1. Apologies for absence. These were received from Mike Carter, Jill and Brian Dagnall, Anne and Geoff Slater, Muriel Jones and Joyce Code. About 45 members were present.
2. Election of President. Christine Scott was nominated by David Whitley and seconded by Gill Harris. Her re-election was carried. At this point Christine took over the chair of the meeting. She welcomed members and congratulated the Society on another good year of activities.
3. Minutes of the 2002 AGM. These had been circulated at the meeting. It was proposed by Geoff Cottom and seconded by Beth Beswick that the minutes be accepted. This was agreed. There were no matters arising.
4. Annual report by the Chair. Gill Harris began by detailing the series of meetings that had been held over the season. She said that the Society had had a very successful year with an interesting range of topics. She went on to review the Rainhill in Bloom competition. Again, she said, there was disappointment at the low number of entries, despite the presence of many worthy gardens in the area. She encouraged all present to consider entering. It was also proposed to re-introduce the commercial section of the competition this year, she said. The highlight of the year had been the relaunch of "The Story of Rainhill", the book by Robert and Florence Dickinson, first published in 1968. Gill thanked Anne Slater and Jill Dagnall who had put many hours of work into preparing the book. She also thanked Gordon Slater who had been responsible for the printing. Sales of the book had been good at its launch and it was still selling well. Particular thanks were due to Rainhill Parish Council, the Rotary Clubs of Rainhill and Prescot, Rachel Oxley of Tower College and the Sir Alastair Pilkington Mushroom Fund for their financial contributions, which had made the project possible. Gill pointed out that the planting trough at the Stoops was maintained by the Society, largely through the efforts of the President, and members also tended the plot next to KwikSave. This plot would soon be put back in order following building work. The Society’s monitoring of planning applications continued under the supervision of Mike Carter and the Authority did take note of our comments. Finally, Gill directed members’ attention to the web site which received an average of some 20 "hits" per day form many countries. Interest in the BBC programme about the Rainhill Trials had boosted this to about 60 per day for a short period. Members could find information and reports about the Society’s meetings on the site. She thanked David Whitley for his work in maintaining the site and for his work as Secretary.
5. Treasurer’s report. Keith Ashall introduced the accounts, which had been circulated to members. He pointed out that funds for the book project had been presented separately and he intended to propose to the committee that this practice should be continued. He stated that the £500 given by the Mushroom Fund had been matched by an equal donation in the last financial year. In the general accounts subscriptions had risen slightly. Raffles held at meetings had raised £77.65, thanks to Jill Dagnall. Room hire appeared low as a £20 demand had been received too late for inclusion. On the other hand, the figure for refreshments represented two years, as did the miscellaneous item. A significant increase in expenditure had been the insurance, which had been £105 in 2001, £209 in 2002 and this year was £305, though for higher cover. There were no questions about the accounts other than the Secretary’s comment and thanks to Keith for obtaining membership cards at the very low price of £7. It was proposed by Clare Swatridge and seconded by Vera Giles that the accounts be accepted and this was agreed.
6. Membership Secretary’s report. Elaine Wood said that there were 43 single members, 66 family memberships, totalling 175 individuals in all. 6 had resigned during the year and 5 had been added, including an ex-resident of Rainhill, now living in Sussex, who had joined after contact via the web site.
7. Annual Subscription. The Committee had decided to leave the annual subscription unchanged from £5 for family membership and £3 for single.
8. Election of Vice Chairs. Again, Monte Worthington and Arthur Platt had been put forward for re-election. The President told the meeting that Monte’s professional expertise was invaluable to the subcommittee in its consideration of planning applications. Arthur Platt had been one of the founding members of the Society. Their re-election was proposed by Chris Kedge and seconded by Tom Platt. Carried.
9. Election of Auditor. Gus Jackson had agreed to be auditor for a further year. This was approved after proposal by Carol Walpole and seconding by Clare Swatridge.

10. Election of Committee. The following members of last year’s committee had agreed to serve again:- Keith Ashall, Beth Beswick, Sigrid Brown, Helen Carns, Mike Carter, Jill Dagnall, Brian Dagnall, Moira Dickinson, Vera Giles, Gill Harris, Derek Houghton, Ann Veronica Howitt, Marje Massey, Anne Slater, Clare Swatridge, David Whitley, Elaine Wood. Geoff Cottom proposed and Tom Platt seconded that these people should be elected en bloc. This was carried.
11. Suggestions from members for consideration by the committee. No suggestions were forthcoming. The President asked members to pass on to the committee any questions or ideas they may have during the year.
12. Any other business. David Whitley thanked John Harris for his contribution as organiser of the year’s programme of meetings. Chris Kedge thanked the Society and individuals who had written to the Boundaries Committee in protest at the proposal to divide Rainhill’s electoral ward into two. The pressure of 660 individual letters about Rainhill (out of 680 for St Helens as a whole) had certainly changed the Commission’s mind.

After the business meeting, John Griffiths, Curator of Horology at Prescot Museum, gave an interesting talk about watch and clock making in Prescot and the surrounding area.