The Annual General Meeting of the North Western Federation of Philatelic Societies was held at the Larkhill Centre on 10 October 2026.
Present:
P. Aveyard (Morecambe); G. Clarke (City of Preston and Lytham St Annes); B. Evans (Burnley); C. Griffiths (Trafford); T. Harley (Morecambe); P. Kirk (Macclesfield and Prestbury); G. Naden (Macclesfield and Prestbury); D. Rothery (Kendal); D. Sigee (Trafford).
Apologies: E. Dunn (Bolton); S. Parkin (Stockport).
AGENDA
1. Minutes
The minutes of the previous meeting held at the Larkhill Centre on 11/10/25 which had previously been circulated, agreed and published on the Federation website were noted. There were no matters arising not covered in the Agenda below.
2. Officer Reports
Chair
The Chair (Clive Griffiths) stated that he had requested reports from secretaries of constituent societies and that he had received replies from twelve societies (up from eight last year). With a couple of exceptions, most reported that numbers were low, but more or less stable. Happily, Rochdale reported that it was continuing to meet, despite having reported last year that it was on the brink of collapse. Ellesmere Port seems to be doing very well and remains very active even managing to organise two auctions per year. There was a particularly notable report from Colwyn Bay where a small group of collectors maintains a regular programme of meetings which although mainly comprising presentations from within their own membership continues to generate plenty of interest and enjoyment in the context of the traditional face-to-face meeting.
The mix of afternoon and evening meetings does not appear to have changed, nor have any societies yet changed the frequency of meetings, although this is a matter of discussion by some.
The Zoom meetings run by Stockport PS continue to attract a national and international audience.
In his role as Webmaster, Clive reported that he had recently contacted societies to ensure that the information on the Federation website regarding them was up to date. Further, he had informed ABPS of this and had suggested, both for ease of reference by outsiders and to ensure continuing accuracy, that the ABPS website might link directly to the Federation website list of societies.
Treasurer
The Treasurer (Peter Kirk) presented the accounts for the year ending 1st October 2026. Following the final closure of the Packet Account the total balance amounted to £9092.46, an increase of almost £500 from last year due to final commission from the Packet circulation.
Peter was thanked for his work as Treasurer and for his role as Packet Superintendent in finally closing the Packet circulation.
In view of the healthy balance, there was a discussion as to whether subscriptions from local societies (currently £7 per annum for societies with a membership of 10 or more) might be paused. A motion to this effect was put to the meeting, but it was rejected by a vote of those present.
It was agreed, however, that societies should be encouraged to apply for possible financial help from the Federation to support special events aimed both at raising their profile in their locality and promoting the hobby in general.
Speakers’ List
Dave Rothery reported that he had recently completed a revision of the Speakers’ List. There had been some reduction in the number of people offering displays, but on the other hand some speakers had added more topics to their offerings.
Following on from the proposal last year that the responsibility for the list might be handed over to ABPS, Dave reported that upon further investigation this had not seemed the best course of action and that, in consultation with the Chair, it had been decided to keep the list ‘in house’ for the present. This was accepted by the meeting.
3. Competitions
The Competitions Organiser (Dave Rothery) reported that the Spring One-Page Competition had attracted 13 entries. These had all been shown on the Federation website. There seemed to be a continuing interest in this competition, and it was resolved that there should be a similar competition next year.
There had been some difficulty in finding judges for the Autumn Competition in the new format proposed at last year’s AGM (par. 4.2). Our existing judging panel from the NE Federation preferred to stick with the One- and Two-Frame format. After discussion with the Chair, it was decided that the competition should go ahead in the current year in this format. To date, however, although the closing date of 31 October was rapidly approaching, there had been very few entries. It was decided that no decision should be taken at present regarding an Autumn Competition next year and that the Executive Committee might determine whether or not to go ahead and in what format the competition might be framed, at a later date.
4. Paul Gaywood Lecture
It was reported that the 2026 Paul Gaywood Lecture was held in conjunction with the 60th Anniversary celebrations of Macclesfield and Prestbury PS. Grahame Winters gave an excellent presentation on ‘Silk Postcards’. The lecture was held, appropriately, in Macclesfield Silk Museum and attracted a good audience, including Lynda Gaywood.
Currently, there are no offers to host the 2027 lecture. Any society wishing to do so, either as a ‘one-off’ event or as part of a more general philatelic event, should contact the Chair as soon as possible. The Federation will cover extra expenses involved. (See discussion following Treasurer’s Report above.)
5. Elections
President
Stephen Parkin has agreed to remain as President for one final year (having already extended his term of office by a year). Stephen was thanked and it was noted that he will be giving his Presidential Lecture at Trafford PS on Tuesday 3rd November 2026 to which all are invited.
Chair
The Chair (Clive Griffiths) having completed his second three-year term of office and in accordance with the constitution, stood down at the end of the meeting. It was reported that Garrie Naden had agreed to take over the role and this was accepted by the meeting unanimously.
Clive thanked all those who had supported him during this period, particularly Peter Kirk and Dave Rothery. Clive was thanked for his work in carrying forward the activities of the Federation.
Treasurer
Peter Kirk agreed to continue in this role.
Secretary
It was agreed to leave this role vacant for the time being, subject to further consideration by the incoming Chair.
Executive Committee
All members of the executive committee were subject to re-election. Although requests for nominations were made earlier, none had been received, but current members Eddie Dunn and Dave Rothery each agreed to serve for further terms of two years. This was approved by the meeting.
There remain TWO vacancies on the committee. Anyone wishing to join the committee should contact the Chair for further information.
There being no further business, the meeting closed at 12.55pm.