|
TITLE
1. The
Association shall be called The Regimental Association of the Royal
Gloucestershire Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment, hereinafter referred to as
“The Association” and to be a union of the Gloucestershire Regimental
Association and the Regimental Association of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Royal
Regiment (Berkshire and Wiltshire).
OBJECTS
2. The Objects of the Association are to promote
the efficiency of the army by:
a.
Maintaining contact between past and present members of The Rifles (”The
Regiment”) and of The
Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire
Regiment,
The Gloucestershire
Regiment, The Duke of Edinburgh’s Royal
Regiment, The Royal Berkshire Regiment and The Wiltshire Regiment
(together
the Former Regiments), fostering mutual
friendship and providing social gatherings for them.
b.
Fostering esprit de corps, comradeship and welfare of the Regiment and
preserving its traditions and those of the Former Regiments.
c. Relieving, either generally or individually, past and present members
of the Regiment and the former Regiments and their dependants who are in
conditions of need, hardship or distress (hereinafter referred to as
beneficiaries).
3.
In furtherance of the foregoing Objects, but not further or otherwise, the
Association shall have the following powers.
a.
To take all necessary action to publicise and disseminate information
concerning the histories, deeds and traditions of the Regiment and the
former Regiments and for the encouragement of recruiting.
b.
To execute and administer exclusively charitable trusts.
c.
To receive, take and accept any gifts of property whether subject to any
special trusts or not.
d.
To receive and accept contributions by way of subscriptions, donations and
otherwise to raise funds for the said Objects, provided that the Association
shall not undertake any permanent trading activities in raising funds for
its charitable Objects.
e.
To assist beneficiaries by way of grants, gifts, pensions or otherwise.
f.
To pay for such items, service or facilities by way of donation or
subscription to charitable institutions or organisations which provide or
which undertake in return to provide such items, services of facilities for
beneficiaries.
g.
To make grants to other Regimental Charities.
h.
To purchase, take lease or exchange any property required for the purposes
of the Association and lease exchange or otherwise dispose of the same,
subject to such consents as may from time to time be required by law.
I.
To borrow or raise money for the purpose of the Association on such terms
and such security as may be thought fit, subject to such consents as may
from time to time be required by law.
j.
To invest funds of the Association in such investments as may from time to
time be authorised by law.
k.
To accumulate funds of the Association for such periods as may from time to
time be authorised by law.
l.
To do all such other lawful things as shall further the said Objects.
MEMBERSHIP
4. There shall be three categories of membership of
the Association:
a.
Full membership.
b.
Associate membership.
c.
Honorary membership
5.
Full membership. Available only to those officers, warrant officers, non
commissioned officers, soldiers and servicewomen, who are serving or who
have at any time served in the Regiment and former Regiments (whether
Regular, Territorial, wartime or national service), and Officers and Adult
Instructors of the affiliated Army Cadet Force Units. They are classed as
beneficiaries in accordance with paragraph42b.
6.
Associate membership. Available to those who are serving or who have served
in other arms and service units attached to the Regiment and the former
regiments. (Branches may confer Associate Membership of their
Branch, in accordance with paragraph 42b.)
7.
Honorary membership. May be conferred on those persons invited by the
Executive Committee.
8.
Associate and Honorary members do not qualify as beneficiaries in accordance
with paragraph 2c; neither shall they vote.
9. Life
Membership
a.
Life Membership of the Association is available to Full and Honorary
categories of membership only.
b.
All Full and Honorary Members of the Gloucestershire Regimental Association
and the Regimental Association of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Royal Regiment
automatically become life members of the “ Association from the date the two
Associations amalgamated. (9th June 1994)
c.
Thereafter Life Membership is conferred on those eligible under paragraphs 5
and 6 above by a once-only payment of £10.00.
Honorary Members will not pay a subscription.
10. Withdrawal of Membership. The Executive Committee may by unanimous
vote and for good reason terminate the membership of any individual,
provided the individual concerned shall have the right to be heard by the
Executive Committee, accompanied by a friend, before a final decision is
made.
11. Membership Card All new members will be issued with a membership card
and a copy of the constitution on joining the Association.
12. Records. A central register of all members, including Associate and
Honorary members, will be maintained by the Secretary of the Association at
Regimental Headquarters, The Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire
Regiment.
HONORARY
OFFICERS OF THE ASSOCIATION
13. Patron. The Colonel-in-Chief and the
Deputy Colonel-in-Chief will be invited to honour the Association by
consenting to be patrons. The President and Association Executive Committee
will agree and invite suitable Patrons to honour the Association with their
Patronage.
14. President.
The President will be the Chairman of the RGBW
Managing Trustees. When due to handover he will invite a suitable Senior
Officer to replace him after consultation with the RGBW Trustees & Executive
Committee of the Regimental Association. The appointment is to be approved
at the AGM.
15. Vice
presidents. May be appointed
16. Chairman. A
Chairman of the Association will be appointed by the President and endorsed
at each Annual General Meeting to serve until the next Annual General
Meeting. The retiring Chairman may be re-elected.
17.
Secretary/Treasurer. The Secretary and Treasurer of the Association
(respectively “the Secretary” and “the Treasurer”) shall be members of the
Association and shall be appointed by the President from the Officers of the
staff of The Rifles Gloucester Office or from the membership of the
Association. Neither the Secretary nor the Treasurer shall have a vote at
any meeting of the Association, its Executive Committee or its Council.
18. Chaplains. A Chaplain to the
Association may be appointed by the Executive Committee. Branches may
appoint Honorary Branch Chaplains.
CUSTODIAN TRUSTEE
19. A Custodian Trustee shall be appointed by the Managing Trustees.
MANAGEMENT OF THE ASSOCIATION
20. General. Subject to the matters set out in the
following paragraphs the Association shall be administered and Managed in
accordance with this Constitution by the Managing Trustees and the Executive
Committee constituted by paragraphs 21 and 22 of this constitution.
21.
Managing
Trustees.
a.The Managing
Trustees of
the Association shall be the Trustees of the Royal
Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regimental Charities.
b.
The Managing Trustees
shall appoint members of
the Association, including at least two members
of their body, to be an Executive Committee for discharging such of their
functions in connection with the Association or the Management thereof and
in such manner and subject to such rules as the managing Trustees may from
time to time prescribe, but all acts and proceedings of the Executive
Committee shall be reported as soon as possible to the Managing Trustees.
22.
Executive Committee. The Executive Committee shall consist of not less
than 9 and not more than
18
members who are to include;
The President
The Chairman of The Association
One representative from The Rifles TA Companies
based in the Rifles South area;
Two representatives each from Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire and
the City and County of Bristol, elected by the Branches in that County.
One
representative
appointed by the
President for all non-Branch members,
One Representative, appointed by the
President, for all non Branch Members;
Treasurer
Secretary
23. Appointments of the
Executive Committee. The members of the Executive Committee shall be
notified to the Managing Trustees by the Chairman and they shall be elected
or appointed for a term of three years. They may stand for re-election or be
appointed.
24. Powers of the Executive Committee
a.
The proceedings of the Executive Committee shall be in accordance with the
powers given by them by the Trustees of the Association and shall be
governed by the same rules as those which apply to the Trustees.
b.
The Committee shall be empowered to issue such instructions consistent with
this constitution as shall in their opinion be for the good and efficient
running of the Association and in the furtherance of the Objects set out in
paragraph 2.
c.
The powers of the Committee will include the authority to deal with all
cases on benevolence, which may be delegated to a subcommittee of their
members, who will determine the amount and type of assistance to be given
within the financial limits prescribed from time to time by the Managing
Trustees.
25. Meetings of the Executive Committee and Chairman
a.
The Executive Committee will meet twice a year. Extraordinary meetings may
be called by the president in consultation with the Chairman of the
Association at not less than 14 days notice. One third of the total number
of the Executive Committee in office will be the quorum for any meeting.
b.
The President of the Association will be the Chairman of the Executive
Committee at all meetings. In his absence it will be the Chairman of the
Association.
26.
Travelling Expenses. The reasonable travelling expenses of Trustees and
members appointed to the Executive Committee to and from meetings may be
reimbursed from Association funds.
COUNCIL
27. There shall be a Regimental Association Council
which will meet annually to discuss Association matters but will not have
any financial or executive authority. It will normally meet prior to the
Annual General Meeting, so that its advice may be disseminated to branches
prior to the AGM. It will consist of:
The President as Chairman
The Chairman of the Association
Two members nominated by each Branch
The
Representatives from the TA battalions of The Rifles specified in paragraph
22;
Any members of the Executive Committee not included in another capacity.
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
28. An Annual General Meeting of the Association will
take place on a date and time and at a location designated by the Executive
Committee each year to take note of the accounts and deal with all other
matters affecting the Association. All decisions will be taken on a majority
of votes cast at the meeting.
29. All members will be notified by individual
notice of the date, time and place of the Annual General Meeting at least 21
days beforehand.
30. Members shall have the right to table motions for consideration at the
Annual General Meeting provided that notice of the motion has been given to
the Secretary no later than 14 days prior to the date of the meeting. Copies
of the Agenda will be issued to members so requesting them not later than 7
days prior to the date of the meeting and will be available to all members
attending the meeting. (However, see paragraph 47 concerning motions to
change this
constitution).
31. The Chairman of the Association, after consultation with the President,
may instruct the Secretary to convene Extraordinary General Meetings of the
Association in addition to the Annual General Meeting where they jointly
consider this appropriate.
32. The President or an officer of the Association appointed by him will
be Chairman of the Annual General Meeting.
RECORDS
33. A Minute Book containing the Minutes of all
meetings of the Executive Committee and Annual General Meetings will be
maintained by the
Secretary
and retained at
The Rifles Gloucester Office.
ANNUAL REUNION
34. There shall be Annual Reunions at such places and
times as shall be decided by the Executive Committee of the Association. The
AGM may be
combined with one of the Reunions.
FINANCE
35. The
Treasurer will keep an account of all incomes and
expenditure of the Association. The account will be audited annually and
submitted to the Managing Trustees. A copy of the audited accounts will be
reproduced in the annual report and submitted to the Charity Commissioners
for England and Wales.
BRANCHES OF THE
ASSOCIATION
36. The rules
approved for the general management of the Association shall apply in so far
as they are appropriate to the management of Branches and no rule shall be
made by Branches that conflicts with those of the Association. A register of
all Branches shall be maintained by the
Secretary
of the Association.
37. Removed.
38.
The title of all Branches shall be “The Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and
Wiltshire Regimental Association, (name of county, city, town or area)
branch”. This may be followed, if so desired by the branch, by any former
title containing the name(s) of former Regiments in brackets -eg: “(Formerly
The Duke of Edinburgh’s Royal regiment and The Wiltshire Regiment)”. This
title, together with the RGBW Association logo, is to be used on all Branch
stationary and appropriate publications. The badges of the former Regiments
may also be used in publications where appropriate.
39. Unless otherwise agreed by the AGM there shall only be one Branch of the
Association in each city, town or area.
40. Organisation
a.
Each branch may appoint a branch President in consultation with the
President of the Association.
b.
Each Branch shall be administered by a committee consisting of a branch
Chairman, a Secretary, a Treasurer and at least two members.
c.
Each Branch shall hold a General Meeting at least once a year and committee
meetings as required. A quorum for Branch meetings shall be decided by
Branches.
d.
The Branch President and committee members shall be elected at the Branch
Annual Meeting and shall retire annually, but shall be eligible for
re-election.
e.
The Branch officials shall be honorary and shall not be remunerated from
Association funds.
41.
Accounts
a.
As far as possible
Branches shall be self-supporting.
In the
event of any Branch unable to meet legitimate expenses, an application for a
grant may be made to the Chairman of the Association, in writing and with
full details.
b.
Annual grants will be made to Branches by the Executive Committee to cover
postage expenses incurred in official business of the Association, apart
from those arising from entertainments and social functions.
c.
Association funds of Branches shall not be used for purposes other than
those authorised by these rules.
d.
Branches will keep proper books to account for all monies received by them,
whether these monies belong to the Association, or Branch domestic funds.
e.
The executive Committee shall have the right to send representatives to
examine the account books of Branches.
f.
Branch accounts shall be balanced on 31 March annually and shall be audited
by two members elected at the Branch Annual Meeting.
42.
Membership and Associate Membership
a.
A register of Branch members is to be maintained by each Branch
b.
Associate Members of branches may be approved by the Branch Annual General
Meeting, but Honorary Membership of the Association can only be
confirmed by the Executive Committee of the
Association in accordance with paragraph 7.
43.
Branch Standards All Branch Standards will continue to be paraded as
heretofore and the reasonable expenses of the Standard bearers will be
refunded where they are required to be on parade to represent the
Association as a whole.
44.
Annual Report Each Branch shall submit to The Rifles Office, Gloucester a
report on the activities of the Branch in the form of Notes for the
DRESS AND INSIGNIA
45. Regimental ties and blazer badges of the Royal Gloucestershire,
Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment and lapel badges of the Regimental
Association will be available on repayment from The Rifles Gloucester and
Salisbury Offices. Regimental ties, blazer badges and lapel badges of
Regiments may continue to be worn by members and will also be available from
Those Offices.
ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER
46. An
Annual Newsletter will be produced by the Association and distributed free
to those members who apply to receive it.
CHANGES TO THE CONSTITUTION
47. Resolutions to change or alter
this constitution should be submitted in
writing to the Secretary of the Association for consideration and evaluation
by the Executive Committee at least 56 days before an Annual general Meeting
or a Special General Meeting at which such resolutions shall be brought
forward. The proposer(s), may be asked to attend the Executive Committee.
48.
The Secretary
shall then provide all Members of the Association the
details of any such resolution and of the Executive Committee’s findings and
recommendations, as early as possible and at least 14 days before the
resolution is made at an Annual General Meeting, or Special General Meeting.
The changes or alterations must then receive the assent of two thirds of the
members present and voting.
49.
Provided that no alteration made to paragraph 2 (Objects), paragraph
51 (Dissolution) or this
paragraph
shall take effect until the approval in writing
to the Charity Commissioners or other authority having charitable
jurisdiction has been obtained; and no alteration shall be made which would
have the effect of causing the Association to cease to be a charity in law.
50.
The Rules of the Association shall be reviewed by the Executive Committee
every three years.
DISSOLUTION
51. The Association may be dissolved by a Resolution passed by a two-thirds
majority of those Full Members voting in a postal ballot. Such resolution
may give instructions for the disposal of any assets held by or in the name
of the Association, provided that if any property remains after the
satisfaction of all debts and liabilities such property shall not be paid or
distributed among members of the Association but shall be given or
transferred to such other charitable institution or institutions having
objects similar to some or all of the objects of the Association as the
Association may determine, and if in so far as effect cannot be given to
this provision, then to some other charitable purpose.
Registered Charity Number 1038526
9th June 1994
Rev. April 1999
Rev. October 2009
Regimental Headquarters
The Royal Gloucestershire Berkshire and
Wiltshire Regiment
The Custom House
Gloucester GL1 2HE
|
