Eoghan Cameron, BASC Chairman
While the role of Council member is a significant undertaking in terms of responsibility, you can be assured that it is challenging and rewarding in equal measure.
Council is the board and strategic decision-making fulcrum of BASC. It is charged with setting strategy and policy, while operational execution is delegated to the chief executive. Ultimate responsibility for the direction and sound running of the association resides with Council.
At a time when shooting and the inextricable conservation benefits face threats on multiple fronts, Council is a hot, fast-paced kitchen for cool, strategic heads.
As the UK’s most broad-shouldered shooting and conservation organisation, BASC leads from the front on a sector-wide basis. We do, however, recognise the great value of strategic alliances. No single voice, however loud, has the same potency as multiple voices with shared strategic goals. Thus, Council members have a unique opportunity to shape not only the direction of BASC, but that of the entire sector.
BASC is committed to safeguarding the continuation of shooting for generations to come. This is a formidable task towards which Council members have the privilege to make a lasting contribution. We do not take this lightly, but it is certainly one of the most rewarding aspects of the role.
Elections are held each year for one or more seats on Council and seats are also reserved for representatives of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Council meets ten times a year and elected members serve a five-year term and may be elected for an extra term. There is also scope to co-opt Council members.
Each elected Council member is a de facto non-executive director (NED) of BASC. The NED skills and experience to be gained by serving a term on Council are of considerable value in business and in the eyes of many employers. In this regard, BASC Council’s requirement for skilled, high-calibre individuals is no different to that of any other top-tier organisation and vice-versa.
Eoghan Cameron,
BASC Chairman
BASC Annual review 2022
Officers and Council
Officers of the Association
- Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal - Patron
- Lord Dear KT QPM DL - President
- Eoghan Cameron - Chairman
- Claire Sadler - Vice Chair
- Ian Bell - Chief Executive
- Angela Davies - Registered Society Secretary
- Lachlan Nisbet - Legal Adviser, England & Wales
- Peter Misselbrook - Legal Adviser, Scotland
- R Gilmore - Legal Adviser, Northern Ireland
Council members
Elected members
- Eoghan Cameron - Chairman
- Claire Sadler - Vice Chair
- Robin Marshall-Ball
- Chris Barker
- Ian Coghill (Co-opted)
- John Furbisher
- John Harlow
- Dr Al Gabriel
- Ian Grindy
- Oliver McCullough
- Professor Ann Mortimer
- Richard Garner Williams
Ex-officio members
- Lord Geoffrey Dear - President
- Ian Bell - Chief Executive
- Christopher Graffius - Executive Director of Communications & Public Affairs
- Angela Davies - Executive Director of Business Management
- Steve Bloomfield - Executive Director of Shooting & Operations
- Caroline Bedell - Executive Director of Conservation
- David Gervers - Acting Director England
- Tommy Mayne - Director, Northern Ireland
- Peter Clark - Director, Scotland
- Steve Griffiths - Director, Wales
Minute secretary
- Sandra Forkin
BASC Committees
Executive and Finance Committee
Chairman
Oliver McCullough (BASC Council member)
Members
Ann Mortimer (BASC Council member)
Chris Barker (BASC Council member)
Richard Garner Williams (BASC Council member)
Robin Marshall-Ball (BASC Council member)
Ex-Officio members
Ian Bell (Chief Executive)
Angela Davies (Executive Director of Business Management)
Eoghan Cameron (BASC Chairman)
Claire Sadler (BASC Vice Chair)
Minute secretary
Sandra Forkin
England Committee
Chair
Robin Marshall-Ball (BASC Council member)
Vice Chair
Gareth Dockerty (Deputy Director Shooting and Operations)
Members
Sean Adamson (South West England)
Robert Lock (South East England)
Rob Minty (East)
Charlie Parkes (Central England)
Martin Price (Central England)
Chris Salisbury (Southwest)
Carl Woodall (Central)
Northern Ireland Committee
Chair
Oliver McCullough (BASC Council member)
Vice Chair
Tommy Mayne (Director, Northern Ireland)
Members
Rosemary Fleming
John Hetherington
Biff Keenan
Lionel Knobbs
Davy McBride
Alan Morrow
Theo Nugent
Ian Stewart
Scotland Committee
Chair
Eoghan Cameron (BASC Council member)
Vice Chair
Peter Clark (Director, Scotland)
Members
Graeme Dalby
Mike Hardy
Mike Holliday
Luise Janniche
Scott Mackenzie
Alan Marshall
Calvert McKibbin
Mark McKinney
David Stewart
Alisdair Troup
Wales Committee
Chair
Richard Garner Williams (BASC Council member)
Vice Chair
Steve Griffiths (Director, Wales)
Members
Elena Allen
Angela Charlton
Robert Croft MBE
Dr Mat Holloway
Gethin Jones
Martyn Jones
Harry Legge Bourke
Mike Sherman
Deer Management Committee
Chair
Dr Al Gabriel (BASC Council member)
Vice Chair
Martin Edwards (Head of Deer Management),
Members
Richard Garner Williams (BASC Council member)
John Hetherington
Sam Thompson
John Thornley OBE
Carl Woodall
Wildfowling Liaison Committee
Chair
Chris Barker (BASC Council member)
Vice Chair
James Green (Head of Wildfowl and Wetlands)
Members
Ryan Adamson
Terry Behan (BASC staff member – communication and member liaison)
Peter Catling
George Downing
Graham Downing
Matt Dutton (BASC staff member – inland duck shooting and fed flight ponds)
Ian Coghill (Co-opted BASC Council member)
Glynn Cook
John Harlow (BASC Council member)
Dr Mat Holloway
JP Humberstone
Craig Jenkinson
Brian Johnson
Allan MacDonald
Robin Marshall-Ball (BASC Council member)
Allen Musselwhite
Terry Neill
Peter Nichols
Richard Playle
Mike Sherman
William Wykes
Honours and Awards committee
Chairman
Robin Marshall-Ball
Vice-Chair
David Gervers
Members
Claire Sadler
Ian Bell
Christopher Graffius
Chelsea Bubb
Ian Grindy
Report of the executive and finance committee and financial statements
Please download the reports from the year ending December 2022 below.
BASC Members’ Login
BASC council is important to the organisation because we value our democratic roots and the elected members of council are drawn from the ranks of ordinary shooters. Council is charged with overseeing the management of the affairs of a growing, multi-million pound turnover organisation, which has very public responsibilities.
The council currently meets ten times a year (there are no meetings in August or December) and exercises all the powers of the Association apart from those specified in our constitution. Council is made up of 19 elected members together with ex-officio members.
The elected members serve for a five-year term and may be re-elected to one further term (at the end of the second term a retiring member shall be ineligible for re-election for a further 5 years). The chair is elected for Council members for a two year term and vice chair and the chairmen of the executive & finance committee and our six country and advisory committees are elected annually.
Members of BASC council do not hold their posts as sinecures, they have very real responsibilities. As Britain’s largest country sports body, there is an additional responsibility to the public at large. The members of council, collectively, have a responsibility for everything done by or in the name of the association.
This means that they are responsible for BASC’s strategic direction and policies and ensuring that the Association is properly managed. The members of council are stewards of the funds as well as trustees of the assets that are entrusted to the association.
In practice, the council, as a body, delegates day-to-day running of the association to the employed staff through the chief executive. This does not, however, detract from the council’s overall responsibility.
Members of council should therefore be used to operating at a strategic level and have an excellent knowledge of shooting sports and conservation, or some appropriate speciality. They will have a positive attitude, good analytical and communication skills, and the ability to get to grips with the practicalities of complex issues. Above all, they must be ready to contribute in an honorary capacity and be sensitive to the many and often conflicting concerns and aspirations that exist in a sport that is passionately followed by many hundreds of thousands of enthusiasts.
