ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 1997
CHAIRMAN'S REPORT TO THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Eastbury House, Saturday 18 January 1997
I can't believe that a full year has passed since we were at St Leonard's Shoreditch for the 1996 AGM and yet here we are in January 1997 at Eastbury House, another wonderful venue. For me this occasion is tinged with sadness as, after 5 years as Chairman, I am handing over the reins (and the whip!). This report is therefore my last. My 5 years at the helm have been very rewarding and, although it will be a relief not to have the paperwork and responsibility, I know that I shall miss the challenge! Mind you, I will not be giving up all my jobs, and I will continue to organise the microfiching of our publications and the reprinting of our census booklets. I will also still be on hand at Havering Branch meetings to "man" the "Problem Corner".
When I was elected Chairman back in 1991, I was totally unprepared for the amount of correspondence that arrived on my doormat. In the early days I tried to deal with most of it myself rather than add to the burden of our Secretary. However, in 1994, Jack Jackson volunteered his services as Correspondence Secretary and since then he has answered a steady flow of letters, ranging from simple membership enquiries to demands for detailed family history research - apparently in the belief that the Society has all the information they need on file (which we don't), or that Jack lives next door to a record office (which he doesn't). In taking over this task he has greatly lessened my workload and that of the Secretary, for which we are both very grateful. In common with other Society volunteers, Jack has more than one "job" and, in addition to his work as Correspondence Secretary, he also organises group visits for our Havering Branch and co-ordinates local indexing projects.
Attendance at the Havering meetings has remained steady over the past year, with up to 100 or more people at most meetings. It's easy for large groups such as this to become somewhat formal and impersonal but I'm pleased to say that Havering has maintained a very friendly and welcoming atmosphere which attracts a number of visitors each month, many being sufficiently impressed to join the Society on the spot. I'm also pleased to report that Havering's long-awaited index to the Crow Lane Cemetery is now almost finished and we hope to publish it on microfiche in the not too distant future.
Our Newham and Redbridge Branch also continues to flourish, with attendances at meetings ranging from 42 to 75 and like all our Branches it offers members a varied programme of lectures. There is also an active and enthusiastic group hard at work on a number of indexing projects and the index to the Poplar 1821 Census - available in booklet form from the bookstall for the first time today - is the product of their hard work. To my regret, this is one branch that I have never been able to visit, their Wednesday evening meetings clashing with rehearsals of the operatic society to which I belong!
Last year's AGM was hosted by the Bishopsgate Branch, and St Leonard Shoreditch proved to be a popular venue. The church was packed to capacity, both for the excellent lectures and for the AGM itself and, in view of this, a return visit is likely in the year 2000 when Bishopsgate next hosts the AGM. Bishopsgate Branch meetings have continued to be reasonably well attended, in spite of the recent temporary cramped accommodation in the old lending library at the Bishopsgate Institute during the refurbishment of the Reference Library. Apart from the usual programme of lectures, members have been able to enjoy guided walks in and around London, arranged and led by Roy Gibbs. Their enterprising Branch Committee also organised a get-together last June for all Executive and Branch Committee members, a useful exercise which I'm sure will be repeated in the future.
Our AGM this year is hosted by Barking and Dagenham Branch and, I'm sure you will agree, Eastbury House is an interesting and unusual venue. On behalf of you, and the Executive Committee, I'd like to say a very big "Thank you" for all the hard work that has gone into the planning of this very successful day. Attendances at Barking Branch meetings have been slightly lower than in previous years, probably due to problems resulting from the alteration work in progress at Barking Library, and unfortunate clashes with major TV sports events. Like Newham Branch, Barking also has a small, but dedicated, project group, currently indexing the Frogley manuscript. I understand that this is nearly complete, with other projects in the pipeline.
Overall control of all our indexing projects is in the very capable hands of Debbie Earrey, the Society's Project Co-ordinator. Her job is to keep tabs on all the projects undertaken, both at Executive and Branch level, and to provide the Executive Committee with progress reports. In addition to those projects already mentioned, there are a number of others in progress. An index to the Hackney 1821 census, for example, is almost ready for publication, as is the eagerly awaited index to the Hackney 1851 census (Since the above was written a serious setback has been reported, with more than 11,000 entries being irretrievably lost, due to a computer malfunction.). We hope to have both ready in time for the SoG Fair in May. Transcribing of the West Ham 1851 census is now almost complete, but will need to be checked before computer input. Progress on the Whitechapel 1851 census index has been slow but steady, with three out of four films well into input stage. There are, however, many queries to be checked and a lot of work remains to be done on the fourth film. Publication remains, I'm afraid, a distant prospect. Indexing of the 1841 census for Stoke Newington, a project started some years ago but long in abeyance, has now been revived, with computer inputting in progress. The ultimate aim of all our projects is publication and I'm pleased to say that, in addition to the previously mentioned index to the Poplar 1821 census, microfiche indexes to the Monumental Inscriptions of All Saints Cranham, and to the 1840 Tithe Awards for Woodford are also available from the bookstall from today.
Our bookstall is one that we are justifiably proud of, carrying a wide range of local history books, as well as most of the standard family history publications. In addition to attendance at most branch meetings, David Filby has taken the bookstall to several special events, notably the SoG Fair last May where takings over two days amounted to a staggering 3,418 pounds sterling. Our 1996 AGM netted 1,026 pounds sterling and the Middlesex County Fair 531 pounds sterling. During the past year David has clocked up some 900 miles with the bookstall and, wherever he goes, he is ably assisted by a willing team of helpers. In addition to this, he also deals with mail orders - some 828 last year to a value of 7,638 pounds sterling. For his enormous contribution to the Society, David deserves our undying gratitude!
For those members too far away to attend our branch meetings, the main source of contact with the society is through our journal, Cockney Ancestor and we have strived over the years to make this as informative, entertaining and attractive as possible. It was therefore a great thrill when Cockney Ancestor was awarded joint second prize (with Suffolk Roots) in the 1995 Elizabeth Simpson Award, the winners being Lincolnshire FHS journal. Cockney Ancestor was particularly commended for its "information, presentation and high editorial standard" and Tony Benton, our editor at that time, is to be congratulated for his achievement. For Tony, this well-deserved pat-on-the-back marked his retirement after 4 years in the editorial seat, his position being taken over last year by Joan Renton, who has continued to maintain the high standards set by her predecessor. Both Joan, and Tony before her, have used their own computers in the preparation of Cockney Ancestor, the end product being dependent on the quality of printer available. With this in mind, the Executive Committee have agreed to purchase a new laser printer for Joan and this should produce even clearer camera-ready copy. Joan, by the way, lives in Hampshire and is therefore unable to attend meetings. Tony has therefore remained on the Executive Committee, liaising with her and reporting on her behalf. Many thanks to them both for all their hard work.
You may have noticed in Cockney Ancestor that, thanks to Dave Jordan (one of our 231 overseas members), we are now on the Internet. I'm a complete ignoramus when it comes to this type of computer technology, but I do know that the information made available includes details of membership and services, together with our publications list. It is still early days but already the benefits are being reaped by the Society in mail-order book sales and new members.
Our Society's membership continues to rise and, at around 2,400, is already up on the total for the 1995/96 membership year. Our hard-working membership secretaries, Fred and Margaret Brown, have already enrolled 208 NEW members since September (the most for years) and, with 7 months still to go, renewals and new members are coming in at the rate of 20-25 per week.
No Society of this size can survive without a Secretary and a Treasurer. The Secretary has to deal with most of the official correspondence as well as taking, deciphering and typing up minutes of the Executive Committee meetings - no easy task, I can assure you! Jean-Marc Bazzoni has ably filled this position since 1994 and we are grateful for his valuable contribution to the smooth running of the Society. Sadly, he has decided to stand down this year and in his place we will be welcoming back Judith Taylor for a second term of office. The other unsung hero of the Society is our Treasurer, who has the unenviable task of making sure our books are balanced. Our present Treasurer is Rhod McAusland, who was elected to the position at the last AGM. Since then he has been quietly beavering away on our behalf, the end result being the healthy end-of-year accounts presented today. I'm pleased to say that Rhod is standing for re-election again this year.
As a Society we depend on volunteers, and there are so many of them that there is no way that I can thank them all by name. So to all of you - whether you are serving on committees, providing one of our many services, working on indexing projects, making tea at meetings, assisting on the bookstall or working behind the scenes in any other way - from all of us to all of you, a very big "Thank You".
Meryl Catty
