Friends of St Helena | Learn more about the Island

An Appeal from David Hall, Vice-Chairman of the Friends of St Helena:

WE NEED *YOU*

All organisations need to have purpose, direction and guidance, and these are usually provided by a committee. FOSH is no exception to this but there is also an extra layer of legal responsibility.

As a Registered Charity, we are officially required to have a number of Registered Officers, including a Secretary. This position was held by Vicky until she became our Chair, since when she has continued to fulfill its responsibilities. This is an unsatisfactory situation which cannot continue without our falling foul of the Charity Commission. We, the Committee, are therefore appealing for someone to put themselves forward to fill the role. The Committee has to be elected at our AGM, on 31st October 2026.

The Secretary's main function is to keep the minutes of the Committee's meetings.We normally meet twice a year in London with one meeting coinciding with our AGM. In addition, from time to time , the officer may be asked to circulate information to the Committee and liaise with its members. The Chair might also asked for other occasional action. Most of this can be done from home, and the main requirements are to have internet access and be reasonably computer literate. (It could mostly be done from someone not based in the UK.)

If this appeals to you, please contact Vicky Beal at trout666@hotmail.com, who can give you further information. Remember, you need us, the Committee, but we really do need you to help us.

We are also in need of someone to take over from Margaret as our Membership Secretary. Margaret is stepping down after many years of faithful service. She has kept a record of our membership and been avid in chasing up membership subs as they have fallen due. This is perhaps a more time consuming task requiring a different skillset, but equally important to FOSH. Margaret will be more than happy to give more details (mmdsthelena@hotmail.com).

So, please, if you value FOSH as much as I do, help us to keep it going. The alternative does not bear considering.

David Hall

Vice Chairman

WELCOME TO FRIENDS OF ST HELENA

The Friends of St Helena is a charity founded in March 1988 and has two aims:

To provide information about St Helena, including its history, culture, environment and current affairs and to provide practical support to the St Helenian community.

In recent years our AGMs have been held in October each year at the Victory Services Club, Marble Arch, London. At the meetings, we invite speakers on a range of subjects relevant to St Helena and we also show films.
We publish The St Helena Connection, a news magazine twice a year and Wirebird relating to the island's history once a year.
We also publish social-historical books under our Wirebird imprint which are available at a reduced price to members.
We have supported local projects such as the development the Museum of St Helena in Jamestown, and we expect soon to engage in a major funding exercise for the proposed St Helena Cultural Centre, both in conjunction with the St Helena Heritage Society.

ST HELENA