## Charity Commission Annual Return ## Museum of Army Music (Charity No. 273762) ## Financial year: 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025 |Legal name of charity|Museum of ArmyMusic| |---|---| |Charitynumber|273762| |Financialperiod covered bythis return|1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025| |Principal address|Museum of Army Music, HQ RCAM, Gibraltar
Barracks,Minley,GU17 9LP| |Public contact email|info@museumofarmymusic.com| |Website|www.museumofarmymusic.com| |How the public can access the museum|Open by appointment (collecton currently in store)
and through satellite displays and online resources.| ## Charitable purposes (objects) The charity’s stated objects (as set out in trustee annual reports) are to: - Educate the public to the role of Army music. - Preserve and collect items related to Army music. - Gather historic relics and artefacts related to the history of Army music and the Royal Corps of Army Music. ## Trustees and governance Trustees and key roles referenced during the period (to confirm for final submission): |Name|Role|Capacity| |---|---|---| |Colonel D Barringer MVO MBE|Chair|Trustee| |Lt Col(Retd)K Roberts MBE|Trustee|Trustee| |Major P A Collis-Smith|Trustee/Project Lead|Trustee| |Professor T Czepiel|Trustee|Trustee| |Mr G Henderson|Trustee|Trustee| |Mrs S Barber|Trustee/Curator|Trustee| Other individuals referenced in governance, delivery and support roles during the period: |Name|Role|Notes| |---|---|---| |Mr D Lofus MBE|Honorary Treasurer|Not a trustee (atended as
Treasurer)| |Mrs F Stovold|Project Manager/Consultant|Not a trustee| |MajG Bennet|Corps Secretary (atended)|Not a trustee| |WO1 D Haton|Corps Sergeant Major (ex-ofcio
liaison role)|Ex-ofcio / liaison| |Lt Col L Petritz-Wats|Ex-ofcio Trustee|Ex-ofcio trustee| Governing document and charity history (per trustee reports): the Museum was originally formed on 1 March 1949; a Declaration of Trust was established on 27 April 1977 and amended on 29 January 2015. The charity was re-registered with the Charity Commission on 4 December 2015 following a period of removal from the register. 1 ## Trustee remuneration and conflicts of interest Meeting records note that Mrs S Barber is a trustee who receives remuneration for part-time curatorial work. This interest is declared and recorded in trustee meetings. The annual return should confirm the arrangements used to manage the conflict (e.g., withdrawal from decisions about remuneration and related contracts). ## Activities, achievements and public benefit (summary for the annual return) ## Operational context During the year the Museum continued to operate in a transitional model following the closure of its former public site. The Museum’s collection is stored at HQ RCAM, Minley, and is accessible for research visits by appointment. Public engagement is delivered through satellite displays (including in London and Portsmouth) and through a developing digital platform. Key activity delivered during the year (drawn from trustee reports and meeting records): - Collections management and care work to stabilise and organise the collection in the Minley store, enabling access for research and future displays. - Continuation and development of public-facing interpretation through partnership displays (including a Guards Museum display) and RCAM-related displays in Portsmouth. - Development and maintenance of digital outreach, including a functioning website and social media presence which generated research enquiries. - Installation of a new graphic timeline display in the Higher Training Wing corridor at Minley (March 2025), improving access to Army Music heritage for RCAM personnel and visitors. - Fundraising and grant activity to resource development work and collections care, including restricted project grants and local authority grant funding. ## Public benefit The Museum’s work advances education about Army music and preserves a nationally significant collection documenting the history and public role of Army musicians. Public benefit is delivered through research access, interpretation via physical displays in partner venues, and online access through digital content. ## Accreditation and public access The Museum has been working to maintain and/or regain full Arts Council England Accreditation. An AIM Museum Fundamentals application draft notes that the Museum has provisional status because it does not currently meet the criterion of being open to the public for 20 days per year, with a target date for meeting this in 2026-2027. Trustee meeting records also note the requirement to be open for at least 20 days per year. ## Financial information Summary figures below are taken from the Museum’s summary accounts at 31 March 2025. All amounts are gross and shown to 2 decimal places. |Fund type|Opening balance (1
Apr 2024)|Income|Expenditure|Closing balance (31
Mar 2025)| |---|---|---|---|---| |Restricted funds|£8,224.99|£51,504.97|£46,949.00|£12,780.96| |Unrestricted funds|£5,084.27|£5,588.10|£1,923.40|£8,748.97| 2 Total £13,309.26 £57,093.07 £48,872.40 £21,529.93 ## Restricted funds – year-end balances Restricted funds held at year end (per summary accounts): |Restricted fund|Balance at 31 Mar 2025| |---|---| |RCAM Project Grant(balance)|£6,003.96| |Bristol CityCouncilgrant(unspent atyear end)|£6,777.00| ## Bank and deposit accounts Bank balances reported at 31 March 2025 (all funds): |Bank and deposit accounts
Bank balances reported at 31 March 2025 (all funds):|| |---|---| |Account|Balance| |Current Account|£29.98| |Business Reserve|£19,582.90| |35 DayNotce|£583.78| |95 DayNotce|£1,333.27| ## Comparison – previous year (for trustee context) For reference, the prior year summary accounts for 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024 reported a closing balance of £13,309.26. This section is not required in the Charity Commission annual return but is included to support trustee review. |trustee review.||||| |---|---|---|---|---| |Financialyear|Openingbalance|Income|Expenditure|Closingbalance| |Year ended 31 Mar
2024|£23,788.98|£29,984.98|£40,464.70|£13,309.26| |Year ended 31 Mar
2025|£13,309.26|£57,093.07|£48,872.40|£21,529.93| ## Reserves and investment policy ## Reserves policy A trustee paper on reserves and investments (Oct 2023) stated that the Museum had no meaningful free reserves at that time because income was predominantly restricted and there were no reliable unrestricted income streams. At 31 March 2025 the Museum reported unrestricted funds of £8,748.97. ## Investment policy The Oct 2023 investment note recommended holding approximately £3,000 in the current account for cashflow and allocating additional balances to deposit accounts (business reserve and notice accounts) to earn interest. At 31 March 2025, balances were held across a current account and deposit accounts as shown above. Trustees should confirm that this remains the intended investment approach and that it complies with the charity’s governing document and applicable guidance. 3 ## Staffing, volunteers and operations Staffing and capacity referenced in documents for the period: - Two part-time museum staff (curatorial capacity), with additional time supported through restricted grants. - A Project Manager / consultant role was used to deliver development work and support the transition to the new operating model. - The Museum is supported by trustees and (where available) volunteers; volunteer activity and expenses should be confirmed for the annual return. ## Public opening The Museum is currently open by appointment while the collection is in store. Annual visitor numbers were reported as approximately 50. ## Fundraising and income generation Income sources during the year included: - Grant in Aid (restricted) from Army Museums Ogilby Trust to support curatorial staffing. - Restricted project grants from the Royal Corps of Army Music Trust and a grant from Bristol City Council. - Unrestricted grant support from the RCAM Trust for running costs. - Interest earned on bank/deposit accounts. ## Risk management and serious incident reporting Trustee meeting records note a moisture issue in the museum store, assessed as not a threat to the collection and known to site staff. No serious incidents were identified in the provided documents. 4 ## MUSEUM OF ARMY MUSIC (CHARITY NUMBER 273762 ) YEAR 1 APRIL 2024 - 31 MARCH 2025 SUMMARY AT 31ST MARCH 2025 |**BAL BFWD**
**1-Apr-24**|**BAL BFWD**
**1-Apr-24**|**BAL BFWD**
**1-Apr-24**|**BAL BFWD**
**1-Apr-24**|**INCOME**|**INCOME**|**EXPENDITURE**|**EXPENDITURE**|**CURRENT**
**BALANCE**|**CURRENT**
**BALANCE**|**CURRENT**
**BALANCE**| |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| |**RESTRICTED FUNDS**||||24727.97
20000.00
6777.00
**51504.97**||25125.00
6925.96
902.00
13996.04
**46949.00**||-25125.00
-6925.96
24727.97
0.00
0.00
0.00
6003.96
6777.00
**12780.96**||| |||||||||||| |**TOTAL RESTRICTED**|||**8224.99**||**51504.97**||**46949.00**|||**12780.96**| |||||||||||| |**UNRESTRICTED FUNDS**||**5084.27**||5000.00
588.10
**5588.10**||1354.28
45.00
216.00
200.00
14.06
94.06
**1923.4**|||-1354.28
-45.00
-216.00
-200.00
-14.06
-94.06
5000.00
588.10|| |**TOTAL**|||**5084.27**||**5588.10**||**1923.4**|||**8748.97**| |||||||||||| |**RESTRICTED & UNRESTRICTED**
**ACCOUNT BALANCE**||**13309.26**||**57093.07**||**48872.4**||||| ||||**13309.26**||**57093.07**||**48872.4**|||**21529.93**| |**REPRESENTED BY**||**89.41**
**11370.36**
**566.12**
**1283.37**
**13309.26**|**89.41**
**11370.36**
**566.12**
**1283.37**
**13309.26**||| |---|---|---|---|---|---| |**CURRENT ACCOUNT**|||**89.41**||**29.98**| |**BUSINESS RESERVE**|||**11370.36**||**19582.90**| |**35 DAY NOTICE**|||**566.12**||**583.78**| |**95 DAY NOTICE**|||**1283.37**||**1333.27**| |**TOTAL**|||**13309.26**||**21529.93**| Indyndent examlnofs report to th• T￿￿ ofTh• of *Jmy {Ch*lty Nuffit￿ 273762) I repott on the a¢¢cwnts of the Museum ofATmy Musi¢ (the clwity) for thc yegr ended 31° March 2025, which are set oui on the two paw In¢ome and ExP￿dItUre for the Year End￿& 31. Marcb 2025. R¢Jpeetive resp)oslbllttles of tru8¢tts tJAmlaer The charity's trustees are resN)nsibl¢ for the prepgrntitin of the 8ccowits. The cbarity's ttvst¢es considtt that an audit is not required frir this year uThler seetion 144{2) of the Ckarities Act 2011 (th¢ 2011 A¢t)) a￿1 an ￿M￿￿id¢￿t cXami￿(M is oeol li is my responsibility to: examin¢ the a¢¢ounts se¢¢ion 145 of the 201 l A¢t)' 10 follow th¢ pro￿lu￿5 laid down in the G￿al DirectiODS ￿Ven by the Charity Commtssioners (un(kT seaion 145(5Xb) of Ihc 2011 Act),. aThJ to siate whether partic￿1￿ mattevJ have ¢ts￿ to my attattioii. Bails of Independent ¢xwnlMer'i Y4￿rt My examinaiion was canied in a¢coTdw with th¢ fhr¢¢tionB givets by thc Clwity Comrnls$io￿ An cxaminauon inclth a review of the accouDtiDg recor(Ls kept by the thariry and a companson of the aCC￿nts presented with dM)s¢ records. h also includes congMleTation of any Unusu￿ itcms or discl05ur￿ ID ihe &¢￿uDts. and se