**The Joseph Conrad Society (UK)**
( An unincorporated association Registered with The Charity Commission in the UK **Charity Number** 270586.
**Trustees** : Dr Robert Gavin Hampson, Dr Hugh Robert Epstein, Dr Allan Howard Simmons. **Principal office** : The Joseph Conrad Society (UK) c/o The Polish Social and Cultural Association (POSK) 238-246 King Street London W6 ORF United Kingdom **Contact details** are also available through Society’s web site www.josephconradsociety.org)
## **Trustees’ Report 2024**
## **Objectives**
In 2024, the Joseph Conrad Society UK conducted its business as usual, with due regard to the Charity Commission’s public benefit guidance as set out in document PB1, and in accordance with the objects identified in Society’s Constitution as ‘to advance the education of students, scholars and the general public in the life and work of Joseph Conrad’.
## **Activities**
We hosted our AGM in February and held a further Committee Meeting in November. To facilitate the attendance at the AGM of the Society’s international membership it was decided that this meeting be held on Zoom.
In early July we held our 51st Annual Conference at the Polish Cultural Centre (POSK), Hammersmith, London, and The University Women’s Club, Mayfair, London. In accordance with our mission, the Society assisted in making this a truly international gathering of Conrad scholars by assisting with travel grants to younger scholars and subsidizing their meals at the conference. In keeping with the spirit of the bequest made to the Society by the McLauchlan Estate in the late 1990s, the travel grants are made in the name of our former Chair, Juliet McLauchlan. The annual Juliet McLauchlan Essay Prize was not awarded in 2024 due to a lack of submissions.
As usual, during 2024 we published two issues of our journal, _The Conradian_ , one of which was a ‘special issue’ devoted to essays on Conrad and World Literature.
2024 marked the centenary of the death of Joseph Conrad, and the Joseph Conrad Society commemorated this in a number of ways, including subsidizing the licence for screening _African Apocalypse_ at University of Kent (Conrad’s ‘Heart of Darkness’ remains a core literary text in the West’s construction of Africa) and renovating the Conrad family graves in Canterbury Cemetery. To observe the event, members of the Committee visited the gave on the day and laid a wreath.
The Society continues its support for The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Joseph Conrad. A contribution towards running costs of this ongoing project (21 volumes of a projected 26 are now in print) is also made by the Joseph Conrad Society of America. This financial assistance is acknowledged in each of the volumes in the edition.
**The structure, governance and management** of the Society continues to be undertaken by a small but active committee including the Trustees.
## **Finances**
The Treasurer presented an Interim Statement of Accounts at the November 2024 Meeting and the Statement of Accounts at the AGM in February 2025. During 2024, £10,000 was transferred from the Society’s current account into one of our investment accounts. The Society now has three investment accounts, at separate institutions: COIF, Scottish Widows and Redwood Bank.
10th September 2025
Dr. Allan H. Simmons
## **JOSEPH CONRAD SOCIETY (UK)**
## **INCOME AND EXPENDITURE FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st DECEMBER 2024**
|**TOTAL**
**31.12.2023**
**INCOME**
2,644 Subscriptions
0 Donations and grants
8,738 Interest and dividends
9,198 Conference receipts
0 Other Conrad publications & lectures
2,737 Contribution to Conradian
Website
296 Sundry book, journal and postcard sales
**23,612 TOTAL INCOME**|**TOTAL**
**31.12.2024**
3,737
162
9,323
9,227
181
2,679
171
**25,479**|**UNRESTRICTED**
**ENDOWMENT**
**FUNDS**
**FUNDS**
3,737
162
9,323
9,227
181
2,679
171
**16,156**
**9,323**|
|---|---|---|
|**TOTAL**
**31.12.2023**
**EXPENDITURE**
4,462 The Conradian
276 Other Conrad publications & lectures
172 Printing, stationery and postage
500 Prizes &other grants
1,700 Travel Grants
350 Audit Fee
1,483 Donations
249 Web site & Computer expense
15 Subscription
6,458 Conference Cost
Other Expenses
0 Committee expenses
**15,665 TOTAL EXPENDITURE**
**7,947 EXCESS OF INCOME OVER EXPENDITURE**|**TOTAL**
**31.12.2024**
4,435
1,285
330
0
900
350
1,403
350
15
8,352
160
657
**18,236**
**7,243**|4,435
1,285
330
900
350
1,403
350
15
8,352
160
657
**18,236**
**-2,080**||
|---|---|---|---|
||||**0**|
||||**9,323**|
|**TOTAL**
**TOTAL**
**31.12.2023**
**31.12.2024**
**BALANCE SHEET AT 31st DECEMBER 2024**
**EXPENDABLE ENDOWMENT**
248,362 Juliet McLauchlan Fund at 1.1.2024
248,362
0 Bequest during the year
0
248,362 Fund at 31.12 2024
248,362
**UNRESTRICTED FUNDS**
Excess of income over expenditure to date
at 1.1.2024
10,535
18,481
for the year to 31.12.2024
7,243
17,777
**266,844**
**TOTAL FUNDS**
**266,139**
**_Represented by_**
**FIXED ASSETS**
11,420 Cartoon and prints
11,420
**NET CURRENT ASSETS**
Investments: COIF Income units
95,000
_117,956 Market value_
_120,621_
Accrued interest
2,535
Short term deposits
135,000
Current account
23,293
255,828
less
SHORT TERM LIABILITIES
-350
DEFERRED INCOME
-54
-404
255,424
255,424
**266,844**
**TOTAL ASSETS**
**266,844**|**UNRESTRICTED**
**ENDOWMENT**
**FUNDS**
**FUNDS**
248,362
0
248,362
4,368
14,114
-2,080
2,287
9,323
23,437
**2,287**
**271,799**
3,650
7,770
95,000
2,684
145,000
-959
21,345
-959
264,029
-350
-54
-1,363
264,029
**2,287**
**271,799**|
|---|---|
|||
I have examined the books and vouchers of the Charity and in my opinion proper records have been kept and the accounts are in accordance therewith. M G Macdonald.
M G Macdonald. 25th August 2025
##