**Trustees’ Annual Report for the period**
**From 01 April 2024 To 31 March 2025 Charity name: WARSHIP HAZARDOUS PROJECT CIO Charity registration number: 1203039**
## **Objectives and Activities**
||SORP reference||
|---|---|---|
|Summary of the purposes of
the charity as set out in its
governing document|Para 1.17|The object of the Warship_Hazardous_
Project CIO is to provide an incorporated
charity, with legal identity, to support:
1. The preservation and protection for
the public benefit of the historic
wreck site of Warship_Hazardous_
_Prize_(1706) and its archaeological
heritage in Bracklesham Bay, West
Sussex and conservation, storage,
research, analysis, curation and
display of artefacts recovered from
the wreck site.
**1.**2. To advance education for the
public benefit in the historical and
archaeological significance of the
historic wreck site of Warship
_Hazardous Prize_(1706) in
Bracklesham Bay, West Sussex and
the artefacts recovered from the site
and in the development of
techniques for investigation,
recording and monitoring
underwater archaeological sites,
especially by volunteer groups.|
|Summary of the main
activities in relation to those
purposes for the public
benefit, in particular, the
activities, projects or
services identified in the
accounts.|Para 1.17 and
1.19|Following establishment of the CIO as a
legal entity and registered CIO in 2023, we
have continued to undertake various
activities to promote the CIO’s objectives as
described above. In particular:
(1) Support archaeological work on the
wreck of Warship_Hazardous_
including fieldwork, archive and
administration
(2) Promote and facilitate public access
to the archaeological site (access is
controlled under the Protection of
Wrecks Act (1973))
(3) Project outreach and dissemination
about the wreck and archaeological
project for public benefit.
(4) Continued liaison with Historic
England and the UK Receiver of
Wreck on matters relating to the
wreck site and its archive.
(5) Continue liaison with, and
representation on, various bodies
working to raise awareness of
maritime archaeology, and develop
skills in the discipline.|
|||(6) Continue to seek a future
permanent home for the project
archive and artefacts.|
|---|---|---|
|Statement confirming
whether the trustees have
had regard to the guidance
issued by the Charity
Commission on public
benefit|Para 1.18|We confirm that the trustees have had
regard to the guidance issued by the
Charity Commission on public benefit.|
**Additional information (optional)** You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
||SORP reference||
|---|---|---|
|Policy on grant making|Para 1.38|n/a – The CIO does not issue grants. Like
most small charities, the CIO is finding it
extremely challenging to secure any
external funding. Presently its activities are
largely supported by its volunteers, plus a
small amount of funds inherited from the
Warship Hazardous Project Group.|
|Policy on social investment
including program related
investment|Para 1.38|n/a|
|Contribution made by
volunteers|Para 1.38|The CIO has no staff, only volunteer
Trustees who support the work of the other
volunteers who assist us in the
archaeological work.|
|Other|||
## **Achievements and Performance**
||SORP
referenc
e||
|---|---|---|
|Summary of
the main
achievement
s of the
charity,
identifying
the
difference
the charity’s
work has
made to the
circumstance
s of its
beneficiaries
and any
wider
benefits to
society as a
whole.|Para
1.20|**(1) Support archaeological work on the wreck of Warship**
**_Hazardous_ including fieldwork, archive and administration**
The archaeological activity of the Warship_Hazardous_Project
Group, which previously was a separate entity comprising a non-
incorporated group of individuals, but which possessed no legal
identity, has now been incorporated into the CIO to avoid any
confusion and to allow all activity to be undertaken under the
auspices of the CIO as a body with legal identity. As part of the
incorporation, all funds held by the Warship_Hazardous_Project
Group have been transferred to the CIO and so are reported in
this and future CIO annual returns. This incorporation also
overcomes some legal hurdles concerning the project archives
and greatly facilitates prevention of dispersal of the project
archive and artefacts, to preserve them for public benefit.
A successful fieldwork season was undertaken on the wreck site
(which lies underwater in 6-9m in Bracklesham Bay, West
Sussex). Over the winter of 2023-2024, violent stormy conditions
resulted in a structural collapse within the main site (where the
ship ended up and the remains of the timber hull are found). One
of the large iron cannon from the gundeck, which previously was
located about 1m off the seabed and was held in place by iron
corrosion products, broke away and fell into the hull. In doing so,
it gave access to the rear of the surviving gundeck, which
previously had been inaccessible. This allowed us to extend the
forward gundeck excavation (2023) further aft. We did not
complete the excavation in 2024, but progress was recorded by
periodic photography, video and photogrammetry before
backfilling the excavation with gravel bags to protect the timbers
over winter 2024-2025. In total, 12 diving days were undertaken,
representing 81 hours of underwater work. 24 artefacts were
recovered during the season, across the various archaeological
areas. These included sounding weights, brass dividers fittings
and buckles, pewter spoons, leather, ceramics and cordage. All
are undergoing passive conservation.
A new wet store was constructed to securely hold artefacts
undergoing passive conservation and artefacts transferred into it.
The Warship Hazardous Project Group had previously held grant
funding from Historic England for an agreed agenda of fieldwork.
A formal closing report for this project was written by the CIO,
submitted to Historic England and accepted, resulting in payment
of the final instalment of grant funding.
A new Project Design for future fieldwork was written, submitted
to Historic England and accepted, resulting in re-issue of
excavation permissions for the wreck site.
The CIO continues to analyse, collate consolidate and archive the
historical records of work on the designated wreck site of Warship
_Hazardous._In particular, documentation on all artefacts recovered
from the site has been curated, consolidated and cross
referenced to the photograph collection.|
( **2) Promote and facilitate public access to the archaeological site** Under good conditions, the archaeological site of Warship _Hazardous_ provides an excellent training site for diving archaeology students and interested divers. A group of students from the University of Southampton were hosted on the site for 2 days, providing them with their first sea dives, first boat dives and first experience of a genuine underwater archaeological site. A new physical diver trail around the site was trialled with the students and will be further developed in 2025. Repeated attempts to run additional visits for groups of sports divers in association with The Nautical Archaeology Society’s “Protected Wreck Days” initiative (https://www.nauticalarchaeologysociety.org/protected-wreckdays) were thwarted by weather conditions. **(3) Continue project outreach and dissemination about the wreck and archaeological project for public benefit.** Project outreach and dissemination was undertaken in a variety of ways including: • project web site (www.hazardousproject.info) which was updated and moved to a new hosting service under the CIO’s direct control. • social media (especially a series of “dig diaries” on youtube (https://www.youtube.com/@pascoearchaeology1665/feat ured). • a talk and artefact handling session for Chichester and District Archaeological Society. • annual licensee report to Historic England and annual CIO report to the Charity Commission. **(4) Continue liaison with Historic England and the Receiver of Wreck on matters relating to the wreck site and its archive.** We have undertaken regular liaison with Historic England and the UK’s Receiver of Wreck, to progress resolution of outstanding legal matters concerning the project archive that resulted from the Warship Hazardous Project having no formal legal identity. **(5) Continue liaison with, and representation on, various bodies working to raise awareness of, and develop skills in, maritime archaeology.** The CIO, through its chair, continues to represent the wider community who work on the UK’s wreck heritage through membership of the committee and working groups of the Nautical Archaeology Society (https://www.nauticalarchaeologysociety.org/), and the Protected Wreck Association (https://protectedwrecks.org.uk/), where we are able, through our experience on the designated wreck site, to offer information and guidance to those working on other heritage wreck sites. The CIO, through its chair, continues to act as a representative of the Protected Wreck Association on the UK’s Joint Nautical Archaeology Policy Committee (https://jnapc.org/) where it is able,
through its experience on the designated wreck site, to assist the Committee in its deliberation, policy making, consultation responses and lobbying efforts. **(6) Continue to seek a future permanent home for the project archive.**
The CIO continues to explore options for a future permanent home for the entire project archive (documents and artefacts) in an accredited museum which would facilitate access for research and display. Dispersal of the archive is proscribed by the Annex to the UNESCO Convention on Underwater Cultural Heritage, which the UK Government follows, and whilst the CIO, as a legal entity, can hold title to the artefacts and hold them in trust to prevent dispersal, it is not in a realistic position to establish and run an accredited museum of its own.
**Additional information (optional)** You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
|Achievements against
objectives set|Para 1.41|With the caveats that:
(1) the CIO’s fieldwork aims and
objectives are dependent on
weather conditions being benign
enough to allow safe diving from
small boats, and underwater
conditions being good enough to
undertake archaeological work to
the highest standards,
(2) site changes resulting from natural
forces mean that responsive-mode
fieldwork often takes priority over
preplanned activities,
we believe that we have made positive
progress on many fronts.
We have continued site fieldwork, project
outreach and dissemination and work on
the artefacts and archive and we have
successfully completed a Historic England-
funded project and developed an ambitious
Project Design for the next decade that
Historic England has agreed to.
.
Where progress is slower than we would
wish is in those areas where we are
dependent on the actions of other
agencies; in particular, in re-uniting the
project artefacts as a complete
assemblage, acquiring their title in trust for
the public benefit and securing a
permanent home for them in an accredited
museum.|
|---|---|---|
|Performance of fundraising
activities against objectives
set|Para 1.41|No specific formal fundraising activities
were planned or undertaken in the reporting
period. The new Project Design that has
been accepted by Historic England for
ongoing research and management of the
archaeological site contains some work|
|||packages which will require external
funding once they are started.|
|---|---|---|
|Investment performance
against objectives|Para 1.41|n/a, none undertaken|
|Other: Relationship between
CIO and WHPG||During its first reporting period (2023-2024),
the CIO maintained a separate identity,
distinct from the group of volunteers who
formed the Warship Hazardous Project
Group (WHPG). From the start of the
current reporting period, it was mutually-
agreed to incorporate the WHPG and its
activities into the CIO and to transfer the
WHPG’s funds and bank account to the
CIO. Those funds comprised a cash float
which is used to pay for boat fuel,
unrestricted funds in the bank account and
restricted funds in the bank account (being
the remainder of Historic England grant
funding for project HE7210MAIN awarded
to WHPG). Project HE7210MAIN was
formally closed in February 2025, when the
remaining restricted funds became
unrestricted, though our intention is to still
use them to finance those aims of project
HE7210MAIN which remain to be
completed.|
## **Financial Review**
|Review of the charity’s
financial position at the end
of the period|Para 1.21|No specific formal fundraising activities
were planned or undertaken in the
reporting period. However, during the
reporting period, we received the final
(formal grant closure) payment from
Historic England for project HE7210MAIN
and a donation from Chichester and District
Archaeology Society for a talk given. We
also received regular small voluntary
donations from members of the project
team specifically to cover boat fuel costs.
These kept the CIO in a healthy financial
position with the funds needed to continue
its work.
Whilst some components of the work
contained in our new Project Design
agreed with Historic England will require
funding at some future stage, we are not
yet at that stage.|
|---|---|---|
|Statement explaining the
policy for holding reserves
stating why they are held|Para 1.22|Currently the CIO has no formal reserves
policy or formal reserve level.|
|Amount of reserves held|Para 1.22|No formal reserves are set / held|
|Reasons for holding zero
reserves|Para 1.22|As a small, volunteer-run CIO with no
premises or paid staff, it is not deemed
necessary to hold a reserve - our funds
exist to support our ongoing work.|
|Details of fund materially in
deficit|Para 1.24|N/A - the CIO is run by volunteers, and its
initial aims and objectives are not inherently
financial in nature, although the CIO’s
constitution does allow for such activity
when relevant.|
|Explanation of any
uncertainties about the
charity continuing as a going
concern|Para 1.23|The principal risk to the CIO remains the
backlog of uncleared droits in the Receiver
of Wreck’s office (over a decade), which is
outside of our control and if the Receiver
declines to transfer title to artefacts to the
CIO (though such eventuality is deemed
unlikely as it would be in breach of salvage
law under the Merchant Shipping Act).|
**Additional information (optional)** You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
|The charity’s principal
sources of funds (including
any fundraising)|Para 1.47|N/A at this point in time, although the CIO’s
constitution allows for such activity when
relevant.
Members of the project team are all unpaid
volunteers who give regular, small
donations to the CIO to cover boat fuel
costs (break-even level).
The CIO largely benefits from “in kind
contributions” by members of the volunteer
project team, who donate time and pay
their own travel and diving costs (personal
equipment, equipment servicing, air fills|
|---|---|---|
|||etc.). Additionally, the CIO’s chair owns and
maintains a rigid inflatable boat which is
used by the diving team, free of charge,
(annual value to the project of marina fees,
insurance, servicing etc. are circa £4,800).
When the new Project Design agreed with
Historic England moves to objectives that
require grant funding to support costs, the
CIO will become responsible for fund
raising to support this work. The principal
source of funding for this will be through
grants from heritage agencies and other
sympathetic funders.|
|---|---|---|
|Investment policy and
objectives including any
social investment policy
adopted|Para 1.46|N/A - it is unlikely that the CIO would ever
hold sufficient funds to require an
investment policy.|
|A description of the principal
risks facing the charity|Para 1.46|The CIO’s aims and objectives are not
inherently financial in nature, although its
constitution does allow for financial
activities like fundraising activity when
relevant.
The chief risks to the CIO are:
(1) cutbacks in government and other
funding to support heritage through
grants. This will restrict the CIO’s
ability to record and analyse the
wreck site for public benefit before
nature destroys it.
(2) if title to the artefact collection is not
ultimately vested in the CIO. Should
that situation arise, a primary
objective of the CIO, namely, to be
a legal entity to secure the future of
the site archive and artefact
collection for public benefit will
cease, and the CIO will have a
reduced function.|
|Other|||
## **Structure, Governance and Management**
|Description of charity’s
trusts:|||
|---|---|---|
|Type of governing document
(trust deed, royal charter)|
Para 1.25|Constitution approved by The Charity
Commission|
|How is the charity
constituted?
(e.g unincorporated
association, CIO)|Para 1.25|Foundation model CIO|
|Trustee selection methods
including details of any
constitutional provisions e.g.
election to post or name of
any person or body entitled
to appoint one or more
trustees|Para 1.25|For specific legal reasons described below,
trustee selection for the CIO does not follow
conventional practice.
The Warship_Hazardous_Project COI was
established specifically to support the team
of volunteers who perform underwater
archaeological work and historical research
into the wreck of Warship_Hazardous Prize_
(1706). In particular, the CIO is a legally-
recognised entity with the legal authority to
own, hold, manage, promote, disseminate
and secure the future of the project archive
for public benefit.
The wreck site is designated under the
Protection of Wrecks Act (1973) (PoWA)
and all work on the site is undertaken by
volunteers under licence from the Secretary
of State at the Department for Digital,
Culture, Media and Sport, managed
through Historic England. The PoWA
licence (annually renewed) appoints a
principal licensee for the wreck site and
Historic England nominates an
archaeological advisor to oversee the
project work.
In order to fulfil legal obligations under the
PoWA, the CIO constitution specifies that
both of the following shall, at all times, be
appointed as trustees, provided that they
are otherwise eligible to be charity trustees
and not prohibited by law from being so:
•
the person appointed under the
PoWA (1973) or any successor
legislation as the Principal Licensee
of the Warship_Hazardous_Protected
Wreck Site (as CIO Chair).
•
the person appointed under the
PoWA (1973) or any successor
legislation as the Nominated
Archaeological Advisor for the
Warship_Hazardous_Protected
Wreck Site (as CIO Vice Chair).
On retiring from these roles, the persons
concerned shall be required to stand down
as charity trustees but are free to stand
again as general trustees and be appointed|
by the successor Principal Licensee and Nominated Archaeological Advisor and other trustees.
**Additional information (optional)** You may choose to include further statements where relevant about: Policies and procedures Para 1.51 adopted for the induction and training of trustees The charity’s organisational Para 1.51 structure and any wider network with which the charity works Relationship with any related Para 1.51 parties Other
## **Reference and Administrative details**
|Charityname|WARSHIP HAZARDOUS PROJECT CIO|
|---|---|
|Other name the charity uses|n/a|
|Registered charity number|1203039|
|Charity’s principal address|Warship Hazardous Project CIO
c/o Dr David Johnston,
15 Pointout Close,
Southampton,
SO16 7LS.|
|||
## **Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity**
|1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20|**Trustee name**|**Office (if any)**|**Dates acted if not for whole**
**year**|**Name of person (or body) entitled**
**to appoint trustee(if any)**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||Dr David Johnston|Chair|||
||Dr Daniel Pascoe|Vice Chair|||
||Mr Iain Grant|Trustee|||
||||||
||||||
||||||
||||||
||||||
||||||
||||||
||||||
||||||
||||||
||||||
||||||
||||||
||||||
||||||
||||||
||||||
## – Corporate trustees names of the directors at the date the report was approved
**Director name**
Name of trustees holding title to property belonging to the charity
**Trustee name Dates acted if not for whole year**
## **Funds held as custodian trustees on behalf of others**
|Description of the assets
held in this capacity|N/A|
|---|---|
|Name and objects of the
charity on whose behalf the
assets are held and how this
falls within the custodian
charity’s objects|N/A|
|Details of arrangements for
safe custody and
segregation of such assets
from the charity’s own
assets|N/A|
## **Additional information (optional)**
## **Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)**
|**Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)**|**Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)**|**Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)**|
|---|---|---|
|**Type of**
**adviser**
**Name**
**Address**|||
||||
||||
||||
||||
|**Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)**|||
|No staff|||
## **Exemptions from disclosure**
Reason for non-disclosure of key personnel details
N/A
## **Other optional information**
N/A
## **Declarations**
**The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.**
**Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees**
|**Signature(s)**
**Full name(s)**
**Position (eg Secretary,**
**Chair, etc)**
**Date**|||
|---|---|---|
||Dr David A Johnston||
||
Chair||
||28/12/2025||
||28/12/2025||
|WARSHIP HAZARDOUS PROJECT CIO||**1203039**||
|---|---|---|---|
|**Receipts andpayments accounts**|||**CC16a**|
|**4/1/2024**
**For the period**
**from**|**To**|**3/31/2025**||
## **Section A Receipts and payments**
|**Section A Receipts and payments**|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|**A1 Receipts**
**8,228**
**325**
**50**
**500**
Donations from team to cover boat fuel
**480**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**9,583**
**-**
**-**
**_Sub total_ -**
**_Total receipts_ 9,583**
**A3 Payments**
boat fuel
**469**
website fees
**293**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**_Sub total_ 762**
**-**
**-**
**_Sub total_ -**
**_Total payments_ 762**
**_Net of receipts/(payments)_ 8,821**
**A5 Transfers between funds**
**-**
**A6 Cash funds last year end**
**-**
**_Cash funds this year end_ 8,821**
**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**to the nearest £**
Banked funds from Warship Hazardous
Project Group
Cash funds from Warship Hazardous
Project Group
Donation from Chichester and District
Archaeological Society (for talkprovided)
Closing payment from Historic England for
grant HE7210MAIN
**_Sub total_**_(Gross income for AR)_
**A2 Asset and investment sales,**
**(see table).**
**A4 Asset and investment**
**purchases, (see table)**|**to the nearest £**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**Restricted**
**funds**|**to the nearest £**
**Endowment**
**funds**|**Total funds**
**to the nearest £**
**8,228**
**325**
**50**
**500**
**480**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**9,583**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**9,583**
**469**
**293**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**762**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**762**
**8,821**
**-**
**-**
**8,821**|**Last year**
**to the nearest £**|
|||**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**|**8,228**|**-**|
||||**325**|**-**|
||||**50**|**-**|
||||**500**|**-**|
||||**480**|**-**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||||**9,583**|**-**|
||||||
|||**-**
**-**
**-**|**-**||
||||**-**|**-**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||||||
|||**-**|**9,583**|**-**|
||||||
|||**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**|**469**|**-**|
||||**293**|**-**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||||**-**|**-**|
||||**762**|**-**|
||||||
|||**-**
**-**
**-**|**-**||
||||**-**||
||||**-**|**-**|
||||||
|||**-**|**762**|**-**|
||||||
||**-**|**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**|**8,821**|**-**|
||**-**||**-**|**-**|
||**-**||**-**|**-**|
||**-**||**8,821**|**-**|
## **Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period**
|**Categories**
**B1 Cash funds**
**B2 Other monetary assets**
**B3 Investment assets**
**B5 Liabilities**
**B4 Assets retained for the**
**charity’s own use**
Signed by one or two trustees on
behalf of all the trustees|**Details**
Bank Account
Cash
**Details**
**Details**
**Details**
**Details**
Signature
**_Total cash funds_**
(agree balances with receipts and payments
account(s))|**to nearest £**
**to nearest £**
**8,486**
**-**
**336**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**8,822**
**-**
Agreement Error
OK
**to nearest £**
**to nearest £**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**Cost (optional)**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**Cost (optional)**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
**-**
Print Name
Dr David A Johnston
**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**Restricted**
**funds**
**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**Restricted**
**funds**
**Fund to which**
**asset belongs**
**Fund to which**
**asset belongs**
**Fund to which**
**liability relates**
**Amount due**
**(optional)**|**to nearest £**
**Endowment**
**funds**|
|---|---|---|---|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||OK|
||||**to nearest £**
**Endowment**
**funds**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**Current value**
**(optional)**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**Current value**
**(optional)**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**-**|
||||**When due**
**(optional)**|
|||||
|||||
|||||
|||||
|||||
|||||
||||Date of
approval|
|||Dr David A Johnston|12/28/2025|
|||||