Club 44 - Wolverhampton Rifle & Pistol Club

AGM 2011

nickfraser — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 13:03:44 +0000

I write to advise members that the AGM will soon be with us and it will give an opportunity to elect a new dynamic committee. I have decided to stand down as Chairman as I feel a younger more vibrant candidate is needed to carry forward the improvements to the R & P Section in 2012. I trust that you will elect a suitable candidate, together with a supporting committee, as there are still a lot of challenges ahead. The range is in need of a new roof. This is the main challenge for 2012, together with the introduction of new members to ensure the future of this historic club.

I want to thank all those members who were responsible for the physical work on the interior, which was carried out by volunteer members of the club, and those who supported me in obtaining an ABCD Grant for the safety and security equipment which has been installed by professional. Thank you all.

The challenge facing the new committee, is to recover the roof to prevent the ingress of water into the shooting range. Funds need to be raised in order to complete this project and it will be the responsibility of your new committee to complete this final project.

I was pleased to obtain the grant from the ABCD for 2000 pounds, which was spent on safety and security equipment, now installed successfully. I leave the section with over 3000 pounds in the bank and it has been estimated that the new roof will cost seven thousand pounds. I hope that you can raise this over time and save the clubhouse from ruin.

The year has been a difficult one, with low inflow of funds and falling membership, which begs the question “Should membership subscriptions be increased in view of the building work required”?

This is not for me to answer, but for the next committee and I sincerely hope a solution to the funding issues is possible.

May I take this opportunity to thank all those involved with the interior work carried out on the range and to say a big thank you to all my friends at the club who are aware of the difficulties facing
the section in the future. The solution is in your hands, don’t let it escape you and do your best, as I
did.

Thank Your For listening.

Mark Cooper
Chairman
44 Club R & P Section

Notice to Members of 2010 AGM

nickfraser — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 18:34:52 +0000

The committee are advising members that the 2010 Annual General Meeting will be held at Rookery Hall on December 1st 2010 in order to elect your committee for the year 2011. Please try to attend as we need your continued support and assistance with important projects for 2011.

Looking forward to being with you.

Mark R Cooper

Update on Club Renovation

Chairman — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 09:08:15 +0000

Dear Members & Guests

Now that the summer is coming to an end we can all look forward to darker evenings and the chance of shooting at the range, now that it is fully finished, painted and spick and span.

As with all these large projects, it has taken time, money and a great deal of effort by some very dedicated members. There will obviously be those who criticise the end results, but this will always be the case. Any members or guests wanting to further improve the facility we have, can offer suggestions at the AGM in November, and hopefully will help the team who undertook the lion’s share of the existing improvements, to further improve our excellent facility.

The ABCD Grant monies were used to improve security and backstop facilities to bring them up to current standards. The insulation, cladding,
carpentry, painting, etc. was funded from members subscriptions and the club bank account (now sadly depleted).

The club roof now needs complete replacement due to its age and the committee have applied for a further grant to fund this, which is a substantial cost. If we get this grant, which will be decided in November, it will be a godsend. If we don’t, we will talk about this at the AGM.

Hope you all had a good summer.

Mark Cooper
Chairman

A Call from Old Residents of Rookery Hall

Chairman — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 07:04:12 +0000

Recently we received a telephone call from Mr John Bates of Derbyshire, following an earlier enquiry from his brother, Peter Bates. Both John and Peter remember their grandfather living at Rookery Hall in early 1940s. Members and guests wishing to contact John Bates can do so by calling 0115 9736790, to discuss the photographs of the hall, and talk about the good old days.

Mr B Fleming – A Former Club 44 Member

Chairman — Tue, 25 May 2010 04:50:32 +0000

We have been contacted by a gentleman from Bristol who has in his posession the medals and associated memorabilia of one of our past members, Mr B Fleming who was one of our members in the 1950′s and 1960′s. References are from the 22/44, Forty Four Club and 22nd South Staffs Battalion.

He competed in the Short Range Rifle & Pistol Leagues and shot at Bisley Rifle Meetings in 1951 and 1952. He also shot for the Worcestershire County Team around the same time. A member of the club for 15 years and he appears to come from an address: The Bungalow, Oakham Drive, Dudley, West Midlands
(above information provided by Brian Woodall., Assistant Secretary, NSRA, Bilsly Camp, Brookwood, Surrey, GU24 0NP).

Any member having any information about Mr Fleming should contact the club secretary (or post a comment to this post) as the historical memorabilia is important to the club. Hopefully we can find out a little more about this gentleman.

Funding Update, and Call for Volunteers

Chairman — Sat, 08 May 2010 19:07:37 +0000

We have recently made enquiries to a couple of local funders to seek financial assistance for the new roof project and to enquire about extending the redevelopment project to include the installation of a small kitchen (with hand washing facilities), hot water and a toilet facility connected to mains drainage. Further information about our grant applications and the proposed range improvements will be posted on the website as soon as we receive news.

Also, we still URGENTLY need volunteers to help Rex and the team to finish the painting, cleaning, and preparation for our Open Day in the Summer.

Mark Cooper
Chairman

Work on the Range – A Progress Report

Chairman — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 12:57:39 +0000

Work on the range is now coming on apace, with new internal walls almost completed, and soon ready for painting. Painters wanted to decorate the interior!

The safety curtains are now installed and the security system is up and running. The roof and wall space has now got full insulation to the current standards and the next phase, painting the walls, ceiling and floor begins in early April.

We are pleased to say, that the range can be used during the re-furbishment project and we are pleased to advise members that the £2000 grant from the ABCD funders has been spent wisely, by Rex Auden (Treasurer), Garry, Mark (both of them) and Gerry, who have all done a great job working for many hours as volunteers.

More needs to be done and volunteers are urgently required to complete the tasks involved. Remember, it is your club and we need your help in completing the mammoth task ahead of us.

Get everyone interested – we really need your assistance.

Mark Cooper

The Gunlock Makers of Wolverhampton

Chairman — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 17:08:13 +0000

We would like to draw members’ attention to a new book, ‘The Gunlock Makers of Wolverhampton’, a concise history of the sporting gunlock makers of this city from its earliest times, by Mark R Cooper & Vic Griffith.

Mr Griffiths was a gunlock maker for Edwin Chilton in Sweetman Street from World War II until the 1960s (as was his father who worked with Charlie Alcock, and who I remember well as the Works Manager).

The book is available priced £20 inc p&p to the UK mainland.

Recent Grant Applications

Chairman — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 06:22:54 +0000

Just a short note to say that the ABCD Grant of £2000 has been spent providing a new safety curtain and new security equipment. I have completed and sent the end of project report, as required, and need to take some photos of the items the money has been spent on for the records of the ABCD Grant body. Anyone wishing to take photographs, perhaps they can be emailed to me for onward transmission to ABCD.

We made another, but unsuccessful grant application to the National Lottery “Awards for All”, and have been invited to a training session in April, to get up to speed on the range of grants that are available.

If any member wishes to be included on the one day course. Please email me at markrcooper1@tiscali.co.uk or call: 01902 337622

Mark Cooper

Chairman’s Welcome

nickfraser — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 17:06:50 +0000

Welcome to Club 44 – Wolverhampton Rifle & Pistol Club.

2010 will be a new and exciting year for the 22/44 Rifle & Pistol Club. Firstly, I was delighted to be elected as your new Chairman and I am looking forward to performing my duties with enthusiasm and to try to bring the clubs facilities to a new level.

It is toward this end that your committee has decided to apply for a lottery grant in order to improve the shooting range in line with health and safety requirements, security and better facilities for the members and guests. I am very pleased to advise members and interested parties, that we have been informed, that the club have been awarded a “Community Chest Grant” from the All Saints & Blakenhall Community Development Fund (ABCD Fund), of £2000 towards safety & security equipment. This is the first of such grant applications we have applied for, to improve the facilities and the cost of the work involved is considerable. I will be informing you just how we
get on in due course. Let’s hope we are successful again, as the range is in desperate need of a new roof and insulation.

One of my New Year resolutions has been to award one of our founder members of 1945, Life Membership. I have asked Frank Spittal to become a life member, for his services to the Midlands shooting scene. He came to the club in 1945 after leaving the Home Guard
8th Battalion and has spent a lifetime in our sport. Welcome Frank to the 22/44 Club. We very much look forward to seeing you at the new range in 2010.

On the subject of improvements to the range, we will need all the voluntary help we can get to complete this important project. We need members to carry out simple tasks, such as cleaning,painting, rubbish removal, and generally tidying up the back stop, prior to installing a new safety curtain. This will be achieved by Rex Auden and Alan Winkle as Project Managers, ably assisted by Garry and your Chairman doing some hard labour. Please assist where possible, as this is your range, and your passport to success. We can do it. We will achieve success.

2009 was a turning point in the future of our club, possibly one of the oldest shooting clubs in the West Midlands. We look forward to working with ABCD and local community organisations to improve our services and hopefully increase the membership in line with the objectives of the club. We hope to be able to offer groups and community organisations, tuition and taster sessions at our Open Days in 2010.

My thanks also go to Rex Auden the Treasurer, without his astute leadership and financial ability we would not be in a position of surplus. To John Moore, our new Secretary, wishing him well in his new post. To Alan Winkle for his practical help, and to all those dedicated volunteers who have spent so many unpaid hours working on the range to improve it. These major work projects need to be completed in 2010 to meet all our challenges and responsibilities.

All that is left for me to do, is to say that I wish all our members a very happy & prosperous 2010 and I look forward to presenting the prizes for marksmanship at the AGM.

Thank you all,

Mark R Cooper
Chairman
22/44 Rifle & Pistol Club