THE LEEDS ASSOCIATION OF ENGINEERS Minutes of the Council Meeting held at 7.30 pm on Thursday 2nd April 2026 at The Corner House Club Leeds.
1. Attendance. G. Roper in the chair with J. Aldersley, M. Murray, C. Pinder, B. King and I. Blakeley.
2. Apologies for absence. G.Toulson, A. Kibler, J. Burton, I. Auty, M. Golubevs , S. Wilkinson, H. Soutar, A. Rogers, J. Bentley, S. Stacey and R. Town .
3. Minutes of the Previous Meeting dated 5th March 2026 were approved & signed.
4. Matters Arising. It was pointed out that R.S. Components have not sponsored the Orion Project contrary to the February 2026 minutes. Questions were raised, as to whether members of Leeds Association of Engineers were given first option to book a place for the Annual Golf Day prior to general release.
5. Treasurers Report. Mr. Kibler sent his treasurers report by email. This shows the following bank transactions which have arisen since the last meeting. He also requested that people who wish to attend the Annual Dinner should send their menu choices to him along with their payment.
| Date | Transaction | Debit | Credit |
| 03/Mar/26 | Dinner – Sam Wilkinson | – | 35.00 |
| 06/Mar/26 | Dinner – Canon Paul Maybury | – | 35.00 |
| 09/Mar/26 | Dinner – Newsham Family | – | 105.00 |
| 09/Mar/26 | Dinner – Mandate Solutions / S. Gledhill | – | 140.00 |
| 12/Mar/26 | Subscription – Graham Bond | – | 20.00 |
| 13/Mar/26 | Dinner – Ian Blakeley | – | 70.00 |
| 13/Mar/26 | Dinner – Brian Clough | – | 70.00 |
| 16/Mar/26 | Dinner – Graham Roper | – | 70.00 |
| 20/Mar/26 | Dinner – Jas Shergill | – | 35.00 |
| 23/Mar/26 | Dinner – Neil Cobbold | – | 70.00 |
| 23/Mar/26 | Dinner – Neil Burchill | – | 70.00 |
| 23/Mar/26 | Dinner – Raffle Prizes | 26.96 | – |
| 27/Mar/26 | Church Hall – Hire March Lecture | 50.00 | – |
| 30/Mar/26 | Dinner – Isaac Auty (student) | – | 25.00 |
Balance of Accounts were reported but not published here.
6. Correspondence. Mr. Aldersley has attempted to contact a number of companies to secure potential talks or visits but no one has responded. Mr. Yates has contacted us suggesting we contact Granville Dobson, a gentleman who gives talks on railways, he is a paid speaker used by Probus.
7. Membership. We have no new applications this month, but Mr. Soutar advised us that one of his colleagues at Leeds University (Tom) is interested in joining us. Mr. Murray advised us that a number of current members have not yet paid this year’s subscription.
8. Orion Project “The Mars Rover”. We had a talk by Mr. Soutar (student member of Leeds Association of Engineers) explaining how the project is being managed, current funding and how the competition works. We saw 3D CAD models of the proposed vehicle and I think we were all impressed by the level of commitment shown by the students on what is a voluntary project above and beyond what they are doing for their degree course.
9. Current Programme. Mr. Roper said he has been advised the church hall at Morley will not be available for future lectures so we will be taking up the kind offer of WDS Components Ltd. to use their meeting room in future. Mr. Aldersley said he has a new contact at Miller Oils (Kelly Fowler) who has agreed to allow us a visit, but this is likely to be during the day which unfortunately may exclude some of our members who are in employment. We are hopeful that this visit could be in April, but if that is not possible our President, Mr. Roper, will give us a talk about a very rare piece of machinery, an Ornamental Turning Lathe.
10. Next Session. We briefly discussed the potential visits and lectures we have for the next session, none of which are confirmed at this time. We need to fill the program for events starting in September 2026. We have a vague promise of a visit to Reliance Gears on the outskirts of Huddersfield and we have contacted Fox’s Biscuits, Batley, but have had no response. We have the offer of a return visit to Siddall Hilton, Brighouse (wire mesh fencing) and a visit to Greyhound Box Company, Leeds, all of which need confirming and adding to the diary. We are hopeful of finally securing the visit to Sulzer in Morley, which should have happened in the 2025-2026 session but this was put off due to building work. At present we seem short of potential lectures / talks. It might be necessary to look at getting lectures from Probus, but this of course has financial implications. The speakers charge a fee and could need expenses for accommodation. Mr. Pinder said it could be worth asking Tony Theaker of M.A. Ford. He makes model locomotives and could potentially give us a talk.
11. Website. The website is up to date. Mr. Toulson refreshes it with new articles submitted by the membership when they become available.
12. Golf. Mr. Stacey advised us by email that the golf notice has been sent out and is also available on the website. He will ask individuals to send their monies to him and he will do a bank transfer for the accumulated amount to avoid LAE (Leeds Association of Engineers) paying bank charges. The date of the tournament is Thursday 2nd July 2026 at Leeds Golf Club.
13. Annual Dinner. Mr. Kibler has requested by email that anyone interested in attending should get their application in before the 4th April. He advised us that we have once again received great support from Keighley Association of Engineers with nine of their members purchasing tickets.
14. Annual Church Service. Rev. Paul Maybury (Vicar at Leeds Parish Church) is attending our Annual Dinner. He advised us that this is his last year at Leeds Parish Church. Our annual church service has been confirmed to be on 10th May 2026.
15. Student Award. Mr. Aldersley said that Mr. Soutar has been in contact regarding his proposal for the student award. His idea was that the award should be open to all different groups of apprentices not just university students.
Any other Business. Mr. Roper said he will speak to Mr. Kibler regarding which charity will be the recipient of the money from the raffle at the annual dinner. Having no other business Mr. Roper closed the meeting.
.
……………………………………………President.……………………………….….. Date