Livery is For Life! The Corollary...

Gill King, Almoner, works with a WCoMC team to distribute to a brilliant cause the precious books of the late Founding Liveryman, Allan Williams...

As the Immediate Past Master said at more than one investiture of new Freemen joining:  Livery is for Life.

Livery is for life, and this means that in due course a member’s family may well find that they are contacted by the Almoner offering condolences and support. I can only hope that when my turn comes we have an Almoner who shares the qualities of our present and previous incumbents.

Gill King’s work with the family of late Founding Liveryman Allan Williams is an exemplar. During his illness, and when Allan died, Gill was in contact with his wife Rosella.  She helped her by becoming a point of contact between WCoMC and with CASS Business School where Allan was Emeritus Professor when he died.  She co-ordinated the arrangements for the post funeral Celebration of Allan’s life and later the Cass Memorial Lecture held in Allan’s name in 2018.  

As a further example, Gill also helped Rosella and her family in their mission to clear and distribute c2,000 of Allan’s books that blocked several rooms and filled a shed at their house. These books and papers were very important to Allan and so too to Rosella and her family.  Concerning the papers and our contacts with City University, Gill obtained Rosella’s signature which enabled Allan’s papers to be accepted into the CASS library.  

As for the books, various charities Gill had contacted wanted payment to collect them and would then place no particular value on their progeny.  With my support, Gill looked for other options and serendipity occurred when walking together in the Lord Mayor’s Show last year, she met Freeman Colette Stone who, with her husband Les, supports various charity endeavours. One of these involved a contact at the University of Lagos - helping overseas students was a particular wish for the Williams’ family.  

The message and photos below demonstrate how the work of the Almoner, using the resources of the membership, has ensured Allan’s work is used to further the education of students and promote his memory.  Thanks to Collette and Les Stone, the books were shipped free of charge via a London bus.

Professor Williams' books have made it to the Faculty of Management Sciences - specifically the Dean's office at University of Lagos, Nigeria.

In this photo below,  from the left - Ayo Eko-Davids, Director ContainerSpace Limited who organised free shipping; in the middle Owolabi Lateef Kuye, Dean of the Faculty of Management Sciences; on the right, Professor Timothy Nubi, of the University of Lagos.

On the floor - the books packed by the Master; Freeman Collette Stone & the Williams Family in Rosella Williams's garden!

The Dean confirms that they will dedicate some university library shelves to housing the books, and would like to hang a picture of Professor Williams with them, and a citation about the origin/provenance of the books.  This was a real-life example of Livery teamwork at its best.

Master David Johnson