No 229 June 2020 ERW T AY A S W M Y U S T E IE U M S O C THE WATERWAYS MUSEUM SOCIETY President: Di Skilbeck MBE Vice Presidents: Tony Hales CBE, Alan Jones, Tony Lewery DIRECTORS Chairman Barbara Kay Vice Chairmen Jeff Fairweather, Will Manning Interim Treasurer Chris Kay Secretary Chris Kay Other directors Di Skilbeck MBE, Nigel Carpenter, Dave Ditchfield, Barry Green, Lynn Potts, Bob Thomas, Cath Turpin, Mike Turpin MEMBERSHIP SECRETARIES Dave Ditchfield & Ailsa Rutherford CONTACTS TO WHOM CONTRIBUTIONS SHOULD BE SENT RE:PORT Editor Ailsa Rutherford 01352 756164 14 Tai Maes, Mold [email protected] Website Steve Sunley EMAIL CONTACTS Pending changes to email addresses, please send all communication via the Chairman: [email protected] Those not on email can contact: Waterways Museum Society, c/o National Waterways Museum, Ellesmere Port CH65 4FW Telephone 0151 355 5017 The Waterways Museum Society is a company limited by guarantee, registered in England no. 1028599. Registered Charity Number 501593 Visit our website www.waterwaysmuseumsociety.org.uk Contributions for RE:PORT which is published four times a year are always welcome. Copy date for RE:PORT 230 – Sunday 16th August All views expressed in RE:PORT are those of the contributors concerned and should not be taken as being the policy of The Waterways Museum Society, The National Waterways Museum or The Canal and River Trust. front cover: Some of the many visitors attending the opening of the Museum in June 1976 Number 229 June 2020 Chairman's Report I hope this summer edition of RE:PORT finds you safe and well. It has not been an easy time for us all but has been particularly difficult for those who have lost loved ones. Our thoughts are with you. What the effects of this virus has demonstrated very clearly is that life is never predictable. Regrettably, this is also true with regard to the society. As a result of difficulties in finding members to take an active role to run the society, as a limited company and charity, the Directors have reluctantly agreed that there is no other option but to close the society down next year. Enclosed with this copy of RE:PORT is a letter that I have sent to all members explaining the demise of the Society. We want to manage the closure in a planned, responsible manner so that we aren’t forced into voluntary liquidation which would mean that we would potentially lose control over the disposal of the society’s assets, the main one being Gifford, our historic horse drawn narrowboat tanker. Discussions with Canal & River Trust are in progress with regards to our assets and business activities. For example, one of our business activities, publishing Waterways Journal is an important contribution to supporting the museum’s accreditation status and is something, that we would like to see continue. We are also talking to the Trust about what the future prospects might be for a newly formed group or society arising out of the ashes of the old one. If you have any particular views with regards to this, please do send them on to me so I can forward them to the group who are looking to the future. The timetable for the closure will depend on the outcome of the discussions with Canal & River Trust but in any event, it is anticipated that the general activities will cease no later than 31st December 2020. Therefore, in these circumstances, subscriptions will be free from 1st October 2020 and so I would ask you, as a matter of importance, not to make payment to us. In particular please cancel your standing orders. Your current STOP PRESS As we proof read this edition, we have heard that the Museum will aim to re-open mid to late July. It will be a very different environment and the emphasis is on all staff, volunteers and visitors feeling comfortable and safe. We will post more details on our website as time progresses 3 Number 229 RE:PORT year membership cards will be valid until the Society’s AGM in February 2021, as will the password into the Members' area. Aside from the problems the Society faces, it is a very strange world we are now living in. The museum closed its doors at the end of March to the public and volunteers. During April some staff were furloughed and a skeleton team are in place to ensure the building and collections are safe. Archives volunteers have assisted in continuing to an- swer individual’s queries as they work from home and Museum Times has been sent out weekly to staff and volunteers. As I write this, there appears to be no indication from the government as to when museums will be able to open their doors although work is ongoing at the Trust regarding risk assessments linked to Covid 19 although priority is obviously being given to those functions linked with the waterways and boat movements etc. However, a MARS (Museums and Attractions Recovery Strategy) team has been set up to start working on what will need to take place on the weeks running up to open- ing and beyond for all attractions. This group involves representatives from attractions, finance, facilities/buildings, health and safety and collections and archives. One of the participants is Andy Widdowson who joined the Trust as Head of Visitor Attractions De- velopment in May. His main remit is to explore ways of increasing visitor numbers and commercial income at all trust visitor attractions and he will be working closely with the teams at Anderton and the museum initially. A warm welcome to Andy. Society business has continued with monthly management meetings being held via Zoom – somewhat of a challenge in the early days but we are all getting a little more computer savvy these days. In fact, as we are not sure whether the museum will be open to us for our Friday talk in September, we are exploring the options of offering the talk via Zoom or a similar application. We are still going through the security side of things as I understand some talks/meetings have been “Zoom-bombed” by pornographic images – not something we would want to promote! Please refer to the Members’ page on our website nearer the time for details. With the Easter Boat Gathering being cancelled, we couldn’t officially launch the latest edition of Waterways Journal but copies are available through mail order by going to the society’s website. We are also offering people the opportunity to purchase an elec- tronic version (pdf) rather than a hard copy and it will be interesting to see what the level of take up will be. Lastly, we also hope to issue a final celebratory edition of RE:PORT which will reflect on the last 40+ years of the Society, so if you have any photographs or memories that you feel should be included, please send them to us. We cannot guarantee we will be able to put everything in but our Editor, Ailsa, does enjoy a challenge! Thank you for your support over the years and here’s to the future, whatever that may be. STAY SAFE. Barbara Kay 4 RE:PORT Number 229 ERW T AY A S W M Y U S T E IE U M S O C Dear Member June 2020 It is with a very heavy heart that I have to announce that the Directors have agreed that the Society will have to close its doors at the end of the year after being in existence in one form or another for well over 40 years. However, many things have changed over that period; its role at the museum, declining membership and the increasing difficulties in recruiting members to take an active role in running the Society. Half of the twelve Company Directors who make up the management committee will be standing down at the next AGM in February. Despite published requests over the last few months, no new members have put themselves forward to be co-opted onto the committee with a view to standing as Directors next year. Furthermore, none of the remaining Directors feel able to step up and take on the key officer roles left vacant by those who are retiring. Therefore, sadly the Society has no option but to plan its closure now to avoid having to go into voluntary liquidation next February and thereby potentially losing control over the disposal of its assets, principal amongst which is Gifford our historic horse-drawn narrowboat tanker. Discussions are underway with the Canal & River Trust with a view to agreeing a possible transfer of the Society’s main assets and activities to the National Waterways Museum at Ellesmere Port where the Society is currently based. The outcome of those discussions may have an impact on the timing of the Society’s actual closure but I will consult you further on the detail of any agreement that emerges. 5 Number 229 RE:PORT The immediate impact of the Directors decision will mean that the current memberships will be extended at no extra cost up until the AGM in February 2021. Please retain your existing membership cards which will still be valid at the museum during that period. Please ensure that any standing orders or direct debits set up for October to pay for next year are cancelled. Any accidental future subscription payment made will be considered as a donation to the Gifford maintenance fund unless a specific claim is made for reimbursement. The method chosen to dissolve the Company will be by means of making a formal application to Companies House to be struck off the register due to inactivity.