The Chairman's report for the East of London FHS Annual General Meeting is reproduced here to provide more information to prospective members about the aims, goals, and accomplishments of the East of London Family History Society and for current members who might find it convenient for reference.

CHAIRMAN'S REPORT TO THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

9th JANUARY 1999

Ladies and Gentlemen - It gives me very great pleasure to present my second report to you as Chairman of the Society. It seems hard to believe that it is now some two years since I took on the role at Eastbury House in January 1997. While at times I find the work quite tiring, I still gain a great sense of achievement from it. You will remember that I stated that my principal aim was to promote the Society as a whole, and that in the main has now been achieved.

MEMBERSHIP

This year the Society continues to flourish. Membership has increased by over 14% with the present membership standing at 3129. I am proud to say that we now have members on every continent of the world: from Australasia to the West Indies, Bahrain, China, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway and of course the United States.

To a large extent this is due not only to the hard work of the various Committee and Branch members, but this year it also came from an unexpected source. Many of you will have read the article on the Society, published in the November edition of Family History Monthly, which helped in spreading the word about the Society throughout this country and indeed the world. It is on your behalf I would like to thank the Editor and his staff, especially Ben Locker who wrote the article, for the help given by them in promoting the Society.

During the year Fred and Margaret Brown, our Membership Secretaries for over twelve years, stepped down. I am sure that all members would wish to join with me in thanking both of them for the sterling work they have done for the Society.

You will remember that they were made Life Members of the Society in 1997. But in addition the Executive Committee felt that their work on behalf of the membership has been such that an additional token of our esteem was warranted. I would therefore like to invite both Fred and Margaret to accept a small presentation. [Presentation made to Margaret Brown]

The Executive Committee would also like to thank Jacquie Crompton for coming forward and taking up the onerous task of Membership Secretary. I'm sure that she agrees that Fred & Margaret will be a very hard act to follow indeed.

COCKNEY ANCESTOR

Cockney Ancestor continues to be edited by Joan Renton with the help of those who regularly contribute articles for inclusion. Between them they provide members with a magazine of the highest quality. However, she still continues to require that help, so please continue to provide many more articles for inclusion in future Magazine.

In addition to the regular mail service, Joan can now also receive letters and articles via e-mail, so for those with that facility it is now even easier to contact her. Her e-mail address will be found in the next copy of Cockney Ancestor, which is expected to be published by the end of this month. Thank you Joan for all of your hard work on our behalf.

PROJECTS

Members will recall that the Society Projects Co-ordinator, Debbie Earrey and her assistant Jacquie Crompton asked to step down last year. However to ensure that a proper hand over took place, Debbie continued with the role until Colleen Mitchell was well enough to take it up, which I am pleased to say she did in July. Colleen will now continue to co-ordinate the work of the various Branch project managers and to oversee the project work in general.

The Project Sub-Committee has had to re-schedule those projects already under way and hope to finalise a number in the near future. This past year we have seen the publication of the long awaited 1851 Census of Whitechapel, Hackney 1821, Poplar 1821 and 1831, East Ham and Little Ilford 1861. However, volunteers are still require to assist with the ongoing work, so if you feel that you could give a few hours to help complete a project, please see your Branch Project Manager for further details.

On a more positive note I can report that the inputting work on the censuses for Hackney 1851, Stoke Newington 1841, Poplar & Bow 1851, West Ham 1891, and the Bethnal Green 1891, is now finished, likewise the inputting of the Crow Lane and St. Mary Magdalene East Ham Cemeteries.

To complete these projects now requires what we term Topping & Tailing this we have found to be quite a lengthy process, it incorporates researching and writing the introductions and preparing the text for the printer and finally making ready the publication. As you will appreciate this will all take time so I would ask members to remain patient. Publication dates will be available this year.

The work on the Frogley Manuscript and the 1891 Census of Barking Surnames and also St. John's, Stratford continues.

I would also like to thank the Branch Project Managers for the hard work they have put in to support the work; they are Christine Patient, David Groen, Jack Jackson, and Rose Mint & Ann Quade.

COMPUTER GROUP

A Management Committee consisting of Jacquie Crompton, Peter Palmer and Maureen Watts run the Society's Computer Group. At the last AGM I reported that the Computer Group was in danger of being closed due to poor attendance. and the venue had changed month by month between Ilford and Upminster. This year I am pleased to report that attendances at Upminster have increased dramatically to about 35-40 people at each meeting. So the change, made following consultation with members of Essex SFH Computer Group, has been a success. We therefore wish the group every success for the future.

I have also been asked here to clarify a point regarding the Computer Group meetings, although being held at Upminster just prior to the monthly Havering meeting. It does not in any way form part of that Havering meeting; it is and always should be considered a completely separate Branch in itself.

THE BOOKSTALL

What can be said about our Bookstall Manager David Filby, his work in this area is so well known. He continues to provide the membership with a Bookstall and Mail Order Service that is second to none. This year the Mail Order Service alone has taken over 14,000, the annual turnover including the Bookstall over 26,000. The bookstall profits are ploughed back into Society funds and go a very long way to keeping our membership fee to one of the lowest, if not the lowest. in the country. Because of this you will be pleased to know that there will be no increase in subscription again this year.

During the past year David and his team of volunteers have travelled to many other functions and meetings around the country apart from the normal Branch Meetings. These have ranged from the SoG Bookfair, The Essex County Show, Chelmsford and Tonbridge History Fair's, and were also invited to attend a meeting of the Marlow FHS Open Day. We remain indebted to David and his team for all their hard work in providing this valuable service to members.

MEMBERS' INTERESTS

Our Members' Interest Secretary Eileen Pullin reports that enquiries for this service have increased in line with the rise in membership, and this has increased the workload of her team considerably. You will recall that a large backlog of interests had occurred awaiting publication in Cockney Ancestor due to lack of available space. In an effort to overcome this problem, you will have seen that the Members Interests are now being produced as a booklet separate from the Magazine. This policy change has also allowed the Editor to increase the size and content of the Magazine and we hope that you will approve.

The computerisation of members' interests has again had to be delayed. But you will, I am sure appreciate that this will be a considerable project in itself with over 30,000 entries estimated. Both the Executive and the Projects committees will be keeping the matter under review. To Eileen and her team of helpers, Ken Baker and Enid Thorogood, may I offer our thanks for a job well done.

COURIER SERVICE

Our Courier service continues to be provided by Robert Drummond. He tells me that this year has been somewhat busier than last. He has processed a total of 443 items, which includes 159 Birth, 77 Marriage, 92 Death certificates, 67 Wills and 28 Census returns. Due to this Bob has been able to donate 850 to Society Funds.

It is with regret that he tells me that due to advancing years and a possible house move he does not think that he shall be able to continue this service much beyond 1999. Due to this he would ask if there is anyone who would be interested in continuing this work. If there is, Bob can be contacted at the address shown in Cockney Ancestor. Our thanks go to you Bob, for your continuing work on behalf of the Society.

INTERNET

Our Internet Home Page continues to generate a lot of interest on the World Wide Web. Since its inception the site itself has logged over 30,000 visits, which is approximately 55 per day. The Home Page contains information on the Society, together with membership details and a break down of the services we offer. This year the pages concerned with the east of London area, have been revamped and enlarged to include hyper-links to maps, census and other information sites valuable to members.

The Home Page continues to be managed by one of our overseas members Dave Jordan, from his home in New Jersey. But he is also now assisted by Dave Wild, a UK member from Dagenham, Essex. Our thanks go to both of them, for all their help in supporting this project.

AND FINALLY
I would like to send my thanks, not only to all the committee members, who have so ably supported me during this year, but also to all those members who, continue to help out behind the scenes and without whose contribution the society would not continue to be so successful.

I would like especially to mention my vice-chairman Geoff Canton, is stepping down after two years as my deputy and also as the Branch Rep. for Barking & Dagenham. Geoff my sincere thanks go to you for all the support that you have given me during this time and for the work that you have done on behalf of the Barking Branch. I am sure that the Executive Committee joins me in wishing you well for the future.

Now to a more serious note, should I be re-elected it will be my third year as your Chairman and, as I have already stated, at times I do find the work quite tiring. As such I do not believe that one should remain in office ad infinitum, and the position requires constant change and refreshment, to enable the Society to go forward and progress, as I believe it should. With this in mind I have to inform you that I will not be seeking re-election to the office of Chairman in the year 2000. I believe that is only right that we should go forward together at that time into the New Millennium under a new chairman.

Once again my thanks go to you all - it has been a privilege to be your Chairman.

John Reynolds
Chairman ELFHS