IS IT TIME FOR PRESIDENT PHILLIPS TO HAND OVER TO CHAIRMAN KIRKER?

Bryan "The Führer" Phillips and Friend celebrating the VOC's acquisition of a rare Model PS

Word reaches us that Bryan Phillips, the longtime President of the Vincent H.R.D. Owners Club, has been trying to find out who told us that he had described the John Lumley Affair as the most damaging scandal to hit the VOC for over fifty years. A number of members have been buttonholed by Phillips, including friends of mine. Given that Phillips made this statement at several different section meetings around the country, his search for the mole is unlikely to succeed. While I protect my sources, of course, I think I can help The Führer, as he is popularly known amongst members, by telling him that he is in fact looking for several moles. I should also point out to him that his attempts to deny making this statement are overshadowed by the fact that (a) lots of people heard him say it in several different locations and (b) at least two sets of minutes from local section meetings record the fact.

For some historical information about Bryan Phillips, readers might care to consult Bruce Main-Smith's comments. Mr Phillips was also informed of the situation regarding John Lumley's motorcycle collection within a day or two of the attempt by one of the recipients to trade the prewar Vincent H.R.D. Comet he received "out of the blue" less than two days after John Lumley's funeral. And then there is Mr Phillips' gift on behalf of Honorary Member and TT veteran Nigel Seymour-Smith to the Vincent H.R.D Owners Club of the extremely rare prewar Vincent H.R.D. Model PS, despite being fully aware of the machine's true provenance.

VOC AGM: will Charlie Cannon get a fair hearing?

Mr Phillips is due to preside over the appeal at the VOC's 2011 AGM by Lumley Affair whistleblower Charlie Cannon against his expulsion for bringing the VOC into disrepute by exposing the disreputable conduct of senior VOC officials and leading members in connection with the taking away and dispersal of valuable assets from the late John Lumley's estate.

Meanwhile, despite the efforts of the VOC management to give the opposite impression, HM Revenue & Customs continue their investigations and have stated that they considering the imposition of penalties - for attempted tax evasion - upon the recipients of all these alleged "gifts" they received.

A MINOR CONFLICT OF INTEREST...

As ordinary members will know, the May 2011 issue of MPH, the VOC's monthly journal, carried the following snippet: "The Honourable Secretary reported on the details of a minor conflict of interest with regards to the registration of the Club's trademarked name Vincent H.R.D. Owners Club. The Honourable Secretary was however able to report that our other solicitors had just two days previously reported that a resolution looked likely as the other party had offered to pass the conflicting registration over to the Club". The "other party" in question is of course former VOC Treasurer Roy Huxley. According to sources close to the Executive Committee of the Vincent HRD Owners Club, as opposed to the Board of Directors of The Vincent H.R.D. Owners Club Ltd, members of the VOC EC spent more than £1,000 on solicitors who bullied Roy Huxley into handing over what minutes of the 130th GCM meeting described as the "dormant" company. According to sources close to Mr Huxley, he had made his purpose in setting up the company known to a number of people, as well as his eventual intention to gift the company to the Vincent HRD Owners Club because, as the record shows, the current VOC management had clearly not thought of taking this step themselves, despite taking steps to trademark the club logo and badge in 2006. Like other former VOC officials and officers and a number of members, Mr Huxley's sense of loyalty to the club he had served - or tried to serve - to the best of his ability did not include the slavish, unquestioning devotion demanded by the power-crazed members of the current management regime. So why involve the solicitors, when a simple dialogue with Mr Huxley would have sufficed? According to a source close to the VOC EC, disgusted by the way in which The John Lumley Scandal was managed, the reason is simple: no member of the Executive Committee of the VOC is on speaking terms with Mr Huxley. Roy and Diane Huxley remained on the Board of Directors of The Vincent H.R.D. Owners Club Ltd for over a fortnight after the appointment of Tim Kirker and Andrew Everett to the Board, before being "terminated" on 8.4.2011. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TIMOTHY!

Vincent HRD Owners Club Chairman Tim Kirker got a nice present for his 56th birthday on 21.3.2011: he became Director of The Vincent H.R.D. Owners Club Ltd. And the cherry on the icing was the appointment of his faithful collaborator Andrew Everett as Company Secretary. The only cloud in view was the continued tenure of existing directors Roy and Diane Huxley, who had formed the new company six months previously on 17.9.2010. 

Laughing: VOC Ltd MD Tim Kirker

Of Mr Kirker, Mr Huxley had written publicly: "Since resigning from the VOC Executive Committee, (due to major problems in trying to work with an obstructive bullying Chairman), I have tried to distance myself from anything to do with the running of the Club and Club politics as the Chairman made my tenure as Treasurer so traumatic that my health suffered and I was obliged to pull right away from anything to do with the VOC." 

Trademark applications in International Classes 21, 25, 26 and 41 were made through Potter Clarkson LLP of Nottingham by The Vincent H.R.D. Owners Club Ltd under number 009626441 on 24.12.2010 when the company was still based in Longfield, Kent, under the directorship of Roy and Diane Huxley. The directorships of Roy and Diane Huxley were "terminated" on 8.4.2011 and the registered address of The Vincent H.R.D. Owners Club changed to 50d Kingswood Road, London E11 1SF, which is the address of Mr Everett. Roy Huxley remains listed as the director of The Vincent HRD Co Ltd in Longfield, Kent. 

The May 2011 issue of MPH, the VOC's monthly journal, carried the following snippet: "The Honourable Secretary reported on the details of a minor conflict of interest with regards to the registration of the Club's trademarked name Vincent H.R.D. Owners Club. The Honourable Secretary was however able to report that our other solicitors had just two days previously reported that a resolution looked likely as the other party had offered to pass the conflicting registration over to the Club". 

VOC LTD: PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE?

Back in June 2009, when rumours about the removal and dispersal of the John Lumley Collection were merely rumours as opposed to established fact, VOC Secretary Andrew Everett told club members that a VOC member who had asked the club a quarter of a century previously to take over his collection after his death was still alive. It is reasonable to assume that this anonymous benefactor must be getting on a bit now. Of course, as former VOC Vice-President Bruce Main-Smith has remarked, The Vincent H.R.D. Owners Club as it stands is not a legal entity so its legal ability to own anything at all is doubtful. 

However, as a limited company, it can own property, like the Nigel Seymour-Smith 'A' Comet to which Mr Everett refers. It will also be able to own the collection mentioned by Mr Everett should the anonymous benefactor decide to leave his collection to The Vincent H.R.D. Owners Club Ltd. The Vincent H.R.D. Owners Club Ltd will also be able to apply for a V5C document for the so-called Nigel Seymour-Smith Model PS, the fact that the Model PS actually belongs to the John Lumley Estate notwithstanding. The new company might even be able to accept other motorcycles as gifts from members, including members who cannot pay the tax demands that HM Revenue & Customs have reportedly starting sending VOC officials and members found in possession of motorcycles from another important collection.

The possibilities are boundless. But what guarantees will members of the VOC in its current incarnation have that they will have a share in the club's assets and holdings when they are transferred to this new private limited company with share capital? Will The Vincent H.R.D. Owners Club Ltd issue shares to every club member around the world? And what guarantee do VOC members - and benefactors - have that The Vincent H.R.D. Owners Club Ltd will not simply be wound up by its unelected directorship on some pretext or another, with its assets and holdings being offered for sale to, let us say, 'preferred' potential buyers, such as the same group of individuals responsible for the John Lumley Affair?

At the moment, there  are in effect two Vincent H.R.D. Owners Clubs, the old unincorporated club dating back to 1948, and the new incorporated club set up in September 2010, just as it was becoming clear to the VOC Executive Committee that they could not control the fallout from the John Lumley Affair and that their attempt to persuade not just the Executors but the Revenue that the ex-John Lumley motorcycles traced to date were worth no more than £70,000. Readers of the blog about the Lumley affair will know that an independent assessor valued these motorcycles conservatively at £430,000. 

What about the assumption by the club management on behalf of the club of any tax liability in relation to the Model PS appropriated in the name of the club once it was established that Nigel Seymour-Smith did not own this motorcycle and could not therefore give it to the VOC? Did members agree to this? Did members ask or, rather, authorise these elected officials to turn their club into a limited company with as yet unidentified shareholders and to appoint themselves the directors of this business without any reference to the membership? Do members have any shares in The Vincent H.R.D. Owners Club Ltd? 

These are the sort of questions any half-intelligent or even half-witted member of The Vincent H.R.D. Owners Club should be asking in advance of the membership vote to which VOC Chairman Tim Kirker referred in his January 2011 editorial, three months after the setting up of The Vincent H.R.D. Owners Club Ltd, when vaguely discussing possible plans to turn the VOC into a Trust, subject to rule changes and a membership vote. Except that none of you got to vote on whether or not your club should be incorporated as a trust, a limited company or even a registered charity because it looks as though it was already a done deal when Mr Kirker's editorial was first published in January 2011. 

The Vincent H.R.D. Owners Club Ltd Update

Members of The Vincent H.R.D. Owners Club will recall this January 2011 editorial by VOC Chairman Tim Kirker, this copy of which was downloaded today from the VOC website. In it, Mr Kirker discusses plans to set up a Trust to handle the finances and assets of the Vincent H.R.D. Owners Club. He states the need for changes to the club rules before putting the establishment of this Trust to a membership vote. 


A Trust is a means by which property of a real, tangible or intangible nature is managed by a person, persons or an organisation for the benefit of the owner of the said property. The Trust is created by a grantor, who entrusts the property to the trustee. The trustee or trustees hold legal title to the trust property for the benefit of one or more individuals, known as beneficiaries, as specified by the grantor, who hold equitable title. The trustees are accountable to the beneficiaries. The Vincent H.R.D. Owners Club Ltd set up with Andrew Everett as the Director on 17.9.2010 is a private limited company with share capital. It may be able to act as a Trust. 


However, this is beside the point. When Tim Kirker addressed the membership of the VOC in this editorial, he must surely have been aware of the setting up of The Vincent H.R.D. Owners Club Ltd in September 2010. Whatever the case, Mr Kirker is certainly currently aware of the existence of  The Vincent H.R.D. Owners Club Ltd because he became a director on 21.3.2011. Andrew Everett became Company Secretary on the same date.  


The first registered address of The Vincent H.R.D. Owners Club Ltd when it was formed on 17.9.2010 was 12 Station Road, Longfield, Kent, DA3 7QD. Another company registered at this address is Huxley & Co Accountants. The Companies House (UK) records show Roy Huxley and Diane Huxley as the first directors of The Vincent H.R.D. Owners Club Ltd and that their directorships were terminated on  8.4.2011. Also registered at the 12 Station Road address is The Vincent HRD Co Ltd, set up on 9.8.2010. 

Some readers will remember Roy Huxley as a former Treasurer and Executive of The Vincent H.R.D. Owners Club. Others will remember his public comments about the VOC management and the John Lumley Affair in September 2010 via the unofficial VOC internet forum VOC-JTAN. It is widely believed that Mr Huxley resigned after refusing to sign off, as a professional accountant, on VOC and VOC Spares Company Ltd accounts. Some VOC officials and members have publicly alleged that Mr Huxley was the initiator of the HM Revenue & Customs investigation into the disappearance of the John Lumley Collection.

So, where is the formation of these two limited companies leading and what will be the consequences for the wider membership of The Vincent H.R.D. Owners Club, who seem to have had no say in the formation of these two limited companies, one of which recalls the company Phil Irving and his associates set up in 1928 after the purchase of the original H.R.D. firm? And who appointed Messrs Kirker and Everett as CEO and Company Secretary of this new incarnation of the The Vincent H.R.D. Owners Club as a private limited company with share capital? Who are the shareholders? Neither Tim Kirker nor Andrew Everett have responded to these questions. 

Then again, the members of the VOC's Executive Committee appear to be keeping rather low profiles at the moment. Not a single VOC executive was seen at Liphook or Stafford. Show-goers looking for the Vincent H.R.D. stand in its usual position near the Bonham's stand only had to follow their noses, leading them to a stand where the marque was represented by the local section rather than the club itself, relegated to what the organisers clearly felt was a more appropriate location beside the toilets.