Page 5 - A4 Journal 2019

The Master’s Year

Reflections on a ‘Year to Remember’ from the Immediate Past Master

The year has been remarkable for its attention to what the Company does and the way it does it.
My aim has been to ensure that the Company is on a sure footing going forward and can be fit to
grow from that sure footing both in financial terms and as a Company. My look back over the year
is therefore somewhat more objective rather than subjective – so I hope you will not find this piece
overly tedious.

My year as Master has focused on Privileges within the Company, Efficiency and Organisation
(streamlining our Ordinances and Standing Orders), Events, Fundraising, Leadership (improving
our commitment to diversity and to becoming a premier networking organisation for the built
environment and to the recognition of women in construction).
We are a people’s (members) organisation like no other City of London Livery Company. We are unique in our make-up of
professionals from every sector of the built environment – an eclectic mix of construction related professionals.
But, throughout the year, my key theme was one of International Relations.
We began by hosting a lunch at Innholders’ Hall for a governmental delegation from Rugao City, Jiangsu Province. Rugao is
close to the Provincial Capital of Nanjing and also to Shanghai. It is a leading centre for the use of hydrogen green energy
technologies, and it is fast becoming an important industrial hub for the whole region. Not only does it have superb rail, road
and air links, but it also has one of China’s largest deep-water harbours off its northern seaboard. Our guest speaker at the
lunch was Alderman Michael Mainelli, a Past Master World Trader, and now the Aldermanic Sheriff, who has vast experience of
developing trade links with China.

The Mistress and I have been honoured to be invited by the mayoralty and People’s Congress to make an official visit to
Rugao, which we hope to undertake sometime in spring 2020.

We broke with tradition this year in that we held two Master’s Weekends. One was in Hong Kong and was attended by 36
people who enjoyed back to back formal dinners at the Hong Kong Jockey Club and the Hong Kong Club. I was very pleased
that our principal guests – Ms Frances Moffett-Kouadio, the Hong Kong Trade Commissioner and Mr S H lam, the Permanent
Secretary for Development, Hong Kong, SAR both accepted our invitation to become Honorary Members of the Company. The
other Master’s Weekend was much closer to home, in Cambridge. Whilst attendances at the organised events varied from 36
to 45 the weekend was enjoyed by all and we were blessed by good weather

I was particularly pleased that the Taylor family were our guests at this year’s Companions’ Lunch. Captain Ron Taylor was
our Master in 1985-86 and it was a great honour for me to have the trust of his family and also to represent the Company
when we unveiled a specially commissioned plaque, near to where Ron had lived in Brighton, that recorded his exploits with
SOE during the second world Ron was a bridge designer extraordinaire, so it was perversely natural that he was assigned the
task of blowing up bridges behind enemy lines with the Italian partisans, who titled him “Captain Plastico” because of his skill
with plastic explosives. The unveiling of the plaque was a proud and memorable day in my year as Master.
During my year as Master we have also awarded Emeritus status to Past Masters John Robson, John Trussler and David
Hattersley MBE. We also awarded Emeritus status to Liveryman David Rundle. Their hard work and dedication have helped
develop this great company and I’m honoured to be able to recognise their part in the development of the Company and their
ongoing commitment to the standards set by their predecessors. Gentlemen, we are indebted to you, and I, on behalf of the
Company, wish to thank you for your loyalty and ongoing devotion to the Company. May your wise counsel be at our disposal
for many more years to come.

Finances are always a key issue for a Livery Company. I am pleased that our finances are now on a sound footing and we now
have a strong finance team. Our Ordinances and Standing Orders have been around for several years now, and are perhaps
no longer ideal, so we have spent some time over the past year bringing them up to date and ensuring that the Ordinances
enable the Standing Orders in such a way that we can move forward without having to change our Ordinances at every turn,
something which needs approval from the City.

We have also reviewed the roles of a various executive and other committees. We have compiled Terms of Reference for
each committee and we hope that these will serve as both useful guidance going forward and maintain each committee with
a clear set of directions and activities to be maintained. The development of these terms of reference will also link in with a
new mentoring objective which will be overseen by PM Graeme Monteith and HCA Bob Heathfield who expect to introduce an
induction programme for all new members joining the Company and to prepare members for Livery, Court membership,
Wardenship and eventual Mastership. By so doing we will be able to ensure that each member will have a clear
understanding of the working of the Company and what is expected of the various roles within it.

Autumn 2019 | The Journal of the Worshipful Company of Constructors | Page 5