WELCOME
When from Wesley far we scatter, the Wesley College Alumni (WCA) fosters ongoing friendship through in-person reunions and online social platforms.
All past pupils are members of WCA and we invite you to take a moment to register and/or confirm your contact details. This will allow us send you alumni updates, as well as being an information source for organisers of class reunions and other special events.
Please do follow us on social media where you will receive regular updates about the College and past pupils. Social media also gives you the opportunity to discover past acquaintances. Simply click the icons below. The Facebook and Instagram ones are updated most frequently and please do send us information that is of interest to alumni through direct messages on those and/or email.
The WCA also maintains an active link with the College, supporting its educational work, and providing assistance to pupils in times of financial difficulty.
If you have information you would like to share, interested in a reunion, looking for a classmate, or would like to contribute to the charitable aims of the Alumni, please send an email to alumni@wesleycollege.ie
COMMITTEE
President: Vacant
Hon. Secretary: Vacant
Hon. Treasurer: Graham Swarbrigg [1971] (and acting President)
Ordinary Members: David Phillips [1968], Lynn McCrave (née Young) [1973], John Coy [1964], Avri Citron [1993], Dave Bursey [1986], Stephen May [2016], Adam Curry [2016]
Immediate Past President: Alan Rufli [1981]
Trustee Representatives: Deirdre Chadwick (née Fitzgerald) [1969], Valerie Grimes (née McNeill) [1960], Helen Holland (née Price) [1964]
Ex Officio: Christopher Woods
EVENTS
WESLEY COLLEGE LONDON REUNION – SATURDAY 1st MARCH 2025
The morning TV programmes are already counting down the days to Christmas, so perhaps it’s not too early to think about New Year’s Resolutions. Attending the annual London Reunion could be one of them! The next one takes place on Saturday 1st March at the Tower Hotel, St Katharine Dock, London. We have been meeting at this hotel for over a decade, as one past pupil used to work there. It is a welcoming and well-appointed venue in a most convenient location.
Firstly, the lunch. We meet in the hotel at midday and the pre-lunch drinks arrangements depend on the numbers attending. We will either have our own dedicated bar, or a pop-up bar area outside our dining room (credit card payments preferred). We then sit down to an amazing spread with many choices of starters, mains and desserts. Special dietary requirements can be catered for if notified in advance. The cost of the lunch this year is £59 per person. We would hope to be joined by a College representative (the head teacher or chaplain attended in recent years) for an update on recent achievements and planned developments at school.
After a suitable pause to recharge batteries, some of the attendees make their way through the backstreets of Wapping to a traditional East End public house called ‘The Prospect of Whitby’, as one past pupil frequented it during his days in the Merchant Navy! Participation is entirely voluntary, as is the dinner afterwards, in one of the many restaurants around St Katharine Dock that are within a gentle stroll of our hotel.
The Tower Hotel is close to the London Underground from Tower Hill station and Docklands Light Railway (DLR) from Tower Gateway station, as well as the River Thames waterbus from Tower Pier. You have the Tower of London, Tower Bridge, the Shard, the Sky Garden, HMS Belfast, Tate Modern and Shakespeare’s Globe on your doorstep. Further afield are theatreland in the West End, St Paul’s Cathedral and Westminster Abbey in central London, and the Cutty Sark, National Maritime Museum and Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich. So make a (long) weekend of it!
Next, accommodation. The hotel offers a preferential room rate from Thursday 27th to Tuesday 4th (5 nights in total). Some reunion attendees stay for three or four nights, and go to West End shows on successive evenings. Why not bring your family as well (they don’t necessarily have to attend the lunch), or arrange to meet family and friends in the UK over that weekend? Other hotels are, of course, available.
One final bonus for those inclined … members of the public are allowed to attend the Sunday morning services in the Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula in the Tower of London without having to pay an admission fee to the Tower. We meet in the hotel foyer at 10.30 am and walk the short distance to the appropriate gate. The organiser knows the Chaplain and the College is mentioned during the notices.
If you would like to attend the lunch on the 1st, just notify me at stephenmarkwilliams30@gmail.com with the name(s) of any guests(s). I will confirm payment arrangements in due course. Last year some attendees from the UK had difficulties with their banks because they didn’t recognise the IBAN for the PPU account, so I will research how to avoid a repeat of the ensuing confusion.
To book your room in the Tower Hotel, ring (+44) (0) 20 7523 5063, select option 1 and option 1 again. You need to quote WCOL010325, and possibly also 19766382, for the discounted rate. This year a mix of double and twin rooms has been reserved. The cost is £199 for a double/twin room per night and £189 per night for single occupancy. This price includes a full English breakfast.
I hope to see you at next year’s event. Any questions … stephenmarkwilliams30@gmail.com.
CLASS REUNIONS 2024
10 year (or multiples of) reunions for this year are well underway in their planning.
1974: Friday 4th October 2024, Dinner, Old Wesley Rugby Club. Contact WCD74reunion@gmail.com for more details.
1984: Saturday 28th December 2024, 7 pm, Old Wesley Rugby Club. Contact ianftyoung@gmail.com or andrewsdsl@gmail.com for more details.
1994: Saturday 21st September 2024, 7 pm, Dylan Hotel, Eastmoreland Place, Dublin D04 W521. RSVP olwynfinnegan@hotmail.com or alanmojohnston@gmail.com
2004: Saturday 21st September 2024, 8 pm, Old Wesley Rugby Club
2014: Thursday 19th December 6.30 pm. The Marble Bar, Doheny & Nesbitt. RSVP to Wesleyreunion2014@gmail.com by December 5th.
Please let us know if you are aware of other planned class reunions
Every class likes to organise their reunion in their own special way. Some meet up in Old Wesley RFC for pints & finger food, others in a hotel with full meal and budget of €50/head.
But whatever you choose to do, the Alumni is here to help!
Email alumni@wesleycollege.ie with details of the reunion – even if you are just thinking about organising one. We will:
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Let you know if anyone else is already planning a class reunion so you can share ideas and jointly organise.
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Provide contact details of your classmates we have on file.
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Advertise and promote your reunion on the College website and Alumni social media.
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Inform the Principal who is always interested to hear about Class Reunions, particularly the 20 year, and will gladly facilitate a group tour of the campus.
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Contribute €250 towards the costs (snacks & drinks) of decade reunions (10 years, 20 years, etc)
We promise not to hijack or interfere with your reunion. All we ask is that you let us know it's happening and that you send us a group photo of the event so we can share it on this page. We would also be grateful for any contributions to the Alumni Bursary funds if you happen to fundraise or make a small surplus on the evening.
ARCHIVE
Miscellaneous articles of interest or of importance
The College Hymn
Lord of Light! look down upon us,
Hearken as we cry to Thee;
Lighten thou our minds and lead us,
Thine now to be.
Lord of Life, the Bounteous Giver!
Evermore our portion be;
Guide our feet thro’ all life’s pathway
Nearer to Thee.
Lord of love! who only knowest
All the years that are to be;
Keep us pure amid temptation
Looking to Thee.
When from “Wesley” far we scatter,
Servants true for Thee to be,
Home at last, oh safely bring us
Father to Thee.
James Grubb, 1866-1937
The College Crest
The College Crest as we know it today is the latest in a long history.
In 1891 the school cap was designed bearing a Maltese Cross with the initials WCD. In 1892 the motto ‘God is love’ was added below the Cross, and in 1895 there was a new crest with the Latin motto ‘Aut discite aut discedite sors tertia hic nulla est’ which translated is ‘Either learn or leave; here there is no third choice’.
In 1909 a different crest appeared on the Wesley College Quarterly – a wyvern (representing the Wesley family) above a shield containing three flaming castles (representing Dublin City), separated by a bar, but without any motto.
In 1959 the College obtained from the Chief Herald an official grant of arms for the first time.
The upper part of the current shield has a red ground, and bears a book – The Bible – surmounted by a Maltese Cross, an old Wesley College symbol. Beside these is an escallop shell from the arms of John Wesley’s family. The lower part of the shield has a blue ground and on it a flaming castle from the Dublin City arms. The Wyvern, traditionally associated with the Wesley family, forms the crest above the shield.
The scroll below the shield contains the College motto in Greek ‘Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.’ (I Thessalonians 5; 21).
Spirit of Transition
Each year, the Alumni presents the Spirit of Transition to an outstanding Transition (4th) Year student. It is the premier award for the year and takes into account a wide range of involvement and achievement, including community service, academic achievement, use of initiative, extra curricular activities, personal development and maturity.
The award, which is possible by a generous donation from the family of the late Jim Dixon, is a sculpture composed of polished ancient bog yew from the midlands of Ireland. It was designed in 2007 by Celtic Roots, located near Athlone.
Year | Winner |
2021 | Arthur Sinclair |
2020 | Bobbie Gillespie |
2019 | Nicholas Elliott |
2018 | Peter Costello & Emma Paul |
2017 | Abby O’Sullivan |
2016 | Andrea Cabero del Hierro |
2015 | Jenny Clarke |
2014 | Owen Clarke |
2013 | Hannah McKay |
2012 | Lexy Hunt |
2011 | Jessica Roe |
2010 | Yvonne Corcoran |
2009 | Alison Shine |
2008 | Ben Doyle |
2007 | Aoife Cassidy |
Bursary Funds
There are two bursary funds, the Wesley College Past Pupils’ Fund and the Doreen McDonnell Bursary Fund which was set up following a bequest from the late Doreen McDonnell, a past pupil of the College. Bursaries are available for pupils in the College or those hoping to attend the College to help pay fees. Both Bursaries are for those who are experiencing financial difficulties. However, the Past Pupils Bursary Fund is available only for children of past pupils, while the Doreen McDonnell Bursary is available to both past pupils and those who are not past pupils. Both funds have charitable status (CHY 10532; RCN 20026967). The Past Pupils’ Benevolent Fund which was in the past available to give grants to past pupils in cases of hardship is depleted and is now dormant.
Applications for assistance from the Bursary funds are treated in strictest confidence by the Trustees. They should be made before the 31st of March and addressed to The Secretary, The Alumni Trustees, Wesley College, Dublin 16.
The Trustees of the WCA are under the Chairmanship of Deirdre Chadwick and comprises Valerie Grimes, Hal Hosford, Billy Given and Helen Holland. The Trustees meet annually with the Executive Committee, usually in January, and a report is presented to all members at the AGM.
The Trustees and Committee of WCA are most grateful for any contributions or bequests for the Wesley College Past Pupils' Fund and assure you that any contributions will be put to good use either to enable pupils to receive, or continue to receive, an education in Wesley College.
The Trustees wish to acknowledge with thanks the monies donated at the Alumni’s Annual Dinner, the golf outing, the London re-union, and at class re-unions.
Past Presidents
2019 |
2018 |
2017 |
2016 |
2015 |
2014 |
2013 |
2012 |
2011 |
2010 |
2009 |
2008 |
2007 |
2006 |
2005 |
2004 |
2003 |
2002 |
2001 |
2000 |
YEAR | WESLEY PAST PUPILS UNION |
1999 | Jack Storey |
1998 | Ruth Bell |
1997 | Rodney Evans |
1996 | Valerie Grimes |
1995 | Ernest Armitage |
1994 | Robert Syme |
1993 | Margaret Tyrrell |
1992 | Tony Sutton |
1991 | Sally Scott |
1990 | Ernest Smyth |
1989 | Sylvia Morton |
YEAR | OLD BOYS’ UNION | OLD GIRLS’ UNION |
1988 | H. C. Heather | Mrs. H. MacShane |
1987 | T.H.V. Good | Mrs. H. MacShane |
1986 | T.H.V. Good | Mrs. B. Syms |
1985 | M.E.J. Craven | Mrs. B. Syms |
1984 | T.G. Livingston | Mrs. M. Spencer |
1983 | H. Vard | Mrs. M. Spencer |
1982 | B. Fitzgerald | Mrs. B. Livingston |
1981 | W.C. Willoughby | Mrs. B. Livingston |
1980 | D. McCullagh | Mrs. S. Bell |
1979 | A. Cronhelm | Mrs. S. Bell |
1978 | G.C. Travers | Miss D. Pennefather |
1977 | Rev. G.G. Myles | Miss D. Pennefather |
1976 | R.J. Grier | Mrs. J. Hart |
1975 | W.G. Kirkpatrick | Mrs. J. Hart |
1974 | T.A. Beatty | Mrs. K.M. Fitzgerald |
1973 | J.H. Boate | Mrs. K.M. Fitzgerald |
1972 | Col. H.J. Johnston | Miss D.A.H. Lindsay |
1971 | D.C. Fitzpatrick | Miss D.A.H. Lindsay |
1970 | J.J. McConnell | Mrs. J.F. Halliday |
1969 | Rev. E.A. Carry | Mrs. J.F. Halliday |
1968 | A.D. Miller | Mrs. C.R. Kelly |
1967 | G.W. McConnell | Mrs. C.R. Kelly |
1966 | W.E. Pickering | Mrs. M.C. Thompson |
1965 | Ben Horan | Mrs. W. Campbell |
1964 | W.B. Sterling | |
1963 | C.E. Polden | Mrs. R.S.W. Baker |
1962 | F.W. Olhausen | |
1961 | F.W. Olhausen | Mrs. N.McHugh |
1960 | V.A. Allan | |
1959 | Rev. J.L. Cairns | Mrs. E.K. Mackenna |
1958 | J. Hanna | |
1957 | S.H. Polden | Mrs. T.H.T. Cross |
1956 | Col. B.E. Gentleman | |
1955 | J.R. Lawson | Mrs. E.A. Whitaker |
1954 | A.F.McConnell | |
1953 | J.S. Pickering | Mrs. H.L. Doak |
1952 | A.N. Cordner | |
1951 | E.S. Lee | |
1950 | C.T. Attwooll | Mrs. A. Kingston |
1949 | J.R. Cowle | |
1948 | Dr. W. E. Cooke | Mrs. W.H. Brown |
1947 | Rev. Dr. T.J. Irwin | |
1946 | E.W. Massey | Miss N. Alexander |
1945 | J.R. Lawson | |
1944 | F.W. Elliott | |
1943 | W.S. Brown | |
1942 | Canon E.H.F. Campbell | |
1941 | H.P. Crawford | |
1940 | W.P. Hinton | |
1939 | J.G. McConnell | |
1938 | G.T. Hamlet | |
1936 – 37 | G.E. Robertson | |
1931 – 35 | W.R. Burgess | |
1930 | R. W. Booth |
History of Wesley College Alumni
The Wesley College Old Boys’ Union was founded at an informal meeting in Trinity College in February, 1901. Thirteen old boys were present with Rev. William Crawford in the chair. Later in the year about a hundred old boys and their guests attended the inaugural dinner in the College Dining Hall. The OBU lapsed during the First World War.
The annual dinners, which had been interrupted by the War, were resumed in 1927, and the OBU was formally refounded in April 1929. Seventy-seven were present at the inaugural dinner in the Royal Hibernian Hotel in March 1930.
The Old Girls’ Union was founded at a general meeting in the College in January 1930. During the first year Dramatic, Physical Culture and Rambling Clubs were formed. The opening social in the Large Schoolroom of the College consisted of competitions, musical items and supper. The summer reunion took the form of a Garden Party in Tullamaine when the members enjoyed clock-golf, croquet, table tennis and tea.
The OBU had been inactive during the mid-1930s until it was revived under the enthusiastic leadership of Jack Lawson. News magazines were published from 1937 to 1938; and annual dinner, golf and tennis outings, cricket and badminton matches against the College were organised. From 1937 occasional dances took place in the Metropole Ballroom in conjunction with the OGU. A Northern Ireland Branch and a London Branch were formed in partnership with the OGU.
In 1934 the OGU established a Bursary Fund to assist in the education of a child of an old boy or an old girl in need.
To help with the celebration of the centenary of the College in 1945, the OGU published a Centenary Magazine and formed an Old Girls’ choir with Mr William Watson as conductor, which flourished for some years.
In 1946 Mr. Eric Massey presented a chain of office for the President to the OBU and in 1947 Mrs. Nora Browne presented a President’s chain of office to the OGU.
Both the OBU and the OGU grew in numbers and founded new Branches from the 1940s to the mid-1960s. From 1954 there was a Junior Branch with a committee drawn from both Unions which organised a full programme of joint activities, which appealed to recent school leavers. In 1955 both Unions joined to celebrate the silver jubilee of the founding of the Unions with a Dinner in the Royal Hibernian Hotel.
The OGU promoted an annual programme of Dinner, Shrove Tuesday pancake party, golf competition and tennis tournament. Other events were also organised to raise funds for the Bursary Fund and later the Benevolent Fund, which was set up in 1969 to assist members in difficult circumstances with a once-off grant. In 1962 the Union celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of the admission of girls to the College in 1911/12 with a fork supper in the new recreation hall in Epworth, a tour of the College Buildings and a special service in the Chapel.
The OBU organised an annual dinner, quarterly lunches, golf competition, and it supported a Bursary Fund. In 1957 it was responsible for the erection in the Chapel of a War Memorial plaque bearing the names of old boys who were killed on active service in the Second World War.
In 1968 the OBU recorded that the Junior Branch had been disbanded owing to a lack of interest amongst old boys who had recently left school.
In 1971 the OBU set up a trust to provide a music scholarship for the most promising music pupil in the College. The Bursary Fund was maintained. The OGU continued to support their Bursary and Benevolent Funds, and both Unions played major roles in raising money for the College Development Fund.
In 1985/86 the two Unions set up a committee to explore the possibility of an amalgamation of the Unions. During the presidencies of Hilda (Tennant) MacShane and Vivian Good a sub-committee drafted a Constitution for a Past Pupils’ Union which was considered at the subsequent OBU and OGU Annual General Meetings. On 30 June, 1988 the AGMs of both Unions adopted the new Constitution. The two Unions immediately met together and inaugurated the Past Pupils’ Union with Hilda MacShane and Campbell Heather as joint Presidents. A beautiful chain of office for the President of the PPU was designed by Mr Douglas Bennett, a past pupil.
Under the auspices of the PPU, trustees continue to manage the OBU Bursary Fund and Music Scholarship Fund and the OGU Bursary Fund and Benevolent Fund. The PPU has also established its own Bursary and Benevolent Funds. In 1995 under the terms of the Will of Doreen McDonnell the sum of £250,000 was made available to the Trustees of the PPU as capital to establish additional bursaries. In 2000 eighteen pupils in the College were beneficiaries of these funds.
At the 2018 AGM, it is unanimously agreed to modernise the name of the PPU to Wesley College Alumni, or WCA. Furthermore, to improve agility of the Alumni, a review of the Constitution took place to remove some archaic requirements.
The WCA continues to support the College, class reunions, social media interactions, and organises a number of social events, the most popular being the Annual Dinner in October, the golf outing in the summer, and the London Reunion lunch in March.
100 Years of Co-Education
In September 1911, after very careful consideration by the Governors, the College opened its doors to twenty one girls.
100 years later in 2011, the College celebrated 100 Years of Co-Education.
Read here about the events that took place.
Constitution of Wesley College Alumni
1. Name
The Society shall be called “Wesley College Alumni” (“WCA”) (formerly known as and incorporating “Wesley College Past Pupils Union”).
2. Objectives
The objectives of WCA shall be:
a) To support the educational work of Wesley College Dublin (“College”) and to bring together and form a link between Alumni of the College at home and abroad.
b) To foster the spirit of friendship and co-operation between Alumni by means of social and other activities.
c) To form sections of WCA which shall cater for the intellectual, social and other interests of the members.
d) To provide a Bursary Fund or Funds to assist in the education and advancement of a child or children of an Alumnus/Alumna who, in the opinion of the relevant trustees, need(s) financial assistance.
e) To provide a Benevolent Fund or Funds to assist an Alumnus/Alumna who needs financial assistance.
f) To provide bursaries for the fees and costs of the education of pupils of the College where families need financial assistance.
3. Membership
a) All Alumni of the College are members of WCA.
b) Both current or former Governors and current or former staff of the College are members of WCA.
4. Officers
The Officers of WCA shall be the President, the President Elect, the Immediate Past President, the Honorary Secretary (“Hon. Secretary”) and the Honorary Treasurer (“Hon. Treasurer”).
5. Executive Committee
a) An Executive Committee (“Committee”) to run the day to day affairs of WCA shall be comprised of the following: the President, the President Elect, the Immediate Past President, the Hon. Secretary, the Hon. Treasurer, the Principal of the College (“Principal”), a Trustee from each of the existing Bursary and Benevolent funds and eight Ordinary Members to be elected at the Annual General Meeting (“AGM”).
b) The President and President Elect shall be Alumni of the College.c) The Hon. Secretary, the Hon. Treasurer and other Committee members (with the exception of the Principal, current or former Governors of the College and current or former staff of the College) shall be Alumni of the College.
d) The Committee shall have the power to co-opt two additional Ordinary Members to the Committee.
e) The Committee shall undertake the financial and general management of WCA and its decision in such matters shall be final subject to the authority of the AGM.
f) The Committee shall meet at least four times annually. A special extraordinary or emergency meeting must be held on the written request of at least five members of the Committee.
g) Five members of the Committee including at least one Officer shall form a quorum for Committee meetings.
h) The Committee may reimburse when possible out of the current account any reasonable travelling expenses incurred by the President or his or her representative and administrative expenses of the officers, all expenditure to be agreed in advance.
6. Council of Trustees
a) The Council of Trustees (“Council”) shall be comprised of the President, the President Elect, the Immediate Past President, the Hon. Secretary, the Hon. Treasurer, the eight Ordinary Members of the Committee, the Trustees from each of the existing Benevolent and Bursary funds and the Principal.
b) The Council shall meet at least once between successive AGMs. It shall be empowered to make recommendations to the Committee regarding the Benevolent and Bursary Funds which shall be under the full control of the respective Trustees of the said funds. The Committee shall have discretion as to the manner in which such recommendations shall be dealt with, bearing in mind the joint aims and responsibilities of both the respective Trustees and WCA.
c) Ten members of the Council of Trustees including at least one Officer and one Trustee shall form a quorum for Council meetings.
d) The Trustees of the Benevolent and Bursary trust funds shall have full and absolute control over their respective funds. Any decision made by the Trustees in relation to the trust funds shall be final.
7. Sub Committees
a) The Committee shall have the power to appoint Sub-Committees and to form such sections of WCA as they may consider necessary.
b) At least one member of the Committee shall be appointed a member of each Sub-Committee.
c) The President and the Hon. Secretary shall be ex-officio members of all Sub-Committees.
8. Annual General Meeting
a) The AGM of WCA shall be held each year in April or May.
b) The Committee may summon a Special General Meeting at any time. A Special General Meeting must be held on a written demand signed by at least fifty members of WCA.
c) Twenty members shall form a quorum at the AGM.
9. Notice of Annual General Meeting
The Secretary shall give at least 21 days’ notice in writing of the AGM or of any Special General Meeting to all members. It shall be deemed sufficient if such notice is posted electronically.
10. Election of President and President Elect
The President and President Elect shall be elected at the AGM and shall hold office for one year or in exceptional circumstances may be re-elected for a second year.
11. Honorary Secretary, Honorary Treasurer and Honorary Auditors
The Hon. Secretary, the Hon. Treasurer and the Honorary Auditors shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting.
12. Reports and Accounts
a) The Hon. Secretary shall at the AGM present a report of the activities of WCA for the preceding year.
b) The Hon. Treasurer shall at the AGM submit an audited statement of accounts for the year ending on the preceding 31 st December.
c) The Trustees of the Benevolent and Bursary funds shall submit annual reports at the AGM.
13. Donation
A voluntary donation may be sought from each 6th year pupil on leaving the College.
14. Chairperson
a) At every meeting the chair shall be taken by the President of WCA or, in his or her absence, by the President Elect or a Past President nominated by the meeting. In the absence of the President Elect or Past President the members should elect their own Chairperson.
b) The Chairperson at any meeting shall have a vote and a casting vote.
15. Appeals
All notices appealing for money shall be previously sanctioned by the Committee or the President and shall clearly specify the particular purpose for which the appeal is being made. The money collected as a result of that appeal shall be applied only to that particular purpose save with the approval of the AGM.
16. Alteration of the Constitution
a) The Constitution of the Union may be amended by a resolution carried by at least a two thirds majority of the members voting either in person or by postal vote at the AGM or at a Special General Meeting. Such resolution must have been proposed and seconded and forwarded in writing for consideration at the AGM and must be received by 1st March.
b) The members of WCA should be given at least twenty-one days’ notice of such a resolution.
17. Copy of Constitution
A copy of the constitution of WCA shall be posted electronically.