Cedric Lodge and John Ewing have for the past few months been investigating the possibility of re-constituting the old 1922 Company as a means of purchasing the trackbed. This has involved a lot of hard work and caused a certain amount of duality as they were both Directors of this Company. They have made some progress and have purchased a proportion of the Debenture Stock along with Ernie Preston who has been able to obtain some Ordinary Shares.
The Board gave Messrs. Lodge and Ewing a remit "to investigate further, on behalf of the Company, and report back" which they commenced to do. At one point they considered that they needed financial support to progress, so they issued a Prospectus, which was circulated to some members of this Company as well as to the general public, without reference to the Board.
The Board believed that two Directors going against the policy of this Company was incompatible with their status so the matter was discussed at great length at a Board Meeting on 17 September 1983. The two Directors could not appreciate our concern that the Board needed to control the situation and conform to an agreed policy regarding trackbed negotiations. They did not feel obliged to offer their Debenture Stock to the Company or let us control the use of it when we considered it appropriate.
After considerable discussion, the Board invited them to resign from the Board and Mr. Lodge from the office as Secretary. Messrs. Lodge and Ewing accepted and resigned their positions. Both are to remain as members of this Company and Mr. Ewing remains as Works Manager. It is with regret that this has to be reported, but we thank both for the hard work that they have put into the Company and hope that they will remain as members of our organisation and, along with the rest of us, see the realisation of their endeavours.
Following Mr. Lodge's resignation from the post of Company Secretary the Board invited Mr. W. J. Jones to take up the office. After careful consideration, Mr. Jones accepted. It is considered that Mr. Jones will fill the post admirably. He has the advantage of living close to the line where he can keep in touch with local feeling, is a keen and methodical person and is well known and respected by the membership.