funds in next year's budget, to support the museum should this be necessary. Becky Davies Education and Training Officer at the Borough Council was leaving the Hat Shop.
	Research Co-Ordinator
12/09	John Dixon reported he was co-ordinating the integration of the website and the data base. .
	Date and Venue of Next Meeting
13/09	The meeting will be held on 30th April 2009 at Jan Nattrass’ house, 11 Apperley Park, Apperley, GL19 4EB at 7.00 pm.
	Any Other Business
14/09	The refreshment rota for the programme of events is as follows: 19th February 2009 –– Cliff Burd 19th March – John Dixon 23rd April 2009 – TBA 21st May 2009 – Ken Flude