Artillery Clerks' Association Charter
General
1. The Association, entitled the 'Artillery Clerks' Association' was formed at Woolwich on Saturday 7th March 1998. This Charter is being adopted to guide its activities. The Charter may be changed at any time by the Committee to reflect the wishes of the Association members.
2. The Aim and Object of the Artillery Clerks' Association is to promote comradeship amongst its members, both serving and retired and to provide a focal point for all members of the Association. The Association is essentially an old comrades association of former Artillery Clerks, either serving or retired.
3. The Artillery Clerks' Association is affiliated to and is a Branch of the Royal Artillery Association (RAA). All members of the Royal Artillery Association will be granted life membership of the RAA on acceptance.
Eligibility
4. Full Members: Full membership of the Association is open to any former Artillery Clerk in the rank range from Sergeant to Warrant Officer Class 1, either serving or retired. Membership may also be granted, with the recommendation of a former Artillery Clerk or member of the Association, to clerks who served in the Royal Artillery in the rank range from Gunner to Bombardier, and have subsequently been promoted to Sergeant in the Adjutant General's Corps.
5. Honorary Membership: Honorary Membership of the Association is specially designed to cover the widows and relatives of deceased Artillery Clerks. Other special cases of honorary membership will be considered on merit by the Committee and voted upon by the Committee and voted upon by the members at the Annual General Meeting (AGM). Honorary members may not vote on matters voted upon at the AGM.
6. Authorization: Membership of the Association may be sought by anyone under these rules. In the event of there being some doubt regarding application, the Artillery Clerks' Association Committee will arbitrate. The Association Committee has the right to refuse any application for membership, or cancel any existing membership, for example, for disciplinary reasons.
Purpose
7. The specific purpose of the Association is to provide:
a. A focal point for comradeship, largely through periodic reunion of:
(1) A formal Annual Reunion Dinner.
(2) An informal Dinner to be held at a frequency and location to be decided by the Committee, to include wives, girlfriends and widows.
(3) A very limited welfare service. This essentially means that the Artillery Clerks' Association, in promoting contacts between members, provides a network through which help can be given to any member. The focus for this activity within the Association is the Secretary.
Organisation
8. The affairs of the Artillery Clerks' Association will be overseen by the Artillery Clerks' Association Committee. The Committee will meet at intervals decided upon by the Chairman, and will comprise of:
a. President (Honorary).
b. Chairman.
c. Secretary - responsibilities cover:
(1) Association Membership.
(2) Correspondence.
(3) Providing a focus for the Association's welfare work and links to the RAA.
(4) Production of a periodic newsletter.
(5) Coordinating the activities of the Area Representatives.
d. Treasurer - responsibilities cover:
(1) Maintenance of a bank account entitled the 'Artillery Clerks' Association'.
(2) Accounting for all the finances of the Artillery Clerks' Association.
(3) Presenting a Statement of Account to the Committee (as and when required) and annually at the AGM.
e. Regional Representatives - responsibilities cover:
(1) The recruitment of new members.
(2) Maintaining an area membership list.
(3) Coordinating travel to Reunions and other Association activities.
Areas covered are:
(1) Northern Ireland.
(2) Scotland.
(3) Wales.
(4) The North West consisting of Cumbria, Lancashire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester and Cheshire.
(5) The North consisting of Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, Durham, Cleveland, North, West and South Yorkshire and Humberside.
(6) The Midlands consisting of Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, West Midlands, Leicestershire, Hereford and Worcestershire and Warwickshire.
(7) The East consisting of Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Essex, Northamptonshire, Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk.
(8) London Area.
(9) The South consisting of Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Surrey, West Sussex, East Sussex and Kent.
(10) The West consisting of Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Avon and Wiltshire.
(11) Germany.
(12) The Rest of the World.
9. Additional members of the Committee may be appointed by the Chairman as required, for example, Reunion Secretary and Assistant Secretary.
Fees
10. Membership fees are to be determined by the Committee. There is to be a fee to join the Association and the annual renewal fee.
11. Fees are to cover the costs of administration, including telephone calls, postage and stationery.
12. Reunions are to be self-financing, that is, those attending are to meet the full cost of all activities of the Reunion.