The Worshipful Company of - The Ironmongers` Company

Transcription

The Worshipful Company of
Ironmongers
ANNUAL REPORT 2014 - 2015
CONTENTS
3
MASTER AND WARDEN 2015-2016
18 THE WINE COMMITTEE
31 INTER-LIVERY CROQUET
4
MESSAGE FROM THE IMMEDIATE
PAST MASTER 2014-15
19 THE IRON COMMITTEE
32 THE GENERAL MANAGER’S
REPORT
6
FOREWORD FROM THE MASTER
2015-2016
8
MESSAGE FROM THE CLERK
9
VISIT OF A PARTY OF
IRONMONGERS TO THE
1ST BATTALION GRENADIER
GUARDS IN KENYA
20 THE IRONMONGERS’
FOUNDATION
21 IRONMONGERS’ FOUNDATION
SCHOLARSHIP SCHEME
22 WARDEN OF THE LIVERY AND
YEOMANRY
32 USE OF HALL COMMITTEE
33 THE BEADLE’S REPORT
34OBITUARIES
35 ADMISSION TO THE FREEDOM
23 THE IRONMONGERS’ ARCHIVES
38 OFFICERS AND STAFF 2014-2015
14 THE HOMES COMMITTEE
26 NEWS AND SNIPPETS
15 BETTON’S AND APPEALS
COMMITTEE
29 GREAT XII SAILING CHALLENGE
39 SUMMARY FINANCIAL
STATEMENT
16AN ARTS PROJECT - ‘A WEALTH
OF STAGES’
17 SIR ROBERT GEFFREY’S SCHOOL
30 INTER-LIVERY SKI
CHAMPIONSHIPS
31 IRONMONGERS’ GOLFING
SOCIETY
THE COURT, MASTER’S DAY 2015
Back Row: J A Oliver, J A Biles, A G Wauchope, D J Liming, H S K Knowles
Middle Row: Colonel H P D Massey (Clerk), M J Crickmay, R J Patteson-Knight, R C Poulton, H J Charnaud, Sir Graeme Davies,
R C R Twallin, J P Hudson, M A Hudson, M S W Tilbury, M S W Lee (Warden of the Livery and Yeomanry), S Walby (Beadle)
Front Row: H S Johnson, R H Hunting CBE, S D Apsley, D J Worlidge (Senior Warden), G A Bastin (Master), R P Slade QC (Junior Warden),
Sir Christopher Slade (Senior Member), A M Carter-Clout (Immediate Past Master), T P C Oliver
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The Worshipful Company of Ironmongers 2014-2015
MASTER AND WARDENS 2015-2016
GEORGE BASTIN, MASTER
DAVID WORLIDGE, SENIOR WARDEN
GEORGE Bastin became a Freeman in 1971
following his grandfather who was Master
twice in 1938 and 1939 and his father who
was Master in 1967. After school at Repton
he was commissioned into the Tenth
Hussars and saw active service in Aden,
later serving in Germany and Norway.
Leaving the Army he worked in Germany
for Farbwerke Hoechst before marrying Sa
in 1970, when he left and joined Babcock
and Wilcox with the brief to find German
companies to invest in. He left to set up his
own electronic engineering manufacturing
business without knowing anything about
electronics! The company now exports 80%
of its products to major utility organisations
around the world, mainly in China and the
Far East.
As Warden of the Livery and Yeomanry
he became acutely aware of the lack of
attendance by very many Freemen and
Liverymen. He therefore organised the
Great Twelve Sailing Challenge as an event
outside the normal City arena that might
attract those who found it difficult to get
to London mid-week. It proved a success
in getting to know Freemen of other
companies and is now in its eleventh year,
having raised money for the Lord Mayor’s
Appeals and the Ironmongers’ Foundation.
In 2009 George launched the Inter-Livery
Ski Championships at Morzine in the
French Alps, aiming to involve all 110 livery
companies. The event is now established as
one of the major livery fund raisers.
His son, Alexander, is a Freeman, and his
son-in-law, James Lewis, is a Liveryman.
DAVID was born on 19 August 1956 at
Nowra, New South Wales, Australia, during
a period when his father (John Worlidge
and also a Liveryman) was sent from the
UK to start up a paper mill. After leaving
Marlborough College in 1974, David spent
six months jackerooing on a sheep station in
western New South Wales – quite a startling
experience for an innocent 18-year-old Pom!
He returned to go up to St John’s College
Cambridge, where he read Engineering,
specialising in Civil Engineering in his last
year.
Despite his lifelong desire to build dams,
he chose to become a chartered accountant
and joined Peat Marwick Mitchell &
Co in 1978. He qualified as a chartered
accountant in 1981 and after spending
three and a half years in the Sydney office,
he joined Guidehouse Group plc as a
special projects manager reporting to the
Finance Director. In 1990, he transferred
into the Corporate Finance Department
of Guidehouse Securities Limited. When
its parent got into financial difficulties in
1992, he became part of the management
buyout team and its name was changed
to John East & Partners limited. This firm
was one of the first nominated advisers
on the AIM market, the London Stock
Exchange’s junior market, in 1995. The firm
was acquired by Merchant Securities plc in
2007, which was itself acquired by Sanlam
Private Investments in 2012. David has over
25 years’ experience of providing corporate
finance advice to companies in the Small
Cap sector on the Full List, USM and AIM
Mr D J Worlidge, Senior Warden, G A Bastin Esq, Master, Mr R P Slade, Junior Warden
markets. He is a member of the Institute of
Chartered Accountants in England and Wales
and the Chartered Institute of Securities and
Investments.
He married Candice in June 1981 and has
two children, Alastair (aged 28) and James
(aged 25). David became a Freeman of the
Company in 1990 and a liveryman in 1991.
He joined the Court in 2009.
David is a keen lover of the outdoor life,
whether it be cycling, playing golf or working
in the garden. Over the last five years, David
has raised over £25,000 for several charities
(including the Ironmongers’ Foundation)
by doing cycling rides in Tanzania, John
O’Groats to Land’s End and RideLondon100
last year (and doing it again this year). He is a
member of the MCC, Hankley Common Golf
Club and the Senior Golfers’ Society.
RICHARD SLADE, JUNIOR WARDEN
RICHARD was born in 1963, the third
of four children. His mother Jane is wellknown at the Ironmongers, although strictly
speaking she is a Merchant Taylor. He was ten
when his father Christopher (now the Senior
Member of the Ironmongers’ Company) was
elected Master. His eldest sister, Lucinda, is
also a member of the Company.
He was educated at Eton, where he spent
his spare time trying to act, and Trinity
College Cambridge, where he continued his
attempts at acting and also read History and
then Law.
Like both of his grandfathers and his
father, Richard became a barrister. He has
been a tenant at Brick Court Chambers
since 1988, within easy reach of the
Ironmongers’. He specialises in civil banking
and insurance law. Most recently he has been
dealing with alleged mis-selling of complex
financial products, fractious joint venture
arrangements and insurance claims arising
from fires in clubs and restaurants. He was
made a Queen’s Counsel in 2010.
He married Lucy in 1993. They have three
children, Jack and Tom (both aged 18) and
Alice (16).
His interests include battlefields, political
history, musicals, swimming in lakes and
spending time in the West Country.
Richard became a Freeman of the
Company in 1985, a liveryman in 2004,
Warden of the Livery and Yeomanry in 2005
and joined the Court in 2009.
He is a member of Lincoln’s Inn and the
Hurlingham Club.
3
MESSAGE FROM THE IMMEDIATE PAST
MASTER 2014-15
A M Carter-Clout Esq
W
ell, not surprisingly, it has
been quite a busy year! I
have, of course, been ably
assisted by George Bastin
and David Worlidge, our Senior and Junior
Wardens respectively.
My year started on 3rd July and the very
next day I was straight into the fray with a
Celebratory Fayre reception at the Drapers’
Company to mark their 650th anniversary.
The focus of the fayre was an exhibition
displaying universities, conservatoires,
schools and military affiliations associated
with the Company and it also described the
fascinating journey that the Company had
taken since the granting of their first Royal
Charter in 1364, almost a century before the
4
Ironmongers’ first Royal Charter.
My next event in July was the Dogget’s
Coat and Badge Race on the Thames
which was hosted by the Fishmongers’ and
which was attended by HRH The Duke
of Edinburgh, a past Prime Warden. This
was our first opportunity to get to meet a
number of the other Great XII Masters and
their wives. Another of my early duties,
with my wife Debbie, was to visit Sir Robert
Geffrey’s School at Landrake in Cornwall
for their annual Speech Day to present the
prizes. We had a wonderful time meeting
all the children and many of their teachers
and were hugely impressed with the good
manners and discipline of the children and
e.g. enjoyed watching the dynamic Head,
Julie Curtis, in action.
August saw me off to the wilds of Norfolk
to the wilds of Norfolk at Bodney Camp to
spend the weekend at the summer camp of
the City of London and North East sector
cadets. I met several other livery company
Masters who also supported the cadets
and was the guest of their Commandant,
Colonel Jacqui Fogerty at their Officers’
Mess Dinner at which the Colonel thanks all
her officers for their incredible contributions
to the development of the cadets. The next
day I was out with the cadets and watched
a selection of marching displays, tug of
war teams and other exercises and at the
end of Sunday afternoon, presented the
Ironmongers’ shield to the company with
the most points won over the previous two
weeks of competition. Great fun!
In September I went up to the National
Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire to
present the Ironmongers’ Medal and Prize
of the Best Technical Student Award to
Victoria Clark of Maycast-Noakes Precision
Engineering Ltd. After the presentation I
made a road train tour of the Arboretum.
It was a very moving place with many
memorials to a wide range of military and
public service organisations and was in fact
very busy on that day with reunion parades
of old comrades from an array of Northern
Irish regiments; in fact, our Past Master,
Major General Patrick Cordingley has been
the Chairman of Trustees there for a number
of years.
Late autumn saw me visiting two units
of the North-East sector of the Sea Cadets.
In Brentwood, I presented the Ironmongers’
award to O C Rowton and also a clasp to
the Cadet Forces Medal to LieutenantCommander George Wilson awarded for
over 20 years’ service to the cadets. I also
watched their preparations for taking part
in the Lord Mayor’s Show that weekend. In
early December, I visited the Chelmsford
unit to watch their training and to present
the Ironmongers’ prize to Cadet Aimee
Potter. I was greatly impressed by the
dedication of the trainers and staff and by
the discipline and enthusiasm of the cadets
at both locations. At our June Court Meeting
this year, I had the pleasure of admitting
Lt Cmdr George Wilson and Major Colin
Coull to the Company as a mark of our
appreciation for the achievements that the
Sea Cadets and the Army Cadet Force have
made over the years under their leadership.
MESSAGE FROM THE IMMEDIATE PAST MASTER
Immediate Past Master presenting Lt Cmdr George Wilson with his long service bar
On the day of the Lord Mayor’s Show,
we opened up Ironmongers’ Hall which
again proved to be a great success. A buffet
lunch was provided by Fare and the Hall was
used by over 100 people from at least eight
different Livery Companies with their guests
and was much appreciated.
On 9 December we held a joint Carol
Service at Charterhouse Chapel with the
Shipwrights’ and the Butchers’ Companies
and afterwards held a Christmas drinks
party in the Hall. This was a very happy
occasion especially as the Butchers’ were
shortly to start using the Hall for all their
Court Meetings and Luncheons and it was
our opportunity to get to know a number of
them.
In January we had the annual cadet force
supper here in the Hall and welcomed many
of the North-East sector instructors together
with members of the London Regiment who
had been part of the winning team for the
Courage trophy, which had originally been
presented by the Ironmongers. A force from
the London Regiment has been in Sierra
Leone as part of the UK military support
effort against the ebola disease epidemic.
In February we entertained a wide range
of guests at our annual City Dinner and
this year we were delighted to be able to
entertain the Lord Mayor and members of
the City Corporation together with many
of the Masters and Clerks of other livery
companies and representatives of many of
the organisations and charities with which
we have connections.
The Great XII Sailing Challenge at
Seaview, Isle of Wight, was held in June
and, being non-sailors, Debbie and I went
down to cheer the team from afar and
see “fair play”. We were the guests of a
very hospitable George and Sa Bastin and
imagine our surprise when the Ironmongers’
won the final Mermaid race and Debbie
had the pleasure of presenting the prize
(the Ironmongers’ decanter) to our captain,
Warden of the Livery and Yeomanry, Mark
Lee. A wonderful weekend of fun and
camaraderie and good for networking with
other Great XII livery teams.
At the close of my Mastership, I leave
the Company, I think, in good heart, with
satisfactory and improving finances and
with a growing membership. There are
challenges ahead with the Museum of
London’s move to Smithfield and what it
may mean for us at the Hall, together with
plans to build a further two floors onto
Ferroners’ House, but I am confident that we
will prevail!
My grateful thanks go to the Clerk and
all the team at Ironmongers’ Hall for their
unstinting help, guidance and advice at all
times and for all the many laughs we have
had together. It has been a wonderful year
and I wish George Bastin every success and
enjoyment during his year.
Masters of the Great XII with their respective Choristers at St Paul’s Cathedral
5
FOREWORD FROM THE MASTER 2015-2016
G A Bastin Esq
I
The Master and his wife, Sa
The Master, his wife Sa and family
6
would firstly like to say how excited
I am to be installed as Master for the
coming year. I am following in my
maternal grandfather’s and my own
father’s footsteps, so I am fairly new in terms
of familial succession to the Ironmongers’.
Many families go back hundreds of years but
also many do not go back at all. The period
of Mastership is but the blink of an eye in the
long history of the Company and one might
assume that there is not much an incoming
Master can do to change the destiny of the
Company, especially as the first thing you do
is to swear that you won’t change anything.
Actually the Ironmongers’ do ‘do’ change!
In my speech on Master’s Day I
emphasised that the Company does a great
deal of good in its relief in need, education,
homes for the elderly, restoration of historic
ironwork and in encouraging the younger
generation into science and engineering
careers. We distribute our charitable giving
to many projects and it is important that we
not only give money but also time to these
projects. By visiting the recipients of financial
support we are not only checking that the
money is well spent but demonstrating that
we are interested in these projects, thereby
boosting the recipient’s own esteem and
encouraging them in their future endeavours.
It is help from new Freemen and Liverymen
that we need in order to do this work, which
is not centred on London but is situated
all over the United Kingdom. Many of our
Freemen are keen to play a part when they
join but lose interest when they believe they
are not required to play a part. We need to
change this.
I do not know if, in the past, Masters
have had a ‘theme’ for their year. This
one does now. Mine is ‘Get Involved’!
I have been very fortunate in that the
Ironmongers’ have allowed me to organise
events outside London with a view to
encouraging Ironmongers to get together.
The Company has an interest in croquet,
golf, sailing, shooting and skiing. It is all
too easy to become an Ironmonger and
then slip through the net. Although every
new Freeman is offered the opportunity
to sit on a committee for a year, when that
period is over other commitments such as
work and family, quite rightly, take over.
There is a tendency to lose interest and not
attend functions and other livery events until
eventually they may be embarrassed about
coming and not knowing anyone. These
FOREWORD FROM THE MASTER
Assembling before the Master’s Day Service - the Assistant Clerk; the Clerk; the Social Secretary; Senior Warden; Master; Junior Warden;
Honorary Chaplain, Revd Trevor Kemp; Bishop of Shrewsbury, The Rt Revd Mark Rylands
Martin Hudson, Graeme Davies, Harry
Charnaud, John Biles, Richard Poulton,
Sally Poulton and Duncan Johnstone
Freemen are then lost to the Company
which is not in our best interests. There is
talent out there which we need to harness.
I want to reclaim our lost Freemen.
There are many exciting things
happening this year and I want all
Ironmongers to be involved in one or more
of them. There are lunches, dinners, suppers,
cocktail parties, the Lord Mayor’s Show,
quizzes, the Carol Service, skiing, golf,
croquet, tennis and sailing to name but a
few. Don’t tell me that there is nothing from
amongst these events that you could not
attend either by yourself but better still with
your wife, husband, partner or friend! It may
not be easy and it may cost you something
to get there, but I promise you that you will
enjoy it. Get Involved!
Hugh Johnson and Penny Hunting
Processing to Charterhouse Chapel
Richard and Judy Twallin
7
MESSAGE FROM THE CLERK
By Colonel H P D Massey
T
hanks to our General Manager,
Ed Bolling, and our Beadle,
Steve Walby, and their dedicated
members of staff, the total net
income for the Hall for the year ending 31
March 2015 was 10% ahead of budget and
a record achievement by some distance
since the Company started letting out the
Hall nearly two decades ago. Clients range
from big corporates to less big firms staging
financial or commercial conferences, away
days, awards ceremonies through to filming
by film and television companies; breakfasts,
lunches, dinners and parties are organised
for all types of client, and this includes
weddings and civil ceremonies.
8
It is worth remembering that a member
who takes the Hall for his private event
enjoys a 50% discount. Because of its
excellent presentation, the Hall has been
shortlisted as a finalist in the London Venue
Awards 2015 in Best Livery Hall category
to be presented in October.
The Immediate Past Master and the
committee chairmen have reported
throughout this edition on the deeds and
aspirations of their committees during
the year. You will be pleased to see that
the finances of both the Company and its
Charities are in a healthy state of modest
growth. You will also be pleased to see that
the Homes and Sir Robert Geffery’s School,
Landrake, are all flourishing.
Perhaps the greatest pleasure has been
derived from watching the affiliation grow
between the Company and the Grenadier
Guards since its beginning two years ago.
The Grenadiers fielded a strong team last
January to compete in the Inter-Livery
Skiing meeting at Morzine organised by
the Master. In July, the Master, Senior
Warden and Warden of the Livery and
Yeomanry, accompanied by seven other
Ironmongers, spent a week visiting the
1st Battalion on exercise near Nanyuki
in Kenya where they found the confident
professionalism and complete esprit de
corps of the Battalion exhilarating. As you
will see elsewhere in this magazine, the
visit was a resounding success. In addition,
Grenadiers are invited to all the Company’s
major dinners throughout the year and it is
a pleasure to see the First Guards Club hold
their annual dinner here for the second year
running. This is not to ignore the support
which the Company gives to the London
Regiment, the Sea Cadets or the Army
Cadet Force, whose annual camp is visited
by the Master each year. The Company takes
great pride in its association with all three
organisations.
I feel I can assure you that the Company
is indeed in good heart, and well-respected
throughout the City and beyond for all
that it does collectively and through its
individual members. One such individual
is Alderman Peter Estlin. Following
support from the Livery Committee for
the possibility of two aldermen holding the
office of Sheriff, the Court of Aldermen has
agreed to support two aldermen for election
as Sheriffs in 2016/17. Alderman Peter Estlin
is one of them, and I urge all Liverymen to
give him their support when the time comes.
I lead a small but dedicated team of 14
staff reinforced by a similarly dedicated
team from Fare who are completely
integrated with us all. You can see us all in
the photograph on page 38. I am fortunate
to enjoy their unstinting support, and
grateful to them all for it. Lastly, and as
always, I record my thanks to my splendid
Assistant Clerk for all her enthusiasm and
sheer hard work in collating the articles and
photographs for me to edit. This Annual
Report not only records the Company’s
achievements and events in the past year,
but we hope it entertains and interests you
too. As the Master has said, “Get involved”!
VISIT OF A PARTY OF IRONMONGERS TO 1ST
BATTALION GRENADIER GUARDS IN KENYA
22-27 JULY 2015 By Mr M S W Tilbury, Liveryman
A
FTER considerable planning
and instruction from the
Assistant Clerk, a group of ten
Ironmongers assembled on
Wednesday 22nd July at Heathrow’s T5 for
the eight-hour flight to Nairobi.
On the plane we caught up with Major
General Sir George Norton, the Regimental
Lieutenant Colonel and also an Ironmonger,
and Major Grant Baker, the Regimental
Adjutant, and so the full touring party was
assembled.
We were met at Nairobi Airport by
Captain Fred Moynan who had gone on
ahead as an advance party to ensure the
visit went without a hitch. The evening air
was cool and comfortable. Captain Moynan
brought with him three guardsmen who
drove us in a collection of 4x4s for the
entire expedition. Forty minutes later, after
witnessing some appalling Kenyan driving,
we were collecting the keys for our rooms
at the wonderful Muthaiga Club (of “Out of
Africa” and “White Mischief ” fame). The
ambience and smell of wax in the corridors
took us all immediately back to what it must
have been like in colonial times.
Despite the late hour of our arrival, we
were fed and watered and then to bed for
the longer road trip ‘up country’ to Nanyuki,
situated just north of the Equator (0° 01’
North).
A full spread for breakfast on Thursday
set us up for the four-hour trip to Nanyuki,
leaving promptly at 08:30. There was just
time in the schedule to stretch our legs
half-way to Nanyuki at a touristy curio shop
offering “just for you, a special price” deals
and again at the Equator to take photos.
The time spent in the vehicles was a good
opportunity to talk with the drivers who
had been on multiple tours of Afghanistan
and had both amusing and very sad stories
to tell.
12:30 saw us arrive at the Nanyuki Sports
Club with check-in completed in short
order. We were soon back into the 4x4s and
heading off to EXCON (Exercise Control) in
the Kenyan back country to learn what the
Grenadier Guards had been doing for the
last five weeks on exercise.
Here we were introduced to the
Deployable Tactical Engagement Simulation
training system (DTES) that monitors each
soldier’s position and shooting results and
reports back to EXCON in real time with
such accuracy that it can even tell if the
soldier is standing up or lying down. This
allows the training team to track and then
play back troop movements for analysis and
feedback to the men in a subsequent debrief.
The weapons and webbing the soldiers use/
wear also includes laser systems which pick
up “hits” and disable the targeted soldier’s
weapon reporting him as injured or killed
dependent on where he was hit.
After a brief, recent history of the Guards
worldwide movements (most recently “the
red stuff ” such as Trooping the Colour)
given by Brigadier Richard Smith, Deputy
Commander London District, Colonel Tom
Vallings, Commander BATUK (British
Army Training Unit Kenya), and Major Alex
Hutton (also BATUK) talked us through
the role of BATUK and the timeline and
objectives of the current Grenadiers’ six-
Major Andrew Keeley (Stumpy), Grant Baker, David Worlidge, Cath Bennett, Daniel Gorton,
Matt Tilbury, Andrew Wauchope, George Bastin, Isla Kennedy, Giles Shilson, Captain Fred
Moynan, Mark Lee, John Gorton
week training programme.
We were told that the culmination of
the programme was an attack by the three
companies of the Grenadiers, with support
from the Royal Engineers and the Royal
Artillery, to take the three hills (codenamed
Gold, Silver and Bronze) overlooking the
village of Katooma (a village fabricated for
the exercise) and then secure the village.
The BATUK team work incredibly hard
to deliver a first class, training environment
using officers and other ranks from many
regiments, as well as civilian contractors.
They deliver over 159 “nights out” a year
on training manoeuvres within the 240,000
hectares of ground available. All this is
currently delivered under the uncertainty of
a renegotiation of the Defence Cooperation
Agreement (DCA) with the Kenyan
Government which could mean the whole
operation gets shut down if a new agreement
can’t be reached soon.
The timing of the presentations was
impeccable as, whilst listening to the
instructors and safely under canvas, the
heavens opened for a dose of tropical
downpour! The late afternoon shower
proved to be a regular feature of each day.
We had been led to believe that we
should expect that night’s accommodation
to be in line with a typical soldier’s lot in the
field. In the end, however, Major “Stumpy”
Keeley, Quartermaster of the Grenadier
Guards, and his team pulled out all the stops
with a fantastic BBQ and some superbly
sited tents furnished with camp beds and
sleeping bags. It was a cold but dry night and
most settled down early due to H hour being
scheduled for 05:41. A few of the “younger”
members gave forth on a range of subjects
burning the midnight oil in confab with
the NCOs, who also provided more stories
from their postings. A fabulous dawn saw
us given a grandstand view of the upcoming
final assault.
The sound of a spotter plane signalled
the start of proceedings closely followed by
some impressively percussive flash bangs
representing a mortar attack on Grenadiers.
The attack was on! We were joined by
Captain Barry Cork, Royal Gurkha Rifles,
who had a DTES laptop showing the system
we had viewed the day before. This allowed
us to follow events both on the screen
and from our great vantage point. It soon
became apparent that the enemy had located
the Grenadiers as they formed up and
9
GRENADIER GUARDS IN KENYA
carefully laid plans had to be changed at the
last minute. From our vantage point we were
able to see Queen’s Company secure Gold,
but at the expense of 50% casualties, and
then see No. 2 Company and the Inkerman
Company skirt around our position to
enable No. 2 Company to attack Silver
and witness Inkerman Company almost
sprinting the mile to engage and secure
Bronze, as the deadline Brigadier Smith
impressed the BATUK team were by the
Battalion’s performance as a whole.
The next day (Saturday) took us to
LAB(E) (Laikipia Air Base East) on the
outskirts of Nanyuki, where the visiting
battalions are based. After a ‘brew’,
necessitated by the Army ethos of “hurry
up and wait”, we were taken to hear a
presentation delivered by Major Price, Royal
Engineers. He is the Project Continuity
Lunch in the bush
had said he wanted the exercise completed
by loomed. The enemy fought hard with
machine guns in entrenched positions but
the expertise of the Grenadiers eventually
won the day and, four hours later, the enemy
was neutralised.
We then went down to the village to
meet some of the very exhausted soldiers.
We had all been very impressed with the
professionalism of the soldiers, especially
if one considers that the Grenadiers spend
over 50% of their time on ceremonial duties.
We Ironmongers then retired to Nanyuki
Sports Club for a shower and a little, light
lunch. The possibility of golf was considered
but quickly shelved as the torrential rain
arrived, so a welcome afternoon siesta was
the answer.
Early evening took us to Cape Chestnut
restaurant to dine with some of the
Grenadier Officers and a few of the BATUK
staff. The company, food and wine were
excellent. Another opportunity to hear how
incredibly busy they have been and how
Officer responsible for delivering the
next phases of development of the base’s
infrastructure which, if completed, would
cost over £120 million. The job isn’t made
any easier by the use of local contractors
with a different take on interpreting both
the building regulations and the architect’s
plans, coupled with the ongoing uncertainty
over whether there will
actually be a British
presence at the base at
all if the DCA is not
renewed.
We then went to
meet the DTES team
again who allowed us
to try the laser systems
first hand by firing antitank weapons and RPGs
at targets. The Senior
Warden volunteered to
walk through a set of
TES landmines which
exploded with plenty
10 The Worshipful Company of Ironmongers 2014-2015
of noise and showers of talcum powder. To
simulate the reality of the dangers faced by
soldiers on tour in Afghanistan, the DTES
team even have suicide vests in the training
armoury.
Lunch was in the base canteen with the
officers and NCOs from the Grenadiers
as well as other regiments involved in the
current exercise. In the Grenadiers’ exercise,
the enemy was played by the Rifles regiment.
The esprit de corps was very evident across
all the regiments and ranks. During the
meal, the Master presented an Ironmongers’
plaque to the Grenadiers’ Commanding
Officer, Lieutenant-Colonel The Hon.
Charles (Chips) Broughton MBE.
The afternoon was our own for some
R&R and preparation for the Battalion
Cocktail Party at Le Rustique restaurant.
This was another triumph of the Regiment’s
hospitality with local landowners and
worthies also invited. The Grenadier
Guards’ Corps of Drums kindly put on a
fantastic show and the Master was given
the honour of taking the salute. The Corps’
members join without any previous musical
experience and learn on the job.
Sunday morning came and we mounted
up to be driven by our ever-patient,
relentlessly cheerful drivers on the hour’s
journey to Borana Lodge. The last part of
the drive was across a very rough track
(which Andrew Wauchope must have found
very painful lying down in the front seat
with tendonitis) but the destination proved
to be every bit worth the journey. Borana
Lodge is spectacularly located and very well
appointed. After a delicious lunch we were
taken out in safari Land Rovers driven by
knowledgeable guides. The guides found us
elephant, lion (with cubs), buffalo, giraffe,
John Gorton and friends
A final, and biggest, thank you to Captain
zebra, a jackal and many impala, gazelle,
Fred Moynan for organising the trip with
hartebeest and oryx.
such panache and good humour (“I am
Monday morning’s horse ride at
only doing
7.30am and
my job”)
subsequent
and making
Land Rover
it such an
safari
unforgettable
brought
experience.
warthog, a
Given
goshawk and
all that the
a black rhino.
Grenadier
Even from
Guards
the verandas
contribute
of the Lodge
to protecting
one could
our national
view the
interests,
water hole
and with the
and its
potentially
visitors as
Briefing with Master George and General George
life-changing
well as the
risks
hyrax living
that they run whilst on active duty, the
just under the Lodge’s buildings.
Ironmongers’ contribution to the Colonel’s
In the early afternoon we took the
fund is unarguably an extremely worthwhile
five-hour drive back to Nairobi with a
involvement in helping the Regiment
short road-side stop for souvenirs and an
look after wounded soldiers who need
evening meal at the Muthaiga Club before
rehabilitation and others (and their families)
the return to the UK. The ETA at Muthaiga
who struggle upon having left active service.
had been set for 18:00 by Captain Moynan
and we rolled through the gates at 18:00
to the second! Even the Nairobi traffic
could not stop the Grenadiers delivering
us to the airport in good time for the flight
(although there were some scary overtaking
manoeuvres to avoid).
On safari
The Ironmonger touring party would like
to thank all the officers and men for the time
they gave to us to allow an insight into the
life and work of an active infantry battalion
and its support units. They also wish to
thank the Battalion for its kind generosity
in paying for all the in-country costs of the
trip. Special thanks to Major-General Sir
George Norton and Major Baker for their
insight into what was happening around us.
The Worshipful Company of Ironmongers 2014-2015 11
ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE’
BY MISS ISLA KENNEDY, FREEMAN
A
s a former army cadet, air
cadet, officer cadet and army
cadet instructor, someone who
wanted to join the army, and
a current member of the FANY (First Aid
Nursing Yeomanry), I was super excited
when the opportunity came up to visit the
Grenadier Guards during their summer
training exercise in Kenya. So on 22 July
a group of 10 Ironmongers, Major Grant
Baker (Regimental Adjutant) and Major
General Sir George Norton (Regimental
Lieutenant Colonel) set off on this little
adventure.
After a few films and some reading on
the flight, we arrived in Nairobi at about
9pm, where we were met by Captain Fred
Moynan, Assistant Equerry, and our drivers
for the trip. It was about a 45-minute
drive to the Muthaiga club, an old colonial
country club (with a lion’s head in a
cabinet!), where we were staying for the
night. After some sandwiches and a few
drinks we went to bed, ready for a bit more
travelling in the morning so our Grenadier
Guards taster could really start.
We drove about four hours to Nanyuki,
with two short stops at a curio shop
(paintings, carvings and souvenirs galore)
and then a photo stop at the equator.
We quickly settled into our rooms at the
Nanyuki Sports Club and then were back
on the road to EXCON (Exercise Control)
where we heard about the Grenadier
Guards’ previous five weeks of training and
were able to see some of what they’d been
up to through the TES (tactical engagement
simulation) playbacks. TES is basically a
very advanced ‘laser quest’. The soldiers wear
vests and head gear, and use laser-enabled
rifles and weaponry, which means that
injuries and deaths can be simulated using
the equipment. Each soldier can be tracked
on the computer system back at EXCON
and all the movements and casualties are
recorded for later analysis and feedback.
It was very interesting and pretty cool
technology. Forget paintballing – I want to
play with TES!
We then had a few presentations,
firstly from Brigadier Richard Smith,
Deputy Commander London District,
who talked about the Grenadier Guards’
recent deployments and ceremonial duties,
and then from Colonel Tom Vallings,
Isla Kennedy on horseback
12
Commander BATUK (British Army
Training Unit Kenya), and Major Alex
Hutton (also BATUK) who explained the
role of BATUK and outlined the Grenadiers’
training programme in Kenya this summer.
Next we moved out to our spot on the
training area for the night, which was on a
hill overlooking Katooma, the make-shift
village that was the final objective. On the
drive to our base we saw some giraffes,
zebras, impalas and more, which was
fantastic. An unexpected safari! We were
told we’d be ‘under basha’ with rat-packs
(ration packs) for dinner, but we were very
pleasantly surprised when we found out
that actually we had big six-person tents
with camp beds, and that Major ‘Stumpy’
Keeley, the Quartermaster, was putting on a
BBQ for dinner and then a big breakfast in
the morning. We even had G&Ts, complete
with ice and lemon! After a lovely evening,
most of us retired early as H hour was 0541
when we were expecting to be woken by
some loud bangs! A few Ironmongers stayed
up chatting with the NCOs and making the
most of the free beer, but we were all up
early as the final attack started.
The attack went on for a while and at
first all we could see were a few flash-bangs
and smoke grenades, but as the companies
got into position we could see guardsmen
moving across the ground in front of us and
even had some vehicles moving behind us,
a machine gun post to our left and a sniper
position to our right! We also had Captain
Barry Cork with us, who had a TES laptop
so we could see where the companies and
enemy were, how many casualties had been
taken and understand the bigger picture.
After a couple of hours some of the group
decided to go for a walk – directly into the
attack! From our viewpoint we could see
them standing by an enemy trench, which
was then missed by the guardsmen as they
probably presumed the visiting Ironmongers
wouldn’t ‘get in the way’. The group, which
included the Master, then walked into
Katooma, standing around whilst the
guardsmen took the final position! At this
point David Worlidge (Senior Warden)
sent our Clerk and Assistant Clerk back in
England a message saying that the Master
had been taken hostage and what would the
Company be prepared to pay for ransom, to
which the Assistant Clerk replied saying that
with everyone on holiday and no committee
meetings due she would have to see what she
could get from petty cash!
When the attack was completed the rest
of the party drove down to Katooma to join
the others and chat to a few of the soldiers
and officers who had survived the gruelling
last part of their summer training. The
locals who had been playing the Katooma
townsfolk started dancing and singing,
with Masai-style jumping and some of the
guardsmen even joining in.
After returning to the Nanyuki Sports
Club for lunch, Catherine Bennett and I
joined Fred Moynan for coffee (which then
turned into cocktails) at a local restaurant/
café, where the upcoming cocktail party was
also going to be held. Later that evening we
went for dinner, joined by a few Grenadier
officers and BATUK staff, and had some
lovely food, wine and conversation.
On Saturday we visited LAB (Laikipia
Air Base) East, a large British base where the
visiting groups stay. The day started off with
a talk from Major Price, who had just started
a role looking after the delivery of the multiphase, multi-million pound building project.
He explained what was being built along
with some of the difficulties the project
was facing, and we were able to wander
around the building site and see the work in
progress.
We then played with some TES
equipment, including anti-tank weapons,
IEDs (improvised explosive devices) and
landmines, as well as the vests that told us
when we had been killed!
We had lunch in one of the mess tents
with the officers from the Grenadier Guards
and some of the other regiments involved
in their training. I sat next to a Grenadier
Warrant Officer, a fresh-out-of-Sandhurst
Second Lieutenant and an Army lawyer,
and it was great to hear about their different
roles in the training exercise. The Master
then presented an iron plaque to the
Commanding Officer, Lieutenant-Colonel
the Hon Charles (Chips) Broughton.
The afternoon was then spent getting
ready for the cocktail party that evening.
When we got to the restaurant we were
greeted by some guardsmen in bearskins
and some rather strong Moscow Mules!
The party was attended by the Grenadier
and visiting regiments’ officers, as well as
some ‘important’ locals. We were lucky to
watch/listen to a ‘Beating Retreat’ from the
Grenadiers’ Corps of Drums and then after a
lovely evening of drinking and chatting most
of the Ironmongers went home, with a few
of us continuing on to a local casino. After
a couple of hours on the roulette table I
came out even, but as I got free drinks whilst
playing I considered that a win!
The next morning was a thankfully
slow start and we then set off on our next
journey to Borana Lodge, a beautiful group
of cottages and communal areas set in the
wonderful Borana Conservancy, with a
glorious infinity pool overlooking a watering
hole frequented by buffalo, elephant and
more. After settling into our rooms and
enjoying a delicious lunch, we set out on
an afternoon game drive where we saw
a huge variety of animals, the highlight
being a pride of lions with a few different
aged males, some lionesses and a group of
adorable few-month-old cubs! We finished
the day by watching the sun go down, wine
in hand. Lovely!
Our final day started with tea/coffee and
biscuits brought to our room at 6am for
our early trip out to meet our horses. The
more experienced riders were given polo
ponies, with the rest of us riding ‘Ethiopian
plodders’, which suited me perfectly as I had
only been riding once before just a couple
of weeks prior! The highlight of the ride
was being just five metres from a giraffe
who was chewing on some plants. We
then enjoyed an idyllic bush breakfast,
with delicious food, a stunning view and
enjoyable company.
On our drive back to the lodge we
were lucky to see some more animals,
including a rhino, and then after Matt
Tilbury and I enjoyed a very quick dip
in the pool, we had lunch and packed for
the move back to Nairobi. We stopped off
at the curio shop again where some of us
bought a few bits and then we returned
to the Muthaiga club for an early meal
before heading off to the airport. I said
goodbye to the other Ironmongers when
they left for the airport, as I was meeting
my mum, who had been on safari in the
Masai Mara, to go onto the relaxing part
of my holiday, in Zanzibar. But the first
part, the adventure, is certainly one I will
never forget. We had a privileged insight
into the training of the British Army, the
chance to meet some incredible soldiers
and officers, wonderful safari experiences
and also a great chance to get to know
some Ironmongers better and enjoy a fun
and remarkable trip.
Beating Retreat
THE HOMES COMMITTEE
By A H Boddy Esq, Chairman, Master 1997
• Eleven residents now own mobility
scooters. Parking and storage for them
has been provided.
T
his is my last report as Chairman
of the Homes Committee, having
held the position since Master’s
Day 2007. The Homes have
continued to operate smoothly over this
time, with no major incidents to deal with.
However, some key changes that we have
seen over the last eight years are:
• We have welcomed a total of 77 new
residents to the Homes: 41 to Geffery’s
House and 36 to Geffery’s Fields.
• We have appointed four new Deputy
Wardens over this period and said
goodbye to Michael Smith, who retired as
gardener at Geffery’s House in 2011 after
nineteen years’ service. Since then, Tony
Allcock, gardener at Geffery’s Fields,
has taken over Michael Smith’s role at
Geffery’s House. He continues to do a
splendid job of looking after the gardens
at both Homes.
• We have put in motion a programme of
major refurbishment at Geffery’s House
to ensure the viability of the Home for
the foreseeable future. The original
building dates from 1976 and so will
be celebrating its 40th anniversary next
year. The works will ensure the external
structure remains sound, improve
energy efficiency and upgrade the
internal services to meet the needs and
expectations of residents for the next 3040 years.
Accepting the 77 new residents to the
Homes has been a more involved process
than one might expect. Before anyone
moves into Geffery’s House or Geffery’s
Fields, their suitability to live at the Home is
carefully assessed.
To begin with, applicants contact the
Warden and visit the Home. The Warden
makes an initial assessment, completing a
Visit Report, which is sent to the Charities
Manager, Helen Sant. Residents need to be
aged over sixty, retired, fit enough to live
independently and with limited resources.
The applicant then states their reasons for
wanting to live at the Home and details their
financial circumstances. They are then sent
an application form, a medical form for
their doctor to complete and the Home’s list
of regulations. Dr Hayward, the Company’s
• The garden at Geffery’s Fields has
been a prize-winner three times in the
Basingstoke in Bloom competition.
• 24 bathrooms have been converted to
walk-in showers, transforming the lives
of residents who are unable to step into
a bath.
• Since 2008 residents have had access to
computers in the lounges at both Homes
and have had the opportunity to attend
IT courses.
• Induction loops (a sound system for
those who are partially deaf) were
installed at both Homes in 2007.
doctor,
may also
assess the
applicant’s
health and
suitability.
If all
of this is
satisfactory
– and the
forms are
successfully
completed,
and the
information in them is found to be correct
- the applicant is added to a waiting list,
which is prioritised on the basis of need.
The final stage is when Helen Sant goes to
the Home and, with the Warden, meets
the potential resident to discuss their
application and answer any questions or
concerns they may have, before offering
them a flat. After a flat has been offered
and accepted, references are requested and
checked.
The new Chairman of the Homes’
Committee will be Richard PattesonKnight. Richard is a keen gardener and
bee-keeper so, together with the welfare
of the residents, there will be plenty at the
Homes to keep him busy and interested in
his new role!
Finally I thank Helen Sant and Ruth
Eglesfield for their kindness and skill in
steering me through all pitfalls until this
day - I am deeply grateful.
BETTON’S AND APPEALS COMMITTEE
By Major-General Patrick Cordingley DSO, Master 2010
T
he current Betton’s and Appeals
Committee’s aims remain
unaltered; we make grants to
charities working with children
and young people who are at risk of
being marginalised in society. We fund
educational activities that give them the
skills and motivation to overcome the
disadvantages they face and to make the
most of life. Although these aims remain
constant, the workload in the Charities
Office increases. During this reporting
period it received 445 appeals for support.
This is a 23% increase over the previous
year. Helen and Ruth both deserve an
enormous thank you for the long hours they
spend prioritizing the appeals and for the
care they take. As a result of their work the
Committee awarded £200,000 in one-off
grants to 38 charities.
We also renewed our long-term
commitment to support three charity
partners, Lyric Hammersmith, St Vincent’s
Family Project and MakeBelieveArts, who
teach literacy either through the arts or by
developing parenting skills.
We have decided to develop a single new
focus for a long-term partnership. This is to
Curiosity, A Children’s Conference held at Ironmongers’ Hall in 2015
support a charity that is trying to improve
educational attainment and life chances for
disadvantaged young people through sport.
I hope to report next year that we have
found such a suitable charity.
It is in the field of education that there
St John’s Church of England Primary School’s photo montage of their trip to London
for the Curiosity Conference
has been the most unusual activity. The
headteachers and other members of staff
of our eight partnership C of E primary
schools came to the Hall for the annual May
meeting. After the educational psychiatrist,
Brenda Meldrum, had given her superb talk
on helping troubled children through art
and play therapy, we discussed the success
of ‘Curiosity, A Children’s Conference’
Last year we reported that this event was
in the planning stage. This year it took place
on 27 March. It was a resounding success,
which it is planned to repeat next year.
A full report follows but I will just quote
from one letter, written by the headmistress
of Scunthorpe C of E Primary School:
“This all came about because we are a
Betton’s School.
I am not ashamed to say I shed tears
as I listened in awe to these children,
children from the most deprived ward in
North Lincolnshire, children from a school
tucked away in the rough and tough part of
Scunthorpe, children who have experienced
things that children barely eleven years old
should not have experienced.
I could not be more proud of these
amazing children. I am honoured to lead a
team that shares my hopes and ambitions
for those in our care. Thank you Betton’s,
MakeBelieveArts and my governors for
supporting me in doing this.”
It says it all. I am honoured to serve on
a committee like Betton’s that makes these
things possible.
VISIT TO CREATE ARTS PROJECT, ‘A WEALTH
OF STAGES’ - 12 JUNE 2015
By Ms Ruth Eglesfield, Charities Assistant
I
was invited to Tyssen Community
Primary School in Stamford Hill to
see how the grant awarded for the
Create Arts project ‘A Wealth of
Stages’ is being used.
Stamford Hill is an area of Victorian and
Edwardian terraces, kosher bakeries and
synagogues. It has the largest ultra-orthodox
Jewish community in Europe and the men
in their tall black hats and frock coats
and the young boys with their distinctive
hairstyles are strikingly conspicuous. Small
businesses and shops with peeling paintwork
and an air of neglect make it feel a world
away from nearby Stoke Newington Church
Street with its upmarket delis, boutiques
and expensive toyshops. The children of
the orthodox community mostly attend
the private single-sex Jewish schools in the
neighbourhood.
Tyssen School is a large two-form entry
primary school with 470 pupils, over a third
of them eligible for free school meals. (The
national average is 17%.) Around 70% of the
pupils speak English as a foreign language
and they come from a wide range of ethnic
backgrounds, including Asian, AfroCaribbean, Turkish and White British.
At the school I met Emma Tribe from
Create who introduced me to her colleague
Camille and to James and Ellen who were
leading the eight days of drama workshops.
All four were young and very enthusiastic
about the project, which was for the
two Year 6 classes (ages 10 to 11) at the
school. Workshops for one class were held
throughout the morning and for the other
class during the afternoon.
Focusing on literacy and financial
literacy, the project had included a trip to
the Bank of England Museum. The children,
who would soon be facing the challenges
of secondary education, had been learning
about the world of finance and how it
related to their lives. Activities had involved
distinguishing between ‘needs’ and ‘wants’
and understanding the implications of
spending choices.
At the start of the morning session,
held in the school’s large assembly hall,
everyone formed a circle and took part in a
‘naming-clapping’ activity. It seemed simple
at first but the game gathered momentum
until it reached a thrilling finale with just
two participants. (I joined in with Emma
Tribe but we were both knocked out at an
early stage.) The children clearly enjoyed
Tyssen Community Primary School
themselves and remained keenly engaged
with the activities for the next hour leading
up to their morning break.
The children recalled the storyline of the
play they were creating which involved loan
sharks, fake money, an accusation of fraud
and a trip to Barbados. Ways of creating
characters and the different elements of a
story were considered. The class was invited
to suggest new characters for the play - a
bully and a headteacher were popular
choices - and divided into four groups to
improvise a scene. In the short performances
that followed, the young actors immersed
themselves in their roles and their
interpretations of an angry headteacher and
a falsely accused pupil were well-observed
and entertaining. The best elements of the
scenes were to be incorporated into a longer
performance at the end of the project.
James and Ellen explained the difference
between a duologue and a monologue. They
also demonstrated how not to act a scene with your back to the audience mumbling
The Conference
Is this fake money?
- and showed the participants how best to
position their feet on stage.
All the children were very well behaved
and I was impressed by the friendly
atmosphere of support and co-operation.
Some of the children had special needs.
One particularly talented young actor - and
winner of the clapping game - was a boy
with learning difficulties and ADHD.
James and Ellen were skilled
professionals and this imaginative project
was clearly fulfilling its aims, instilling life
skills and confidence as well as teaching
literacy and raising financial awareness. All
primary school children could benefit from
a project like this.
SIR ROBERT GEFFREY’S SCHOOL, LANDRAKE
By Sir Graeme Davies, Master 2005
need additional support or
extension work. We have
standards to maintain and
therefore are very careful
about how our teacher
training works. Students
support not only class
learning, but also extracurricular activities that are
an important part of our
school community. Being
a teacher supporting the
development of others, means
that you reflect on the reasons
why you work in a particular
way, and you constantly
The Deputy Chairman of Governors, Harry Charnaud,
model good practice. I am
and the Master receiving gifts from the schoolchildren
always impressed by the selfreflective practitioners we
have in our school who work hard and strive
PROGRESS AND MORE PROGRESS
for excellence in all they do.”
For the staff overall this has given rise
n last year’s annual report, I reported
to some additional continuing professional
that Sir Robert Geffrey’s School had
development opportunities.
had an outstanding year. This year the
Throughout the year the School
good work has continued. The year
Development Plan for 2014/15 has been
started with a number of new challenges
under continual scrutiny and revision to
– managing free dinners for 90+ children,
ensure that all our activities lead to excellent
a new residential visit and a new National
Curriculum, and, if that was not enough, a
change to assessment systems.
The school also began, at the same
time, its official work as a teaching school.
As a teaching school, for which reason an
additional teacher was appointed this year.
But there are also additional responsibilities.
As the Head Teacher reported to the
Governors in July:
“Training future teachers is something
Landrake Orchestra
we have always done and know we can
outcomes. As in previous years this has
do well. The B Ed Year 1 students from
been a very inclusive process - to that end
Marjons and Plymouth work under the
in late July there was again a meeting for the
teachers’ instruction, supporting groups
whole learning community of governors,
or planning for specific groups. We feel
staff, parents and pupils to discuss the
this is an additional differentiated support
school’s vision for the future. This vision
from which children benefit. In most
is incorporated in our current mission
rooms there are enough adults to challenge,
statement which underpins all the school’s
question, support and encourage learners
activities “Our aim is to provide a living
of all abilities every morning and many
Christian school environment where we
afternoons. The trainee teachers become
strive for each child to develop a passion for
part of this team. More advanced trainees
learning and a sense of excitement in their
only take the lead when we are confident
own achievements and those of others.”
that our children will still receive highunderpins all the School’s activities.
quality teaching. As a rule the teacher is
The school’s international links have
always present, but later in the practice
flourished with continuing links with
they may choose to deliver to a variety
the Hillside School at Naalya in Kampala
of groups themselves, therefore giving
in Uganda and in Sweden as part of the
specific teaching to help learners that
I
continuing EU Region Project. Due to
Megan Hammett’s hard work we achieved
the International School Award once again.
In the Autumn term Humanities Week was
held, and this included Chronology Day,
French Day and Swedish Day.
One of the delightful aspects of the
Governors’ meetings are the presentations
from the children on the School Council.
These presentations are always engaging
and informative and very much valued and
appreciated by the Governors.
As ever first class work and support
has come throughout the year from those
Governors who chair Committees - the
Premises Committee chaired by Andy Moir,
the Finance Committee chaired by Harry
Charnaud, the Pupils and Curriculum
Committee chaired by the Reverend
Malcolm Griffiths, and the Personnel
Committee chaired by Jill Jarvis.
As a part of our commitment to the
highest standards of school governance
the following policies were reviewed and
adopted during the year.
• Parent Code of Conduct Policy
• Home – School Agreement and
Declaration
• Health and Safety Policy
• Whole School Performance Management
Policy
• Charging Policy
• Sex and Relationship Education Policy.
Building and development has been
much in mind throughout the year. Firstly
an Iron Age Hut has been built on the farm
with support from the Edwin Cook Trust.
Planning for additional teaching space
has been pursued to great effect, as has
the redesign of the kitchen and associated
facilities. Work will commence during
the summer break with a view to the new
facilities being available for use as early as
possible in the 2015-16 school year.
In conclusion, again I would like to
give my personal thanks and those of
the Company to the Head Teacher, Julie
Curtis, and to all of the staff at the school
for their professionalism and enthusiasm
which makes Sir Robert Geffrey’s School
the outstanding success that it is so
widely recognised to be. I am particularly
indebted to Harry Charnaud for taking the
chair when I was unable to be present at
Governors’ meetings.
THE WINE COMMITTEE
by R H Stedall Esq, Chairman, Master 1989
W
e are very lucky to have a
range of skills within the
Wine Committee which
enables it to identify
interesting parcels of wine to fill gaps in
our drinking schedules. John Dudbridge,
our Wine Adviser, is well supported by
both Richard Hone
and Christopher
Campbell, all
members of the
Company.
While we have
in the past preferred
to offer classed
growth clarets
for our principal
dinners, in more
recent years we have
also provided red Burgundy and Rhone
wines to ring the changes. As other wine
producing areas become better appreciated,
it is interesting to note that our drinking
schedule for the next fifteen years or so
includes Puech Haut Prestige from Langue
d’Oc for the Members’ Dinner in 2015 and
Chianti Classico, Brunello di Montalcino
and Gran Rerserva Rioja on future
occasions. These are all wines that should
stand comparison to all but the very finest
clarets.
While the tendency has been to branch
Waddesdon Manor
out in looking for red wines, we have been
less satisfied with some of our lunchtime
ports, and are tending to replace them
with the finer vintages. Our consumption
is not great in relative terms and the price
differential does not warrant the need to
‘economise’. We have also recently restocked
with some fine Cognac, although usage
remains small.
White wines tend to be bought on a more
hand to mouth basis, but again we have
bought some very satisfactory New Zealand
wines in addition to white Burgundies. Our
everyday drinking continues to benefit from
our close relationship with Rothschilds at
Waddesdon. This allows us to buy wines
direct from the producers, saving both
transportation and agency costs.
The Committee is promoting a Call my
Wine Bluff Evening to take place at the
Hall on 17 November. The plan is to invite
the other Great Twelve livery companies to
join members of the company in a quiz to
identify a range of wines, the objective of
which is to have a number of speakers trying
to fool the participants about what they are
drinking. There will be a charge of £25 for
participants, to defray the cost of the wine
and refreshments.
Montalcine, Italy
THE IRON COMMITTEE
By S D Apsley Esq, Chairman, Master 2000
Gates at Antony House
O
ne of the Company’s prime
interests is the conservation
and preservation of historic
iron work. At its meeting in
April the Iron Committee was pleased to
receive reports on a number of conservation
projects for which it had previously
provided grants. These were indicative
of the broad range of appeals received by
the Company.
They included
replica tools
for the Ancient
Technology
Centre in
Dorset, a First
Wold War
anti-aircraft
gun for the
Fort Amherst
Heritage Trust,
entrance gates
Pitville Gates,
for Antony
Cheltenham
House, the
National Trust property in Cornwall, and
the Pitville gates in Cheltenham.
Thomas Steeter, Young Craftsman of 2015
New appeals considered at the meeting
were for a similarly diverse group of items.
Gates and railings for churches figured
prominently but there were also requests for
assistance with funds for work on a water
tower for the Locomotive Conservation
Trust, iron fittings for the Dawn Sailing
Barge Trust, and preservation of ironwork
on the bandstand in Ellington Park in
Ramsgate. A grant was also approved
for the manufacture of a new item, an
attractive wrought iron candle stand for
St Clement’s Church in Eastcheap.
Encouragement of craftsmanship is
an important facet of the Committee’s
work. For some years it has made a
grant to cover the cost of an award to the
winner of the metals section of the Young
Craftsman Competition at the South of
England Show. It was agreed that this
grant should be increased to £750.
In the realm of Higher Education,
approval was given to the continuation
of annual grants of £4,000 to the Materials
Departments at the Universities of
Birmingham, Cambridge, Manchester,
Oxford, Sheffield and Imperial College
London. Heads of Departments are given
guidance as to the purposes for which
the grants may be used. Essentially they
are for students whose work is related to
the extraction, processing or working of
iron and steel. Typically they are used to
provide support for individual students
to attend specialist courses, or to visit
centres of research or to study methods
in overseas industry or universities. The
grants have given many undergraduates
and postgraduates opportunities to travel
to other universities to gain experience
of operating equipment not otherwise
available to them.
Annually, the Company makes an
award to a student in the Materials
Department at Oxford University based
on a competition to determine who can
make the best short presentation of their
project work. The selection panel for
the award of the Oxford Medal this year
consisted of the Master, the Chairman
of the Iron Committee, the Clerk, Mrs
Mary Harris and Dr Keyna O’Reilly
from the Department of Materials at
Oxford University. This year the talks
were held over two days and covered
the usual extensive range of subjects.
The student adjudged to have made the
best presentation of her work was Miss
Frederica Onslow. She subsequently
presented a synopsis of her talk at the
June meeting of the Court, at which she
received her medal and a cheque
for £450.
DISCRETIONARY GRANTS AWARDED
BY THE CHAIRMAN OF THE IRON
COMMITTEE
S D Apsley Esq. Master, 2000
Heritage of London Trust
St George’s Garrison Church, Woolwich
£6,760 for restoration of the gates.
T
he restoration of five iron gates
and grilles forms part of a major
project to conserve this Grade II
listed chapel built in the 1860s for
the Royal Artillery Garrison in Woolwich.
At its meeting in May 2012, the Iron
Committee awarded a grant of £6,868 for
the ironwork, but due to a series of setbacks
to the programme of conservation works,
the deadline to claim the grant was missed.
However, after reconsideration, the grant
was made.
The church, which was designed in a
flamboyant Italianate style, was bombed
and partly destroyed in 1944. At the east
end, decorative inlaid marble and mosaics
including a VC memorial for the Royal
Artillery depicting St George and the
Dragon survive.
Work is underway to build a permanent
roof over the apse to protect the mosaics.
With structural repairs to the west end now
completed, tenders have gone out for the
ironwork.
St Nicholas & St Faith Parish Church
Saltash - £1,000 towards guttering repairs.
The Saltash team ministry cares for a
number of parishes including St Michael’s,
Landrake, home to Sir Robert Geffery’s
School. The Church of Saints Nicholas
and Faith, Saltash, needed to raise £1,628
to undertake essential repairs to the iron
guttering on the north side of the building.
The work, which was completed in
Autumn 2014, entailed refurbishing the
guttering and support brackets. Seven
new wrought iron support brackets were
manufactured to replace those that were too
badly corroded.
THE IRONMONGERS’ FOUNDATION
By H J Charnaud Esq, Master 2009
Fourteen of the students from the RISE project on a week-long residential course on off-road
vehicle engineering at Harper Adams University in Shropshire.
I
successful scholarship scheme for university
am very pleased to write to you
students, pioneered the hugely popular and
as the incoming Chairman of the
successful ‘Serious about Science’ (SAS)
Ironmonger’s Foundation (IF). I
days. In recent years, SAS was copied and
replaced Richard Twallin on Master’s
overtaken by larger and more specialist
Day 2014, our second and very successful
training organisations than the IF and,
Chairman. We are all hugely grateful to
similarly, the Government Student Grant
Richard for his enlightened chairmanship
Scheme changed. For these reasons, the
and calm ways of setting out the direction
Court decided that both activities should be
and intent of the IF.
discontinued.
For those of you who are new to the
So at our Committee meeting on 8
Company, or may have ‘forgotten’, the IF was
September 2014, I asked the members of
born out of the Quincentenary Charitable
the Committee to think of new ways to
Fund (QCF) started in the Mastership of PA
channel our giving, recognising the need to
Hudson Esq in 1963 to celebrate 500 years
refocus our attention in less populated areas.
since the Company’s first Royal Charter. The
The Iron (Iron Committee) and Relief in
forward-thinking philosophy of the QCF
Need (Betton’s) channels stayed the same,
was to start a charity free of shackles of the
but Education,
ancient restrictions
namely in
and covenants,
STEM (science,
long forgotten. The
technology,
freeing of English
engineering and
slaves on the
mathematics)
Barbary Coast – to
subjects, needed
name but one!
to change.
It was also
The
a great way, as
Committee
much then as it
identified three
is now, for the
key areas. The
existing members
first was to
of the Company
Testing a Vehicle
target excellence
to engage in
and, to this end, we have entered into a
the build-up of funds through charitable
supporting partnership with the Arkwright
giving by regular personal contributions,
Scholarship Trust called RISE.
personal feats in raising funds and by legacy
The second was to get involved in the
donations. These remain very important
growing need for apprenticeships. Did
methods of contributing for members of the
you know that on current predictions it is
Ironmongers’ Company.
estimated there will be a shortage exceeding
Richard Twallin did a tremendous job,
400,000 of skilled engineers to fill critical
integrating and enabling the three main
jobs in the UK labour market. In the next
channels of IF giving: • Iron • Education
decade, unless we have the right people
• Relief in Need
doing these very skilled jobs, the factories
He oversaw the establishment of a very
and the income will migrate overseas.
We are aware that the Government is
busy in this area but from a lifetime of
seeing what Governments do... or do not
do… we have identified an area where the
IF can make a difference. With the help
of James Newman, a new Freeman and
Past Master of the Cutlers’ Company in
Hallamshire (2009-10), we highlighted a
need to go to schools in the Sheffield region,
home to the iron and steel industries of the
UK, and help them.
The ‘workwise’ scheme is there to
encourage potential apprentices from
disadvantaged backgrounds, including those
classed as NEETS 1 - that is pupils who feel
there is no point in even going to school,
schools where people are employed to
ensure the children go to school and in an
area of the UK where the greatest number
of children go to school in left-footed shoes.
Why – you may ask? That is because shoe
shops only display left footed shoes – and
these are stolen and worn to school. Yes, in
this ‘Great’ country of ours!
The third area we are exploring within
Education is to support a ‘new’ initiative
where local industries, together with
educationalists, get together to start new
schools focused on the local industrial
needs for skilled labour. This is an apolitical
initiative started by Kenneth Baker and the
late Sir Ron Dearing. To this end, we have
contacted the Warwick Manufacturing
Group Academy (WMG) in Coventry to
see how we could help fund some of their
needs and activities. The other partners in
the WMG include Land Rover Jaguar, the
University of Warwick, JCB, Bosch, Squires.
This is a work- in-progress project and more
details will be made available as it develops.
As you can see, the IF is doing good
work. On your behalf, the IF is busy
exploring new areas and opportunities
where we can make a positive impact on
those in need. We could not do this without
your support and giving, for which we
remain hugely grateful.
On Master’s Day this year we are having
a team change to the Committee. I want
to thank David Liming, Isla Kennedy,
Katherine Goldsmith, and Johnny Foot, who
have all left our Committee to move on to
other things. Their help, wise advice and
enthusiasm were greatly appreciated. I look
forward to welcoming the new Members at
the next meeting.
1
Not in Education, Employment or Training.
THE IRONMONGERS’ FOUNDATION
SCHOLARSHIP SCHEME – OUR STUDENTS
BRADLEY PERRY
Material Science and Engineering
MEng, Sheffield (2011)
I have now completed
the third year of my
four-year course at
Sheffield. I am eagerly
anticipating next year
as I believe my final
year will be my most
successful. In my
third year I am expected to maintain my
2:1 average after all the final results are in.
My grades have seen good
improvement this year, with more of
my modules attaining a First than in
previous years. I am currently on a work
placement with a company called Phoenix
Calibration and Services in Dudley who
make bespoke materials-testing equipment
globally.
This is a five-month placement that
is taking place over the summer and
constitutes part of my third-year grade,
hence my third-year grade is not final yet.
I am working on developing new testing
methods for in-service components and
high-end metals.
Due to the fact that I am working
with a rather small company I have been
granted quite a lot of autonomy and
independence with the project. Frankly
this was quite intimidating to begin with,
and still is at times, but it has developed
my working skills substantially. I have
also learned that I will be continuing the
work I am currently doing on the work
placement as my final year project, which
will give me a head start on my work next
semester.
All of this together makes me very
optimistic for the future. I look forward
to seeing you all again at Christmas and
hopefully beginning to become more
involved in the Ironmongers’ Company as
time goes on.
DANIEL GRADECI
Physics with Theoretical Physics,
University College London (2011)
I have recently finished my final year
at UCL where I obtained a First Class
honours in MSci Theoretical Physics.
I will be graduating in August. As for
my future plans, I will be staying on at
UCL to do a PhD.
The research is
concerned with the
understanding of cell
lineage heterogeneity
in cancerous
tumours.
The hypothesis
is that this derives from competition
between different lineages and may be
understood in terms of game theory. The
objectives of the project are to understand
the rules of the cellular game based on
long-term imaging data. I shall be starting
this September.
JOANNE MAGUIRE
Civil Engineering, Birmingham (2010)
The majority of this
academic year was
dedicated to my
research project titled
‘Improving the Tram/
Cycle Interface in
UK Tram Networks’.
This project evolved
from my summer internship with Mott
MacDonald where I worked on the
extension to the Midland Metro through
Birmingham city centre. Whilst designing
a short section of track I became aware
of the lack of information regarding the
interactions of cyclist and tram lines.
As cyclists are particularly vulnerable
to tram lines I decided to research the
matter further. My research focused
firstly on the history of tramlines and the
recent increase in tram projects in many
UK cities. I then established the scale
of the issue using existing studies and a
questionnaire I created. After concluding
that there was not only a lack of design
standards but a significant risk to cyclists
from tramlines, I began researching
different design methods that could be
used to improve the interaction between
cyclists and trams. The conclusion of the
project was a recommendation for further
study and a closer partnership with
cycling groups in the initial stages of tram
design.
In addition to my research project I
also took optional modules in sustainable
transport and construction production
and risk management. These modules
not only widened my knowledge of the
issues surrounding the future of transport
projects, but also inspired me to focus
on a career in the transport sector. I will
be joining the Highways and LRT team
of Mott MacDonald this September as a
graduate engineer. I have graduated from
the University of Birmingham with a 2.1
Master’s degree in Civil Engineering with
Industrial Experience.
MATTHEW MEW
MEng Engineering Design, Bristol
(2011)
Straight out of my
year in industry I
found myself in my
fourth year, ready to
embark on the first
year of my group
design project and
starting to pursue
my specialism in mechatronics. Partnering
with DCA Design International, my
design project brief was to research,
design and build a lower body assistive
device for someone with reduced mobility
in the lower body. I personally took on the
area of control and design requirements,
finally producing a research paper with
suggestions towards next year’s build
phase.
Outside of my studies I served as Club
Captain for the Universities Cycling Club.
The club enjoyed a great year, starting
by pulling on board new sponsors and
finally achieving ‘Performance Club’
status and acquiring funding for a coach.
My commitment to university sport
was rewarded with full colours, the
University’s highest sporting achievement
award.
I finished the year achieving a 2.1,
putting me in a good position for my final
year. I’m currently just about to finish a
short internship at Softwire, a software
development consultancy in Bristol. I plan
to spend the rest of the summer training
at cycling, running and swimming in
readiness for Ironman Wales, a longdistance triathlon I’m competing in this
September.
> more students opposite
WARDEN OF THE LIVERY AND YEOMANRY
By Mr M S W Lee
T
his has been a most fascinating
year and a real privilege to
serve in the role of Warden of
the Livery & Yeomanry.
The year started at the AGM of the
Livery & Yeomanry in September 2014,
when I was elected to succeed Ewan
Wauchope. This was my first of many
chances to meet many members whom I
would be representing at Court meetings
which I was to attend (but not speak at)
during the year.
This year I have enjoyed meeting more
and more members at Court meetings and
the lunch afterwards. I have got to know
not only members of the Court, but also
and equally importantly, the many new
members who have been brought into the
Company during the year and who have
moved up to the Livery. In fact, over six
Court meetings, including one I couldn’t
attend, there have been 18 new members
admitted to the Company, as well as five
called to the Livery and three called to the
Court.
Although the minutes of Court
meetings are not published outside the
Court members, I think I can say that I
have been intrigued to understand better
the workings of the Company. During
my year, there have been few matters left
to the Court that have not already been
discussed by Committees, and I have
observed how much time and expertise
was given by all Committee members
through the discussions I have read in
Committee minutes. This really is an area
where Liverymen can contribute our skills
and experience. It also showed me the
amount of business that is managed by
the Clerk and permanent staff, from the
running of the Company’s investments,
its support of good causes, and the
maintenance of the Hall and upholding
the Company’s traditions.
Having attended all three main dinners
in the year, I was fortunately only called
on to speak at one, in May. The theme of
my speech was participation. In the month
of the general election, I had to prepare
my speech before the result was known,
and deliver it about two days later. I
started with a quotation, loosely translated
from Plato, who warned us that: “if a
man will not himself hold office and rule
then the chief penalty is to be governed
by someone worse”. Written before the
election, I can safely say that this was a
non-partisan comment, although I did
reflect that my own election as Warden
had been unopposed. I have continued
all year to encourage members I have met
to get involved in committees and also to
join the social events where relationships
are built.
Not all of my year has been spent
in the Hall. In May I was part of the
Ironmongers’ team in the Inter-Livery
Clay Shoot along with Tim Oliver, Spencer
Garvagh, Daniel Gorton, and Randall
Boddy. In June I led a successful sailing
team in the Great XII challenge in the
Isle of Wight, and just a few weeks ago
I took part in the visit to observe our
affiliated regiment, the Grenadier Guards,
on exercise in Kenya. To see a full battle
group attack involving some thousand
troops was an experience I will never
forget. My enormous gratitude goes to
Major General Sir George Norton and his
Regiment for sharing this experience
with us.
I have only one duty left in this year,
before I make way for a more worthy
successor to be elected at the AGM on
September 29. As is customary, I shall be
arranging a trip out for members. Further
details will be circulated shortly, but as I
work in the property industry,
I am hoping to arrange a behind-thescenes tour of one of London’s newest
landmark skyscrapers during an early
evening in September when we can watch
the sun set and enjoy a sundowner with
a fine view over the City that is such a
major part of the Company’s heritage.
The year is passing in a blink. I hope
that I have been able to represent your
views to members of the Court and that
the friendships I have made during this
year will last a lifetime.
> Our Students, continued from page 20
MARIJA SKRAMIC
Physics with Theoretical Physics,
Cambridge University (2011)
After 4 years at
Cambridge, I
have graduated
with a BA and
MSci in Natural
Sciences,
achieving
a high 2.1
of 67.6% in my MSci and 68.3%
in my BA. I conducted research
in the parametrisation of optical
metamaterials and hope to publish a
paper with my supervisor based on
the results obtained.
Throughout my final year, I
continued to row for First and Third
in the women’s first boat, and I am
proud to say that we are now in the
highest ever position in the May
Bumps.
I would like to take this
opportunity to express my gratitude
to the Worshipful Company of
Ironmongers for its generous support
through the University Scholarship
during my time at Cambridge.
THE IRONMONGERS’ ARCHIVES
Miss Justine Taylor, Archivist
Ironmongers’ Apprenticeship and
Freedom Records from 1511 until
1923 now online
O
n 20 May, the leading family
history website Findmypast
published online for the first
time apprenticeship and
freedom records of the Haberdashers’
Company and the Ironmongers’ company.
These records reflect these two trade
activities as well as other occupations
that increasingly entered the Companies’
memberships. Spanning over 400 years
of the City of London’s history, the
Ironmongers’ records date from 1511 until
1923 and are fully searchable, with partial
transcripts and images of pages from the
original handwritten volumes.
These volumes list details of
apprentices, freemen and masters of
apprentices from a wide variety of
occupations. They reveal when the
apprentices’ periods of ‘servitude’ began,
as well as in many cases, the names,
occupations and addresses of their fathers
or widowed mothers and the names of the
masters to whom they were bound.
To become a member of the
Ironmongers’ Company, boys from all
over England and Wales would travel to
London to serve as apprentices. They
would usually serve a minimum of seven
years apprenticed to a master in order
to be admitted as a freeman and then
ultimately become a master themselves. At
Ironmongers’, the apprenticeship period
was reduced to five years from 1863.
An apprenticeship with a livery
company was designed to teach a young
man a trade and also to instil the habits
of sobriety, piety and hard work. This
meant that an apprentice’s behaviour was
strictly regulated. He was not to engage in
fornication or marry, he was not to play at
‘cards, dice, tables, or any other unlawful
games’, nor could he haunt taverns and
playhouses. His loyalty was to his master
whose ‘lawful commandments’ he must
obey, and whose service he must not
neglect day or night.
Masters often became father figures
and apprentices were remembered in
their masters’ wills. The master’s widow
or daughters might also carry on his trade
and inherit his apprentices if the master
died. However, it was also common for
these working relationships to be fraught
and many apprentices did not complete
their terms of servitude as they struggled
to cope with the demands of the position.
The digitised images and partial
transcriptions of our apprenticeship and
freedom registers allow family historians
and others researching the history of the
City of London and its institutions to find
revealing details of the earliest known
members of the Ironmongers’ Company
as far back as 1511, as well as those who
joined more recently in the early decades
of the twentieth century. Names found in
the records of the Ironmongers’ Company
include:
• Thomas Betton, a City ‘Turkey’
merchant, believed to have been held
captive as a slave by Barbary pirates.
Betton died in 1724 and bequeathed
half the interest of his estate to
redeem British slaves (or captives) in
Turkey. He donated other funds to the
Company for educational purposes,
still the object of the Betton’s Fund
today, which absorbed the outstanding
monies of the fund for ‘British Slaves’
when its use was no longer required in
the mid-nineteenth century;
• William Beckford, son of Peter
Beckford (1672/3–1735), a sugar
planter and speaker of the Jamaica
house of assembly, comptroller of the
island’s customs and heir to the largest
sugar fortune in the West Indies. He
joined the Ironmongers’ Company
and became Alderman for Billingsgate
Ward and was elected Lord Mayor
three times - in 1761, 1769 and 1770;
he was also Member of Parliament for
the City of London in 1754
• Isaac Walton, the author best known
for his famous 1653 manual and
meditation on the art of fishing,
The Complete Angler;
• John Guy Giberne Birkett, an English
international rugby union captain,
played for England between 1906 and
1912 and scored the first-ever try at
Twickenham Stadium; he became
a Freeman of the Company on 2
November 1911 and later served in
the Royal Garrison Artillery during
WWI. (See the next item on Company
membership in the First World War).
Gunmakers’ Company is set to join
this project in the future. In addition,
other livery companies have also made
information from their records available
via a database project based at London
University’s Centre for Metropolitan
History – ROLLCO (Records of
Livery Companies Online) http://
www.londonroll.org/. This very useful
free public database (financed by the
participating livery companies) now
includes data (but no images) from
the Bowyers’, Clothworkers’, Drapers’,
Girdlers’, Goldsmiths’, Mercers’, Salters’
and Musicians’ Companies. There is
expected to be some form of partnership
linking between the Findmypast livery
company content and that of ROLLCO
at some stage.
THE IRONMONGERS’ ARCHIVES
Information about the Ironmongers’
archives can now be found in the Archives
section of the Company’s website, along
with other useful livery company links:
http://www.ironmongers.org/company_
archive.htm.
You will need to take out a subscription
or pay per view to see the images and
partial transcriptions of the digitised
Ironmongers’ apprenticeship and freedom
registers (or any other records you
wish to view), but it is otherwise free to
search and create a profile or family tree.
Members of the Ironmongers’ Company
will receive a 10% discount on an annual
subscription taken out up to 31 December
2015 – please enter
the discount code
‘Ironmongers’ in the
Discount Code box
when subscribing
online. To search,
click the Findmypast
banner like this on
the Ironmongers’
Archives web page
(left).
Also joining in July 1919 and
probably still serving at that point was
Apsley Pellatt who was a member of the
Honourable Artillery Company.
Most of these names have also been
‘remembered’ via the Imperial War
Museum (IWM)/Findmypast ‘Lives of the
First World War’ Project and additional
material can be added over time to
their biographical profiles; see https://
livesofthefirstworldwar.org/profile/61205
However, please note that this website has
a number of duplicate/triplicate ‘Lives’
which still require merging by the IWM
support team. One or two men known to
have had war service also do not yet have
a ‘Lives’ page as a result of the limited
sources used by the IWM to begin such a
biography. Details of the service of other
men cannot yet be confirmed, especially
for those members with popular names.
However, we will eventually be able to link
those names found to Ironmongers’ data
now available via Findmypast.
A number of other members who
joined the Company after the war also had
war service but these have not yet been
identified.
SERVICES OF MEMBERS OF THE
IRONMONGERS’ COMPANY
DURING THE FIRST WORLD WAR
R
ecent research on members who
joined the Company from 1900
up to 1918 has revealed thirtyone men who were serving in
the First World War (or on a reserve of
officers) whilst also being members of the
Company. Four members are so far known
to have died during the conflict.
Unfortunately no list of serving
members has survived in the archives,
although the Company’s Court Minutes
of the period do mention a list of names
being put up in the Hall. Several possible
churches have also been contacted but
no obvious Company memorial has been
found.
The names of the serving members
and those who died (with details from the
Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s
casualty register – CWGC - via www.
cwgc.org.uk) can be summarily listed as
follows:
Freedom register showing the entry for JGG Birkett and other Freemen who served in WWI’
SURNAME
FIRST NAMES
DATE OF
FREEDOM
MILITARY UNIT
IF KILLED
DETAILS FROM COMMONWEALTH WAR
GRAVES COMMISSION REGISTER
Burton
John Stanley
30.4.1907
Grenadier Guards, 2nd Bn
KiA 1916
May 16
CWGC: Rank: Second Lieutenant Date of
Death: 16/05/1916 Age: 31 Regiment/
Service:Grenadier Guards, attached 2nd Bn
Grave Reference: I. D. 80. Cemetery: YPRES
RESERVOIR CEMETERY Additional Information: Son of John William and Mary Stanley
Burton of 15 Gledhow Gardens, London, SW5;
husband of Lilian Burton of Fife Lodge, Great
Bookham, Surrey; MA
Tatham
Cautley
11.7.1907
Honourable Artillery
Company, 1st Bn
KiA 1915
June 18
CWGC: Rank: Captain Date of Death:
18/06/1915 Age: 29 Regiment: Honourable
Artillery Company, 1st Bn, D Coy Grave
Reference: I. C. 136. Cemetery: BAILLEUL
COMMUNAL CEMETERY EXTENSION, NORD
Additional Information: Son of Percy Charles
French Tatham and Ethel Agnes Tatham,
of ‘Thorncroft’, Oaklands Rd, Bromley,
Kent; educated at Rugby School and New
College, Oxford (BA with Honours); native of
Blackheath, London
Rawle
Thomas Frederick
8.8.1907
South Wales Borderers?
Slade
John Godfrey
14.11.1907
Royal Army Medical Corps
Ward
Horace Edward
20.2.1908
East Kent Regt (6th Bn), and attd King’s Royal Rifle Corps
Oliver
Leonard Camroux
29.4.1908
Indian Army, 6th Bangalore, Coorg and Mysore Bn
Hawes
George Ernest
29.4.1908
London Regt, 3rd Bn; previously Royal Fusiliers
Toker
Richard Edward
22.4.1909
Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers (10th Bn) - resigned commission Sept 1915; previously
Indian Army
Hodgkinson
Harry Drake
29.9.1910
Royal Army Service Corps
Price
Harold Rokeby
29.9.1910
Rifle Brigade, 2nd Bn
Birkett
Gerald Halsey
3.11.1910
South Wales Borderers
Harris
George Grinling
2.11.1911
City of London Volunteer Regt
Birkett
John Guy Giberne
2.11.1911
Royal Garrison Artillery
Ward
Robert Oscar Cyril
2.11.1911
East Kent Regt; later Tank
Corps
Mercer
John Lancelot Capel
20.2.1913
Royal West Surrey Regt?
Ward
Victor Essendene
30.4.1913
Royal Navy
Osman
Alfred George Firth
6.11.1913
Honourable Artillery Company
Firth
Robert Browning
15.1.1914
London Regt
[London Rifle Brigade],
2/5th Bn
Barron
Sydney Ernest
13.1.1916
London Regt, 20th Bn; previously 23rd Bn
Birkett
Harold Wreford
27.4.1916
Canadian Exped. Force
Birkett
Norman Wreford
27.4.1916
Canadian Exped. Force; East Kent Regt, 6th Bn; RFC/RAF
Tatham
Wulfstan
15.6.1916
Honourable Artillery Company
Dick
William Frederick
5.10.1916
Royal Field Artillery - 1st Home Counties Brigade [London Gazette, 23 Nov 1914]; previously Royal Fusiliers
O’Brien
Henry William
5.10.1916
Honourable Artillery Company?
Price
Murray Rokeby
14.11.1916
York & Lancaster Regt, attd Manchester Regiment, 2nd Bn
Hudson
Barton Myddleton
Morgan
23.11.1916
County of London Yeomanry
StraceyClitherow
John Bourchier
4.10.1917
Welsh Guards, Reserve Bn
Osman
Cyril Tom Firth
28.11.1917
Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, Temporary Assistant Paymaster
KiA 1917
Nov 20
KiA, 1917
Sept 26
CWGC: Rank: Major Date of Death: 20/11/1917
Age: 36 Regiment: Tank Corps, D Bn Awards:
Twice Mentioned in Despatches Grave
Reference: II. C. 3. Cemetery: METZ-ENCOUTURE COMMUNAL CEMETERY BRITISH
EXTENSION Additional Information: Son of
Robert and MP Ward; husband of Florence
Mary Ward, of 42 The Strand, Walmer, Deal
CWGC: Rank: Lance Corporal Service No:
303193 Date of Death: 26/09/1917 Age: 30
Regiment/Service: London Regiment (London
Rifle Brigade) 2nd/5th Bn. Grave Reference:
VII. A. 12. Cemetery: MENDINGHEM MILITARY
CEMETERY
Additional Information: Son of James F. and
Harriet E. Firth, of Dulwich; husband of Ruby
Kathleen Firth, of 169, South Croxted Rd.,
Dulwich, London.
NEWS AND SNIPPETS
By Mrs T M Waller-Bridge, Assistant Clerk
1457, the year after the Ironmongers’
grant of arms and six years before the
Company was awarded its first charter by
King Edward IV in 1463. The building was
rebuilt in 1587 and escaped the Great Fire
of 1666. A third Hall was built in 1745 on
The first Hall circa 1587
ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIG ON THE
SITE OF OLD IRONMONGERS’ HALL
AT FENCHURCH STREET
A
n interesting visit for members
of the Heritage Committee
was kindly arranged by Martin
Hudson under the auspices
of archaeologist Peter Mills, whose firm
are consultants for an archaeological
dig taking place on the site of the first
Ironmongers’ Hall at Fenchurch Street.
Wearing hi-vis jackets, hard hats and
stout shoes we were able to see some
foundations of Tudor origin and similarlyaged wine bottles from an old cellar,
as well as some eighteenth-century
foundations. The remains of the dig will
be covered over once more when the site
is redeveloped.
The original Hall at Fenchurch Street
had been bought for £100 in October
The Senior Warden enjoying the tour
the same site. In the First World War, on
7 July 1917, the Hall was badly damaged
by a bomb during a raid by about twenty
Gotha IV aircraft. After the war, the site
was sold and the building demolished.
The land in
Shaftesbury
Place, Aldersgate
Street, on which
the present Hall
stands, was bought
in 1922 and the
new Hall opened
Tudor foundations
on 17 June 1925.
Martin Hudson inspecting the site
TREASURES OF AN
IRONMONGER
S
itting next to Freeman
Lieutenant-Colonel Ian
Tennent at the Master’s Day
lunch, he told me that his
great grandfather, Henry O’Brien,
Master in 1917 and 1918, had been
presented with some silver (as
illustrated) when he finished his
time as Master. Henry O’Brien
gained his Freedom of the City of
London in 1892 and was admitted
to the Freedom of the Company
by redemption in 1902. He was
proposed by Henry Stedall. His
son Henry William O’Brien was
admitted to the Company by
Servitude in 1916 having been
apprenticed to his father, an
ironfounder, in 1911.
NEWS AND SNIPPETS
THE IRONMONGERS MILLENNIUM
PRIZE FOR EXCELLENCE
A
n Ironmongers’ award for
excellence at the Army Staff
College was first proposed by
Brigadier J B Birkett, Master
1974, to a meeting of the Master and
Wardens in February 1994. The Army
Staff College was merged soon afterwards
with the Joint Services Command and
Staff College (JSCSC) based at Bracknell
with a planned move to purpose-built
premises at Shrivenham in 2000. Under
the old Army system the top 25% of
captains and majors attended the Staff
College. Under the new system, the
course at JSCSC is attended by young
lieutenant-colonels, commanders in the
Royal Navy and wing commanders in
the RAF. This makes good sense because
it is almost impossible to imagine any
modern operation taking place without
the seamless integration of assets from all
three Services.
Much thought went into the form the
prize should take. Back in the summer of
1998 it was proposed that a solid silver
bowl weighing 4.5kgs be presented.
However, in October 1999 MajorGeneral Sir Tim Granville-Chapman,
the Commandant of JSCSC, then still at
Bracknell, said that the iconic symbol
of the millennium was the Dome and
that the prize should be a model of it.
The Court felt that having asked the
Commandant what he would like, they
should accept his choice even though at
the time it was widely felt that the Dome
as a project was a failure. However, the
Court agreed and commissioned an
18-inch diameter silver replica of the
Millennium Dome from Peter Aylwin
of Maxwell-Aylwin & Co Ltd based in
Camberley.
The prize, which is to remain at the
College and to represent the formal
affiliation of the Company with the
College, is awarded annually to the
student “demonstrating the greatest
originality of thought in his work
during the course, an ability to analyse
problems critically and the confidence to
experiment and take sensible intellectual
risks”. It is considered the next most
prestigious prize after that of the Chief of
Defence Staff.
At about the same time it was agreed
that a salamander statuette was a suitable
annual presentation for the student
winning the Ironmongers’ award to keep.
The salamander statuette was subsequently
designed by Miss Lexi Dick and was first
presented to Major Simon Downey, Queen’s
Lancashire Regiment. The most recent
recipient was Lieutenant-Colonel Jim
Webster RE on 30 July 2015.
Although Sir Richard Evans, by then
Immediate Past Master, attended the
prize-giving ceremony on 20 July 2000
to present the Company’s award for the
first time, it was arranged that Air ViceMarshal B K Burridge, the successor to
General Granville-Chapman, would attend
the Court meeting in October 2000 for
the award to be presented formally to the
College, and to establish the affiliation.
Winners of the Ironmongers’ Prize are
as follows:
2000 Major Simon Downey, Queen’s
Lancashire Regiment
2001 Lieutenant-Colonel Col Harry Holt,
Irish Guards
2002 Major Andrew Voase, Royal Engineers
2003 Commander Paddy Green,
Royal Navy
2004 Commander Simon Huntington,
Royal Navy
2005 Lieutenant-Colonel John Ridge,
Royal Engineers
2006 Lieutenant-Colonel Oliver Lee,
Royal Marines
2007 Wing Commander James Savage,
Royal Air Force
2008 Commander Mark Gayfer Royal Navy
2009 Wing Commander Dave Tozer,
Royal Air Force
2010 Lieutenant-Colonel Alex Janzen,
Royal Marines
2011 Lieutenant-Colonel James Bowder,
Grenadier Guards
2012 Lieutenant-Colonell Tony Turner,
Royal Marines
2013 Lieutenant-Colonel Ben Cattermole
MBE, Royal Scots Dragoon Guards.
2014 Lieutenant-Colonel Dave Bickers,
Royal Engineers
The Ironmongers’ Millennium Prize based on the Millennium Dome (now the O2)
2015 Lieutenant-Colonel Jim Webster,
Royal Engineers
NEWS AND SNIPPETS
REFLECTION OF A PAST
CHAIRMAN OF THE PROPERTY
SUB-COMMITTEE
By Mr J A Biles, Liveryman
T
he Company sold its
property portfolio at
the top of the market in
2007, giving purchasers
net returns of 4.0 – 5.5%, and
re-invested in the Stock Market.
Following the banking crisis and
economic downturn in 2007/8, our
funds declined in value and dividend
income dropped, reducing funds
available to the charities and the
Company. The Finance and General
Purposes Committee (F&GPC) then
investigated various investments
including in 2010 a joint venture with
Imperial College to develop student
accommodation near Clapham
Junction which unfortunately came to
nothing.
Peveril Court, Crawley
The F&GPC decided that any
move to re-invest in commercial
property should be formally approved
and on 3 May 2011 at a combined
Court and F&GPC meeting it was
agreed that we should invest about
half of our funds in property and
a month later the Property subcommittee was established. Four
property professionals specialising in
investment and valuation joined the
committee and the Clerk contacted
me to ask if I would be chairman.
I explained that I knew little about
commercial property other than what
I had learned as a plc finance director
and he responded that it was thought
that I would ask challenging questions
and keep the professionals focused!
Terms of reference were quickly
agreed and we drew up a specification
of what we were looking for.
One month later we inspected a
listed building in Woolwich which
Travelodge wanted to develop and
we then worked on the finances. It
came to nothing and we decided that
development risk was not for us at
the moment. Next we inspected an
existing Travelodge but that also came
to nothing. In 2012 we changed our
approach and briefed two investment
agents and the flood gates opened.
Details of up to 20 properties together
with agents’ comments arrived in
my in-box each day. The amount
of reading was enormous and to
help me with the learning process I
persuaded Richard Patteson-Knight,
a committee member, to help me.
For a long time we spent two days
a week on evaluating, researching,
inspecting and negotiating properties.
I inspected all properties before we
submitted bids to ensure that I was
happy with them and during this
time learnt a huge amount about
property investment. I realised that
talking with tenants to find out their
intentions, how their business was
going and what they liked about a
building or location was a vital part
of due diligence. Possible investments
were circulated to committee
members who responded with their
thoughts which ranged from “No”
to detailed analyses. Chairing a
technical committee requires some
fast learning and I was very grateful
to Richard, Simon James, Guy Napier
and more recently Peter Boddy for
their thoughts on the market and
individual properties and to Nick
Moss for his thoughts on valuation.
I and members of the committee
inspected over 50 properties and
bid on over 20. One inspection
trip to Crawley produced our first
purchase, a small multi-let office
courtyard development which has
proved an excellent investment. We
also inspected properties in the City,
Islington, East End, Hertfordshire,
Thames Valley, Midlands and the
south of England. For many of the
properties there were numerous
heated conversations during the
bidding process and through to
exchange of contracts and my
blood pressure was raised on many
occasions. In the end we have
succeeded in buying good properties
yielding in excess of 7% and even
as much as 12%. This increase in
income has enabled the F&GPC
to cover the Company’s running
costs and to make more money
available for charitable purposes.
We have also had success with sales:
a children’s nursery introduced to us
by Simon was sold one year later at
a 40% profit. There have also been
frustrations but that is the world of
investment property.
In all of what we have done we
have been very well supported by
the Clerk who has accompanied
us up the steep learning curve
and dealt with everything after we
decided what we wanted to bid for
and the pricing. He also deserves
the credit for post-acquisition
property management which has
increased our income, particularly
from properties in Crawley and
Portsmouth. The job is not complete
but we are well on the way and
I have every confidence that the
portfolio will continue to grow as the
committee goes forward with Guy
Napier as chairman.
Homebase, Sleaford
GREAT XII SAILING CHALLENGE
By Mr M S W Lee, Warden of the Livery and Yeomanry
The Ironmongers’ Team
M
embers of the Ironmongers’
Company gathered again
at Seaview Yacht Club in
June, ready to challenge
once more for a prize which our Master
had been awarding to another of the Great
Twelve livery companies in each of the
preceding ten years.
With more Ironmongers than ever
before, and especial thanks to the
Hudsons for the three-brother, threegeneration support, we had enough sailors
to help populate the boats of several other
teams who were short. It was great to see
some new faces, as newer members of the
Company joined in, regardless of never
having sailed before.
Friday night provided an opportunity
for the whole contingent to enjoy an
informal supper getting to know everyone,
George Bastin giving a ‘pep’ talk to the
Ironmongers’ Team (Philip Pascall, Mark Lee,
Christopher Hampton and Hugh Hudson)
with a few discussions about tactics for the
following day’s racing.
The young guard, despite a first race
dogged by protests, gained three places
in the second. The old guard qualified
successfully in the first race for the
winners’ final, which they proceeded to
win in the afternoon. A new silver trophy
had been commissioned by the Mercers’
Company for the victor ludorum, which
they promptly took back as winners, but
not before the Ironmongers’ Company had
received the trophy for the winning team
in the main Mermaid race.
Dinner afterwards differed from
previous years, as we basked in the glow of
a win. We hosted all of the Seaview racing
team, including of course our Master,
The Master hanging up the Ironmongers’
Company banner.
George Bastin, and his wife Sa, who had
inaugurated the event in 2005.
A great weekend was enjoyed by all
who attended and we all look forward to
gathering to defend the cup on 6 June,
2016.
The Immediate Past Master and his wife, Anthony and Debbie Carter Clout,
enjoying Seaview with Sa Bastin
INTER-LIVERY SKI CHAMPIONSHIPS –
JANUARY 2015
By Mr C H Hudson, Freeman
O
n 23 January, once again
the small alpine ski resort
of Morzine in the Portes
du Soleil area of the French
Alps quivered with anticipation (and
maybe a hint of apprehension) at the
prospect of the arrival of the distinguished
participants taking part in the 2015 InterLivery Ski Championships.
This annual event, started some six
years ago by our present Master, and still
masterminded by him is the highlight
of the skiing calendar for liverymen
from every corner of the City. This year
we had an outstanding turnout with
approximately 140 competitors, ranging in
age from 14 to 74, and a good number of
energetic supporters and helpers
(Above) Ironmongers razzing up for a party
(Left) And the winner is……
Morzine in winter
The competition is run over two
days with a floodlit evening race on the
Friday, usually a short parallel slalom,
and a full giant slalom on the Saturday.
Unfortunately this year the snow
conditions were not as good as we would
have liked, and the floodlit piste at the
bottom of the Pleney lift for Friday’s race
was woefully short of snow. This meant
that there was only room to build one
course which all competitors had the
chance to race down twice. It was also
extremely icy which meant that there
were a lot more spills than in previous
years. On the plus side this meant that the
course condition remained pretty much
the same – awful!
On Saturday it was decided that the
usual race piste at Nyon was not in good
enough condition so the start was set
near the top of the Pleney lift. It was an
excellent course and the snow condition
was much better than on the previous
evening. Again we had the chance to do
two runs, which most people did and
the event proceeded according to plan. It
was noticed that certain individuals got a
bit carried away in their enthusiasm and
turned out in one piece ‘lycra’ racing suits
hoping to gain that ‘extra half second’. It
was generally agreed that this should be
discouraged in future - after all this is
meant to be a strictly amateur affair!
The Ironmongers had a much better
turn out than last year and were able to
field two full teams, as well as some strong
guest entrants (this included a strong
team from our affiliated regiment, the
Grenadier Guards). The Ironmongers’ ‘A’
team consisted of Christopher Hudson,
Hugh Hudson, Richard Hunting and
George Bastin. The ‘B’ team was Martin
Hudson, Peter Evans, Ian Hudson
and Mark Hudson. Unfortunately our
results were rather less than spectacular.
Christopher, previously the Veteran
Champion, fell right out of the start
gate and was heard muttering about
unsatisfactory equipment. Sadly he
never really regained his form. Others
did better but were still no match for the
strong competition. The exceptions were
Richard, who lifted the Silver Medal in
the Actuaries Cup – an age-handicapped
contest for the fastest Prime Warden,
Master, Past Master or Clerk, and Katie
Hudson who received a Silver Medal
for being the second fastest Lady Guest.
Happily Katie should be racing next year
as an Ironmonger. The full results can be
seen on our website at www.liveryskiing.
com/results.
However – STOP PRESS
Whilst reviewing the results I have
just noticed that through some sort of
oversight the Ironmongers may have
been denied a trophy that was due. My
preliminary investigation leads me to
believe that we ought to have won the
‘Stationers’ Lucky Prize’ – for the best
livery team where the combined age is
200 years or over. In our case our ages
just squeeze us in at exactly 200 and
our combined times put us five seconds
ahead of the winners! The qualifying
members being George Bastin, Richard
Hunting and Christopher Hudson.
Subject to confirmation of course….
The social side was spectacularly
successful with an excellent drinks and
cold buffet reception after the night
slalom, plus the brilliant prize-giving
dinner on Saturday night. Much
toasting, banter and fun was had in
the best of livery traditions. The prizes
were handed out by Master Mercer
Debbie Ounsted.
In 2016 the Championships will
again be held in Morzine on 22
and 23 January although there is a
possibility that it may be brought
forward a week. If you are interested
in learning more please visit the
website at www.liveryskiing.com
or contact Christopher Hudson –
ChristopherHHudson@gmail.com
IRONMONGERS’ GOLFING SOCIETY REPORT
By Lieutenant Commander M E Pearson, Liveryman
F
or those who were not
fortunate enough to hear the
Bishop of Shrewsbury’s words
on Master’s Day emphasising
the Master’s hope for his incoming year,
may I enlighten you. His words were an
endorsement of the Master’s hope for all
Ironmongers to become “more involved”
in the Company.
How I applaud such sentiments
however selfish it is for me, as the
Company Golf Secretary, to urge all
those Ironmongers who play golf to
become more involved and to lend the
Society their support.
The Ironmongers’ Golf Society
has in the past met on five occasions
throughout the year thus giving its
members an opportunity to play at some
of the South’s most prestigious clubs.
Sadly, however, this number will reduce
to just four events in 2016 and future
years owing to the lack of support.
This reduction comes in addition to a
number of inter-livery golf tournaments
we are invited to but have to refuse. In
an attempt to allow all golfers to plan
better I have asked the Assistant Clerk
to include our scheduled matches in the
Blue Book for 2016 onwards.
The Society is privileged to play some
wonderful courses and this year alone
our diary includes the New Zealand Club
in Surrey, one of the top 100 golf courses
in the world; Liphook Golf Club, currently
rated as No. 70 in the Golf Monthly Top
100; the Royal Ashdown Golf Club, rated
88 in Britain and Ireland’s top 100 courses;
The Ironmongers’ Team with Mike Pearson,
Richard Carden, Richard Patteson-Knight
and Stefan Georg
the wonderful Tandridge Golf Club, in
the Golf World top 100, and the West
Sussex Golf Club which in January 2015
was voted the 55th best course in Golf
Monthly magazine’s top 100. We are
so privileged - and our membership is
only £10 per annum (plus discounted
green fees!). And if this is not enough,
all the venues provide spectacular food.
Not had the Tandridge steamed fruit
pudding and custard yet? It is worth
playing golf just for this experience.
With two matches still to be played
we have, to date, had some great golf
but with mixed fortunes. In the Great
Twelve’s Annual Golf Tournament we
had a credible 9th place, improving on
last year. Against the Shipwrights’ we
regained the inter-company Trophy with
a nine-point win. On our Company Golf
Day, once again Dr Stefan Georg came
out on top. This is a hat trick of wins
for Stefan, so we do need to make every
effort to topple him from his perch on
Monday 9 May 2016.
For our four-way livery match
at Tandridge GC on Monday 14
September, and our two-way match
against the Drapers at the West Sussex
on Thursday 29 October, we do need
much more support! So if you are golfer,
and want to experience great golf, or
just the Tandridge Pud, please let me
have your details at pearsonmichaele@
btinternet.com.
INTER-LIVERY CROQUET COMPETITION 2015
By M A Hudson Esq Master 2011
T
he Founders’ Company has
organized the Inter-Livery
Croquet Tournament at Surbiton
Croquet Club for more than a
decade on the second Monday in June. The
participating companies in alphabetical
order are the Apothecaries’, the Barber’s,
the Founder’s, the Haberdasher’s, the
Ironmongers’ and the Pewterer’s. Each
company provides a team of four players,
two to play Association Croquet and the
other two to play Golf Croquet. There are
three matches before a very good lunch
and two matches after lunch. The whole
tournament takes a full day to complete.
As normal in Croquet the rules are
made up as you go along - just joking.
There is a winner of each discipline and
the overall winner is the company who
makes the most hoops in total during the
day.
The Ironmongers’ Association team
was made up of Martin Hudson (right)
and his eldest son Hugh. Tom Allison and
Martin’s third son, Ian Hudson were the
Ironmongers’ Golf pair. As Tom and Ian
won the Golf competition two years ago,
anticipation of repeated success was high.
In the end we only managed to be the
overall winner with the most hoops run
on the day. A first for the Ironmongers.
Hugh, Martin and Ian Hudson
THE GENERAL MANAGER’S REPORT
By Mr E Bolling
I
ronmongers’ Hall has seen another
successful year in 2015, with many
illustrious guests. We were delighted
to see the First Guards Club of the
Grenadier Guards return for the second
year with their Colonel present, HRH The
Duke of Edinburgh.
We were also fortunate to have been
graced with visits by HRH The Duke of
York who was a guest of the Worshipful
Company of Shipwrights, and The Earl of
Wessex, who visited the Hall for a dinner
held in his capacity as Colonel of the
London Regiment. This year has seen a
number of celebrations for our members,
two in particular being those of Mr and
Mrs T W Fellowes and Mr P W Lee.
We are delighted that the Worshipful
Company of Butchers have decided to
use Ironmongers’ Hall as their home
while their Hall undergoes a four-year
renovation. The location of Ironmongers’
Hall in relation to their site, and the fact
that we were able to host many of their
events were crucial to their choosing us.
However on Court Days, one cannot help
but feel that it is our proximity to the
Hand and Shears that clinched the deal!
We have already provided four of the
Butchers’ Court Lunches to great acclaim.
The Monday Club is going from
strength to strength, especially since we
have merged the normal service with the
Butchers’ carvery.
STAFF CHANGES
Sadly we have to say farewell to our Sous
Chef, Christian Dumitru, who has been
accepted into the Metropolitan Police.
We wish him all the best and are sure the
streets will be safer once he completes his
training.
CHRISTMAS
James Bond will return in 2015 to
Ironmongers’ Hall, as our Corporate
Christmas party theme will be Shaken
Not Stirred, tying in with the launch of
the new Bond film ‘Spectre’ in November.
Stirred but not shaken
BUSINESS
We continue to grow with an increase
this year whilst maintaining excellent
feedback and a repeat business rate of
50%. We have just been notified that we
have been shortlisted for the 2015 London
Venue Awards in the Best Livery Hall
category. The winners will be announced
in October at the Emirates Stadium.
The Banqueting Hall prepared
for the Master’s Day lunch
USE OF HALL COMMITTEE
By Colonel H P D Massey, Clerk
U
nder the Chairmanship
of AH Boddy Esq the Use
of Hall Committee has
presided over the third
annual increase of Hall income in a
row. Each increase was above 10% and
credit goes to Fare and in particular
our General Manager, Ed Bolling
and our Events Manager, Paulina
Sowa, for the sustained effort they
put into showing corporate, commercial
and private prospective clients around
the Hall. They are particularly successful
at converting these visits into confirmed
events, something borne out by the fact
that 50% of them are repeat business.
The success of all events held in the Hall
depends on Fare’s dedicated, professional
and charming staff both in the Hall itself
led by Gabor Mocsar, and in the kitchen
led by our executive chef, David Somerell.
All of this excellent work is
complemented by our Beadle, Steve Walby
and his two housemen, Robin Manson
and Chris Lapworth, who ensure that the
fabric and services in the building are in
good order, and that the furniture and
audio visual amenities are in the right
place for each event. In the last year you
will notice that the chandeliers in the
> continued on page 33
THE BEADLE’S REPORT
A
Ken Weddell being congratulated by the Immediate Past Master and the Master
nother busy year ended with
an excellent Master’s Day
Service at Charterhouse
Chapel and lunch at the Hall.
The summer recess will be busy with
refurbishment of the Master’s flat and the
staff changing rooms. The Hall will be
completely closed for seven days while
essential electricity panel work is carried
out. Master’s Day also coincided with our
houseman Ken Weddell celebrating his
60th Wedding Anniversary and he was
presented with some of the Company’s
champagne and a beautiful bouquet of
flowers by the Immediate Past Master
and the Master. Ken has worked for the
Company for 25 years and remains an
important member of the Beadle’s Team.
Other members of the Beadle’s Team,
Chris Lapworth and Robin Manson have
all completed various first aid certificates
including de-fibrilator courses and fire
marshal certificates. The cloakroom now
has a full complement of staff comprising
Jackie, Rosie, Zara and Tracy while Loraine
keeps the Hall spic and span on the housekeeping side. All in all, I feel we now have
a very steady team, although we know you
are only as good as your next function.
This is very encouraging for the future.
Banqueting Hall were taken down and
removed for cleaning. New lights have
been installed on the main staircase and
the ceiling above repaired and repainted.
New lights have been installed on the
landing and the washroom for disabled
guests on the first floor was redecorated.
In addition, those members who have
visited the Assistant Clerk, Social
Secretary and Archivist will have seen
that their offices have been refurbished,
as has the kitchenette beyond. The old
Accounts Department offices have also
been refurbished and recently let to Fare,
our caterers and Hall hire contractors.
This summer all tungsten light
bulbs in the Hall are being changed to
LED light bulbs which will result in
significant future savings in both bulbs
and electricity consumption. The cost
of the bulbs alone will be recouped in
electricity savings in 14 months. The
staff changing rooms have received a
long overdue refurbishment, as has the
Master’s flat. The obsolete and original
breaker boards in the basement have
been replaced and re-wiring in the Hall
has taken place. Plumbing maintenance
has been on-going and furniture in the
banqueting hall has been repaired and
French polished. This essential work
takes a great deal of planning ahead
and coordination with the General
Manager to avoid disruption to income
generating events. It all contributes
to the attractiveness and utility of the
Hall to both our clients and you, the
members.
Lastly I would like to pay tribute to
AH Boddy Esq who has so ably chaired
the Use of Hall Committee throughout
the first part of the new millennium
since 2000. Both the Committee and the
Company have been fortunate to have
benefited from his vast experience and
expertise in building construction and
maintenance. He is succeeded by MJ
Crickmay Esq.
OBITUARIES
W L WELLER ESQ MBE DL FRICS FSVA
L
eslie Weller was born on 23 April 1935 at Itchingfield in Sussex. After Collyer’s
School, Horsham and Cranleigh School, he did his National Service with the
Royal Air Force. He then trained and qualified as a Chartered Surveyor. He
worked for a time for King and Chasemore before moving to Sothebys of which
he later became a senior director, heading their Furniture (Europe) Division. He also
became Head of Silver, Works of Art and Musical Instruments (London).
He joined the Ironmongers’ Company by redemption in June 1985 and progressed
quickly to election to the Court in July 1992. He was elected Master in 2001. Leslie
was many things but as far as the Company goes, he made a huge contribution in
the conservation, cataloguing and care of its pictures, silver and other treasures. His
expertise in this field was unrivalled and he always knew which expert with specialist
knowledge to contact. He was Chairman of the Company’s Heritage Committee since its
foundation in 2003 and, under his kindly eye, a comprehensive programme of cleaning,
repair and restoration was embarked upon so that the Company’s treasures are in better
condition today than ever before.
Leslie was very active having been an accomplished bell-ringer and a Joint Master of
the Crawley and Horsham Hunt. Later however he developed a medical condition which
consumed much of his time and that of his devoted wife, Brenda. He was closely involved
with the Chichester Cathedral Restoration Trust having been its first chairman and for
which he was appointed MBE in 2014. He took a close interest in Christ’s Hospital and
was Chairman of the West Sussex Higher Education Authority. He was also a Deputy
Lieutenant for West Sussex. He died on 16 March 2014 and we offer our sympathy to
Brenda and his son, Adrian.
H R C MATTHEWS ESQ
B
orn on 21 September 1932, Hugh Matthews was the son
of Brigadier and Mrs R C Matthews. He was educated at
Wellington College and the Harper Adams Agricultural
College. He farmed for most of his life and was a great
countryman. His passions were shooting and fishing and, as he put
it, he took an amateur interest in wine. His father was a member
of the Court and he was related to the Price family, many of whom
have been in the Company. He joined the Company by redemption
in November 1956, his Proposer being Thomas Darling Esq. MC,
Master 1958. Hugh himself went on to join the Court in 1982 and
was elected Master in 1990.
During his year the sale of the old site of Sir Robert Geffery’s
School, Landrake, was completed, and the new school building
opened in January 1991 when it was blessed by the Bishop of Truro.
The history of the Company written by Elizabeth Glover was also
published in March that year. He served for many years on Betton’s
Education and Appeals Committee where his sage advice and kindly
interest was always much appreciated by his fellow committee
members. He was a trustee of his local almshouse charity in Wiltshire
and the treasurer of a number of local organisations. He died on 20
October 2013 and we offer our sympathy to his wife, Nicky and his
family.
HOW THE UNDER-40s CAN HELP FIND NEW
MEMBERS FOR ADMISSION TO THE FREEDOM
By Colonel H P D Massey, Clerk
I
n tune with the Master’s message
to “get involved”, I want to follow
up on my challenge last year to
the Young Guard – those 60 or
so members under the age of 40 – to
see what they could achieve during
the year in the way of attracting new
members. This is plainly not easy when
the immediate demands of everyday life
must squeeze any substantive thought
of recruiting suitable potential members
out of the mind. Yet we do need your
help.
As far as we can tell, the total strength
of the Company currently stands at 345,
consisting of 146 Liverymen and 199
Freemen. Since Master’s Day 2014 the
Company has admitted 17 new Freemen
- and you can see them opposite and on
the following pages. Of these, two were
by Patrimony and a further 15 were
proposed by Court members. Just three
were proposed or otherwise introduced
by other members of the Company.
Attracting a new member just needs
a little thought, followed by an invitation
to something at the Hall. This does not
have to be the Lord Mayor’s dinner in
February nor the Combined Court,
Livery and Yeomanry dinner in May, the
Company’s two large set-piece dinners.
There are many other opportunities
including two lunches held in June and
November specifically for the purpose
of introducing guests to the Company.
Most conveniently of all perhaps, lunch
is served in the Hall every Monday,
and all you have to do is book in the
previous week by calling our excellent
Events Manager, Paulina, on 0207 776
2300.
As you will recall, a candidate for
admission needs a Proposer and a
Seconder. Both must be Liverymen and
one must be a Court Member. A great
Company such as this one achieves
its greatness because of, and through
its members. To remain great it must
therefore recruit, or else wither and
die out. To quote the Master again, “It
may not be easy and it may cost you
something to get there but I promise you
that you will enjoy it.” So come on the
under-40s!
NEW FREEMEN
PATRIMONY
DANIEL CARTER-CLOUT
Daniel attended
Cranleigh School and
Exeter University,
before qualifying as a
Chartered Accountant
at Deloitte. Since then
he has worked in a
number of finance
roles in telecoms,
media and technology businesses, and is
currently Finance Director in a renewable
energy company. He is married to
Angharad, and together they have two
children, Benjamin and Isabelle.
CATHERINE HUDSON
Katie was born in
Aberdeenshire,
Scotland, went to
Gordonstoun School
and finished off her
formal education
with a physics degree
from the University
of Edinburgh. Upon
graduating, she set up a science education
programme, Pro Science, which recruits
bright and enthusiastic undergraduates to
promote STEM subjects to young people
in local Edinburgh schools. She’s currently
working in London, doing business
development for a financial-technology
start-up called Osper.
REDEMPTION
IAN BENDELL
Ian was educated at
Stowe School and
then Birmingham
and Manchester
Universities. After
completing his
Masters in Business
Administration he
joined Price Waterhouse, latterly PwC,
where he was a management consultant
for fifteen years specialising in banking
transformation and operational
improvement. He has recently moved to
PA Consulting where he specialises in
the same area. He is a very keen golfer,
skier and fisherman.
CHARLES BOND
Charles was
educated at
Radley College
and Birmingham
University. He
worked for Goldman
Sachs and a hedge
fund specialising in
emerging markets before taking some
time out to travel. Upon his return
he joined Aon and after completing
the graduate trainee scheme and the
Chartered Insurance Institute exams he
spent the next eight years as a broker in
the UK Reinsurance Treaty divisions of
Aon and then Willis. He then switched
to underwriting where he has been
working as an international casualty
treaty underwriter at XL Catlin for the
past three and a half years.
NICHOLAS BONSALL
Nick is a solicitor
at Slaughter and
May with a practice
focused on financial
institutions advisory
and financial
regulatory work.
Before converting to
law in 2005, he took
a degree in Mathematics and Statistics
at the University of Edinburgh. Nick
is a keen triathlete and, if he escapes
the office at a reasonable time, might
be found out on his bike or running up
hills. Before a family move to Aberdeen
in the early 1990s, Nick was a pupil at Sir
Robert Geffery’s C of E Primary School
in Landrake.
NEW FREEMEN
HENRIETTA BRAILSFORD
LUCY DURRANS
HUGO MARSHALL
Following a degree
in Medieval History
at Royal Holloway,
University of London
and 120 hours flying
with the University of
London Air Squadron,
Henrietta completed a
graduate scheme with
Capital Software. She moved to Quarry
Dougall and then to the PSD Group where
she lead the Executive Search Payment and
Security Team. On marriage to a senior
officer in the RAF, she left London and
began her own boutique search firm. Now a
mother of two small girls she owns her own
business working with senior candidates
leaving the Military and the Police.
Lucy was educated
at the University of
Oxford gaining an
MEng in Materials
Engineering and
winning the 4th
year Thesis speech
competition
sponsored by the
Ironmongers’ Company in 2014. After
university she worked at a London-based
children’s charity and trained to be a BASI
2 ski instructor. Lucy is currently based
in London and is on the PwC Graduate
Scheme working towards becoming a
chartered accountant.
Hugo was educated
at Scotch College,
Melbourne, Australia,
and Monash University,
also in Melbourne. After
obtaining his Articled
Clerkship and being
admitted as a solicitor, he
joined H W L Ebsworth
in its Trade and Transport Department,
focusing on shipping, energy and insurance
disputes. He joined Norton Rose Fulbright in
London in 2012 and in 2014 joined Burford
Capital, a litigation finance house. Hugo is
engaged to marry Miss Jessica Hermione
Cameron, of Ross-shire, in September 2015.
ROBYN JACKSON
ALISTAIR TOWNSEND
Rich was educated
at Reigate Grammar
School, Durham
University and Kings
College London. After
a spell as a Mountain
Guide in Southern
Iceland he joined the
Royal Marines where
he specialised in Mountain and Arctic
Warfare. Spending most of his career in 42
Commando Royal Marines in Plymouth,
he now commands that unit. He is married
with three children.
Robyn studied at
the University of
Sheffield, where she
obtained a MEng in
Civil Engineering.
Following university
she joined a graduate
development
programme in Qatar
as a Highways Engineer with Atkins, where
she also had the opportunity to work in
Bangalore, India, for six months. She then
transferred back to the UK where she now
works in Atkins’ Birmingham office and
is actively involved in promoting STEM
subjects.
Alistair was educated
at Cheltenham College
and Sidney Sussex
College, Cambridge - in
Veterinary Medicine and
Theology. Early posts
included a year teaching
at the Universidad
Autonoma del Estado
de Mexico. On his return to the UK in 2002
he moved to South East London where he
still lives and practices. He is a member of
the Marylebone Cricket Club and the Kennel
Club. Alistair is married with one cat.
MAJOR COLIN COULL
DUNCAN JOHNSTONE
Colin joined the Scots
Guards in April 1969,
he left the Scots Guards
on commissioning after
being the Regimental
Sergeant Major at
the Royal Military
Academy Sandhurst,
he subsequently left
the Regular Army after being a Squadron
Commander to become the Cadet Executive
Officer for the City of London & North East
Sector Army Cadet Force. Colin is married
with two children.
Duncan is currently
pursuing a PhD
at Peterhouse,
Cambridge having
previously read
Materials Science at
St Catherine’s College,
Oxford. He came to
join the Ironmongers’
after receiving the Company’s “Oxford
medal” for a presentation of his
undergraduate research and is a keen
distance runner.
Chris graduated from
Edinburgh with an MA
(Hons) in History, having
specialised in Medieval
Travel Literature. He
then worked briefly
for the Times as a
travel journalist, before
joining McKinsey for
the first time for two years. However, the
allure of history was strong enough to pull
Chris into the Foreign & Commonwealth
Office for five years, where he represented
the UK in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Egypt and
Bosnia & Herzegovina. The diplomacy urge
LIEUTENANT-COLONEL RICH
CANTRILL OBE MC RM
CHRISTOPHER WIGLEY
NEW FREEMEN/LIVERYMEN
fulfilled, he rejoined McKinsey in 2009 and
is now a Partner at the firm, specialising
in serving consumer-facing clients on big
issues of growth, digital transformation
and performance. He is married with three
children and lives in Clapham, London.
LIEUTENANT-COMMANDER
GEORGE WILSON RNR
After studying for an
HND in Mechanical
Engineering George
started his career
as an Engineer
Officer with the
P&O Group gaining
various professional
qualifications
culminating in a Class 1 Certificate of
Competency for both Steam and Motor
Ships. He came ashore as a Superintendent
Engineer with P&O and latterly with
EuroShip Services, joining Charles Taylor
as a Consultant Marine Engineer four years
ago.
George is heavily involved with the Sea
Cadets holding local (London) and national
positions with the rank of LieutenantCommander RNR. He is unmarried.
SPONSORSHIP
NEW LIVERYMEN
LAURA PRIETO
Laura was a Christ’s
Hospital Presentee
under the wing of
her Presentation
Governor Patrick
Cordingley. After
completing a degree
in Anthropology at
SOAS University
in London, she has since embarked on a
range of international work placements.
These have included working in Bolivia
through the government’s International
Citizen Service Scheme and most recently
returning from a six-month global
collaboration program in San Francisco
where she worked for NGO Rising Sun
Energy Center and gained a Master’s
Certificate in Leadership. She is the first
person to be admitted to the Freedom
by Sponsorship, a form of admission
which succeeded admission by Servitude
(Apprenticeship).
HOW TO STAND OUT IN A CROWD
- BUY A COMPANY TIE
PAUL
BESSEMER
CHARLES
HOPKINSONWOOLLEY
IAN
HUDSON
ALISTAIR WORLIDGE
Alastair was educated
at Cranleigh School
and went on to Oxford
Brookes University
reading Business
Management. After
spending a year with
IBM on an industrial
placement he was
driven towards brand management which
lead him into an entrepreneurial role
with an SME. Alastair has since founded
a company providing cycle storage to the
construction and housing industry, working
on high-profile projects such as The Shard
and The Walkie Talkie tower. Alastair has
also been a keen swimmer from an early
age, culminating in a successful relay
attempt of the English Channel in aid of the
Alzheimer’s Society in 2014.
MARK
HUDSON
CAROLYN
MAUDE
Contact catharine@ironmongers.org
NEW COURT MEMBERS
NEW COURT MEMBERS
HUGH KNOWLES
MATTHEW TILBURY
EWAN WAUCHOPE
Educated at Downside
and Leeds University,
Hugh went on to qualify
as a chartered accountant
with Arthur Andersen.
Following spells at
Blenheim and Euromoney Hugh has
concentrated on managing and setting-up
several management buy-outs and startups, mainly in the transport and storage
sector. He currently owns half of Fort Box
Self Storage and is a non-executive finance
director for three other companies. He is
married to an artist and has four children.
He enjoys playing tennis, sailing, skiing
and tobogganing.
Matt was educated at
Christ’s Hospital and
Imperial College. In
1995, Matthew moved to
Denmark and worked in
information technology.
Whilst living in Copenhagen he learnt
to speak Danish and continued to play
both cricket and rugby, playing for a
team that won both the national rugby
knock-out cup and the first division. Since
returning to the UK, he has established a
web development company, Codehouse,
building websites for high-profile clients
including the Nationwide Building Society
and Wagamama.
Ewan was educated at
Harrow. He began his
career as a Lloyds broker
on leaving school, and,
after dealing with many
classes of insurance
including marine, non-marine and energy,
he now specialises in the structuring and
placing of Political Violence Insurance.
This covers exposures for business
resulting from civil commotion, terrorism
and war. Most of his clients operate in the
Middle East and Africa. Ewan is married
with three children.
OFFICERS AND STAFF 2014-2015
OFFICERS AND STAFF, MASTER’S DAY 2015
Back Row:
Robin Manson, Houseman; Steve Walby, Beadle; Christian Dumitru, Chef de Partie; David Summerell, Executive Chef;
Them Mabodoko, Financial Accountant; Teresa Waller-Bridge, Assistant Clerk; Elena Dachi, Head Waitress; Radek Kutkiewicz,
Kitchen Porter; Ruth Eglesfield, Charities Assistant; Helen Sant, Charities Manager; Chris Lapworth, Houseman
Front Row:
Andrew Harrison, Chief Accountant; Catharine Melville, Social Secretary; John Hayes, Finance Adviser; Nisha Jayan, Financial Accountant;
Colonel Hamon Massey, Clerk; Lorraine McHugh, Housekeeper; Ken Weddell, Houseman; Paulina Sowa, Events Manager; Ed Bolling,
General Manager
SUMMARY FINANCIAL STATEMENT
Year Ended 31 March 2015
Worshipful
Total
CompanyCharities(*)
INCOME
£’000 £’000£’000
Investments
1,452.8 327.2
1,125.6
Hall Hire, Catering and Wines 870.9
870.9
Rental Income
440.1 440.1
Fines
7.0 7.0
Almshouse Residents’ Fees
693.0 693.0
Donations and Legacies
136.7 136.7
Other income
39.3 39.3
0.0
Total Income
3,639.8 1,684.5
1,955.3
EXPENDITURE
Hall Hire, Catering and Wines 493.2
493.2
Hall and Company 1,147.6 1,147.6
Almshouse Costs
760.4 760.4
Other Charity Costs
10.6 10.6
Interest Payable
64.4
64.4
0.0
2,476.2 1,705.2771.0
NET INCOME
1,163.6 -20.7
1,184.3
CHARITABLE GRANTS -517.2 -517.2
PROFIT ON SALE OF INVESTMENTS
231.9 231.9
0.0 NET SURPLUS
878.3 211.2 667.1
INVESTMENTS VALUATION
INCREASE
3,133.5 908.6 2,224.9
MARKET VALUE OF INVESTMENTS
AT 31 MARCH 2015
36,680.7 11,575.7 25,105.0
MARKET VALUE OF INVESTMENTS
AT 31 MARCH 2014
32,875.0 10,849.0 22,026.0
% INCREASE
11.66.7 14.0
Note (*): Following the Uniting Direction of the Charity Commission effective 1 April 2012 the following charities are reported as a single
entity - Sir Robert Geffery’s Almshouse Trust, Sir Robert Geffrey’s Landrake School Charity, Thomas Betton’s Charity (Educational),
Thomas Betton’s General Estate, Thomas Betton’s Charity for Pensions and Relief In Need and the Ironmongers’ Foundation.

The Worshipful Company of - The Ironmongers` Company

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