## **The Joseph Conrad Society (UK)**
(An unincorporated association Registered with The Charity Commission in the UK **Charity Number** 270586.
**Trustee** s: 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 2025**
## **Objectives**
In 2025, 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 this meeting was held on Zoom. In early July we held our 52nd Annual Conference. Thanks to the efforts of an Italian academic and member of the Society, Dr Ricardo Capoferro, we were able to hold this conference at Sapienza Università di Roma. We are very grateful to Dr Capoferro for securing this venue for our conference free of charge. The conference attracted Conrad scholars from around the world, and, in accordance with our mission, the Society assisted younger scholars with travel grants and by subsidizing their conference meals. 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 of £200 was awarded to Kevin O’Connor, a PhD student at St Mary’s University, Twickenham.
As usual, during 2025 we edited two issues of our journal, _The Conradian_ , the second of which was only published in early 2026.
2025 saw the passing of two eminent members of our Conrad community, Keith Carabine, the former Chair of the Joseph Conrad Society, and Jeremy Hawthorn, a Norwegian academic of international standing. An issue of _The Conradian_ was dedicated to their memory.
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 2025 Meeting and the Statement of Accounts at the AGM in February 2026. During 2025, the Society’s investment with Scottish Widows was transferred to Cambridge and County Bank, necessitated by the decision of Scottish Widows to withdraw Charity accounts from their portfolio. The Society continues to have three investment accounts: with COIF, Cambridge and County, and Redwood Bank.
In 2025 the Society decided to commission Origin Design to rebuild our web site, which was showing signs of age. A deposit of £4,500 was paid in 2025, with the balance of £6,000 due in early 2026.
Dr Allan H. Simmons 28th September 2026
## **JOSEPH CONRAD SOCIETY (UK)**
## **INCOME AND EXPENDITURE FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st DECEMBER 2025**
|**TOTAL**
**TOTAL**
**31.12.2024**
**INCOME**
3,737 Subscriptions
3,550
162 Donations and grants
44
9,323 Interest and dividends
9,614
9,227 Conference receipts
11,504
181 Other Conrad publications & lectures
2,666
2,679 Contribution to Conradian
2,660
Website
171 Sundry book, journal and postcard sales
0
**25,479 TOTAL INCOME**
**30,038**
**EXPENDITURE**
4,435 The Conradian
2,742
1,285 Other Conrad publications & lectures
341
330 Printing, stationery and postage
291
0 Prizes &other grants
200
900 Travel Grants
2,417
350 Audit Fee
350
1,403 Donations
0
350 Web site development & Computer expense
4,777
15 Subscription
15
8,352 Conference Cost
8,754
160 Other Expenses
206
657 Committee expenses
7,480
**18,236 TOTAL EXPENDITURE**
**27,573**
**7,243 EXCESS OF INCOME OVER EXPENDITUR**
**2,465**|**UNRESTRICTED**
**FUNDS**
3,550
44
11,504
2,666
2,660
**20,424**
2,742
341
291
350
240.87
15
8,754
206
326
**13,267**
**7,157**|**ENDOWMENT**
**FUNDS**
9,614
**9,614**
200
2,417
4,536.00
**7,153**
**2,461**|
|---|---|---|
## **BALANCE SHEET AT 31st DECEMBER 2025**
## **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
25,724
25,724 for the year to 31.12.2024
9,618
35,342
**274,086 TOTAL FUNDS**
**283,704**
Represented by
**FIXED ASSETS**
11,420 Cartoon and prints
11,420
**NET CURRENT ASSETS**
Investments: COIF Income units
95,000
£120621 Market Value £114,847
Accrued interest
1,626
Short term deposits
155,000
Current account
21,219
272,844
less
Short tem liabilities
-350.0
262,667 Deferred Income
-210.0
-560
272,284
**274,086 TOTAL ASSETS**
**283,704**|248,362
0
248,362
2,287
23,437
7,157
9,444
2,461
25,897
**9,444**
**274,260**
3,650
7,770
95,000
1,626
155,000
6,354
14,864
6,354
266,490
-350
-210
5,794
266,490
**9,444**
**274,260**|248,362
0|
|---|---|---|
|||**274,260**|
I have examined the books and vouchers of the Charity and in my opinion proper accounting procedures have been followed, and records kept, and the accounts are in accordance therewith and reflect the activities of the Society.
M G Macdonald. 24th August 2026
## **Joseph Conrad Society UK**
I have examined the books and vouchers of the Charity and in my opinion proper accounting procedures have been followed, and records kept, and the accounts are in accordance therewith and reflect the activities of the Society.
M G Macdonald. 24th August 2026