National Chairman of The RAF Regiment AssociationPatron – Baroness Harris of Richmond
Mr P Grimley 07450759559 National Chairman
RAF Regiment Association rockape617@gmail.com
22/04/2026
Dear Members,
Following the recent AGM at Waddington, it has become apparent that our membership records have become in need of some updating. The new Membership Secretary, Rach Cushing, has been working alongside Gabi O’Sullivan to hand over the job and a few things are a little unclear.
Rach has constructed a list of members and who is in what branch and she has shared these and requires each Branch Executive to go through their records so that they can reconcile who belongs to which branch and further to that, to construct an accurate list of current Branch Executives, as this has not been passed to the NMC for some time.
In order to comply with the requirements of the Charities Commission, Branches are to submit a full set of accounts to the National Treasurer, as required by the Constitution and Rules (Sect XI para 66). These were updated only last October, and all branches were sent a copy. We absolutely must have these accounts presented fully for each active branch by no later than 31st May 2026.
It has also become apparent that we needed to address the issue of lapsed members as we had almost 200. Many of these have now been contacted and have rejoined without penalty and our numbers are increasing.
At AGM a motion was carried that all members must in future pay subscriptions by Standing Order directly to the Association, not to their branches. The application to join has been updated and all new members will automatically have no choice other than to set up a Standing Order, however existing members need to be made aware that they must to do this.
The reasons for this are:-
1. That it takes away the need to remember to pay subs, it will automatically be done on 1st April annually.
2. If a member passes away, the S/O automatically stops as the bank account will be frozen. It also alerts the NMC to the fact that we might have lost someone and we can then contact the family to offer consolation and support if required.
3. Branch Treasurers no longer need to collect subs, deduct branch fees and send money to the Association account. This takes that out and makes life easier for the Treasurers.
4. Any Branch Levy that is applied locally, however much that is, will be the responsibility of the Branch Treasurer to collect and it will form absolutely no part of Association funds unless the branch folds and the money is donated by the branch upon closing. The NMC will have absolutely no rights nor connections to money raised at branches.
5. We still must comply with the Rules to have an annual account sent to the National Treasurer to continue to comply with the Charity Commission, but these records are purely and entirely for that reason, (Constitution & Rules Sect XI para 64 & 66). Even where a branch has no account and holds no money from its’ members a Nil Return is still required. These are to be sent to the National Treasurer by email
6. What branches choose to do with money levied from their members is entirely the branch’s responsibility and any use of that fund in any way will be controlled by the branch. The NMC/Association will have absolutely no responsibility for how that fund is used unless, as described, it is donated upon branch closure when it then becomes Association Funds.
7. Branch cheques are now causing problems in respect of being cashed. This practice will no longer be accepted.
Payment of subscriptions for 2027 onwards will require members to set up a Standing Order with their bank, the details are:
Standing Order for £12 for FULL & ASSOCIATE Members (+£6 for WIFE/PARTNER ASSOCIATE Members) to be made payable on 1st April annually to
RAF REGIMENT ASSOCIATION
Bank Sort Code 82-12-08
Account No 10012754
This can be set up any time from now onwards but before 1st April 2027
It does not require online banking, all that you need to do is to call in at or contact your bank and ask to set it up. It takes 2 minutes and saves days and days of work for the Membership Secretary.
IF there is absolutely no way that a member can pay this way or cannot possibly reach out to their bank for help in doing this, we will do all that we possibly can to come to a suitable arrangement to allow subs to be paid, we do not wish in any way to alienate our members, that is not what this NMC are about. All that is needed in that case is to contact the Membership Secretary either by email or by surface mail and she will deal with the problem with understanding. It really makes the whole process easier for the members and easier for the branch treasurer as well as helping the NMC to get a true membership record and keep that up to date.
Finally, if a branch has closed and the funds from that branch are not donated to the Association, a notice of how they were disposed of is to be sent to the National Treasurer complete with a copy of the branch account. The executive officers of a closed branch cannot nominate the treasurer of any other branch to hold any money for them. The office of branch treasurer closes with the account, and no member can hold money for more than one branch account.
We are dealing with considerable amounts of money, and we need to be seen to control that in accordance with OUR OWN Rules that are also held by the Charities Commission. They can demand to see ALL our accounts including branch accounts at any time. I am sure that you will understand that as Chairman it is my duty to ensure that nobody can be accused of mishandling funds or worse. As such I have chosen to bring everything in line with correct procedures to protect both Branch and National Treasurers.
Your compliance with this letter will be fully appreciated, and I thank you for taking notice of and acting upon my request.
Per Ardua,
Paul Grimley
National Chairman
RAF Regiment Association.