**SCOTTISH CHARITY NUMBER: SC023424** ## **STORNOWAY HISTORICAL SOCIETY** **TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024** ## **STORNOWAY HISTORICAL SOCIETY** ## **TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024** ## **CONTENTS** ||Page| |---|---| |Trustees Annual Report|1| |Receipts and Payments Account|7| |Statement of Balances|8| |Notes to the Accounts|9| |Independent Examiner’s Report|11| ## **STORNOWAY HISTORICAL SOCIETY** ## **TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024** **REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATION DETAILS** **Scottish Charity Number:** SC023424 ## **STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT Governing document** The Society is an unincorporated association and is operated under the terms of its constitution. The Society was formed in 1992 and was registered as a charity with effect from 7 March 1995. ## **Recruitment and appointment of trustees** The management of the Society is the responsibility of the office bearers and council members who are elected or re-elected under the terms of the constitution by the Society's members at the Annual General Meeting which is held in March each year. The Society's council members are also charity trustees for the purposes of charity law. ## **OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES** ## **Charitable purposes** The objects of the Society are to advance the education of the public about the history, heritage and culture of Stornoway and the Island of Lewis. Page 1 ## **STORNOWAY HISTORICAL SOCIETY** ## **TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024** ## **Summary of main activities** The year was dominated by the summer exhibition which commemorated 150 years of the RNLI, and we did this by highlighting the services provided around the island over the years by the Stornoway Lifeboat, with its iconic Lifeboat Guild, and Coastguard. The exhibition was the result of a productive and enjoyable partnership between SHS and our local lifeboat station. Feedback indicated that the visitor experience was appreciated by the services and visitors alike. ## **FINANCE** Over the year income received from donations at the exhibition and the Winter Series of Lectures was gratefully received. The Treasurer sought out grants covered in the financial statements and these included sums awarded by the Crown Estate Fund, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, Stornoway Trust, Pentland Power, Lewis Wind Power, and CnES Councillors’ Ward Fund. The latter award helped pay up computer upgrades and licences while the other grants helped with salaries and overheads. Membership has remained healthy. The support from the membership and the community is much appreciated by the committee during difficult economic times where we are having to increase our membership rates. ## **EXHIBITION** During the month of March and again during the summer months, the Society held an exhibition in our main office to commemorate 200 Years of the RNLI by displaying photographs, artefacts, models, mannequins, parchments, medals and family trees associated with Stornoway Lifeboat Station since 1887. Much work, especially from our ladies went into preparing for the event which was staffed by our committee, our members and RNLI members. With the new deep water harbour open, many interested and interesting visitors from all over the world paid us a visit. A total of 2,890 visitors were recorded. ## **EMPLOYEES** The Society, as an approved Gateway organisation, has been able to continue the employment of an Apprentice Archivist from 2022. Initially the employee was engaged for six months (25 hours per week) under the Government's Kickstart Scheme. Since then a donor provided money to engage the employee for a further six months. The Society has then sourced further income to keep the post filled and the Apprentice Archivist continues to make inroads into cataloguing the Society’s files, photographs and artefacts. He has signed up to start a Modern Apprentice Scheme with Museum Galleries Scotland. This is a most welcome outcome for the post-holder and for the Society. The Society recruited a cleaner for the offices (1 hour per week) from the first week of January 2022. She works out of hours but the work is greatly appreciated. ## **DISPLAY & STORAGE SPACE** Our main book stock, cabinets, tables and many other items not required immediately, are located in Marybank Depot within an unused office in a heated portacabin. This followed discussions with CnES to find storage. This enabled the Society to hold the RNLI exhibition in the summer of 2024. The Society also has a collection stored in the Marybank Depository. ## **OFFICE** A “new” second-hand photocopier/printer has been networked to serve our five workstations. Office costs include £1,000 per annum for licenses and Adobe Software and there are also fees for our website, etc. Nevertheless, apart from the Apple Mac computer the four other Society computers are getting old and require replacing. A “Doors Open Day” was held on 21[st] September in conjunction with a Scottish initiative. A series of five talks by the Honorary Presiden (interviewer) and (camera/sound). Two recording devi d by in action recording of recording oral his s now on You Tube. We thank hey have already been memories. Three of the Society’s committee undertook this invaluable work Page 2 sroRNOWAY HISTORICAL SOCIErY TRusfEES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024 PUBLICATIONS SY Gone By, the Srxiews bi-annual magazine continue5 to sell over 700 copies a year. Printed by Tradeprint in Dundee, costs of paper have risen considerably and postage has soared causing the Society to raise membership , which, wth adVe￿sing, help to make the printing costs economical. The most recent booL A Con&derable Town, a monumental and superbly illustrated work about the built heritage of Stornoway has now sold half of the print and is now in profitability. PROJEcrs The recording of memorial inscriptions at New Sandwick Cemetery was completed by the Chairman in 2020 and we hope to make the information available to the public in due course. We are seeking fvnding to undertake this. One of the Old Sandwick Cemetery booklets published over 20 years ago exhaustd the stock and we have reprinted 100 copies. Optical character rec Revtsitedby nitron (￿R) was undertaken by the late Ian Madennan on the bwk Oldstomoway Work is required to collats this and reprint this book which sold out in 2002. We are happy to report that all of the Journals and Sy Gone Bymagazines are now digitised. Work continues in digitising our stock of old Valuation Rolls as the paper copies are now very fragile. (All these projects are very time consuming as one can imaginel) TRAINING AND SEMINARS The Community Archives & Heritage Group, Heritage Nthork Forum. Arthive Focus Group and a Digitsl Archive meeting were held during the year and attenda by committee members. SCHOOLS The Archivist played a significant part in the publication of The Nicolson Institute History book. Due to pressure5 on the committee through exhibition preparation we were unable to parbcipate in the Dileab Project about Lord Leverhulme. rER SERIES OF LECTURES In January we hosted ho set the RNLI Project off to a gwd stsrt by delivering The History of the Stomoway Lifeboa elivered a lecture on the Gibson letters of over an ave a talk on the Harris Tweed Industry in March after the AGM. In Octobp e cen enary of the Lewis War Memorial with the history of the building arKI plaques. tslked with vigour and humour about a3￿C Cars in November. DLdUUII covere OTHER TALKS The Chairman gave a tslk about the Iolaire to Pairc Historical Society. Over the year three talks were delivered to Befrienders by different committee members and the Society ha5 also contributed to the monthly Sporting Memories group. MUSEUM NAN EILEAN The Sc(iety contiibuted on loan. five artefacts for display at the Museum which opened in 2016. The Museum also requested for use A Timeline for the Lews Ca#kD and Seaforth LLRtse which had appeared in SY Gone By. Paje 3 sroRNOWAY HISTORICAL SOCIErY TRusfEES ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024 DUN EISDEAN With the closure of both Dun Berisay and Dun Eisdean. and the opening of the new home Taigh Shiphoirt. the conn&tion that Dun Eisdean had wth the SS Jvoryetragedy in 1904 has eff￿tivelY closed. In 2006 a bench was erected to commemorate a ￿ntenary visit by relatives of the victims and suNivors of the sinknng of the emigrant ship near Rockall. Dun Eisdean was built close to Coulregrein House where the survivors were treated in 1904. Sadly the bench collapsed last year but the Himalayan Birch tree {Betula utilis Jacquemontii) planted at the ts"me, has thrived. SHS liaised with the new developers of the foTher Dun Eisdean who have replanted the tree not far from its original site. The tree remains in Stomoway a5 te5bmony to the rw)le from Scandinavia, Russia, Poland and afar who had sought a new liFe in the Americas 120 year5 ago. NAMING OF DEVELOPMEiwrs The Sc(iety continues to be consulted warnling the names of new developments and streets. OTHER BODIES During 2024 the Society consulted with or was represented on the following bodies: Sustainable Communities Group, Comhairfe nan Eilean Siar, Stornoway Library, Museum nan Eilean, Tasglann nan Eilean, Stornoway Tnjst, Harris Tweed Authority, UHI, Highlands & Islands knessors, Stx)rtscodand, Heritage Nthod< Forum, 150th Anniversary of The Nicolson Instittrte, Point & Sandwick TN5t, Stornoway Community Council, Iolaire Centre Group, and other historical societies. PROPOSED IOLAIRE CENTRE In 2024 the Society met with members of the prowsed lolaire Centre. This induded Event, a design congjltancy company. They wished to evaluate thoughts, ideas, per￿ptionS on the proposals made to dats towards the Centre. Eventhave prewously designed the Titanic CentsE in Belfast and the Burrell Cdlecbon building in Glasgov4. ANNIE JANE PROJEcr The Socie hel d to co-ordinate and oversee finances for the project. This event, chorec