Annual Report 2003

The Stuart Rossiter Trust Fund

Registered Charity Number 292076

TRUSTEES REPORT FOR 2003

This was the eighth full year of operation for the Charity. The Charity's main objects are set out in paragraph 7 of this Report. The Charity's financial year is the calendar year. The Charity originated under a provision in the will of Stuart Rossiter who died on the 19th December 1982.

The Charity is governed by a Trust Deed dated 3rd June 1985 and by an Order of the Charity
Commission dated the 24th January 1995 and by a Deed of Modification dated the 21st August
1995.

Three books were published by the Charity in 2003 namely: Norman Hoggarth and Robin Gwynn's book "Maritime Disaster Mail", Kendall C Sanford's book "Air Crash Mail of Imperial Airways and Predecessor Airlines" and the fourth Stuart Rossiter Trust Postal History Journal containing three monographs by invited authors on different subjects

Looking ahead to 2004 and beyond, provided that the texts are completed, the programme for publishing approved by the Trustees at the moment is "Introduction to Postal History of Denmark 1625-1950"?, "The Postal History of Spanish New Orleans", "The Postal History of the Army of the Black Sea 1919 to 1922"?, "The Postal History of Cardiff", "The Postal History of the Royal Marines"?, "Soldiers Mail"? and "Dutch East Indies Postal Rates 1864-1949".

A grant for research and then publication by the Author concerned was made for "Transatlantic Mails"?. A grant towards the cost of revision leading to a second edition of "History of the Post in England from the Romans to the Stuarts" was approved. In conjunction with three other charities, this Charity has offered a repayable grant for a book on "Ecuador Seebeck issues"?.

The Charity's website www.rossitertrust.com became operational in 2001 and underwent substantial revision in 2003. It now includes the Charity's Annual Accounts and Report for 2001, a section on its Annual Lectures and Author's Guidelines. Generally it gives details relating to the Charity and its publications which extends the detail in this Report for any person wishing to know more about the Charity.

No Stuart Rossiter Memorial Lecture was given in 2003 but the eighth one has been arranged for
29 October 2004.

The cumulative position as in December 2003 from the last quarter of 1995 is summarised by the Trustees as follows:

1.	Books published	20
2.	Research grants taken up and paid	7
3.	Memorial Lectures	7
4.	Applications for publications approved	7
5.	Applications for research grants approved	2
6.	Books published with financial assistance from the Charity	8
7.	Books to be published with financial assistance from the Charity	2
8.	Book published by an Annual Lecturer privately from which the Charity has benefited	1
9.	Support for a pamphlet for a display of county postal history in a Welsh Museum	1
10.	Support for conservation for future and present research and publication purposes of papers in the Archives of St Helena	1

Audited accounts are available and applications for copies should be sent to the Corresponding Trustee.

Assets of the Charity at the 31st December 2003 were valued at £296,443.

Investment income was £10,216 and £100 was received in donations. Revenue from sales of books was £12,530 and the total income [disregarding capital gains and losses] was £22,966.

Expenditure was £21,006.

Included in this was expenditure for grants and publication costs of £12,849, amended website design £3,748, administration and postage expenses of £3,899, and for one year's audit fees £500.
audit fees £500.

The new website design and rental cost was £2,068 and there will be extra cost in 2002 to update it.

The Trustees have:

Established an income reserve which is designed to be available to cover the cost of important works which might be too expensive to fund out of annual income on a year by year basis. The income reserve on the 31st December 2003 was £8,141 and the accummulated income surplus £11,551. Forward publishing and grant plans or commitments assume that all this money will be spent in the next four years.

Established a policy that sales revenue from publications shall be treated as income in the year in which the revenue arises and will not be treated as capital and will not (unless circumstances warrant) be credited to income reserve. This policy is consistent with making sure that money is made available to fund further projects as soon as that income has been received.

Other policies remain as set out in the Annual Report for 1999 copies of which are available on application.

The Trustees as will be seen from paragraph 5 are prepared to allocate income on a forward basis because by its very nature publishing work entails a long rather than a short working period between approval of a project and publication. The author needs to have financial assurances that funds will be available for publication before embarking on the details of researching and writing.

There is therefore a difference between policy on income reserve (for applications which may be made in the future) and money reserved for specific projects to meet forward contractural obligations to authors.

The Trustees rely on investment advice from its investment advisers who are Gerrards of Queens Square, Bristol BS1 4QP. The investment policy is related to long term growth and reasonable current income. The Trustees have the wide investment powers of an individual.

The policy set out in paragraph 6 of the 1995 report remains unchanged. That paragraph said:

"The Trustees have found that there are many projects for research and publication which can be funded usefully within the terms of the charitable objects of the Charity; the path of progress is to move forward slowly but deliberately, and with an eye to quality of text and publication while still trying to publish what commercial interests could not afford to publish economically and which private individuals could not afford to publish privately"?.

It is worth repeating here that the objects of this Charity are to promote research into the history of the postal services and to support publication in this area.

Persons wishing to benefit from the funds of this Charity are invited to make a written application setting out a synopsis of their proposed research and publication. The Trustees then ask further questions before deciding on the merits of an application and whether the application is within the objects of the Charity and if approved can be fitted into the Charity's cash flow for the intended year of research or publication.

There are no restrictions on who can apply or on the subject within the objects: that is to say the Charity acts worldwide in respect of both.

The Trustees personally encourage applications through personal activity and publicise the ability to make applications in the published works of the Charity and on the Charity's website. The Trustees have decided to continue publishing books directly for the time being rather than move to a grant based system as had previously been envisaged.

After repayment of the Trust's publication costs, the usual position is one of sharing the further proceeds of sale with the author. Research grants as such are not normally repayable; likewise small grants to have an archive or collection of research value preserved by copying are not repayable.

The Trustees consider most of their applications immediately through the post to give speed of response and to avoid the cost of travel to meetings. Formal Trustee meetings are normally held three times a year.

In 2001 the Charity began to explore long term links for the continuity of the Trusteeship with the British Library. The British Library is of course itself an educational charity like this Charity, and its work is connected with research and publishing as well as being a national resource with an extensive specialist library connected with the history and practice of postal communication. In 2003 it was agreed that the Head of Philatelic Collections at the British Library would be a Trustee of the Stuart Rossiter Trust.

There are no other formal links with any person or body charitable or otherwise save in relation to arrangements with those that sell the Charity's books to the public at large. Any individual arrangements for co-operation on research or books are made ad hoc according to the needs and circumstances relating to the researcher or author.

While there are few risks attaching to the work and operation of this Charity, the Trustees carried out a risk assessment procedure in 2003 and will continue to regularly review risks.

The Trustees in 2003 were David Beech [Head of Philatelic Collections at the British Library] who was chairman of the Trustees, Robin Pizer (Corresponding Trustee), Robert Johnson, Susan Hopson, David Tett and Eric Goffe. Robert Johnson retired as a Trustee in July 2003.

The power of appointing new trustees is vested in the existing Trustees.

The address of the Corresponding Trustee is 6 Drews Court, Churchdown, Gloucestershire GL3 2LD and all communications or enquiries concerning the Charity or its work may be sent to that address.

The bankers to the Charity are The Bank of Scotland, 21 Prince Street, Bristol BS99 7JG. The solicitors to the Charity are Osborne Clarke, 50 Queen Charlotte Street, Bristol BS1 4HE and the auditor is Mr Maurice Nichols, Chartered Accountant, of 43 Manor Park, Redland, Bristol BS6 7HL.