Homepage About The Society Airworthy Spitfires Birthday Messages Competition Contact Us Leonard Stillwell Bequest Links Membership Information Merchandise News & Events Obituaries Photographic Gallery Spitfire Calendar 2012 Spitfire Magazine Spitfire Society Patrons Spitfire Society Team Web News Wings, Roundels & Flights Video
Wings, Roundels & Flights The Way Forward For The Society
Page last updated on Wednesday, 06-Jul-2011
 |
To find a local Group near you click on the map:
A Message from our former chairman
Sqn.Ldr Leonard Dickson LVO
The Society built up its membership very quickly in the early days and the country was divided into Regions with a Regional Chairman who formed up a committee in the area.
Even with this development, it was always difficult to engage members across a Region closely with the Society. Distances were too great for regular meetings over such widely dispersed areas.
Over the years a number of Regions ceased to function and the country was then divided into East and West areas with an Area Co-ordinator to oversee events and happenings where members may be brought into contact with one another.
After a period of time this division of responsibility was dropped as it was felt that the both areas were proving too large for effective co-ordination. Instead, the Society is now controlled from the ‘top’, by the management team.
For an entirely different approach, which we hope will give us a chance of getting members together right across the country, groups of members have been meeting together at some convenient location and time at a pub, a hotel, a community centre for a drink, a meal, arranging for an interesting speaker, or visits to interesting places and even a Christmas lunch.
Using our membership database it has been established where there are groups of members living within a 15 to 20 mile radius and then an invitation has been sent out to a group of members inviting them to meet at a selected venue with the view to forming a regular social gathering.
These meetings are now referred to as ‘Spitfire Roundel Clubs’. Each group decides what it wants to call itself, whether it be a Roundel, a Flight, or a Wing, or other, and to nominate a spokesperson to co-ordinate future meetings, times, day of the week, venue and how often to meet.
There are no catches, no fees to the Society; indeed we want the minimum of bureaucracy but we would offer a small grant as a start-up contribution to cover phone/postage or an advert in local paper to attract Spitfire-minded individuals to join in and perhaps increase our membership.
So what else can we do and, much more important, what can YOU do?
-----------No group close to you? Start your own ---------
If any member anywhere feels that they would like to come forward and offer to start up a local group then they would be welcomed and provided with some initial support to do so. Simply get in touch with the Membership Secretaries.
In short, we are simply doing now what is being done in enormous numbers by the likes of Rotary, Lions Clubs, Probus and many others who meet monthly all over the country with a common interest and, surely, we have our icon the Spitfire.
A number of groups have already been established. To see where: click on the words at the top of the page on the map - “Find a local Group near you”
The scheme is slowly developing and we are beginning to build up a composite picture of activities around the country, especially now that so many people have the internet for communication. Each group is now being encouraged to provide photos and news of its activities on dedicated pages on our website. This it is hoped will encourage others to take part.
We publish a list of “Clubs” in the Journal together with the contact details. As the broad picture emerges a network of Clubs might be seen starting up all over the country.
So could it be “ Team Spitfire“!!??..
Ladies and Gentlemen, the floor is yours.
LD
