The Guild AGM Weekend
Secretary writes:
The Guild AGM weekend starts tomorrow. Accordingly the
Update is being issued today. Don’t forget the bring and buy – if you have
items for sale bring them along. Don’t forget your battlefield tour agenda if
you’re going on that!
May I wish everyone a safe journey to Northampton and an
interesting and productive weekend. Good luck, especially, to all the
candidates attempting the Validation assignments over the weekend!
I look forward to seeing you all!
New Members
Jo Hook writes:
We welcome the following new members into the Guild:
·
Lars Wistedt from the UAE joins. His interests
are WW1 and WW2 Great Northern War 1700-1721
·
Jeroen Niels from The Netherlands joins. His
interests are WW2
Annual Subscriptions
Jo Hook writes:
It’s that time again to start thinking about membership
renewal. The window for membership renewal this year will be open from 1st
January 2016 to 1 March 2016. The payment remains the same at £75.00 per
year. There are various methods of payment you can use. We are
urging people more and more to pay their subscription electronically by BACs or
standing order – it is faster, can be tracked by us and more efficient from an
administrative perspective. However, we also realise that the “good old
fashioned” cheque is still the preferred way for some and will accept these but
we will be increasingly moving towards electronic payment for the future.
Guild bank account details can be found on the website along with a step by
step guide on how to pay electronically. Cheques should be made payable
to the Guild of Battlefield Guides Ltd. Details can be found at http://www.gbg-international.com/bank_account.html
)
If paying by BACs please ensure you use your name and
membership number as a reference so we can identify your payment and please
don’t forget to email the Membership Secretary at mbr.sec@gbg-international.com
to confirm payment has been made. If paying by company cheque please can you
ensure that your name is on the back as we cannot always connect a company with
an individual!!
If you do not wish to renew your membership please inform
the membership secretary so that she can carry out the necessary administrative
process.
Somme Commemorations
Update
Mike Scott writes:
Somme 141 – CWGC, RBL, DCMS
On each of the 141 days of the Somme, the Royal British
Legion has been asked by the UK Government’s Department of Culture, Media and
Sport to deliver a short midday service at the CWGC Thiepval Memorial to the
Missing of the Somme. The intent is for senior representatives from communities
to lead the ceremony on specific days linked to action of their respective Pals
Battalions, Regimental Associations or local personages. These daily services
will not only mark the sacrifice of those who fought and died on each of the
141 days of the Battle of the Somme, but provide those who have missed out on
attending the commemorations on 1 July 2016 an opportunity to attend a service
at Thiepval and pay their respects. Regimental Associations, Veteran groups and
Commonwealth Governments have already earmarked dates to take the lead, and
CWGC are continuing to receive applications from members of the public who wish
to attend and pay their respects on personally significant dates, as well as
Battlefield Tour Groups who are in the vicinity between July and November.
The CWGC are currently putting together a calendar with a
programme of the daily services which is soon to be published online, and they
are keen to extend the invitation to attend or participate to as many
individuals, groups and organisations as possible. If any of your colleagues in
GBG would like to be involved, further information on the daily services and a
form to register interest in attending or participating in some way (either by
laying a wreath or saying a few words etc.), can be found on our website: http://www.britishlegion.org.uk/remembrance/ww1-centenary/somme-141/
Holts Maps
Tonie and Valmai Holt write:
We have recently received several orders from members for
our Battlefield Maps, obviously unaware that Guild members are entitled to a
discount of one-third on orders of 5 + copies of the same map. There isn’t a
facility to make a bulk order on our website, so requests should be made by
email
Our Ypres (10th Edition) and Somme (7th Edition) Maps have
been very recently updated and our Normandy Map (4th Edition) was updated for
the 70th Anniversary.”
The Data Protection Act
Secretary writes:
It has recently been brought to my attention that guides
that receive personal data about clients should be registered with the
Information Commissioners Office under the auspices of the Data Protection Act.
A barrister at recent seminar on the topic told one of our members (a) do not
rely on what the ICO say regarding this subject (they will suggest that you
don't need to be registered), and (b) if guides receive or hold personal data
about people going on tours in electronic form they must register even though
they are not the 'data processor', and (c) if they receive potentially
sensitive personal data (about people's health or about minors) they would be
in real difficulty if they were party to any data loss, but difficulties
may be abated if they were registered and could point to data protection
policies being in place (i.e. when are tour operators' participant lists
permanently destroyed by the guide, and the safeguards they put in place to
protect against data loss ).
This is an issue that guides may wish to consider for their
own protection. The cost of registering with the ICO is £35 per annum and is
easily done through its website.
Best Regards
Tony Smith
Guild Secretary
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