## **THE SECRET WW2 LEARNING NETWORK REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER 1156796** ## **REPORT OF THE CHAIR AND TRUSTEES AND UNAUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, YEAR ENDING 31 MARCH 2023** |**CONTENTS:**|**CONTENTS:**|**Page**| |---|---|---| |•|Reference and Administrative Details|2| |•|Report of the Trustees|3 – 9| - Statement of Financial Activities (attached as a separate document) ## **THE SECRET WW2 LEARNING NETWORK REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 1156796** ## **REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS, year ending 31 March 2023** TRUSTEES: Louisa Russell, Chair Martyn Bell Rod Kedward Paul McCue Brian Spencer Juliette Pattinson (appointed 14.7.20) PRINCIPAL ADDRESS 29 Wiseton Road Tooting LONDON SW17 7EE BANKERS: NatWest Bank PLC 5 East Street CHICHESTER West Sussex PO19 1HH ## **THE SECRET WW2 LEARNING NETWORK REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 1156796** ## **REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES, for the year ending 31 March 2023** The Trustees present their report with the draft financial statements of the Charity for the year ending 31 March 2023. The Trustees have adopted the provisions of Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2015). ## **OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES** ## **Objectives and aims** The objects of the Charity are the advancement of the education of the general public in the nature, context, history and impact of covert operations during times of conflict and in particular the covert allied operations during the Second World War. ## **Significant activities** |**Significant activities**|**Significant activities**| |---|---| |Significant activities for this year are listed below under the relevant headings:|| |The following personnel from the Charity involved in the Programme are listed below:|| |Martyn Cox, MC|Co-Founder| |Louisa Russell, LR|Chair, Trustee and Friend| |Paul McCue, PM|Executive Trustee and Friend| |Martyn Bell, MBe|Co-Founder and Trustee| |Brian Spencer, BS|Trustee, Treasurer and Friend| |Carol Browne, CB|Information Officer and Friend| |Nick Fox, NF|Supporter and Friend| |Peter Robinson PR|Membership Officer and Friend| |Rod Kedward RK|President, Trustee and Friend| |Edward Jones EJ|Supporter and Volunteer| |Juliette Pattinson JP|Trustee| |Tony McCallum TM|Supporter and Photographer| |Ashley Barnett AB|Projects Officer and Friend| |Steph Waters SW|Media Officer and Supporter| |Charles Ashton CA|Research Coordinator and Supporter| |Debbey Clitheroe DC|North Representative, Friend and Supporter| |Jen Hilton JH|Geneology Officer, North Representative and Supporter| |Meryl Jones|Friend and Volunteer| |Jonathan Saunders|Friend and Volunteer| |Magda Thomas|Friend and Volunteer| |Yvette Pitt|Friend and Supporter| |Ray Windmill|Friend and Supporter| ## **Trustees’ Report: 1.4.22 to 31.3.23** ## **The following events and presentations including research are itemised below.** **Greater detail and information including photographs may be found on the Charity’s Facebook page or in the Newsletter “By the Light of the Moon’, whilst the website is undertaking maintenance.** ## **Events organised/presentations planned:** 22 April – AGM of The SECRET WW2 – conducted by Zoom 23 April - Unveiling of SECRET WW2 Information Board at Wanborough Manor by Yvette Pitt and Jonathan Rée both offspring of SOE Agents. 23 April - Presentations to honour Life Friend and Veteran, Squadron Leader Stanley Booker, RAF (Rid), MBE, Legion d’honneur, 100th Birthday (25[th] April) by LR, PM and CB. 5 to 6 May 2020 – Annual commemoration of SOE agents at Romorantin-Lanthenay and at Valencay, France. Launch of French-language pull-up banner and table-top boards re F Section Roll of Honour and SOE information. 28 May - Commemoration of 80th Anniversary of Operation Anthropoid led by PM and AB at Bellasis (STS 2), Box Hill with wine reception afterwards. Attended by Slovak Defence Attaché AB and JS interviewed by Slovak national radio. 7 June – funeral of Dagmar Sizer, wife of Eddie Jones at Brookwood cemetery, longtime supporter of SECRET WW2 ceremonies and events. A rose bush, for planting at Brookwood, was sent by the Network. 12-17 June – PM participated in recce trip in France for an historical tour by a British Army special forces unit. 18 June – _L’appel._ An annual ceremony, organised by the Defence Office of the French Embassy in London, marks the BBC appeal of General de Gaulle to France on 18th June 1940, a day that came to mark the beginning of French resistance to occupation. LR laid a wreath on behalf of the SECRET WW2. PM, MJ and CB in attendance. 9 July - Annual Ceremony at the memorial in the grounds of Cholmondeley Castle, Cheshire, organised by the Memorial Association of Free Czechoslovak Veterans. PM laid a SECRET WW2 wreath, also attended by Jonathan Saunders, Friend and Volunteer 10 July – The Annual Memorial Gathering at Violette Szabó GC Museum, Wormelow. PM and MJ staffed a stall, visiting Friends included Magda Thomas, Debbey Clitheroe, Fred Greenhow, Clive Bassett and Malcolm Rolfe. 19 July – presentation by PM in Wonersh, Surrey re SOE’s STS 4/7. 4 September – Annual Commemorative Ceremony with an introduction/talk by PM at the Memorial to the Missing 1939 -1945, Brookwood Military Cemetery for Jewish ‘secret war’ personnel. Attended by Israeli Defence Attaché and Assistant Attaché, Brigadier Simon Goldstein (British Army) and members of AJEX. 10 and 11 September – Annual week-end event at Wanborough Manor, Surrey’s School for Secret Agents including an exhibition and 4 Talks about SOE Agents given by PM and CB. 17 September - Flight Officer Yvonne Cormeau, F Section, SOE was honoured with the unveiling of a blue plaque at Holbein Place, London where she lived with her daughter, Yvette Pitt, Friend and Supporter of SECRET WW2. This project was undertaken in conjunction with the Guinness Partnership. 23 September – birthday of our other veteran, Jack Mann. Card sent and phone call made. 24 September - The translation and printing of the memoirs of Flt Lt Albert BrowneBartroli were presented to RK by PM, who accepted them on behalf of the University of Sussex resistance archives at The Keep, Falmer, East Sussex. This was achieved with funding from the Holdsworth Trust. 29 October - Friends Annual Luncheon held at St Ermin’s Hotel, London and attended by 37 Friends. 11 November – SECRET WW2 held a small commemoration, led by CB, of SOE personnel listed on the Memorial to the Missing, 1939-45 at Brookwood. This was followed by attendance at Free French ceremony honouring French personnel of F Section and BCRA. 12 January – presentation in Cranleigh, Surrey re update on SOE’s STS 4/7. 18 January – presentation in Liss, Hampshire re Henryk Zygalski. 2 March – presentation by PM to Harting Society, West Sussex re SOE’s STS 2. ## **Additional Events Attended/Activities/Networking:** 20 Apr – PM commenced local area presentations in Hampshire on the 80[th] anniversary of the SOE operation in Norway that led to the tragedy in Telavåg. The SOE agents involved began their training at STS 3, Stodham Park, Liss, Hampshire. Presentations included use of a film, permitted free of charge for 2022 only, by the Nordsjøfartmuseet (North Sea Traffic Museum), Telavåg, Norway. 1 May - Magda Thomas, Friend and Supporter, attended the 80th anniversary of the ‘Cichociemni’ at Station 43, Audley End House and Gardens. 27 May – PM and JS were guests at the commemoration reception of Operation Anthropoid held at the Slovak Ambassador’s house in London. 18 May – 80[th] Anniversary of Operation Boatswain honoured with a wreath laid at The Memorial to the Missing, Brookwood by PM and facilitation of an announcement in The Times 19 June - PM attended showing of the play ’S.O.E.’ by Deborah Clair, writer and producer, which was performed in London. JP had attended an earlier showing. 22 June - SECRET WW2 represented by PM at AJEX Annual Service of Commemoration at National Memorial Arboretum in honour of National Armed Forces Week. 28 June - PM and JS were invited to the Czech Embassy in London to help celebrate their Armed Forces Day. 15 & 16 July - PM attended the Belgian warship reception aboard the frigate ‘Leopold I’ and the annual commemoration ceremony at the Cenotaph. Ed Jones from Brookwood and Peter Verstraeten from Belgium were present at the latter ceremony. 11 August – PM interviewed in London by Slovak national TV re SOE. 18 August - AB presented ‘ _Operation Margin 1942 - Augsburg Raid_ ’ at the Union Jack Club, London. NB – AB uses his presentations to promote SECRET WW2 and his first, in January 2022, brought 17 new subscribers. This underlines reaching audiences likely to be interested in joining SECRET WW2. 27 September – PM met with CO and 2i/c of 2[nd] Bn The Ranger Regiment (2 RANGER), at Brookwood Military Cemetery, for briefing on SOE/Jedburgh history. 2 October – Annual ceremony for the Intelligence Corps at Brookwood Military Cemetery. Organised by PM and NF, assisted by EJ and TM. 2-6 October – PM acted as historical guide for a Battlefield Study Tour in France for a British Army special forces unit. 30 October – PM lunch with Slovak Ambassador and wife, followed by the annual Czech and Slovak Commemoration Ceremony at Brookwood Military Cemetery attended by several Friends and Supporters of SECRET WW2. 13 November - Wreath laid by AB on behalf of SECRET WW2 at the SOE Agents Memorial at Albert Embankment, London on Remembrance Sunday. 13 November - CB and RW provided Q&A at a showing of the film ‘A Call to Spy’ at Chiddingfold Film Club, substantial donation received 22 November – while on holiday in Australia, PM held meetings in Melbourne with a) Victoria Police and the Australian Commando Association and b) Supporter Tony Donaldson. Agreement in principle reached for an external plaque and internal info board at the property Airlie, requisitioned by SOE and later headquarters of Special Operations (Australia). 11-15 December – on a research trip to Israel, PM presented an information board and (kindly supplied by Ed Jones) artefacts to an IDF special forces unit at Atlit, outlining SOE and SAS heritage on the site. Meetings were held, and agreements were reached, with national park and local authorities and communities regarding other sites for information boards. A partnership “Friends” programme, in conjunction with the Haganah Historical Association (HHA), of information boards is now being progressed with strong support from Brigadier-General (Res) Erez Maisel of the board of the HHA. British Embassy in Tel Aviv, British Army and British Council to be engaged. 12 January 2023 - planning meeting by CB and PM ref CB’s initiative for a three months’ exhibition at Guildford Museum. Agreement reached, exhibition (Nov 2023 – Feb 2024) confirmed. 20 January – planning meeting, Hereford, by PM with British Army unit ref purchase of copies of book SAS OPERATION BULBASKET with % to SECRET WW2. 24 January – PM lunch meeting at Cavalry and Guards Club, London with Belgian Defence Attaché re November conference. 24 January – PM attendance at Slovak Ambassador’s and Defence Attaché’s afternoon reception at RAF Club, London. 9 February – CB and PM attended networking meeting with Museum of Army Medicine at Keogh Barracks, Aldershot Command, followed by PM planning meeting with 2 RANGER at same location. 13 February – PM attended funeral in Bosham, West Sussex, of the last Jedburgh, Fred Bailey. PM arranged Army representation from Royal Signals special forces and The Ranger Regiment/Parachute Regiment. 16 and 19 Feb – while on holiday in (Jordan and) Israel, LR visited the memorials to SOE/Palmach OPERATION BOATSWAIN in both Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. She also discovered a third memorial, in Tel Aviv, to a training site for BOATSWAIN. ## **QUARTERLY NEWSLETTERS** PM continued to produce a series of quarterly newsletters, ‘ **By the Light of the Moon’** for Friends, Supporters and those on the Charity’s email. These have been exceedingly informative and very well received. Through the pandemic these were produced on a bi-monthly basis, but from 2022, as agreed by the last AGM, have been produced on a quarterly basis. ## **QUARTERLY PRESENTATIONS** PM has continued to organise a quarterly programme of online lectures for the Network viaour Zoom commercial subscription. The following have taken place: - 13 April ‘ _The Tragedy of Telavåg’_ , by Paul McCue, Executive Trustee. 15 June ‘SOE. _It wasn’t just France_ ’. by Ashley Barnett, Projects Officer. 14 September ‘ _Just who did “break” Enigma_ ’, by Martyn Bell, Co-Founder and Trustee. - 21 December ‘ _SOE and SAS in Mandate Palestine’_ 1940-44 by Paul McCue, Executive Trustee. - 22 March ‘ _Anatomy of an SOE Special Training School_ ’, by Paul McCue, Executive Trustee. ## **OTHER ACTIVITIES:** **Steve Weiss Student Research Bursary** (in memory of Dr Stephen Weiss, a WW2 veteran and UK-based academic and writer who died in 2020, aged 94). Katie Perkins, from the University of Kent, has been awarded the second student bursary in December. **Ursula Graham Bower Bursary.** A 3 year scholarship was awarded in conjunction with the Kohima Education Trust (KET). See below **Barnett’s ‘Out and About’ Activities** . AB, as Roving Reporter, has undertaken much travel, exploration and reconnaissance in the UK and written in length for the Newsletters. Other contributors have included NF and CA. **Plaques/information boards** : we presently have projects under way or under consideration in Austria (Mauthausen concentration camp);, Australia, Israel, and here in the UK. A full project list is appended as Appendix A. **Books:** Two books by committee members or Friends have been published this year: Professor Rod Kedward, our Honorary Life President, with ‘The French Resistance and Its Legacy’ in September and Ann Palmer with her first novel, ‘Beyond the Horizon’. **External Contacts:** Our global reach and reputation continues to grow and the more unusual requests for information and help have come from: the museum at the former Dachau concentration camp in Germany; a serving officer at the Department of Leadership and Warfighting, Air War College and Air University, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, USA; the Australian Commando Association, Victoria Branch; a University of Bradford PhD student’ and the Emmaus Nicopolis monastery at Imwas, near Latrun, Israel. **Talks to other groups** : Zoom talks in 2022 have been given to British and Israeli Army units and in-person and by Zoom to four local groups in Surrey and Hampshire. We have further bookings in 2023 and early interest from another unit of the British Army. **Filming** – in 2022 we commenced a programme of short commemorative videos by PM and TM, with assistance by EJ, on ‘secret war’ individuals commemorated at Brookwood or Runnymede. We have also produced a ‘loop’ Powerpoint presentation on the SOE history of Wanborough Manor, to be used in partnership with the organisation that manages Wanborough Great Barn. We also expect to contribute further to a French film on the life of Captain Paul Sarrette of F Section, SOE. **Projects** - advisory work for the Israel Antiquities Authority continues regarding SOE and SAS/SBS service in the former British Mandate for Palestine; the Roll of Honour for the 104 agents of F Section SOE is now over 90% completed; work has started on a biography of Section Officer Lilian Rolfe, WAAF and FANY of F Section, SOE; we are taking part, in a tour guide role, in France; we continue with adding or amending SOE details to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission's records; funding was obtained for re-design and re-hosting of the web site and planning has continued throughout autumn 2022 and spring 2023. A full project list, as at February 2023 is appended as Appendix A. ## **Support from other organisations and individuals and partnership working** The SECRET WW2 acknowledges and is extremely grateful for the support and/or partnership activity of the following organisations in the 2022-23 year: The Gerry Holdsworth Special Forces Charitable Trust Eddie Jones and (the late) Dagmar Sizer at The Trench Experience, Brookwood Cemetery The Commonwealth War Graves Commission. AJEX (London) Liss Parish Council East Hants District Council The Intelligence Corps Embassy of the State of Israel Embassy of Slovakia Embassy of the Czech Republic Embassy of Belgium Memorial Association of Free Czechoslovak Veterans (MAFCV) Wyrdlight Photography Mauthausen Memorial Brigadier-General (Res) Erez Maisel IDF and the Haganah Historical Assoc The Brookwood Last Post Association Nordsjøfartmuseet (North Sea Traffic Museum), Telavåg, Norway. ## **Public benefit** The Trustees have due regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit ## **FINANCIAL REVIEW** ## **Results for the year** There was a surplus for the year of £?? The state of affairs of the Charity, which The Trustees consider to be satisfactory is set out in the Balance Sheet and there are adequate resources available for the Charity to be able to meet its commitments at the balance sheet date. ## **Reserves policy** The Charity has very limited need for future reserves whilst it is in its initial period of operations. The Trustees believe that the Charity holds sufficient reserves to enable it to meet those costs for the foreseeable future. ## **STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT** ## **Governing document** The Secret WW2 Learning Network is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) governed by its constitution. It was constituted on 24 April 2014. ## **Recruitment, Appointment, Induction and Training of Trustees** It is the policy of The Secret WW2 Learning Learning Network to invite new Trustee members to give an expression of interest to join the board outlining their reasons for doing so, what they can bring to enrich the organisation and the experience and knowledge they can offer. The Trustee Board then discusses the application, formally votes on the application, and then if successful, the new Trustee is inducted onto the Board and into the Organisation. All new Trustees are provided with copies of its constitution, accounts and documentation, explaining the approach the Charity takes on a number of key issues. It is expected that most new Trustees will already be experienced in that role, if not some training will be given. In 2022, one Trustee was redesignated Executive Trustee to reflect the executive duties of the position. ## **Organisational structure** The Trustees oversee the day to day management of the Charity by the Executive Trustee. ## **Risk management** The Trustees have a duty to identify and review the risks to which the Charity is exposed and to ensure appropriate controls are in place to provide reasonable assurance against fraud and error. ## **STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES’ RESPONSIBILITIES** The Trustees are responsible for preparing the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice). The law applicable to charities in England and Wales, the Charities Act 2011, Charity (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and the provisions of the trust deed requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the Charity for that period. In preparing those financial statements, the Trustees are required to: - Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently: - Observe the methods and principles and in the Charity SORP - Make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent: - Prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Charity will continue in business. The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Charity and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Charity (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and the provisions of the trust deed. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities. Approved by order of the Board of Trustees on ?? and signed on its behalf by Louisa Russell, Chair and Paul McCue, Executive Trustee ||||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |**The Secret WW2 Learning Network**|||||||| |**Statement of Financial Ac9vi9esyear ended 31st March 2023**|||||||| ||||||||| |**Income and Expenditure Account**|||||||| ||||||||| ||||**2021/2022**||**2022/2023**||| |**Income**|||**£**||**£**||| |Dona%ons:- General|||1,221||540||| |Gi5 aid|||85||75||| ||Cranleigh Arts Centre||938||||| ||Paul McCue for speeches||||||| |and research for external organisa%ons|||||140||| |Talks:-|Paul McCue||||120||| ||||||||| |Friends|||1,649||1,894||| ||||||||| |Grants :- GerryHoldsworth Trust :-|||6,600||-||| |||Website|||3,000||| |||Now it can be told|||13,000||| ||Guilford||||725||| ||Cranleigh||||200||| ||Chiddingfold|Winterfold informa%onpoint|||500||| ||||||||| |Gif Aid|||||521||| ||||||||| |Auc%on|||||863||| ||||||||| |BurseryRefund|||||65||| |**Total**|||**10,493**||**21,643**||| 1 |**Expenditure**|**Expenditure**||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ||||||||| |Ofce Costs :-|||||||| |Website-Design|||||4,320||| ||Hos%ng||||79||| ||Zoom Subscrip%on(2021/22 &2022/23)||-||288||| |Sta%oneryetc|||221||65||| |Insurance|||96||96||| ||Equipment||||259||| |**Advancement of charity's core**|||||||| |**educa9onal objec9ves:-**|||||||| |Carole Nu_ Transla%on into English of Albert|||||||| |Browne-Bartoli memoirs(Holdsworth Trust)|||4,800||206||| |Scholarships -The Kohima Educa%onal Trust|||350||||| ||Olivia Smith||||100||| ||Ka%e Perkins||||116||| |Cranleigh Event|||280||||| |Now it can be told'|||||3,360||| |Signage|||2,534||1,464||| |Plaques|||||1,632||| |Hire of Halls|||||150||| |Dona%ons(Info board at Arisaigand Trech experience)|||||90||| |Floral Dec StanleyBooker 100th|||||100||| |Event Costs|||||426||| |Memorial ac%vi%es(Wreaths)|||205||366||| |Conference|||||1,405||| ||||||||| |**Total**|||**8,486**||**14,522**||| ||||||||| |**Surplus**|||**2,007**||**7,121**||| 2 ||||||||| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| ||||||||| |**The Secret WW2 Learning Network**|||||||| |**Statement of Financial Ac9vi9esyear ended 31st March 2023**|||||||| ||||||||| |**Balance Sheet as at 31st March 2023**|||||||| ||||||||| ||||**2021/2022**||**2022/2023**||| |**Current Assets**|||||||| |Cash at Bank|||8,632||16,818||| |Less Creditors|||||1,065||| ||||**8,632**||**15,753**||| ||||||||| |Represented by:|||||||| |**Accumulated Reserve**|||||||| |Balance Bt/Fwd|||6,625||8,632||| |Surplus|||2,007||7,121||| ||||||||| ||||**8,632**||**15,753**||| ||||||||| |Note 1|Reserved funds - £9,640 Balnce of Holdsworth Trustgrant for 'Now it can be told'||||||| |||£500 Chiddingfold Grant Winterfold informa%on Board|||||| |||£200 Cranleigh Grant|||||| |||£1,116 balance of website design|||||| |Note 2|Paul McCue Expenses £358 and £707||||||| |Note 3|Chari%espolicy,as agreed at the 2021 A.G.M.,is that the charityshould maintain||||||| ||a reserve of £2,000.||||||| |Note 4|2023 A.G.M to agree that spends of more than £1,000/£500 notpreviouslyagreed in the budget||||||| ||needs to be agreed byall Trustess||||||| ||||||||| 3