**Annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2024** 

**Registered charity number: 1206883** 



## **Trustees' annual report for the period 1[st] January – 31[st] December 2024** 

## **A. Legal and administration details** 

1. Charity name: Chichester Harbour Veterans Club 

2. Registered charity number: **1206883** 

3. Charity's principal address: Steps, Trotton, Nr Midhurst, GU31 5EP 

4. Charity structure: Chichester Harbour Veterans Club is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation governed by a constitution approved by the Charity Commission, and a set of rules approved by its members (both available on its website at: _https://chivets.square.site/_ ). 

5. Charity objects: To promote for the benefit of members and ex-members of the armed forces and associated bodies (“veterans”) and those closely associated with them, living in the Chichester district: 

   - a. The promotion of social inclusion among veterans to prevent them from becoming socially excluded and to help them integrate into society by providing peer support groups and signposting to suitable, relevant organisations; 

   - b. The relief of poverty by providing grants and signposting to relevant organisations; 

6. Governance: The charity is managed by 3-6 trustees who also constitute its executive committee: David James (chairman) 

Patrick Laycock (treasurer) 

Neil Ryder (secretary & membership officer) 

- Geoffrey Talbot (welfare officer) 

Rosemary Webb (events officer) 

## **B. Chairman’s statement** Chairman: David James 

2024 has been an active year for the club with 14 meetings and talks by the CO of HMS Medusa (followed by a very enjoyable visit to this historically significant vessel) and by the team from Veteran’s Outreach Support. We continue to be well supported by currently serving soldiers from the Royal Artillery when we meet at Thorney Island sailing club and we relish the opportunity to hear a little from those serving our country today. The team at Southbourne Parish Church have been especially kind in supporting our commemoration of D Day 80 and our annual Remembrance Service. We are thus meeting our obligations to the charity commission in providing opportunities to meet and minimise isolation and loneliness. 

Our accounts are modest but healthy and we are slowly accumulating a small fund that could be used to help an individual member in need, or perhaps to help fund more ambitious activities in the future. When we set the price for our meetings, we only aim to cover our costs but we also have a small income from the Veteran’s Raffle. My thanks to Patrick (as treasurer), Sheila (as independent examiner) and Neil (for pulling the records together). 

Thank you to all those who responded to our survey. As a result, we have an ambitious program for 2025, In addition to monthly breakfasts (which will mainly be in your preferred locations of TISC or the parish church), we plan to hold up to 3 evening events during the year and we are planning a lunchtime gathering (pub lunch) during the summer. We are also planning several visits, the first to the Airfield Museum at HMS Sultan in January. Around D Day, we are hoping to visit the museum in Portsmouth and possibly the map room at Southwick House (former wardroom of HMS Dryad). We are also in the early stages of planning a trip to Normandy in 2026. A trip to the FAA museum and Heritage Hangar at RNAS Yeovilton as well as a visit to one of the current aircraft carriers remains our ambition too. Hopefully, one or two members will give talks on unique aspects of their careers and we will organize a follow up meeting with both the Veteran’s Outreach Support and the Bognor RAF Association. As always, we welcome your suggestions for other visits or any other activity you would like us to plan. 

Responses to the survey also nominated four other members to fill the one remaining post as a trustee but, when I spoke to each of them, 3 declined for very valid reasons, so there is only one viable option for an additional trustee, Mike Valler, and the current trustees hope you will elect him at the AGM to join us. 

On behalf of all members, a huge thank you to the other trustees for their help and support in bringing the events together – the club would be a much less successful venture without their support. As always, let us know how we can do better as we continue to evolve the club to meet your needs. 

Finally, please accept my personal thanks for your company over the past year, I hope you have enjoyed our gatherings as much as I have and I look forward to welcoming you to our program in 2025. _Chairman: David James_ 

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## **C. Trustees’ report on activities** 

## 7. 

## Membership 

## Membership officer: Neil Ryder 

The club reached 66 full (voting) members and 9 associate (non-voting) members by November – the latter mainly local district or parish councillors.  However, we decided to do a member survey to give the trustees / exec committee some feedback from the full members, but also as a way of weeding out people who signed up originally but have not attended any meetings for a year or more. 

This has so far resulted in 6 resignations and there are still a few who have not responded; we will continue to try to contact them as we do not want to keep people on our membership list if they are not engaging with the club. In the meantime, though, we have accepted two more applications, so the current voting membership is 62. 

The trustees have decided to approach the army at Thorney Island to ask them to encourage serving personnel to consider joining to support the club. They also plan to seek opportunities to achieve moderate media coverage for some of the club events, and other measures to try to reach other veterans living in the area. Existing members are also encouraged to recruit other veterans they know. 


## Which services? 

|**Service**<br>Ambulance<br>Army<br>RAF<br>Royal Navy<br>**Total**|**Member count**<br>1<br>23<br>10<br>29<br>62|The service mix has not changed<br>significantly, with the navy making<br>up almost half and the army more<br>than another third. I keep having to<br>tell myself that it’s quality that<br>counts!|
|---|---|---|




## What ages? 


**----- Start of picture text -----**<br>
Age range Member count<br>< 1950 33<br>1950 - 1959 23<br>1960 - 1969 1<br>1970 - 1979 5<br>Total 62<br>**----- End of picture text -----**<br>


Again the age range has not changed much, with the over 75+s making up over half and the 65+s over a third more. David is going to see if the army at T.I. are willing to encourage some serving soldiers to join but we should all see if we can recruit some younger members. 

## How many meetings did members attend? 


As mentioned above, the member survey resulted in some of the inactive members deciding to cancel their membership but we still have some members who are not engaging very fully. Where this is because they find it hard to do so but they want to, we are certainly not going to discourage them from remaining as members – as David says above, we have listened to the feedback and plan a slightly more diverse range of meetings / visits, both to satisfy obvious member 

|**No of meetings **|**Members**|
|---|---|
|>20 events|9|
|16-20|10|
|11-15|10|
|6-10|12|
|0-5|21|
|**Total**|**62**|
|**No of meetings **|**Members**|
|>10|29|
|<10|33|
|||



wishes but also to try to make it easier for members to engage. However, for practical <10 33 as well as data protection reasons, we try to keep in contact with members and will use our constitution to terminate voting membership of those who do not respond after 3 efforts to contact them. 

## Member survey 

The survey was conducted mainly online in late November and early December, with just a few members who have no internet facilities giving their responses by telephone or in person. Of a starting total of 64 voting members, 48 responded, an excellent 75% response rate. 

A summary of the feedback from the survey is attached as an appendix to this annual report, so I will not comment further here except to thank all those who went to the trouble to complete the survey, and to assure them that the trustees will be discussing the feedback fully and will do all they can to react accordingly. 

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## 8. Events / meetings 

## Events officer: Rosemary Webb 

A total of 14 events were arranged during the year as follows: 

|Event date|Event type|Venue|Attendees|
|---|---|---|---|
|18-Jan-24|Breakfast|The Fishbourne Centre|29|
|15-Feb-24|Breakfast|St John's church hall|21|
|21-Mar-24|Breakfast|St John's church hall|29|
|18-Apr-24|Breakfast|TISC (Thorney Island Sailing Club)|24|
|16-May-24|Breakfast|St John's church hall|24|
|05-Jun-24|Eveningmeeting|TISC (ThorneyIsland SailingClub)|31|
|20-Jun-24|Breakfast|The Fishbourne Centre|30|
|19-Jul-24|Breakfast|TISC (ThorneyIsland SailingClub)|34|
|15-Aug-24|Breakfast|St John's church hall|33|
|09-Sep-24|Visit|HMS Medusa|17|
|18-Sep-24|Evening meeting|TISC (Thorney Island Sailing Club)|29|
|17-Oct-24|Breakfast|RAF Association|13|
|07-Nov-24|Breakfast|St John's church hall|34|
|04-Dec-24|Evening meeting|TISC (Thorney Island Sailing Club)|36|



The table shows that, apart from the 9 Sept and 17 Oct meetings, where numbers were limited by the hosts, attendance at the events ranged from 17 – 36, with no particular trends depending on meeting type or venue. 

Our member survey (see appendix), showed that members rated the meetings very highly, with the sailing club and St John’s hall (in that order) preferred to the Fishbourne Centre for breakfast meetings. Members suggested a number of other venues, and ideas for meetings, which the exec committee will discuss. On balance, they were happy with the main mix of meeting types, but they are keen to see more visits and meetings with other vet clubs. So we will be looking at what we can do to meet this demand. We also seem to have a good number who would like to do a trip to Normandy for D-day 2026, and we are already looking at making bookings for this. Members also reported very favourable views of our booking, payment and other event facilities, and with the pricing of the meetings 

We are hoping we can recruit an extra trustee at the AGM to try to get some extra focus on visits and other events outside the regular breakfast programme, and to look at all the other useful suggestion that came out of the survey. 

## 9. Welfare Welfare officer: Geoff Talbot 

Since the last AGM, I have taken on the task of trying to collect information on all the welfare facilities available to veterans and the organisations that offer them. This has included: 

- a. Attendance and discussion at appropriate conferences and meetings such as County Armed Forces conferences and welfare functions such as Fijian Regiment Bula Festival; 

- b. Maintaining a watching brief on government changes in access to veterans’ sources of information e.g. the change to the veterans’ directory and sources of appropriate advice; 

- c. Monitoring statements by NHS England and the Royal College of GPs on provision of supporting services to veterans; there is general acceptance that the number of veterans is under recorded and that attempts should be made to survey patients; 

- d. Identification of local ‘veteran friendly’ accredited GP surgeries - efforts continue to persuade surgeries to display the accreditation logo; 

- e. Attendance at drop in to Veterans Outreach Support to understand the services offered; arrangement of presentation by VOS to a Club meeting; 

- f. Continued encouragement to apply for Veteran ID; this provides access to service records but also to a range of other benefits outlined on our website (see the “Advice and support” page). 

This work – essentially aimed at fulfilling our aim of providing guidance to members on the welfare and other services available to them – is still a work in progress and we are trying to refine an “Advice and support” page on the club website, which will continue to develop. 

One issue we will raise at the AGM is the suggestion that we use the HM Forces veteran card as our default means of verifying veterans who apply for membership (see AGM notice and agenda). 

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10. Treasurer’s report [see accounts below] Treasurer: Patrick Laycock 

This report covers our first full accounting year as a charity and my first presented in person as I was absent at our last AGM and Neil deputised for me. 

Banking: We continue to bank with Lloyds which, following some teething problems, now works well.  David, Neil and I remain as signatories and all payments have to be authorised by two of us.  We have transitioned almost entirely to cashless transactions which makes for more straightforward accounting. The recent innovation of requesting payment when booking has helped to alleviate backlogs at events when people queued to pay. It also helps to prevent the fund from suffering a loss when people book but don’t turn up and the card transactions are all processed by Square who provide an accurate record of all transactions. 

Financial results: In the year ending 31st December, income exceeded expenditure by £861.87. We enjoyed 14 events during the year - some making a small loss, others a small surplus - producing an overall excess of £332.75, and we were glad that the recent survey showed that members consider the event charges to be reasonable. Our other main income was £745 from the Veterans Raffle which covers our operating costs. We continue to donate £25 for each event hosted by St John’s and TISC in recognition that neither charge a premises hire fee. 

Of our admin costs the major outlay is for the annual unavoidable insurance.  As we are now a registered charity we get all our main office technology for free from Microsoft and our current website is provided free of charge by Square, our payment services provider.  The trustees are considering paying for some enhanced facilities in these systems to reduce the substantial workload and make the club less dependent on trustees’ skill and time. 

Conclusion: The club is in a healthy position but our aim is not just to continue to build the balance but rather to meet our objectives as stated in our constitution – namely, the relief of poverty by providing grants and signposting to relevant organisations and to support other activities as mentioned by David in his chairman’s statement.  The suggestions contained in the response to the recent members’ survey will be considered with this in mind. I continue to urge members to join the Veterans Raffle for £10 per month, giving them a chance of winning up to £25,000 - with half of what they pay coming back to the club. There are other lesser value prizes each month and several of our participating members have been winners. 

Finally, I would like to thank Sheila Hey for examining the accounts to make sure all is in order. I acknowledge in particular the great work done by Neil in using his extensive database skills in effectively acting as book-keeper by integrating all the club’s various systems to link up with the financial records to produce valuable reports. 

Please remember that this is your fund and please direct any questions or suggestion about our finances to me. 

**D. Independent examiner’s report to the trustees of Chichester Harbour Veterans Club (Reg # 1206883)** 

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the Club accounts for the year ended 31[st] December 2024. 

11. Responsibilities and basis of report 

As the trustees of the Trust you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008 (the ‘2008 Act’) and the Charities Act 2011 (‘the 2011 Act’). You are satisfied that the accounts of the Trust are not required by charity law to be audited and have chosen instead to have an independent examination. 

I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 65 of the 2008 Act and section 145 of the 2011 Act. In carrying out my examination I have followed the general Directions given by the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland under section 65(9)(b) of the 2008 Act and the Directions given by the Charity Commission for England and Wales under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act. 

## 12. Independent examiner’s statement 

- I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with my examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect: 

- accounting records were not kept as required by section 63 of the 2008 Act and section 130 of the 2011 Act; or 

- the accounts do not accord with those records; or 

- the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of the 2008 Act and the 2011 Act; or 

- the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination. 

- I confirm that there are no other matters to which your attention should be drawn to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. 

**Signed:** _Sheila Hey_ **(** Sheila Hey, 53 Main Road, Emsworth, PO10 8AR) **Date** : 6 Jan 2025 

_**[the original copy with the proper signature will be retained by the trustees and submitted to the Charity Commission]**_ 

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**Appendix:** Summary of results: member survey December 2024 

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**Appendix Summary of results: member survey December 2024** 


## **Response rate** 

The survey was conducted mainly online, with just a few members who have no internet facilities giving their responses by telephone or in person. 

Of the initial total of 64 voting members, we were delighted that 48 filled in the survey by 15[th] December. Several others have done so since and we have now included these responses. Of the 16 who did not respond, 14 had attended 5 meetings or less, so we captured the views of most regular attendees. 


## **Question responses** 

1. Do you have / have you applied for an HM Forces Veteran ID card? 

Of the 48 survey respondents, 24 have (or have applied for) a vets card and 24 have not. 


The Charity Commission expects us to have a reasonable means of verifying the vet status of our voting members, and the trustees will be proposing at the AGM that the vet card should be the normal verification method (others will be accepted at the trustees discretion). The card offers a range of benefits outlined on our website (see the “Advice and support” page) and we strongly urge all existing members to apply for one - and we are prepared to offer help with the process. 

2. How would you rate our meetings so far (1 = awful, 5 = great)? Opinions of the venues and prices we have used for our meetings were overwhelmingly positive, with The Thorney Island Sailing Club (TISC) by far the most popular and Fishbourne Centre the least. To illustrate the results, scores of 1 and 5 have been doubled – ie ten members rated TISC as 4 and 33 rated it 5, so we have scored it at (10 x 1) + (33x2) = 76. 


3. Would you like to suggest other venues for meetings? 

Members suggested a number of other venues, which the exec committee will discuss: 

   - Pubs, other vet clubs 

   - Salt Shack Cafe, Northney Marina. 

   - Other vets clubs, themed visits to museums etc 

   - The Halton Apprentice Association hold their bi-monthly meet at the Nevil Duke hall at Tangmere - no food in the hall but there is a cafe/NAAFI attached to the museum. 

   - Bosham parish hall 

4. Would you like more or less of the following? All but two respondents were happy with the number of breakfast meetings. Views varied more on other options, with lunches equally divided but quite strong votes in favour of more visits (bases, museums, etc) and more meetings with other vet clubs. Again, the exec committee will discuss this when planning future programmes. 


5. Would you be interested in a trip to Normandy for D Day 2026 at an approx cost of £300 per head? Seven members said they would be interested in going on their own and ten with partners – ie 27 people – with another 8 ‘Maybes’, so this suggests a trip could be viable if the right facilities can be arranged. 




6. Would you like to suggest any other social activities? 

   - Members made the following suggestions, which will be discussed by the exec committee: 

   - Meet with other vet clubs; T.I. mess evening 

   - Possible dinner 

   - Presentation on the Royal Hospital Chelsea? 

   - Pub lunch 

   - Skittle evening. We have the facilities at Thorney. 

   - Evening meetings allow partners to attend whenever possible. 

   - Commemoration of VE & VJ days should be included in Club Calendar. 

   - Talks, skittle evenings 

   - Possibly a couple more speakers at breakfasts during the year? 

7. How would you rate our admin and other facilities? Members rated our admin facilities very highly, which is gratifying for the exec committee members and volunteers who help to provide them! Welfare services are the most recent area of focus and are not yet fully developed. 


8. Would you like us to provide a range of club-branded merchandise? This was obviously a well-received idea, with every single respondent ticking at least one box. The lapel pin was by far the most popular option given, and two members also suggested looking at polo shirts and car stickers. We will explore suppliers shortly. 

9. Do you think the club should be providing other services / facilities? The only additional suggestions, which will be considered, were: 

   - Perhaps more use could be made of VOS facilities services/county led Armed Forces organisation 

   - Help / information on applying for Veterans ID card  [two respondents] 

   - Help with IT devices 

10. How many members do you think would be ideal? Members are broadly happy with the present size of the club (28 votes), with 18 in favour of allowing it to get a bit bigger, just two preferring it smaller and none at all voting for growing it to 100+ members. This suggests that we can continue to accept new members for the foreseeable future. 


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11. Suggestions for improving the club - including recruitment if you voted for more members? The additional suggestions, which will be considered, were: 

   - Via other military orgs - eg Tangmere, Air Aces, etc; mini-poster in T.I. messes? Media articles for specific news 

   - A little more local publicity, perhaps in free papers/magazines, and posters in public places. 

   - More local advertising 

   - Occasional posts on local Facebook groups. 

   - Membership could be constricted by facilities available/widen area of visiting other vets clubs 

   - Possibly, a quarterly news letter or magazine with forces related articles . 

   - Evening meetings may increase attendance numbers for those of us still working. However it is important for the members that have retired to meet and socialise. 

   - In addition to the Village Magazine, maybe use the Chichester Observer to spread the word. 

12. Nominations for one extra trustee / exec. committee member There were four suggestions and those members suggested will be approached to see if they are willing to stand for election at the AGM. 

13. Do you have any suggestions for the AGM agenda? There were no suggested topics for the agenda. 

14. Overall, how happy are you with the club so far? **This graph needs no further comment!** 


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