THE LEEDS ASSOCIATION OF ENGINEERS
Minutes of the Council Meeting held at 7.30pm on Thursday 5th March 2026 at The Corner House Club Leeds.
1. Attendance. G. Roper in the chair with J. Aldersley, G. Toulson, A. Rogers, J. Bentley, S. Stacey and I. Blakeley.
2. Apologies for absence. M. Murray, A. Kibler, J. Burton, I. Auty, C. Pinder, M. Golubevs, S. Wilkinson, H. Soutar, and R. Town.
3. Minutes of the Previous Meeting, dated 5th February 2026 were approved & signed.
4. Matters Arising. None.
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 |
| 09/Feb/26 | Dinner – Julie & Paul Thistleton | – | 70.00 |
| 09/Feb/26 | Dinner – John Aldersley | – | 70.00 |
| 17/Feb/26 | Dinner – Bruce MacDougall | – | 70.00 |
| 18/Feb/26 | Subs – I. Scholes | – | 20.00 |
| 22/Feb/26 | Dinner – Ross Town | – | 70.00 |
| 24/Feb/26 | Dinner – Grant Hewitt (informed by AK) | – | 32.00 |
| 02/Mar/26 | Subs – J. Scollen via Steve Stacey | – | 20.00 |
Balance of Accounts was reported but not published here.
6. Correspondence. Mr. Aldersley said he received an email from Neil Cobbold (member of the Leeds Association) telling us that the visit to Finnings of Leeds is agreed in principle but this will be a Saturday in June. The date is to be confirmed. John Pankhurst of Keighley Association of Engineers has added us to their mailing list for events. Grant Hewitt has taken over the role of KAE Membership Secretary and is also doing much of their administration. Mr. Wilkinson has been contacted by the Leeds Manufacturing Association. He feels that they would like to join in with our secured visits etc. but have little to offer in return.
7. Membership. Nothing to report.
8. Orion Project “The Mars Rover”. We have received an email from Mr. Soutar (LAE council member and project leader) saying he is currently working towards an assignment deadline so there is nothing to report on the Orion Project other than he received offers of sponsorship from RS Components and WDS Components. He is going to give us a talk at the end of March on the projects progress and objectives.
9. Current Programme. Mr. Aldersley said he tried contacting Sulzer (pump manufacturer in Morley) but has not had a response. His contact at Miller Oils has left the company so he is in the process of applying for a visit from new contact. He has arranged for Mr. Soutar (LAE council member) to give us a talk at the end of March. Mr. Wilkinson is trying to get us a factory visit in April but if that isn’t possible then Mr. Roper will give us a talk about a very rare piece of machinery, an Ornamental Turning Lathe. Attendees reported that the February visit to ACS Fixings was very enjoyable and informative.
10. Next Session. Nothing to report.
11. Website. The website is up to date. Mr. Toulson refreshes it with new articles submitted by the membership when they become available. Mr Toulson said he has been contacted by Mr. Soutar suggesting that he might create a number of email addresses that redirect email to council members thus avoiding members giving their private email addresses on the website. Mr. Toulson said he thought there is little value in doing so because email traffic is very light and he forwards them to the appropriate council member when required. However, if a dedicated email address is required for the Orion Project this could be set up.
12. Golf. Mr. Stacey advised us that the golf notice will be issued at the end of March. He will send the information to M.A. Ford and Alan Braime who have once again agreed to sponsor the golf tournament. 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.
13. Annual Dinner. Mr. Kibler emailed to say his knee replacement operation has been delayed until the 15th March, therefore he might not be able to attend the annual dinner. He encourages people to send in their applications and asks that council members donate prize for the raffle if they are able to do so.
14. Annual Church Service. Mr. Aldersley will contact Paul Mayberry (vicar at Leeds Parish Church) inviting him to our Annual Dinner and passing on Mr. Roper’s details for him to make contact regarding the reading at the church service.
15. Morley Church Hall Closure. Mr. Aldersley said the church hall is still available until we are notified otherwise at which point we have access to a meeting room kindly offered by WDS Components Limited.
16. Student Award. We discussed the fact that the original purpose of the award was not only to encourage young engineers in our area, but also, with us giving the winner free membership of the association, it was hoped that once they were qualified they would remain a member of Leeds Association of Engineers. We are not sure that pursuing university students for the award in the future will result in any new members of the association. They tend to be from further afield and once qualified relocate. We need to discuss this in more depth when council is better attended.
Any other Business. Having no other business Mr. Roper closed the meeting.
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