REGIMENTAL COUNCIL INSTRUCTION NUMBER 8

THE KING’S AND MANCHESTER REGIMENTS ASSOCIATION

RULES OF THE ASSOCIATION

TITLE

1. The full title of the Association is to be “The King’s and Manchester Regiments Association”, hereinafter referred to as “The Association”.

OBJECTS OF THE ASSOCIATION

2. The objects of the Association and its powers are as follows:

a. Objects

(1) To promote efficiency of the Army by fostering esprit de corps, comradeship and the welfare of The King’s Regiment and by preserving the traditions of the Regiment.

(2) To relieve either generally or individually ordinary and honorary members of the Association and their dependants who are in conditions of need, hardship or distress (hereinafter referred to as beneficiaries).

b. Powers.  In furtherance of the forgoing Objects but not further but not further or otherwise the Association (through its Managing Committee and the Trustees of the King’s Regiment and its predecessor Regiments Soldier’s Aid Fund (the “Trustees”)) shall have the following powers:

(1) To take all the necessary action for publishing and disseminating information concerning the histories, deeds and traditions of the King’s Regiment and its predecessor Regiments, and for the encouragement of the recruiting thereto.

(2) To execute and administer exclusively charitable trusts.

(3) To receive, take and accept and gifts of property, real or personal, whether subject to any special trusts or not.

(4) To receive and accept contributions by way of subscriptions, donations and otherwise, and 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.

(5) To assist beneficiaries by way of grants, gifts, pensions or otherwise, or by providing or paying for items, services or facilities calculated to reduce the need, hardship or distress of beneficiaries.

(6) To pay for such items, services or facilities by way of donations or subscriptions to charitable institutions or organisations which provide or which undertake in return to provide such items, services or facilities for beneficiaries.

(7) Subject to such consents as may from time to time be required by law, to purchase, take, lease or exchange any property required for the purposes of the Association and lease, exchange or otherwise dispose of the same.

(8) Subject to such consents as may from time to time be required by law, to borrow to raise money for the purposes of the Association on such terms and such security as may be thought fit.

(9) To invest funds for the Association in such investments as may be from time to time be authorised by law.

(10) To accumulate funds of the Association for such period as may be from time to time be authorised by law.

(11) To do such other things as shall further the Objects.

MEMBERSHIP

3. There are three classes of membership of the Association as follows:

a. Ordinary Members.  Ordinary membership of the Association is automatically conferred on all those who serve or who have served in any Battalion of the king’s (Liverpool) Regiment, the Manchester Regiment or the King’s Regiment. Any other Regular or Volunteer officer or soldier who has served as a member of the Regiment other than in a Battalion is also automatically a member of the Association.

b. Honorary Membership.  Honorary membership is automatically conferred on widows, widowers or other dependants of past ordinary members of the Association.

c. Associate Membership.  Associate membership may be conferred on serving, retired or discharged officers or soldiers of the armed forces at the discretion of Branch Committees. Associate membership is automatically conferred on the following:

(1) The ship’s companies of HMS Liverpool and HMS Manchester whenever either ship is visiting the port of Liverpool.

(2) Members of the affiliated Regiments whilst temporarily in the United Kingdom.

(3) Members of the Liverpool and Manchester and Salford Universities officers Training Corps.

(4) Officers and other adult instructors of the King’s Regiment’s affiliated CCF and ACF contingents and detachments.

(5) Any other persons on whom the Association Managing Committee grants the status of Associate Membership.

SUBSCRIPTIONS

4. Subscriptions to the Association are to be raised as follows:

a. Ordinary Members. Serving officers and soldiers are to contribute to the Day’s Pay Scheme under the terms of Queen’s Regulations paragraph 5.613. A proportion of this contribution as decided by the Managing Committee is deemed to confer life membership of the Association. Retired Officers and discharged soldiers do not pay this subscription.

b. Honorary and Associate Members. Honorary and Associate members do not pay any subscription.

ORGANISATION

5. The Association is to be organized under the Colonel of the Regiment as President into a Managing Committee, Trustees and Branches as follows:

a. The Association Managing Committee. The Committee is established to manage the financial and other affairs of the Association in accordance with the Rules. It is to be composed as follows:

(1) Chairman of the Association – Appointed by the Colonel of the Regiment.

(2) Secretary of the Association – The Regimental Secretary.

(3) Treasurer of the Association – The Assistant Regimental Secretary Liverpool.

(4) Representatives from Branches as follows:

(a) Liverpool – Chairman and Secretary.

(b) Manchester - Chairman and Secretary.

(c) Ashton-under-Lyne – Chairman.

(d) Preston – Chairman.

(5) Commanding Officer of the 1^st Battalion.

(6) Commanding Officer of the 5^th/8^th Battalion

(7) Regimental Sergeant Major of the 1^st Battalion.

(8) Regimental Sergeant Major of the 5^th/8^th Battalion.

(9) A former serving volunteer officer or soldier of The King’s (Liverpool) Regiment.

(10) A former serving volunteer officer or soldier of The Manchester regiment.

(11) Chairman of the Regimental Chapel Committee.

(12) Chairman of the Liverpool Cathedral Committee.

(13) Chairman of the Regimental Museum Committee.

(14) Chairman of the “Museum of the Manchesters” Committee.

(15) Chairman of the Manchester Regiment Officers’ Association.

(16) Chairman of the Liverpool Scottish Regimental Association.

(17) Chairman of the Liverpool Scottish Officers’ Association.

(18) Chairman of the Regimental Korean Veterans Association.

(19) Chairman of the regimental Malayan Veterans Association.

(20) The Plymouth Branch remains in suspended animation.

b. Duties of the Officers of the Managing Committee.

(1) Secretary.

(a) He is to conduct correspondence and maintain records.

(b) He is responsible to the Trustees for the maintenance of accounts. He is to delegate the day to day maintenance of the accounts to the Treasurer.

(c) He is to submit to the Trustees recommendations regarding the transfer of money from the Soldiers’ Aid Fund for investment when the state of the Fund justifies such action.

(2) Treasurer.

(a) He is to keep an account of all receipts and expenditure, and maintain the accounts under the supervision of the Secretary.

(b) He is to forward applications for benevolence to the appropriate Branch Secretary for consideration of a grant being made. On receipt of the Branch Benevolence Committee’s recommendation he is to pay the grant accordingly.

(c) He is to conduct all correspondence with the Army Benevolent Fund and any other grant making bodies.

c. Quorum. A quorum for any meeting of the managing Committee shall be six which must include a representative from both the Liverpool and Manchester Branches.

d. The Trustees. Trustees are to be appointed in accordance with the Scheme for the King’s Regiment Soldiers’ Aid Fund. Duties of the Trustees are set out in the Scheme, in this Regimental Council Instruction and Regimental Council Instruction No 7.

e. Branches. Branches of the Association are based in Liverpool (formerly the King’s Regiment (Liverpool) Old Comrades Association), Manchester (formerly the Manchester Regiment Old Comrades Association), Ashton-under-Lyne, Plymouth and Preston.

f. Branch Geographical Boundaries. Branch boundaries in the North West conform to local authority boundaries as follows:

(1) The Liverpool Branch conforms to the Merseyside County boundary except that it also includes that part of Lancashire south of the Southport-Burscough-Shevington Railway line.

(2) The Manchester Branch conforms to the Greater Manchester County boundary except that the Association members may if they wish join the Ashton-under-Lyne Branch.

(3) The Ashton-under-Lyne Branch conforms to the Tameside Borough boundary.

(4) The Plymouth Branch extends to a 100 mile radius from the city centre, defined as the location of the Town Hall.

(5) The Preston Branch conforms to the Lancashire County Boundary with the exception of those parts allotted to other Branches.

(6) All other Association members living outside the geographical areas of any of the Branches are affiliated in the case of former King’s Regiment (Liverpool) personnel to Liverpool and in the case of former Manchester Regiment personnel to Manchester. Those discharged or retired since 1958 living outside Branch geographical boundaries will be affiliated to the nearest Branch.

g. Branch Committees. Each Branch is to have a Branch Committee which is to comprise:

(1) A Chairman appointed by the Colonel of the regiment.

(2) In the case of Liverpool and Manchester Branches, an Honorary Secretary/Treasurer appointed by the Colonel of the Regiment. Elsewhere an Honorary Secretary/Treasurer appointed by the Branch Committee, provided that if so desired, the committee may in addition appoint not more than one more joint Secretary/Treasurer.

(3) Members as required who shall be elected annually at Branch Annual General meetings. Serving soldiers are to be included where possible and other members are to represent the widest possible range of former rank and service.

(4) Branch Vice-Presidents. From time to time, a Branch may wish to honour a member for long and distinguished service to the Branch and the office of Branch Vice-President is open to them to grant. A member who is to be proposed as a Vice-President should be firstly willing to accept the honour and secondly be proposed to the Branch by unanimous decision of the Committee. A 75% majority of members present at a Branch General Meeting (Annual or Extraordinary) will decide in favour of the proposal. The office is for the life of the incumbent. The office is purely honorary and recognises the outstanding nature of the contribution given by the member concerned. The Vice-President may be a member of the Branch Committee but not the Chairman unless appointed by the Colonel of the Regiment.

h. Branch Benevolence Committees. The Liverpool and Manchester Branches are to maintain Branch Benevolence Committees whose task it is to consider cases being made for benevolence payments. Each Branch Benevolence Committee is to be drawn from across the Branch membership as widely as possible and is to include a serving soldier whenever possible. Benevolence Committees are to be presided over by a serving or retired officer, or cases are to be referred to a serving or retired officer for the final sanction before action is taken.

ASSOCIATION ACTIVITIES

6. The Managing Committee and the Branches are to further the Objects of the Association by, amongst other things, taking the following action:

a. Membership. When a Regular soldier is discharged, the Secretary of the Managing Committee is to write to him after three months giving him details of his nearest Association Branch, sending a copy to the Branch Secretary who will then contact him after a further nine months. Below the commissioned level, ranks are no longer to apply to Association members who have been discharged.

b. Remembrance.  Arranging regimental representation at appropriate locations on Remembrance and other days as required. Arranging the Turning of the Leaves Ceremony in the Regimental Chapel under the direction of the Chairman of the Chapel Committee.

c. Social. Arranging Branch social functions. These may be held as frequently and in whatever location Branch committees decide, except that:

(1) All functions are to be publicised to all Branches and other Branch attendance encouraged in order to reflect the fact that the Regiment is a single unified entity with one Association. Whilst nothing in these Rules precludes any group of veterans holding any function under their own name, such functions are to be publicised and open to all members of the Association.

(2) Spouses and partners are only to be excluded from social functions on exceptional occasions.

d. Benevolence. The Managing Trustees of the King’s Regiment Soldiers Aid Fund have made the following regulations for the conduct of the benevolence policy of the regiment.

(1) Entitlement. All ordinary members and honorary members of the Association, and their dependants are entitled to make a case to become beneficiaries, except that in all cases, commissioned officers and their dependants will be referred to the appropriate agency.

(2) Requirement for Reports.  Whenever the Association becomes aware of a case for which benevolence may be appropriate it is to request an investigation by a recognised agency such as SSAFA Forces Help. Subsequently the report is to be passed to the association Secretary who will decide which of the Liverpool or Manchester Branch Benevolence Committees will decide on the grant to be made. Only in the most exceptional circumstances where the case is very well known to the Branch Benevolence Committee members may they recommend that a grant be made without such investigation

(3) Scope of Grants. The lower and upper limit for grants will be decided from time to time by the Trustees. Grants required above the upper limit are to be referred to the Army Benevolent Fund for payment. All dealings with the Army Benevolent Fund are to be carried out only by the Association Treasurer.

(4) Payment. Agreed benevolence payments are to be made on the recommendation of the relevant Branch Benevolence Committee by the Association Treasurer to an appropriate welfare agency. Cash grants may be made directly to individuals only in the most exceptional circumstances. Gifts in kind may be made directly to individuals.

(5) Pensions. All remaining Regimental Pensions are to be honoured but if possible are to be transferred for payment to the Army Benevolent Fund. No new regimental Pensions are to be granted without the agreement of the Association Managing Committee.

(6) Bankers. The accounts of the fund are to be maintained by the Association Treasurer who will ensure that all income arising from the fund’s investments, grants from the General Charitable Trust and any other donations or other income are paid promptly into the Soldier’s Aid Fund account maintained at any bank as may be decided by the Trustees from time to time.

(7) Budget Planning and Expenditure. Budgets are to be planned and expenditure is to be authorised by the Trustees who will:

(a) Consider recommendations from the Association Secretary and Treasurer regarding the amounts required for benevolence and Branch Administration.

(b) Sanction arrangements made to enable the Association Treasurer to make benevolence payments on the recommendations of the Branch Benevolence Committees.

(c) Authorise certain specific cases requiring benevolence or grants of regimental pensions.

(d) Authorise grants to the Army Benevolent Fund and other registered charities.

(e) Authorise payments to defray the cost of printing, stationary, postage and any other expenditure within the Objects of the Association other than benevolence. In apportioning money from the Soldiers Aid Fund, it is the duty of the Trustees to bear in mind the need for efficient administration and to strike a careful balance between this and the availability and reservation of the greatest possible proportion of the available funds for benevolence purposes. The Trustees are to have regard to the requirement for amounts totalling not less than 60% of the income accruing from the Day’s Pay Scheme to be paid in cash or in kind as benevolence to beneficiaries either directly or through the Army Benevolent Fund.

(8) Audit of the Soldier’s Aid Fund. The Association Treasurer shall maintain the Fund. The Association secretary shall arrange for the audit of the Fund annually as at 31^st December by persons suitably qualified under the provisions of the Charities Act. The President of the Association may order an audit by civilian accountants.

(9) Branch Administration.

(10) Branch Administration Fund. This fund is to be maintained by an annual grant as agreed by the Trustee. It may be used for any purpose provided the Branch Committee agrees that such purpose furthers the Objects of the Association: In order to maintain the Soldiers Aid Fund income at the maximum possible level, gifts will not be paid in full as a lump sum. Branch Committees must apply for payment of –expenses as they arise.

(11) Maintenance and Audit of Branch Administrative Fund Accounts.

Branch Administrative Fund accounts are to be maintained by the Branch Secretary/Treasurer. They are to be presented to the Association Secretary who is to arrange for their audit, annually as at 31^st December by suitably qualified officers. Exceptionally the Association President may order an audit by civilian accountants.

7. TRUSTEES      

a. Association Trustees. The Association Trustees are:

Colonel of the Regiment

Chairman of the Association

Chairman of the Liverpool Branch

Chairman of the Manchester Branch

b. Branch Trustees. The Liverpool and Manchester Branches are to have ex-officio trustees. Any other Branch which may in the future wish to establish a trust is then also to have ex-officio trustees. In all cases the trustees are to be:

Colonel of the Regiment, Chairman of the Association, Chairman of the Branch, Secretary of the Branch.

8. Investments. All documents of title to investments held in the name of the Association will be deposited for safe keeping with an appropriate custodian trustee as identified by the Soldier’s Aid Fund Managing Trustees. The nominated custodian trustee is to be the sole financial adviser to the Association Trustees on investment policy and will deal with all tax matters.

ASSOCIATION MEETINGS

9. General. Questions arising at the Annual general Meeting, a Managing Committee meeting, a Branch Committee meeting, or a Branch Benevolent Committee meeting are to be decided by a majority vote with the Chairman having a casting vote in the event of a tie. However in any case where the President considers a decision does not further the Objects of the Association, he may not confirm it and the relevant committee may be directed to act accordingly.

10. An Annual General Meeting.

a. of the Association shall be held on a date and at a place to be decided by the President of the Association. He will act as Chairman, or in his absence the Association Chairman will act in his place. The agenda will be agreed at the preceding meeting of the Association Managing Committee.

b. The Association Secretary is to publicise the agenda, date, time and venue through the medium of the Regimental Journal or by notice to members, in any case giving not less than twenty-one days notice.

c. Resolutions by members must have first been submitted for consideration by Branch Committees and then passed in writing to the Association Secretary not less than 14 days before the Annual general Meeting.

d. If any resolution is brought up at the Annual General Meeting, without the required notice, it may not be voted on until the next Annual general Meeting.

e. Extraordinary General Meetings can be called by the Managing Committee under the same Rules as for the Annual general Meeting.

11. Association Managing Committee Meetings. Meetings will be called on a date and time to be decided by the President.

12. Branch Meetings. Branch Committee, Branch Benevolence Committee and Branch Annual General meetings may be called by the Branch Chairmen as required, but as far as possible on a routine basis in order to encourage maximum attendance.

ALTERATION TO THESE RULES.

13. A proposal to add to or alter these rules may be made as a resolution of the Association Managing Committee, provided that any such alteration does not introduce a non-charitable object. A majority of not less than two thirds will then be required at an annual general meeting to confirm a change to the Association Rules.