2014-15

Chairman’s Report 2014-15

I have now completed the second of three years as your Chairman,and it has been a real privilege.

Supported by past Chairman Trevor Burrage who has been very helpful with gentle reminders that should not be overlooked.

I am delighted to report another successful year for the society due, in the main, to an outstanding programme of speakers arranged by, Roy Eaton in his first year as programme secretary.

We heard from a wide variety of visiting speakers on interesting subjects as

well as five talks by our own members. Overall attendance has continued to grow, averaging between 80/90 Of note were:

Un-picking the Mystery of Richard III - by Anne Milton-Worssell, 95 attended

The Suffragettes and the Oxted bomb - by Janet Bateson, 110 attended

Magna Carta - by David Carpenter, 90 attended

We continue to be indebted to the Minister and Elders of the United Reformed Church for allowing us to meet here in these congenial surroundings, and the occasional special use of their protector system

Our membership now stands at 95 and this season we have seen a very large increase in income from visitors’, due in the main to the posters that our president, Keith Lewis produces and Trevor Burrage who ensures that they are puts up in prominent positions. Not to mention an interesting range of talks by some eminent speakers.

Our sound and visual technology has perform well, thanks to John Fogg-Elliott, our Equipment Officer. However we are still in need of a knowledgeable IT support person.

Dr Peter Shipley as Vice-Chairman who will take over as Chairman in 2016. And is organising our Summer outing this year. More on that a little later.

Publicity is important to the growth of our society and our thanks go to Keith Louis, our President, for preparing eye-catching posters for our meetings, Displayed in the Oxted area by Trevor Burrage and also to Stuart Paterson, our Publicity Officer, for his amazingly quick reports on our talks and press reports for local newspapers and magazines.

Our society’s website for which I am responsible, continues and I am working with the Parish council to develop an interactive medium later this year. Including some rare maps, One of which is a unique 3 by 9 meter 1inch per mile scale OS map of the Parish produced in 1861 which I hope to display at one of our meetings next season.

The Summer outing organised by Kath McCarthy to Watts Gallery & Loseley Park was a great success despite disappointingly low numbers. And Last year’s Newsletter, produced by Trevor Burrage.

My second year as Chairman would have been much harder without the support of all the Committee and of course you our members who have not only supported us in great numbers, but posed some very interesting questions to our speakers.

I must express my sincere thanks to those already mentioned and especially to Anna Burrage, our Hon Treasurer, for their very important work in keeping the administration of the Society in such good shape. Peter Shipley for organising this years summer outing. More on that later. And Roy Eaton to our Program Secretary, Roy Eaton who again has secured another very interesting programme of talks starting in the Autumn.

Christopher Pendred