2023-10-31-accounts

The Online Memorial and Museum of Prisoners of War

Annual Report 2022 - 2023

Introduction

The Online Memorial and Museum of Prisoners of War was registered as a charity, #1200975, in November 2022.

Its objects are: To advance the education of the public on the subject of prisoners of war by:

a. Providing a permanent, online Memorial & Museum of Prisoners of War by maintaining and regularly updating an interactive, historical and educational internet resource which enables the collection and preservation of information concerning prisoners of war;

b. By organising seminars, conferences and tours that educate the public on the experiences of prisoners of war, and to pursue any other activities that support these purposes;

c. The commemoration and remembrance, for the public benefit, of former prisoners of war and the sacrifices they made.

Developing the Charity

During the year we have:

• i. opened a bank account with the Co-operative Bank and transferred the money donated by people who had paid to attend the POW75 commemorative event in 2020, cancelled as a result of Covid restrictions, and who did not seek a refund;

• ii. developed policies to support management of the charity and the volunteers who undertake work for it https://www.prisonersofwarmuseum.com/charity-policies/;

• iii. held 4 trustee meetings;

• iv. appointed one new trustee following the retirement of Philip Baker as a trustee;

• v. met with representatives of the Friends of Stalag IVB association to explore synergies and invited them to provide a trustee, which has now been enacted;

• vi. spoken to a trustee of the Children and Families of the Far East Prisoners of War (COFEPOW) about the potential for some form of collaboration.

Delivering the charity’s objects

a) Providing a permanent, online Memorial & Museum of Prisoners of War

Development of a new website was undertaken by a volunteer prior to registration of the charity. It was operational at the start of the charity’s life with hosting provided by a commercial provider.

A small team of volunteers undertook the loading of the content of all the websites managed by Philip Baker, the charity’s founder, to the new site.

In March 2023 some 75,000 records of POWs, sourced from The National Archives, was loaded to the site. Before loading, extensive work was done by two volunteers to correct errors in the data.

In October 2023 trustees approved an upgrade to the hosting service to provide a more responsive service. Unfortunately the upgrade proved not to be successful and a different approach will be required.

Website Analysis – July 30[th] 2023 to 24[th] November 2023

• 5800 users in total. The number of users per week has doubled over this period (250 users per week to 519 per week);

• Average ~ 42 users per day, Peak Usage = 150 users on Remembrance Sunday

• Average engagement time = 5 mins;

• Majority of users come via Google search & facebook referral;

• A large proportion come direct to the site = “regulars”;

• Viewed from 30/40 different countries – largest is from UK (50%);

• Most viewed pages - STALAG VIIIB LAMSDORF / STALAG 344.

b) Organising seminars, conferences and tours

None has been delivered during this first year but significant assistance has been given via email and Facebook to the many individuals who have sought help to research POWs of importance to them.

One of our volunteers also compiled a new 55 page ‘Help with Research’ guide which was published on the website.

c) Commemoration and remembrance

No commemorative or remembrance activities, separate from our website, have been delivered in this first year but trustees have initiated investigations into the possibility of organising an international commemorative event ‘POW80’ to be held in 2025.

We have also met with the National Memorial Arboretum to discuss future maintenance and possible replacement of the existing memorial to all POWs which they host.

Approved by trustees 11[th] December 2023

[End]

FOR AGM DEC 2023

The Online Memorial and Museum of Prisoners of War	The Online Memorial and Museum of Prisoners of War	The Online Memorial and Museum of Prisoners of War	The Online Memorial and Museum of Prisoners of War	The Online Memorial and Museum of Prisoners of War
Registered Charity Number 1200975
Accounts Summary
Period 1 Nov 2022 to 31 October 2023
								£
INCOME
Donation byfounder.								3630.5
Donations					Jul-23	70
					Aug-23	70
					Sep-23	70
					Oct-23	70
					Total	280		280
EXPENDITURE
Website new domain registration					Oct-23	9.09
Website hosting					Oct-23	54
					Total	63.09		63.09
Balance at end Oct 2023								3847.41