THE SECRET WW2 LEARNING NETWORK REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER 1156796
REPORT OF THE CHAIR AND TRUSTEES AND UNAUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, YEAR ENDING 31 MARCH 2024
| 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 2024
TRUSTEES: Louisa Russell, Chair Martyn Bell Paul McCue Brian Spencer Juliette Pattinson Ashley Barnett (appointed 25 April 2023) Hanna Diamond (appointed 27 June 2023) Nick Fox (appointed 17 July 2023) 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 2024
The Trustees present their report with the draft financial statements of the Charity for the year ending 31 March 2024. 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 and Friend |
| Carol Browne, CB | Information Officer and Friend |
| Nick Fox, NF | Trustee and Friend |
| Peter Robinson PR | Membership Officer and Friend |
| Edward Jones EJ | Supporter and Volunteer |
| Juliette Pattinson JP | Trustee |
| Tony McCallum TM | Supporter and Photographer |
| Ashley Barnett AB | Trustee, Treasurer, Projects Officer and Friend |
| Steph Waters SW | Media Officer and Supporter |
| Charles Ashton CA | Research Coordinator and Supporter |
| Jen Hilton JH | Geneology Officer, North Representative and Supporter |
| Meryl Jones MJ | Friend and Volunteer |
| Jonathan Saunders JS | Friend and Volunteer |
| Magda Thomas MT | Friend and Volunteer |
| Yvette Pitt YP | Friend and Supporter |
| Ray Windmill RW | Friend and Supporter |
| Ian Titman IT | Friend and Supporter |
| Alan Meeks AM | Volunteer photographer and supporter |
| Mike Hillman MH | Volunteer photographer and supporter |
| Tony Page TP | Volunteer photographer and supporter |
Trustees’ Report: 1.4.23 to 31.3.24
The following events and presentations including research are itemised below.
Greater detail and information including photographs may be found on the Charity’s website: www.secret-ww2.net or on the Charity’s Facebook page or in the Newsletter “By the Light of the Moon’.
Events and presentation organised and/or attending including Networking:
25 April – AGM of The SECRET WW2 – conducted by Zoom. Ashley Barnett formally replaced Brian Spencer as Treasurer and Brian was unanimously thanked for his five years of service in the role. Brian remains as a Trustee.
5 to 7 May 2023 – Annual commemoration of SOE agents at Romorantin-Lanthenay and at Valencay, France. French premiere of the film ‘ Now It Can Be Told - Retold’ , created by MC and shown in memory of Rod Kedward, our President and Trustee who had just died weeks before.
10 May - AB attended the National Army Museum (NAM) pre-publication launch of SAS: the Illustrated History of the SAS During the Second World War by Joshua Levine. A donation resulting from photos used in this book was made by Jane Storey in Australia.
12 May – PM and Ambassador Gershon Gan attended annual lunch with our veteran Jack Mann.
14 May - AB laid a wreath to Czechoslovak SOE agents and RAF Special Duties squadrons aircrew at the annual ceremony at Brookwood Military Cemetery,
15 to19 May - PM undertook a reconnaissance tour of Jedburgh operations and OPERATION CHARIOT in Brittany, France with representatives of a Special Operations unit of the British Army.
19 May – unveiling of plaque to Lilian Rolfe in Paris. Barbara Cronk, Friend of SECRET WW2, was the moving force and SECRET WW2 jointly hosted a wine reception in the Paris RBL.
24 May – PM met with Admiral Hamelin and Colonel Leinekugel-Le Cocq at the French Embassy re French and Anglo-French agents commemorated at Brookwood Military Cemetery.
25 May – AB presented ’ It wasn’t Just France ’ at the Union Jack Club, London.
27 May - Warren Le Serve, Friend, laid a wreath on the 81st Anniversary of Operation Anthropoid at Bellasis (STS 2).
29 May – new web site went live.
7 June – PM and Jonathan Saunders, Friend, attended a reception at the Czech Embassy.
8th June – Unveiling of SECRET WW2 plaque re 1943 base location of Special Raiding Squadron (1st SAS Regt) at Gesher HaZiz, Israel. The Network was represented by Ambassador Gershon Gan, a dedicated Friend and donor of Secret WW2.
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.
19 June – PM delivered presentations to three classes at Boxgrove Primary School, Guildford.
21 June - PM visited BFI HQ to conduct further research on NICBT.
28 June – LR and PM attended memorial service for Rod Kedward at Uni of Sussex. Contact made with Prof Hanna Diamond.
2 July – ‘ Belgium Remembers’ . PM organised a talk and walk on ‘secret war’ Belgians buried or commemorated in Brookwood Military Cemetery. Colonel Bruno Plaetsier, Defence Attaché from the Belgian Embassy in London was welcomed together with Peter Doneux, son of Capt Jacques Doneux of T Section and Fred Greyer, son of MI9 agent Edgar Potier.
9 July – The Annual Memorial Gathering at Violette Szabó GC Museum, Wormelow. PM, CB and MJ staffed a stall. Malcolm Rolfe, a member of Lilian’s family and Friend of SECRET WW2, spoke of the recent plaque unveiling in Paris, to commemorate the birthplace of Lilian Rolfe of F Section, SOE.
16 July – AB and PM attended and AB placed a wreath in remembrance of Jewish agents of the ‘secret war’ at the AJEX Service of Remembrance at the Jewish War Memorial in Willesden Jewish Cemetery. AB and PM then continued to former STS 1, Brock Hall, Northants, for meeting re plaque proposal.
17 July – Unveiling of blue plaque for Lt-Col André Hue, DSO Croix de Guerre. This took place at Hue’s former home in Chichester, by Trevor Butterworth, Friend, who originated the project and Nikki Bennett, (since subscribed as a Friend) daughter of André Hue
25 and 26 July – PM led a London SOE/SF tour and delivered a presentation in Hereford on two wartime 1st SAS operations in France, for two Special Forces units of the British Army.
20 August – Our bi-annual Runnymede Air Forces Memorial commemoration of SOE, MI9 agents and special duties aircrew with no known grave was organised by CB.
3 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. Lieutenant Maurice Pertschuk and Captain Lionel Lee, both British Jews who served with F Section SOE and were executed in concentration camps in 1944. were remembered. Two members of the Defence Attaché team from the Israeli embassy in London and several members of AJEX were in attendance.
9 and 10 September – Annual week-end event at Wanborough Manor, Surrey’s School for Secret Agents including an exhibition and the showing of our film ‘Now It Can Be Told: Re-told’. PM gave a talk about Sqn Ldr Maurice Southgate
(STATIONER/Hector) one of F Section’s most active agents who began his training at Wanborough Manor. Southgate’s son, Lionel Southgate, was in attendance with his family and is President of Paris-based Libre Résistance.
9 September - A small group of Friends had a tour of Greyfriars’ Vineyard close to Wanborough. Their latest wine was named ‘Pearl’ in honour of Pearl Witherington, the only F Section woman agent to lead a circuit of her own, WRESTLER. Pearl trained at Wanborough Manor.
2 to 6 October - PM guided around 40 members of a British Army Special Forces unit in Sicily and the toe of mainland Italy. He was joined from Australia by Jane Storey, daughter of wartime SAS officer John Tonkin and SECRET WW2 donor.
8 October - Handover of our Secret WW2 information board for Winterfold (STS4/7), Cranleigh which was led by AB.
16 to 19 October - PM led another overseas trip to Brittany (focus on British-led Jedburgh teams) for 18 soldiers of a British Army Special Operations unit.
21 October – Friends’ and Volunteers’ Annual Conference/Luncheon held at Victoria Library, London. Talks given by Sheryl Green, Friend and NF with 40 attendees.
11 November - SECRET WW2 held a small commemoration of SOE personnel listed on the Memorial to the Missing, 1939-45 at Brookwood. PM gave a talk and MJ laid a wreath. This was followed by attendance at Free French ceremony honouring French personnel of F Section and BCRA. PM accompanied and briefed the French Ambassador at the Memorial to the Missing and later attended a reception and ceremony for the award of decorations at the Ambassador’s residence in Kensington Palace Gardens, London.
12 November - Remembrance Sunday ceremony at the monument to SOE agents, Lambeth Palace Rd, The Queen's Walk, London SE1 7LB. PM and LR, who laid a wreath, in attendance.
14 November - launch of the Secret WW2 five-month exhibition at Guildford Museum, Surrey, covering wartime SOE activity within a 10-mile radius of the town, opened by the Mayor or Guildford. This project was initiated by CB a programme of talks and films have been led by CB and PM over a period of five months.
19 November - LR and PM were guests of AJEX to their annual ceremony and parade to the Cenotaph in Whitehall, London.
21 November - PM led an SOE walk and talk in central London for a British Army
unit.
23 November - PM gave a presentation at the unveiling of a blue plaque at Norgeby House, 83 Baker Street, London W1, commemorating the personnel of T (Belgian) Section, SOE whose Country Section was housed there.
24 November - PM and Peter Verstraeten, Friend, gave presentations about Belgian SOE and Intelligence Service agents at a one-day conference organised by the Belgian Intelligence Studies Centre, held at the Cavalry and Guards Club, London. Both attended a reception afterwards at the Belgian Embassy.
29th November - A reception for both Slovak Armed Forces Day and the re-opening of the premises of the Embassy of Slovakia at 25 Kensington Palace Gardens, London W8 was attended by PM.
7 December - Several Friends attended the Tempsford Memorial Service.
9 December - Ici Londres: ELMS Memorial Lunch at RAF Club attended by several Friends and Supporters.
8 January - PM and CA attended a meeting to discuss the final stage of the SECRET WW2 complaints procedure at CWGC at their Headquarters. An update report is on the 2024 AGM agenda.
11 January 2024 – meeting by PM with property owners at 83 Baker Street re permission for F Section, SOE plaque.
13 January – two talks by CB in support of SECRET GUILDFORD exhibition.
26 January – CB and PM delivered a guided tour of SECRET GUILDFORD exhibition to a government IT/comms contractor. Donation received.
27 January – talk by PM in support of SECRET GUILDFORD exhibition.
3 February – PM and CB delivered a guided tour to a Sea Cadets unit in support of SECRET GUILDFORD.
17 February – PM delivered two presentations in support of SECRET GUILDFORD.
16 March – CB delivered two presentations in support of SECRET GUILDFORD.
16 March - CB presented two talks of two women agents who were assessed at STS 7, Winterfold, at Guildford Museum.
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.
QUARTERLY PRESENTATIONS
PM has continued to organise a quarterly programme of online lectures for the Network via our Zoom commercial subscription. The following have taken place:
| 20 June | _‘Now It Can Be Told: Retold’,_by PM and MC. |
|---|---|
| 15 June | ‘SOE.It wasn’t just France’. by AB. |
| 9-15 September | ‘MANN’ - showing of a 30 minute documentary-style interview |
| with Jack Mann, Veteran Life Friend. | |
| 12 December | ‘Fantasies of the Soldier Hero, Frustrations of the Jedbughs’, |
| by JP. | |
| 5 March | ‘SOE, the Jedburgh Teams and Unconventional Warfare in |
| _WW2 - with echoes today’_by PM |
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). No applications were received this year.
Ursula Graham Bower Bursary. A 3 year scholarship, awarded in conjunction with the Kohima Education Trust (KET), continues to 2025.
Barnett’s ‘Out and About’ Activities . AB, as Roving Reporter, has undertaken much (self-funded) travel, exploration and reconnaissance in the UK and written in length for the Newsletters. Other contributors have included NF and MT.
Plaques/information boards : we presently have projects under way or under consideration in Austria (Mauthausen concentration camp), Australia, Israel, and here in the UK. Funding was obtained by AB for an information board re STS 3, Stodham Park, Liss, Hampshire. A full project list is appended as Appendix A.
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 2023 have been given, attracting participation from France, USA, Israel and Australia. Twelve In-person and by Zoom presentations, for a charity donation, were given to community/interest groups in Surrey, Hampshire and Wiltshire. We have further bookings in 2024/25. .A talk and exhibition tour to a Sea Cadets unit was free-of-charge.
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.
Projects - advisory work for the Israel Antiquities Authority continues regarding SOE and SAS/SBS/Greek Sacred Squadron service in the former British Mandate for Palestine. We continue with adding or amending SOE, MI9 and SAS details to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission's records.Funding was obtained for the redesign and re-hosting of our web site and it went live on 29 May 2023. A full project list, for 2024, as at February 2024, 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 at The Trench Experience, Brookwood Cemetery
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
AJEX (London)
Liss Parish Council
East Hants District Council
Embassy of the State of Israel
Embassy of Slovakia Embassy of the Czech Republic Embassy of Belgium Embassy of France
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
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 deficit for the year of £1,038.
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:
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Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently:
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Observe the methods and principles and in the Charity SORP
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Make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent:
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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 24 April and signed on its behalf by Louisa Russell, Chair and Paul McCue, Executive Trustee
| Financial Period | 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gross Income | £12,661 | |||
| Gross Spending | £13,699 | |||
| 1.1 Government Contracts | Not Applicable / Nil | |||
| 1.2 Government (council) Grants | ||||
| How Many? | 2 (both East Hampshire District Council) | |||
| How Much? | Total £990 (being£664.64 and £325.36) | |||
| 1.3 Income Breakdown | ||||
| A) Donations | £4,431 | |||
| B) Charitable Activities (incl friends, events and auction) | £4,119 | |||
| C) Other TradingActivities | Not Applicable / Nil | |||
| D) Investments | Not Applicable / Nil | |||
| 1.4 Donations | ||||
| Corporate Donor | Not Applicable / Nil | |||
| Single highest donation from individual | £100 | |||
| Relatedparty | Not Applicable / Nil | |||
| 2.1 Grant Making | ||||
| Isgrant makingmain waywe carryoutpurposes | No | |||
| Grants made to: | ||||
| Individuals | Not Applicable / Nil | |||
| Other charities | Not Applicable / Nil | |||
| Other organisations | Not Applicable / Nil | |||
| 2.2 Trustee Payments | ||||
| Select D) | D) | |||
| Did anytrustees resign and take upemployment in charity? | No | |||
| 3.1 Income received from outside the UK | Y | |||
| List countryand then value by | ||||
| a)governments /government bodies | Not Applicable / Nil | |||
| b) charities, NGOs | France = £392.7 (Libre Resistance) | |||
| c)private companies | Not Applicable / Nil | |||
| d) individual donors | Not Applicable / Nil | |||
| How was it received? | Other | |||
| 3.2 Delivering charitable activities outside the UK? | Y | |||
| Formal written agreements? | No | |||
| 3.3 Spending outside the UK | Y | |||
| Sendingmoneyoutside the UK other than regulated banking | Not Applicable / Nil | |||
| How was moneysent outside the UK? | F | |||
| 4. Trading subsidiaries | Not Applicable / Nil | |||
| 5.1 Charity address | Confrm correct | |||
| 5.2 Property | Not Applicable / Nil | |||
| 6. Stucture | C) notpart of widergroup | |||
| Other members entitled to vote | Not Applicable / Nil | |||
| 7.1 Employees | Not Applicable / Nil |
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| 7.2 Volunteers | To confrm how many | |||
| 8. Governance and 9. Safeguarding and Risk | Will leave toyou |
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