Chapter 15 - Management

No club can exist without efficient organisation and Collegiate have always been lucky in finding able people willing to be Secretary and Treasurer. For a long time Secretaries changed frequently, but H. B. Willey was always there in support. L. C. Barber did a highly important stint from 1910 to 1926 and Mark Barber from 1940 to 1958, with later notable work from Tim Reed and the present Secretary, Vic Cadman. One gets the impression, possibly erroneously, that the old-time treasurers merely collected the subscriptions and added up figures. Philip Barber originally, but chiefly Raymond Jenkinson, who was Treasurer from 1949 to 1970, brought financial management into the club, which was essential in a period of rising costs. Subscriptions, which had only been t1-1-0 up to 1921, had remained at £2-10-0 from 1923 to 1947, but the all too familiar pattern of inflation has by degrees forced that figure to £15.40 in 1980. Later Treasurers have followed capably in Jenkinson's footsteps and now deal in 'thousands' rather than 'hundreds' .

The Chairman of the club committee has a vital role to play and over recent years a great debt is due to Charles Buck, Granville Carr, John Reichwald, John Neilson and the present Chairman, David Fleetwood, all of whom have given much time and energy to the club. They have guided the club with clarity in difficult times and much of the present success is due to them. John Neilson, possibly as a result of his approaching fatal illness, felt that the club's financial position was insecure and that the solution was an amalgamation with the club's old friend and enemy, Sheffield United, but he could not convince a sufficient majority of the members and his interesting scheme was not accepted; a decision which now seems to have been correct. Supporting quietly in the background have been the Presidents, R. T. Wilson for 43 years, Harold Willey, Sir Douglas Branson and now Charles Buck.