A message from the Chair of the Membership Committee

Having previously served as Deputy Chair of the Membership Committee, it was a privilege to be asked by the Master to take over as Chair from the start of the 2025/26 Livery year.

As I do so, I would like to acknowledge the significant work done by my two recent predecessors Liverymen John Ponsonby and Rakesh Sharma OBE. I inherit a highly motivated committee that is charged with maintaining the Livery’s cadre of Freemen and Liverymen.

The Court has expressed the desire that the Livery should number some 500 members during our 350th Anniversary year in starting in September 2026 – an interesting challenge! It is with this that I seek your help.

To maintain our numbers and grow toward the target of 500, we will need to attract 35 or more new joiners this Livery year. As the Membership Committee, it is our principal role to identify suitable candidates on behalf of you the membership at large. In this task, we are greatly helped by recommendations from you, our colleagues across the sectors that our Livery represents.

Our spirit of fellowship runs strongly as a Livery, and we are most grateful for the recommendations we receive from you. I would remind colleagues that we seek nominations across the whole range of potential members: the under 35s, who are setting out in their careers and seek membership through our highly incentivised young-joiners scheme; more established colleagues working in our industries and the Armed Forces who would benefit from expanding their networks; those in influential more senior positions who appreciate our efforts to help younger folk enter and succeed in our sectors and who might be disposed to help with sponsorships; as well as friends seeking the fellowship of a wider circle of associates from their professions.

When we receive recommendations, we invite candidates to a small dinner with members of the committee, so that we can explain the roles of the Livery, our charitable endeavours and the opportunities offered by membership. We hold around four or five of these per year, to ensure we can feed potential candidates easily into the swearing and clothing process before the Court.

So, to my ask. Might I encourage you to think about your friends and professional colleagues that you think would be an asset to the Livery and suggest them to my committee? I also invite you, as we enter a new Livery year, to think about bringing personal guests to dinners who you might consider as future Liverymen.

Thank you in advance for your help and please do get in touch with any member of the Membership Committee with your suggestions:

Chair: Assistant Sir Kevin Leeson kevinjleeson@gmail.com
Deputy Chair: Steward David Pitchforth David.pitchforth@btinternet.com
Aerospace: Steward Peter Ruddock Ruddock54@btinternet.com
Automotive (Manufacturing and Retail): Liveryman Chris Sturgess chrissturgess@sturgessgroup.com
Coachmaking: Senior Warden Mark Broadbent enquiries@fenixcarriages.co.uk