## **Trustees Report: Nov 22 – May 23.** 

This report surmises the brief period between our establishment as a charity in Nov 22 and year end in May 23. During this period, the prime focus was very much on building the charity’s constitution and structure. The process of opening a charity bank account and separating formally from the governance afforded by Royal Air Force Northolt Service Funds was appropriately time consuming. As of year-end, our charity bank account was not up and running and the figures provided are extracted from our holdings with RAF Northolt. 

Previously, the organisation had existed and grown under the management of RAF Northolt. Our main effort was and continues to be Building 27, the original Sector Operations Room which was particularly significant in the development of the Second World War RAF Integrated Air Defence System, informally known as the Dowding System. 

Building 27 is undergoing a major restoration project that has lasted more than a decade, with the bulk of the work undertaken by one volunteer. Restoration, using, so far as possible, original materials and working from original plans has progressed slowly but is on track. The work has consumed many hundreds of volunteer manhours and significant funds. Whilst there is still work to do in the Sector Ops room the map table, tote board and ops officer viewing position are all now complete and tours take place enabling the story of the evolution of the Dowding System and Northolt’s key role in wartime operations to be told. 

Our funding, over this period, was exclusively generated by a Night Photoshoot in March 23. Organised by charity volunteers and delivered by Royal Air Force Northolt. This project brought aviation assets into Northolt and invited photographers from across the UK to visit, in exchange for a small donation supporting our output. Trustees are working on other funding lines to exploit and are developing, in partnership with the RAF Museum, a donation tool that targets visitors to the Stn. 

The charity was also looking to broaden its portfolio and a number of other small historic infrastructure sites on the Station have potential for restoration and development. 

Ultimately, the project is well positioned and appropriately resourced such that it will continue to develop, albeit slowly, under the constraints of the relatively small team of volunteers that enable this progress. 



## **Accounts (6Mths)** 

## **Income** 

||Income brought forward|8265.53||
|---|---|---|---|
||Donatons and Legacy|0.00||
||Charitable Actvites - Photoshoots|5739.50||
|**Expenditure**||||
||Bldg Parts and Supplies||7994.54|
|||14005.0||
|Totals||3|7994.54|
|Balance 31 May 23||6010.49||