Foresters Friendly Society
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The Foresters Friendly Society is a British friendly society which was formed in 1834 as the Ancient Order of Foresters. As of 31 December 2016, the society had approximately 75,000 members. Its head office is located in
Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
, England.


History

The society was formed in
Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...
(in
Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...
,
Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...
, England) in August 1834, when over 300 branches of the Royal Foresters society (established in the 18th century) formed the new Ancient Order of Foresters. In 1874 the American and Canadian Foresters seceded from the Ancient Order of Foresters and set up the
Independent Order of Foresters The Independent Order of Foresters, operating as Foresters Financial, is a fraternal benefit society headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that provides life insurance and other financial solutions in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the Uni ...
(IOF). The IOF's UK operation is now called Forester Life, based in
Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is southeast of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 88,000 as of 2023. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, charte ...
,
Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...
. The society became incorporated on 1 January 2003 (in accordance with the provisions of The Friendly Societies Act 1992), that year acquired Tunstall Assurance Friendly Society, followed by the Leek Assurance Collecting Society in 2005.Foresters Friendly Society (2013) ''Annual Report and Accounts 2012'' On September 26, 2014, it acquired the Post Office Insurance Society (POIS), which added 21,000 members and a further £69.0 million in assets. The society's local branches are termed "courts", rather than "lodges" as in other friendly societies. They were named after the law courts of the
royal forest A royal forest, occasionally known as a kingswood (), is an area of land with different definitions in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The term ''forest'' in the ordinary modern understanding refers to an area of wooded land; however, the ...
s, and performed the Ancient Ritual of the Society. The most famous was Court LUD No. 10,100, which was formed in 1947, by members of the London District Management Committee. However, owing to lack of members willing to take office, this court was erased in 2004. Since the society became incorporated the number of courts has slowly reduced and remained stable over the last 10 years at 189 Courts in the British Isles. Internationally, there are courts in
Georgetown, Guyana Georgetown is the capital (political), capital and largest city of Guyana. It is situated in Demerara-Mahaica, region 4, on the Atlantic Ocean coast, at the mouth of the Demerara River. It is nicknamed the "Garden City of the Caribbean." It is ...
and
Paramaribo, Suriname Paramaribo ( , , ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of Suriname, located on the banks of the Suriname River in the Paramaribo District. Paramaribo has a population of roughly 241,000 people (2012 census), almost half of Suriname's p ...
. The society offers a range of member benefits, and in 2018 nearly £1m was paid out in discretionary grants and benefits, and charitable donations. The society had its own magazine – ''Foresters Miscellany,'' which ran from 1862 to 2008, when it was incorporated into a replacement called ''The Forester''.Library and Museum of Freemasonry
, catalogue ref: 1522 FOR fol.
In late 2016, the publication of ''Foresters Miscellany'' restarted with issue 1618 and continues today celebrating Foresters social and fundraising activities in local communities.


Products

The society provides its members with savings policies – including tax exempt savings which are only available via friendly societies. They also offer an Investment Bond, Guaranteed Savings plan and in June 2017 the society launched a Lifetime ISA. Foresters also offer insurance policies against sickness and death. There are also policies for children, including a child tax exempt savings plan. In addition to this, it is also the provider of group insurance to several police forces in the United Kingdom, the
Police Service of Northern Ireland The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI; ; Ulster-Scots: '), is the police service responsible for law enforcement and the prevention of crime within Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) after it ...
being one of the largest, and its
Guernsey Guernsey ( ; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; ) is the second-largest island in the Channel Islands, located west of the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy. It is the largest island in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, which includes five other inhabited isl ...
business mainly consists of medical insurance. The society is regulated in the United Kingdom by the
Financial Conduct Authority The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is a financial regulatory body in the United Kingdom. It operates independently of the UK Government and is financed by charging fees to members of the financial services industry. The FCA regulates financi ...
. The total combined assets of the courts (including Guernsey) as of 31 December 2016 was £78.9 million. As of December 2016, the society had approximately 75,000 members and managed funds of £277m on their members' behalf.


Management

In November 2012, Paul Osborn was appointed as the Chief Executive. In September 2012, Mike Wilkinson was appointed to the Board, and subsequently elected chairman. Two professional non-executive directors were also welcomed to the board: Michael Allen, latterly of
Liverpool Victoria Liverpool Victoria, trading since May 2007 as LV=, is one of the United Kingdom's largest insurance companies. It offers a range of insurance and retirement products. History History The first known meeting of the Liverpool Victoria Friendl ...
, and John Instance from the
Financial Reporting Council The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) is an independent regulator in the UK and Ireland based in London Wall in the City of London, responsible for regulating auditors, accountants and actuaries, and setting the UK's Corporate Governance and ...
. In 2016, John Instance was appointed the
chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...
and Myles Edwards was appointed as executive director. The High Chief Ranger (which is equivalent to president) for 2016/17 was Glyn Carpenter and for 2017/18 is Cheryl Eagleson. Each year the High Chief Ranger chooses a charity for whom the society's members fundraise. In 2016/17 this was Canine Partners, and in 2017/18 it is the Association of Air Ambulances Charity.Foresters Friendly Society (2017) Annual Report and Accounts 2016


Sponsorship

In December 2012 Foresters announced its official sponsorship of the
Archery Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a Bow and arrow, bow to shooting, shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting ...
GB Olympic and
Paralympic The Paralympic Games or Paralympics is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disabilities. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Kore ...
teams. In November 2013 Foresters renewed its sponsorship, taking its sponsorship beyond the
Rio Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...
.


See also

*
Independent Order of Foresters The Independent Order of Foresters, operating as Foresters Financial, is a fraternal benefit society headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that provides life insurance and other financial solutions in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the Uni ...
, Canadian Foresters based in Toronto * Shepherds Friendly Society, another long-standing UK friendly society, formed 1826


References


External links

{{NIE Poster, year=1906, Foresters, Ancient Order of, Foresters Friendly Society
Foresters Friendly Society
– official website
Foresters Friends
– official news and forum site for members
Foresters Heritage Trust
– independent charity, info on Ancient Order of Foresters and other friendly societies
Library and Museum of Freemasonry
has a comprehensive collection of material about the Foresters (and other friendly societies) Organizations established in 1834 1834 establishments in the United Kingdom Friendly societies of the United Kingdom Fraternal orders