## **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. - **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. - • 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. - • 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. - • 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 Page 1 _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 Page 2 _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.| |---|---| ## **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.| |---|---| |**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| |---|---| Page 3 _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 Page 4 _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. Page 5 _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**|| |---|---| |**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:| |---|---| |**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.| Page 6 _Association of Lighthouse Keepers Trustees Annual Report 1 July 2022 – 30 June 2023_ ## **social investment policy adopted** |**social investment policy**
**adopted**|| |---|---| |**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:**|| |---|---| |**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.| |---|---| |**The charity’s**
**organisational structure**
**and any wider network**|-| Page 7 _Association of Lighthouse Keepers Trustees Annual Report 1 July 2022 – 30 June 2023_ **with which the charity works** |**with which the charity**
**works**|| |---|---| |**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| Page 8 _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||| ||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||| |||| |||| |||| |||| |||| Page 9 _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)**| |---|---|---| |**Type of**
**adviser**
**Name**
**Address**||| |**-**|-|-| |||| |||| |||| **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** **-** Page 10 _Association of Lighthouse Keepers Trustees Annual Report 1 July 2022 – 30 June 2023_ Declarations Slgned on behalf of the charlty's tntstO88 gnature(sl Full name(sl Poslt6on {eg Se¢reiary, Clwr, etG} HaNweaves Chair Da￿￿ KÈlman Page 11 Associution of Lighthouse Keepers Trustees Annual Report l July 2022- 30 June 2023 Assodatlon ofU8hthouse Keepers Finan¢l•l Statementsforthe YearÉnded 30 June 2023 Jt02117 &5 9ry5S IU54.79 Ila SW¢k LFI17$ 45> 437.35 .WiL4) EwrtENpEr4 >9J4 14.4W 16.511191 1519.45 ortFtt5 42018 IFP7&0 L14&11 L17&J9 ftAiftlifflp 73J.7V T•Y•l irOsyW4.•*4¢fj•¢P¢￿ 4*¢W -_ ASV Page 12 Associution of Lighthouse Keepers Trustees Annual Report l July 2022- 30 June 2023 CHgC. Burt￿ in CAmlMh. Lan LA6 INU T¥ Q1524 TOK24 Fix 91￿4 784 Accouiiraiics 4nl>è¥*r<￿￿ A••oc¢•tlt)n ol Llghthoum K••pw• R•gl•t•r•d Chwlty Numb*. 1089142 Ind•p•nd•nt •x•mlnrf• f•ptyI t• th• Iru¥l•M ol th• A••od•tloft of Ughtlwu I f•pX tg ttr* tfttsSt￿ on my examkn***i ol the ol the A55QCWt￿ thrxtse l(eows 8gsopgib)nl fcr tho kne 2023 whth ¢ pago 2. Il••pon•lbllltl•s •nd bMl• ol r•port tr* ac£èrd•rKe tt* the ChwlU•s ki 2011 llhe Arx). 145 01 tho 2011 Au and in C•Tryxig out my exam**akn I have lokn¥ed all the plkabl¢ DiieeiK>ns gNgn by IM Char*y C¢xnmbs8k>n under 145(5Xb) olthe Ind•pnd•nt •xamln•r'8 •t•t•ffl•nl I h•v¢ wrgleled ry exarthaiwyi. I c(￿r￿M th￿ no m8ierf81 m8tters have o)me ty) my all￿t￿)I ￿ C￿n•cl￿ Nbylh tho •x#min•lw 9l¥*u to bdiwe th•t kn any 1. y*¢4￿n￿n9 not r•spvAdthB Tn￿￿ as iwlr•d by sgctkn 130 3. th •¢￿4M￿ Lknj with aFpkal)kn vffjuirerwts ￿￿errIng Ihe I t ￿tent ol Jccoun15 s•¢ in ihe C*wFitrts {Aceounis ReFQrtsl R8gulèiK 2(K18 oltsr than ¥ny requlremmt that Iho Jccwrts gNe a iruè Is ex8rnki8￿ be rel￿ kn ordw to O￿tI& a NoTh'. P* Waws FCCA FMhAT Dakn.. 28 2023 WAttrs.4LEgLin4no IAd ii•d4 #* WW A(iY¥utsian Rry￿rred In Knyjllnd No. 0&17859J Page 13 Associution of Lighthouse Keepers Trustees Annual Report l July 2022- 30 June 2023