POMPEY HISTORY SOCIETY
Trustees Annual Report for the period from 1st May 2024 to 30 June 2025
Charity Name: Pompey History Society
Charity registration number: 1201687
Objectives and Activities
The purposes of the charity are to advance the education of the public in the social, cultural, and sporting history and development of Portsmouth Football Club by the preservation and exhibition of items of educational and/or historical value and the establishment of and maintenance of a museum collection.
The Pompey History Society undertakes research projects on the history of Portsmouth Football Club. It educates through regular stadium tours, writing/publishing, delivery of lectures/seminars and the PHS web-site. It collects memorabilia either from donations or purchases and safely archives and digitises collections before presenting/exhibiting them in both virtual and physical museums.
The trustees, in making decisions about the activities undertaken throughout the reporting period, have had due regard to the commission’s public benefit guidance when exercising any powers or duties to which the guidance is relevant.
Without the contribution made by the Society’s volunteers, the Society would not exist. The volunteers have kept a careful watch on the income and expenditure, have delivered several events, have published a book on the formation of PFC which has received universal acclaim and continued to sell books to help achieve the charities objectives. They have delivered an ever-increasing number of stadium tours. In addition, they have spent long hours improving the standard of archiving. The Trustees would formally like to thank all the volunteers for their efforts.
Achievements and Performance
During the period, the charity has: -
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1) Improved the regular stadium tours, put in place a team of 8 guides and delivered 90 tours to 1700 customers – this is important as it is the societies “bread and butter” activity
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2) Researched and answered c100 enquiries from the public regarding various facets of PFCs history
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3) Produced and sold a book “The Making Of Modern Pompey And The Men Who Made It”
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4) Continued to sell two other books, Pompey Cards and Stickers and the clubs 125 year history book. This has provided £8,537 income for the charity before costs
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5) Improved the offer to members through:-
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a. Launched a new glossy magazine for members and non-members. This contains articles from fans and members and is produced three times a year.
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b. A regular newsletter
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c. More evening and day-time events of better quality eg Memory Mornings eg with John Milkins and others
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6) Launched a history radio show on Express FM that airs monthly and has guests such as Alan Knight and Gemma Hillier
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7) Undertaken various research projects, for example the numbering of players from 1899 to date plus regular contributions to the club programme on topics of interest to the fans
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8) Increased membership numbers (to 234 as at 7[th] November 2025, the time of writing), introduced a new membership system to allow members to sign up online and renew and produced a monthly newsletter to keep them up to date with society matters
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9) Improved the charities archiving and continued to secure the safety of the clubs historical records through scanning and safe storage
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10) Delivered the annual Hall of Fame dinner for the first time
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11)Raised funds to enable the purchase of various memorabilia such as the Peter Harris medals and the Jimmy Dickinson England shirt, both purchased at auction
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12) Seen no risk events and improved its financial processes and strengthened governance from the Trustees Board
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13) Used social media to good effect - “Twitter/X”, Blue Sky and Facebook plus the PHS website. Collectively they provide a variety of digital access points to our breadth of information and archive materials. Over 150 regular and topical posts promoted Pompey, its rich history and the Pompey History Society events and membership. All channels have improved hits by 1% to 25%, the PHS site is the top Blue Sky Pompey related site
At the start of the period covered by this report, the charity set out it’s critical activities:-
The items that we decided to prioritise were:-
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1) Delivering Stadium Tours - we have an agreement with the club and the club’s customers to deliver a great customer experience, and this secures funding to enable us to pay the annual fee due to Townsweb for hosting our website (8year contract from 2023, fees start 2024 at £2,462pa growing with inflation plus 1% pa)
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2) Keeping our existing archive safe and secure
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3) Continuing to procure items of historical significance and raise funds to satisfy our commitment to the owner of the Peter Harris medals
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4) Fulfilling our promise to our members re the return on their purchase, particularly events
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5) The Hall of Fame dinner
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6) The fundraising for the Peter Harris medals purchase (two gold Championship winning medals from 1949 and 1950 purchased by a committee member at auction to secure them with an agreement to sell them to the Society at cost by December 2025 and once sufficient funds had been raised)
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7) Book sales
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8) The South Stand 100 year anniversary celebrations project
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9) Ensuring our risk profile is managed
Short term actions such as edit and launch book The Making Of A Modern Pompey: plan membership events for next 12 months; plan for raising of £25,000 to pay for Peter Harris medals; commence South Stand Anniversary project leading to presentation to membership and presentation in the stand for a game around August 2025; commence Hall of Fame Dinner project; recruit and train two more tour guides; explore “Gift Aid” and produce a set of policies to guide the charities efforts, have all been completed. The one action that has to some extent been put on the backburner due to other priorities is the desire to kick off web-site improvement project. This will be undertaken in the next period.
Medium term actions identified at the start of the period such as continue to improve archive and collections processes in accordance with museum standards; and increase membership were also completed. The project to raise £25,000 to secure Peter Harris Championship winning medals is on track to complete on 13/12/2025. The South Stand anniversary event was delivered with much praise from all concerned.
The performance of fundraising activities has been in line with expectations with no formal targets set at the start of the period. Donations have delivered £13,126 (see Financial Review section for breakdown) with payments inwards under the Charity Commission definitions of “donations” totalling £16,256. Stadium Tours income is increasing year on year. Membership fees continue to increase. Book sales are starting to contribute a growing proportion of PHS income and will continue to grow as more titles are published on football history related subjects. Book sales totalled £12,916.
Financial Review
The Charity financial position is satisfactory and shows an improved position over the year. Income exceeded expenditure by £21,128 despite the new charges for an improved website. The society has a healthy ratio of current assets to liabilities, and the charity has fulfilled its charitable purposes once again.
Reserves are primarily held to enable the charity to swiftly purchase items of historical value when they become available. Funds in the bank total £31,803 and this is made up of the charity’s current account (£9,421) plus two deposit accounts (£16,283 + £6,084) plus a small PayPal balance of £15. The deposit accounts are considered the charity’s reserves but the £16,283 are designated funds and due to be paid away to purchase the two Peter Harris gold medals. The remainder of the funds are unrestricted.
There are no uncertainties about the charity continuing as a going concern.
The charity’s principal source of funding is as follows: -
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1) Donations (£13,126)
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2) Fratton Park Tours (£7,506)
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3) Book publishing/sales (£12,916)
Donations are higher this year due to the fundraising efforts for the Peter Harris medals. These were purchased by a fan at auction in 2024 and an agreement is in place for the Society to purchase these at costs before the end of 2025. Fundraising is on track.
The charity’s principal expenditure was on the website (£2,576), memorabilia (£5,371 for items such as a Jimmy Dickinson England shirt and a Third Division winners medal from the early sixties) and book printing/purchase (£4,379). The website is hosted by web provider Townsweb under an eight-year contract with six years remaining. Plans are in place to improve the site in 2026/27 through application of grant funding.
The membership continues to grow, with at the time of writing (November 2025) 234 paid up members, doubling during the year and increasing at approx. 20 per month.
The membership offer has been improved through the addition of a monthly newsletter, a magazine three times a year and better events that are free to members and charged to non-members.
The charity has a “Gerry Spraggs Memorial Fund”. This fund came about as a dear colleague passed away and he left the Society the funds from his co-authors share of the club 125 history book. The fund is to be used to purchase important memorabilia and will be added to when applicable. At the end of the period it totalled £16,283, all designated for the purchase of the Peter Harris medals.
There are no major financial risks facing the society although due to the eight-year contract with Townsweb, sufficient income must be generated each year to avoid breach of contract. The risk is considered low as the charity has confirmed with the club that stadium tours will continue for 2025-26 and the profits from this new financial year will ensure that, if nothing else happens, that the charity has sufficient funding in place for the remainder of the contract.
Structure, Governance and Management
The charity’s governing document is in the format required by the Charity Commission.
The charity is an unincorporated association.
The trustees were originally recruited using a set of criteria which included knowledge of football activities plus other specialisms which were thought to enable the charity’s purposes. The Board of Trustees has been strengthened during the period and now totals seven with a good mix of skills including previous charity experience, project, organisation, governance and financial.
The charity’s organisational structure is designed to operate as efficiently as possible and expedite the swift flow of information and decision making. A Trustee Board (comprising Trustees, Treasurer, Secretary) meets a number of times during the year to review the operations of the charity and the work of a layer below, the monthly Steering Committee, which comprises a Chair, Deputy Chair, Treasurer, Secretary, Membership Secretary, Archivist, Collections/Valuations and Acquisitions Officer, Web Site Officer, Social Media Officer plus volunteers and members who wish to attend regularly and help achieve the charity’s purposes. The charity has built good links with other football club history societies and through membership of a well-used ‘whats app’ group gains best practice from this source.
The charity has an excellent relationship with the football club and both work well together on joint projects. A regular review meeting is held, feedback is obtained on stadium tour delivery and the charity undertakes specific projects with the club such as running the club’s 100-year anniversary of the South Stand event. Good links are also established with the Arts Council Museum development team and the
Portsmouth City Museum. A project in conjunction with the City Museum is now underway to improve the societies exhibition of memorabilia at the City Museum.
Reference and Administrative details
| Charity name | Pompey History Society |
|---|---|
| Other name the charity uses | N/A |
| Registered charity number | 1201687 |
| Charity’s principal address | c/o Portsmouth Football Club, Frogmore Road, Portsmouth PO4 8RA |
Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity
| Trustee name | Office (if any) | Dates acted if not for whole year |
Name of person (or body) entitled to appoint trustee (if any) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colin Farmery | Trustee Chair | 07/08/2024 onwards | Trustee Board |
| Mick Comben | Trustee Deputy Chair |
07/08/2024 onwards | Trustee Board |
| Andrew Hind | Trustee | 07/08/2024 onwards | Trustee Board |
| Mark Parnell | Trustee | 07/08/2024 onwards | Trustee Board |
| Simon Colebrook | Trustee | 02/09/2024 onwards | Trustee Board |
| Martin Price | Trustee | 07/08/2024 onwards | Trustee Board |
| Matthew Barker | Trustee | n/a (2023 onwards) | Trustee Board |
Name of senior staff members
Mick Comben – Chair of Management Steering Committee and Deputy Chair of Trustees
Colin Farmery – Deputy Chair of Management Steering Committee and Chair of Trustees
Paul Boynton - Treasurer
Bill Griffiths - Secretary
Richard Wilson – Membership Secretary
Mick Hall – Collections Manager
Chris Gibbs – Archiving
Adam Thomas-Scarrott – Social Media
Jake Payne – Former Players Association Dave Taylor – Website Mike Whittle - Events
Steve Tovey, Roger Higgins, Dave Banbury, Greg Hills, Paul Maidment, Phil Magrath, Richard Barnes, John Grant, Graham Dubber - Projects
Declarations
The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.
Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees
Signature(s) Colin Farmery Full name(s) Michael Comben Position (Secretary, Deputy Chair of Trustees Chair of Trustees Chair, etc) Date 3/4/2026
| INCOME | GeneralDesignated | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DonationsGerry Spraggs Fund | 13126.08 | ||||
| Public/ Hospitality TourFees | 7506.05 | ||||
| MembershipFees | 1430.00 | ||||
| BookSales | L2975.75 | ||||
| Banklnterest | 134.38 | ||||
| Compensation | 100.00 | ||||
| Badge Sales | 55.00 | ||||
| 22757.L913126.08 | 35277.27 | ||||
| Event - HallofFameDinner | |||||
| lncome | |||||
| Sponsorship | 1600.00 | ||||
| TicketSales | 10840.00 | ||||
| Auction* | 960.O0 | ||||
| Raffle* | 975.00 | ||||
| 1.4375.00 | |||||
| Expenses | |||||
| Match Tickets | 459.OO | ||||
| CardFees | 182.72 | ||||
| Mealcosts | 11034.00 | ||||
| JSmith- MC | 200.oo | ||||
| Awards | 94.50 | ||||
| DonationGSpraggsFund* | 193s.00 | ||||
| 1390s.22 | 469.78 | ||||
| EXPENDITURE | |||||
| Wehsite Hosting/Licence | -2576.LO | ||||
| Research | -179.98 | ||||
| BookPrintinglPurchases/Author'sShare | -4379.25 | ||||
| Businesslnsurance | -L47.OO | ||||
| Postages/ Emails/SundryExpenses | -377.O4 | ||||
| Purchaseof Equipment/ Software | -153.80 | ||||
| Card Processing Charges | -127.90 | ||||
| OtherEvent Expenses | -554.92 | ||||
| Badges | -588.00 | ||||
| PurchaseofMemorabilia | -537L.22 | ||||
| ArchiveExpenses | -274.38 | ||||
| -14519.59 | |||||
| ClosingBankBalance 30 June | 2025 | 31803.93 | |||
| Representedbv | |||||
| GeneralPHSFunds -Current Account | 9421.14 | ||||
| GeneralPHSFunds -Deposit Account | 6084.66 | ||||
| DesignatedDeposit -SpraggsAccount | 16283.13 | ||||
| PayPal | 1s.00 | ||||
| 31803.93 |
| 202s | 2025 | 2025 | oslo4l2024 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fixed Assets | f | ff | |||
| Trophies(atcost) | - Note1 | r.8866.00 | 18856.00 | ||
| Memorabilia (atcost) | - Note1 | 17091..87 | 12647.89 | ||
| Equipment | - Note2 | 12s.00 | 250.00 | ||
| Total | 35082.87 | 31763.89 | |||
| CurrentAssets | |||||
| Debtors | - Note3 | 0.00 | 42t2.OO | ||
| Stock | -Note4&5 | 2496.95 | L944.OO | ||
| CashatBank- UnrestrictedFunds | 15520.80 | 8517.63 | |||
| CashatBank- DesignatedFunds- Note6 | 16283.13 | 2158.84 | |||
| Total | 34300.88 | L6832.47 | |||
| TotalAssets | 70383.75 | 48596.36 | |||
| Current Liabilities | |||||
| Creditors | -Note7&8 | 875.00 | 1076.00 | ||
| AdvancePayments | - Note9 | 165.00 | |||
| Total Liabilities | 1040.00 | 1075.00 | |||
| ExcessofAssetsover Liabilities | 59343.7s | 47520.36 | |||
| Thefunds oftheChariW: | |||||
| Designated Funds | 16283.13 | 2758.84 | |||
| UnrestrictedFunds | 15520.80 | 8517.63 | |||
| Total charity funds | 31803.93 | to676.47 |
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Independent examiner's report on the accounts
Section A Independent Examiner’s Report
Report to the trustees/ members of Pompey History Society
On accounts for the year 30[th] June 2025 Charity no 1201687 ended (if any) Set out on pages 1 and 2
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 30 / 06 / 2025 .
- Responsibilities and As the charity trustees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation basis of report of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”).
I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.
Independent examiner's statement
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention (other than that disclosed below) in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:
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accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act or
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the accounts do not accord with the accounting records
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Date: Signed: 26/03/2026 Name: Salina Ali Relevant professional FCCA qualification(s) or body (if any): Address: University of Portsmouth Richmond Building Portland Street Portsmouth PO1 2DE
October 2018
1
IER
Section B Disclosure
Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners).
Give here brief details of any items that the No items of concern to disclose. examiner wishes to disclose .
October 2018
2
IER