Trustees’ Annual Report for the period
From 1 July 2022 To 30 June 2023
Charity name: Association of Lighthouse Keepers
Charity registration number: 1089142
Objectives and Activities
Summary of the purposes The advancement of education of the general public in of the charity as set out in Pharology, defined for these purposes as study in the its governing document history and current practice of coastal and inland aids to navigation, through provision of information, education activities and the maintenance of an archive.
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Summary of the main The Trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by activities in relation to the Charity Commission on public benefit and have those purposes for the undertaken the following principal activities: public benefit, in particular, the activities, • In its broadest sense, the scope of all our activities projects or services is driven by the statement on our branding identified in the accounts “Keeping Lighthouse Heritage Alive”. Many of our members – but a gradually diminishing number - were lighthouse keepers before the last ones left the service in 1998. Whilst founded by lighthouse keepers, the Association’s membership is open to anyone who wishes to join.
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• Development and maintenance of an interactive museum based at Hurst Castle (English Heritage) in Hampshire and which is normally open to the public free of charge. It shows the history of lighthouses and other aids to navigation from early days to the present time, and is visited by members of the public, school parties and other groups. This Museum has had a long period of closure due to the sea wall breach at the Castle, which is being gradually resolved by English Heritage, and limited re-opening began this year.
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• Continuing production of the professional-quality, quarterly journal “LAMP”, which is distributed to all members of the Association as part of their membership package and which consists of news, information, articles and photography on issues relating to lighthouse heritage.
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• Management and development of a substantial archive of documents and hardware from lighthouses and lighthouse keepers, which is used to assist researchers, and this includes responses to requests for information on specific aspects of
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Association of Lighthouse Keepers Trustees Annual Report 1 July 2022 – 30 June 2023
lighthouse operation or individual lighthouses or other aids to maritime navigation. Ultimately our aim is to make the most in-demand material in this archive available online, taking into account the requirements of the GDPR (2018). Digitisation of the index of our archive is well under way as a first step, Some digitisation (8 and 16mm cine film reels, photo transparencies) has already taken place and discussions are under way with specialist consultancy firms about the challenges we face and how to approach them. Funding this will be a major challenge for the Association, and we shall be looking to obtaining grant funding in the near future as specialist software and data storage and access solutions are not something we as volunteers can handle adequately on our own. • Provision of speakers, on request, to any external body or school which asks for a presentation on lighthouse matters, whether engineering, history, architectural or cultural. This also includes offering contacts with former keepers willing to undertake media interviews. • Provision of a programme of events annually open to all members at cost and which seek to give members access to experiences not normally available to the public, eg access to lighthouses not open to the public, special events with speakers, participation in annual global lighthouse events such as the International Lighthouse Heritage Weekend. We have also developed a number of online meetings and presentations accessed via the Zoom platform. • Many of our members provide their services free of charge to lighthouse visitor centres across the UK. • We have for many years had a very close relationship with the Museum of Scottish Lighthouses in Fraserburgh, and that has included some of our own trustees serving on the Board there in the past. The Museum has joined the Association as a Corporate Member which is very pleasing.
Our charity is entirely run by volunteers and has no paid staff. Its major cost each year is production and postal distribution of the quarterly journal and this is the main item covered by our modest annual membership fees for members. The increase in postage costs and overall higher costs of production incurred since the beginning of 2022 mean we are currently having to review our annual subscription rates.
We do not seek to generate a surplus and do not award grants. Statement confirming “Keeping lighthouse heritage alive” is all about public whether the trustees have benefit, whether that’s to our own membership or to had regard to the external bodies and individuals who turn to us for help and
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Association of Lighthouse Keepers Trustees Annual Report 1 July 2022 – 30 June 2023
| guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit |
advice. We therefore consider that the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit has been fully observed throughout the year and, indeed, since the Association was founded in 1988. We also do not seek to make a profit on our activities, simply to cover our costs. |
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Additional information (optional)
You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
| Policy on grant making | We do not offer grants to any outside body. |
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| Policy on social investment including program related investment |
None. |
| Contribution made by volunteers |
Without our volunteers we would not exist, so their contribution is absolutely crucial to all we try to achieve. We have no premises, no paid staff or paid trustees and all postholders offer their time and effort free of charge. |
| Other | - |
Achievements and Performance
| Summary of the main achievements of the charity, identifying the difference the charity’s work has made to the circumstances of its beneficiaries and any wider benefits to society as a whole |
• Trustee meetings continued as usual. The pandemic forced us into moving some meetings online and we now aim to have 2 meetings online each year, using Zoom, and 2 face to face meetings, one in London and one at the location of our Annual General Meeting. Extra-ordinary meetings are held as required. • We are proud of the fact that our membership subscriptions have remained unchanged for at least 10 years, and our membership numbers overall increased during and after the pandemic. However rising costs across the board, notably since February 2022, mean that the trustees are currently reviewing the need to fully cover those increased costs, as we do not make a profit nor do we have significant reserves available to call on for this purpose. The 2023 AGM in September will be advised of the proposals to increase membership subscriptions after July 2024. • For a long time the media seemed to regard the Association as the “Trades Union” for lighthouse keepers but thankfully the message does seem to be getting through at last that there are no keepers in the UK any longer. We do get requests for interviews with former keepers and, from time to time, we get asked for our views on lighthouse modernisation. As we are not a political or lobbying organisation we simply observe and |
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Association of Lighthouse Keepers Trustees Annual Report 1 July 2022 – 30 June 2023
record the decisions made on this front by the lighthouse authorities across the UK and Ireland. We continue to respond to requests from all over the world for information of a historical or otherwise factual nature about lighthouse history and lighthouse keeping. This includes requests for media interviews and we also offer advice, help and information to a growing number of university students working on dissertations which include maritime history, lighthouse engineering or the culture of lighthouse life. • Corporate memberships have increased thanks to the efforts of our Media and Publicity Officer and we have good mutually beneficial relationships with each of them. • Our social media accounts continue to be popular and are growing in use. • We have maintained the quality of our quarterly journal which is in full colour and, though commercially printed and distributed, is produced and edited entirely by volunteers. • We have developed a relationship with the National Piers Society, a separate charity who also are very committed to another aspect of maritime heritage, and we undertook a joint event with them in May 2023. • Archive weekend workshops continue to be held at Bidston Lighthouse on the Wirral. These involve members helping the Archivist to continue the process of sorting through the archive materials temporarily located at Bidston, pending digitisation and ultimate return to commercial storage. • We have continued to actively support the Chance Glass Works Heritage Trust Ltd (Charity Registration number 1165643) as it seeks to develop a new heritage site at the location of the former company’s operation in Smethwick. Our regional representative for the area has been involved with the trust’s officers and has assisted with providing links for possible resourcing of lighthouse artefacts and educational projects. The trust is one of the Association’s most recent Corporate members. • Our Annual General Meeting for 2023 is set to take place in North Norfolk at the end of September 2023. September 2022 saw the AGM take place in Belfast with a total of 92 members present, either in person or via the online live stream. • Following the suspension, on account of the pandemic, of live events for the best part of 2 years we are pleased to have resumed a programme of visits much appreciated by our membership. They are seen as a key membership benefit. • The amazing events team, led by trustee Sarah Kerr, has also run a programme of online events that have proved very popular with the
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Association of Lighthouse Keepers Trustees Annual Report 1 July 2022 – 30 June 2023
membership and, to an extent, these will continue alongside the reinstated live events programme. In the period covered by this report Zoom meetings took place on the following topics: o Quizzes o Talks and presentations on lighthouserelated topics • Given that the Association is now over 30 years old it was agreed that a 5-year plan needs to be drafted and adopted so as to ensure the Association can continue to develop its heritage objectives. A proper succession plan must be put in place to cover the retirement in due course of key volunteers such as the Chair, Secretary and Treasurer. Five working groups, each led by a trustee, were set up after the Belfast AGM in 2022 and all have met at least twice online since. The group titles reflect the main priorities we believe need to be tackled in the coming years and are: o Archive working group o Hurst Castle ALK museum future o Membership expectations o Social Media o Succession planning It is planned to present the findings of all 5 groups to the 2023 AGM and to have a panel of the group leaders for a “Q&A” session for member feedback before the recommendations are finalised and implemented. • Brexit continues to present us with a challenge to get our quarterly journal to our EU members on time and without them being charged customs levies on each envelope. We have the very helpful cooperation from one of our trustees based in Southern Ireland who distributes the EU journals from there and we are immensely grateful to him for all he does for us on this front. • During the year the trustees reviewed our list of Patrons. It was decided to retain the services of: o Lord Hector MacKenzie o Capt Richard Woodman but to terminate the patronship of Neil Oliver. Two possible new patrons were identified who have significant interest in lighthouses. Both have been approached and both agreed to become Patrons, which is very welcome indeed. They are: • Dr Sally Montgomery OBE, a Commissioner of Irish Lights • Paul Murton, TV presenter who served as a lighthouse keeper for 2 years • One significant learning point from online events has been the extent to which “older” members, or those with mobility issues, and also those across the globe, can take part and meet friends from within our lighthouse “family” and so the pandemic has not been all bad news, at least in that respect. It has helped to make them feel more engaged.
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Association of Lighthouse Keepers Trustees Annual Report 1 July 2022 – 30 June 2023
• As our AGM in Belfast was a hybrid meeting – successfully uniting members present in the room with those watching on Zoom – it was decided to continue with this for the 2023 AGM and to review it after that. • We recognise the growing expectation amongst members and the wider public that online access to our archive resources – searching and accessing – will become the “new normal” and this is the biggest challenge we face and we are beginning the process of ensuring this can happen across the coming years, with consultancy advice and tenders being requested so we can make funding applications.
Financial Review
| Financial Review | |
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| Review of the charity’s financial position at the end of the period |
At the end of June the cash reserves totalled £26,325 a reduction of £2,729 over the year. The main reason for the decline was the spend on digitisation of cine film and transparencies in the archive to make them more accessible and insure their preservation. In the Trustees’ view the reduction is no cause for concern. |
| Statement explaining the policy for holding reserves stating why they are held |
N/A |
| Amount of reserves held | There are no formal reserves. |
| Reasons for holding zero reserves |
The cash balances are considered more than sufficient to cover any reasonably foreseeable adverse impact on income or unexpected upturn in unavoidable expenditure. |
| Details of fund materially in deficit |
N/A |
| Explanation of any uncertainties about the charity continuing as a going concern |
N/A |
| Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about: |
Additional information (optional) You may choose to include further statements where relevant about: |
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| The charity’s principal sources of funds (including any fundraising) |
• Membership subscriptions are our principal source of income. Events we organise are on a not-for- profit basis. • Occasionally we receive small legacies from the estates of passed members. • We shall have to look at fund-raising and grant applications in order to facilitate our online archive project but this process has only just begun with no applications made at the time of reporting. |
| Investment policy and objectives including any |
The only financial asset we have is cash held on deposit with Barclays Bank and Monmouthshire Building Society. |
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Association of Lighthouse Keepers Trustees Annual Report 1 July 2022 – 30 June 2023
social investment policy adopted
| social investment policy adopted |
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| A description of the principal risks facing the charity |
We do not own or rent any property or hold significant other assets, apart from archive artifacts which verge on impossible to value and insure, due to their irreplaceability, nor do we employ staff. We do not incur any asset-related costs such as rent, energy or wages. Apart from our cash deposits, the financial risks are minimal. We face a risk with contractors failing to deliver for example transport on trips. The total amounts with any one contractor is insufficient to pose a significant threat. Members face risks when visiting properties that are not insured for public access but we hold liability insurance to cover this. It also covers volunteers working such as at Hurst Castle Museum or the archive team at Bidston Lighthouse on the Wirral, where the archive is currently held. |
| Other | N/A |
Structure, Governance and Management
| Description of charity’s trusts: |
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| Type of governing document (trust deed, royal charter) |
Constitution registered with the Charity Commission |
| How is the charity constituted? (e.g unincorporated association, CIO) |
Unincorporated association |
| Trustee selection methods including details of any constitutional provisions e.g. election to post or name of any person or body entitled to appoint one or more trustees |
We have 12 trustee positions, with 2 currently vacant, and no action is being taken at this time pending the 5-year plan mentioned elsewhere. When vacancies arise, consideration is given about which members to approach to see if they would be interested, and we respond to occasional enquiries from members and open discussions with them. Any appointments are ratified by the membership at the subsequent AGM. |
Additional information (optional)
You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
| Policies and procedures adopted for the induction and training of trustees |
Mentoring and support for new trustees is offered by the Chair and Secretary. |
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| The charity’s organisational structure and any wider network |
- |
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Association of Lighthouse Keepers Trustees Annual Report 1 July 2022 – 30 June 2023
with which the charity works
| with which the charity works |
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| Relationship with any related parties |
We work hard to maintain good relationships with these organisations in order to assist us to offer events and to help occasionally with archive queries: • Trinity House • Northern Lighthouse Board • Commissioners of Irish Lights • Chance Heritage Trust • Museum of Scottish Lighthouses • English Heritage (Hurst Castle) • National Piers Society • Nation Trust (South Foreland Lighthouse) |
| Other | - |
Reference and Administrative details
| Charity name | Association of Lighthouse Keepers |
|---|---|
| Other name the charity uses |
- |
| Registered charity number | 1089142 |
| Charity’s principal address | Tigh Corrie East Kilcoy Muir of Ord Ross-shire IV6 7SF |
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Association of Lighthouse Keepers Trustees Annual Report 1 July 2022 – 30 June 2023
Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity
| 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 |
Trustee name | Office (if any) | Dates acted if not for whole **year ** |
Name of person (or body) entitled to appoint trustee (ifany) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neil Hargreaves | Chair | |||
| Dave Wilkinson | Vice Chair | |||
| David Taylor | Secretary | |||
| RodneyJagelman | Treasurer | |||
| John Best | Hurst Castle Museum Team Leader |
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| Ian Hogarth | Media/Publicity | |||
| Sarah Kerr | Events Coordinator | |||
| Stephen Pickles | Archive team | |||
| Lin Sunderland | Events team | |||
| RoyThompson | - | |||
| Vacancy | ||||
| Vacancy | ||||
| Gerry Douglas- Sherwood |
Archive consultant | 1 July – 6 August 2022 |
Corporate trustees – names of the directors at the date the report was approved
Director name N/A
Name of trustees holding title to property belonging to the charity
| Trustee name | **Dates acted if not for whole year ** | |
|---|---|---|
| N/A | ||
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Association of Lighthouse Keepers Trustees Annual Report 1 July 2022 – 30 June 2023
Funds held as custodian trustees on behalf of others
Description of the assets N/A held in this capacity Name and objects of the N/A charity on whose behalf the assets are held and how this falls within the custodian charity’s objects Details of arrangements for N/A safe custody and segregation of such assets from the charity’s own assets
Additional information (optional)
Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)
| Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information) | Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information) | Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information) |
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| Type of adviser Name Address |
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| - | - | - |
Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)
Exemptions from disclosure
Reason for non-disclosure of key personnel details
N/A
Other optional information
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Association of Lighthouse Keepers Trustees Annual Report 1 July 2022 – 30 June 2023
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