2024 AGM


At the recent AGM of the Society the following Annual report and accounts were presented.

GULLANE AND DIRLETON HISTORY SOCIETY

ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JANUARY 2024

Scottish Charity Number SC037547

Current Committee Members

Dr Michael Thomson (Chairman)

Mrs Margaret McSorley (Treasurer until 13/4/2023 and Press Officer)

Mrs Anne McCarthy (Consultant Archivist and Publications Officer)

Mrs Esther Sharpley (Membership Secretary)

Dr Neil Jones (Sales Officer)

Mrs Carol Tweedie (Meetings Organiser)

Mr Bill Nimmo

Mr George Simpson

Mr Eric Thomson

Mr Tom Drysdale (from 13/4/2023)

Mr Jonathan Kinna

Contact address:          Dr M Thomson, 26 Erskine Road, Gullane, East Lothian, EH31 2DQ

Recruitment and appointment of Committee Members

The Society’s Committee and Office-bearers are appointed or re-appointed at the Annual General Meeting held at the last meeting of the winter season.  The Committee may co-opt members as necessary during the year. Esther Sharpley has indicated her wish to step down from her membership responsibilities which she has faithfully and diligently carried out for many years. The enthusiasm and willingness shown by Esther and all the current officers of the Society is acknowledged with gratitude.

Governing document

The Society is a charitable unincorporated association and the purposes and arrangements for its administration are set out in the constitution which has been revised and updated this year. The revised document awaits ratification at the 2024 AGM.

Charitable purposes

The objectives of the Society, as set out in the constitution, are to encourage the study and to advance the knowledge of the history and heritage of the Gullane and Dirleton locality and the subject of history in general.

Programme

With thanks to Carol Tweedie a full and varied programme was arranged for the 2023-2024 lecture season.

The last three lectures of the 2022-2023 season included the story of the restoration of the walled garden at Amisfield and Bryan Hickman took members on a pilgrimage around Norman churches. One arranged lecture was postponed due to ill health and an evening of showing historical pictures and a video substituted.

In September 2023 Anna Groundwater from the National Museum of Scotland introduced the impressive artefacts of the Scottish Renaissance held by the museum. Stories from Alex Crawford of his and other’s experiences of living as children in a lighthouse provoked much interest. Helen Spencer related the history of glass making in Scotland in general and East Lothian in particular. This was followed in December by Gillian and David Kirkwood presenting old photographs and the history of the development of golfing in the local area. In January Society member Neil Jones outlined the history of the Dukes of Hamilton and their families.

The Society is grateful to all these speakers for their willingness to come and share their knowledge.

A tour of the re-developed walled garden at Archerfield, guided by the ebullient head gardener was well received by the members. Tea, scones and social discourse followed.

Research and publications

Thanks to the diligence of committee members the Society’s publications continue to sell successfully and reprints of several of them have been undertaken during the year. A new book recording the memories of those who were involved in World War II both home and away, is in preparation and will be launched in February 2024.

Uncertainties over the storage of the Society’s archival material have been resolved with the helpful intervention of the trustees of Gullane Village Hall. Digitally recording of documents to supplement the existing digital photographic record continues at a steady pace.

Enquiries through the Society’s website have continued to be received and information has been provided where possible. It is anticipated that digitalisation should make this activity easier in the future by appropriately providing electronic access to interested researchers.

 Publicising the Society’s aims and work

Display of old photographs and documents in Gullane library and Dirleton kirk have been favourably received. The Society is grateful to Jonathan Kinna for continuing to write articles using the reminiscences held in the archive, for the Gullane Village Association newsletters.

As part of the Archaeology Fortnight in September organised by East Lothian Heritage department a member of the Society led three walks around local places and structures of historical interest.

Financial outcome and reserves

Membership of the Society at the year end (31 January) was 84, an increase from 69 a year previously. In view of this and the increase in the annual subscription to £15, subscription income rose to £1260. Income from the sale of publications was down by £173 on the previous year but Neil Jones, Sales Officer, maintains a good rapport with several local retail outlets, which hold stocks of the books and undertake sales of them. Reflecting expenditure on reprints, publication costs rose from £242 in the previous year to £832. The only other change of note in income and expenditure compared with the previous year was a useful reduction in the insurance premium resulting from a reassessment of the value of the Society’s electronic equipment.

In the light of these considerations, and in particular recent reprinting of some of the Society’s titles, the surplus for the year was £843, a reduction of £494 on the previous year, but this was more than offset by the value of the Society’s stock of publications held at the year end being £2180, an increase of £863 on the previous year’s figure of £1337.

Spending of the residual £2,530 following the St Andrew’s Church ruin restoration work is still intended but it is not possible to advance this in the local authority’s current tight financial climate. Despite this, the Society’s unrestricted funds held at the year end amounted to £6188.

No remuneration or personal expenses were paid to Committee members during the year.

Approved by the Committee and signed on its behalf

M.Thomson      Chairman         12 March 2024

For a pdf of the Accounts for 2023 / 2024 click here