THE MIDLAND RAILWAY SOCIETY
Registered Charity No 1149613
Trustees' Annual Report for 2020
Trustees: David Hunt – Chairman David Harris – Secretary Ian Abram Mervyn Bryce * Alan Cox Robin Cullup (up to 3 October 2020) David Geldard * Stephen Lea (from 3 October 2020) Henry Noon * Andrew Surry Adrian Tester Nick Wheat
- Were nominated by the trustees of the Roy F Burrows Midland Collection Trust on the occasion of the merger of the Trust and the Society on 1 February 2016 and were appointed for five years.
Governance: The Constitution of the Society was adopted at the EGM on 7 November 2015 with minor amendments approved at an AGM on 16 April 2016.
Trustees, apart from those appointed at the time of the merger, are elected annually at the AGM. Those appointed at the time of the merger were appointed for a period of five years.
The management of the Society is entrusted to a committee consisting of the Trustees and such other members of the Society as the Trustees deem fit to invite to attend.
Reserves: There are two restricted reserves: The MRS Legacy Fund consisting of a restricted donation specifically to protect the collection of the Society existing immediately before the merger; and the Collections Fund which comprises the funds from the RFBMCT at the time of the merger together with donations since. This fund is used to increase the number of items in the combined collection as well as preserve the existing items.
The General Fund comes about from the surplus on operations each year and exists to provide funds for one-off expenditure. It also provides a buffer against the necessity for regular increases in subscriptions.
Public Benefit: The trustees have complied with their duty to have due regard to the guidance on public benefit published by the commission in exercising their powers or duties.
Objectives and Activities: The object of the Society is:
To advance the study of, and the education of the public in all aspects of the Midland Railway, its predecessors, successors, joint lines and working arrangements in particular (but not exclusively) by the provision of publications, talks, visits, other events, displays and exhibitions for the public benefit. These were necessarily limited in 2020 due to covid-19 and associated lockdowns so our AGM was held by Zoom and our visit was done by Skype. In addition a short online tour (available on YouTube) of Nottingham Road, Derby cemetery and its illustrious Midland Railway residents was made. The Newsletters and Journals were printed and distributed and by the end of the year the new book Market Harborough – a Railway Crossroads by Dr. John Gough was with the printers. Despite the lockdown the Study Centre was still available for research through its virtual collection and significant progress was made in preparing the new home of the Study Centre in the new Museum of Making, Derby.
As with so many areas of day-to-day life, the significant periods of 2020 spent under lockdown and other Covid19 related restrictions led to our operations being severely curtailed. This, combined with preparatory work for the return of our collections to Derby’s Silk Mill following its multi-million pound refurbishment and redevelopment into the Museum of Making, meant we were unable to host physical visitors to the Midland Railway Study Centre at all this year. As the first lockdown began and people took stock of events, there was a brief period where email enquiries tailed-off almost entirely. However, it was quickly apparent that many research projects were dusted-off or started afresh to make the most of new-found spare time. Consequently, as we entered spring and summer, the volume of email enquiries rose dramatically. Luckily, availability of our volunteers via electronic media, forwardplanning for our time spent in temporary accommodation, and the investment we made in a large format scanner in 2016, all combined to allow us to respond effectively to this surge in demand. Whilst we were not always in a position to provide as detailed responses as we might ordinarily have done, very few of our virtual enquirers went away 'empty handed' and the level of positive feedback remained consistently high. In November 2020, the move back to the Silk Mill finally began in earnest and our temporary accommodation was vacated by year-end.
Midland Railway Society Midland Railway Society
Accounts to 31 December 2020
| General Restricted Fund Funds 2019 2019 £ £ 8,919 17,400 6,822 1,790 4,885 308 1,371 17,839 23,656 8,489 2,715 1,494 1,732 199 9,715 1,200 236 14,629 11,151 3,210 12,505 10,650 80 21,269 120,000 141,269 151,999 522 151,477 Opening Balance Surplus for the Year Special Donation Closing Balance |
General Restricted Fund Funds 2020 2020 Income £ £ Members' Subscriptions & Donations 9,111 14,400 Sales of Books, etc. 6,126 Gift Aid Claimed 1,804 3,614 Bank Interest & Other Income 404 1,303 17,445 19,317 Expenditure MR Society Journals & Newsletters 7,796 Cost of Sales 3,027 1,423 Society Expenses 742 Committee Expenses 30 Acquisitions 8,571 Derby Museum 1,200 Equipment 234 13,018 10,005 Excess of Income over Expenditure 4,427 9,312 Balance Sheet as at 31st December 2020 Stock on Hand 12,693 Debtors 46 Balances at Bank: Current Accounts 12,536 Deposit Accounts 145,000 157,536 170,275 less: Creditors 5,059 Total Funds 165,216 Represented by: Restricted Funds General Collections MRS Legacy Total Fund Fund Fund 35,271 112,956 3,250 151,477 4,427 9,312 13,739 39,698 122,268 3,250 165,216 Meeting Costs incl. Exhibitions |
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Independent Examiner's Report on the Accounts of the Midland Railway Society
Registered Charity No: 1149613
l report on the accounts of the Trust for the year ended 31st December 2020, which are set out on the preceding pages.
Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner.
The charity's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity's trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an independent examination is needed.
It is my responsibility to:
examine the accounts under section 145 of the 2011 Act; to follow the procedures laid down in the general Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act; and to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
Basis of independent examiner's report
My examination was carried out in accordance with the general Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a ‘true and fair view’ and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.
Independent examiner's statement
In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention:
(1) which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements:
to keep accounting records in accordance with section 130 of the 2011 Act; and to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accounting requirements of the 2011 Act have not been met; or
(2) to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Paul Waldron, LLB Chartered ALIBF MCSI
Stoneleigh Old Vicarage Lane Kemble Cirencester GL7 6BB
nn February 2021