A short history of the club. (With thanks to Maureen Edden and Chris Leyland.)
A brief history of the Compass and Herald Motorhome Club
1994 - 2015. The "Herald Owners Club" was set up by the manufacturers at the factory in Poole in 1994. Unfortunately, Herald of Poole went into liquidation the following year in the summer of 1995. An emergency meeting was held chiefly to answer the many questions of members. High on the list was warranties - would they be invalidated with the demise of the company? What would happen to the Club? Were there any offers to take over the business? It was a gloomy and pessimistic meeting. Many of the chief concerns could not be dealt with at the time because the committee simply did not have the answers. It was decided that the members should take control of the Club. A new committee was elected and a Club Constitution agreed upon. In those early days, Club funds would not run to a magazine. We had to satisfy ourselves with a newsletter of which there were 6 issues a year. In October 1995, the committee was informed that Compass Caravans of Durham had successfully taken over Herald of Poole. Eric Hepplewhite, Sales Director at Compass, met members at a rally to answer questions and to inform them of company policy with regards to the building of future models, warranty work, and repairs to existing models. He was very honest and his input was much appreciated. The future of Herald seemed secure and many of our fears were laid to rest. The Club grew in strength and more and more rallies were organised, with members travelling from all over the country to attend. In January 1996 with the aid of funds from advertising we were able to have our first magazine printed. The magazine took on a new sleek look with a cover printed in colour. In 1998 our fortunes changed once again. As Herald and Compass became part of a merger to form the Explorer Group. At the time the change had little impact on the Club. Heralds were still built by Compass at Durham. We were promised a new range of Heralds on an uprated Ford chassis. They were to be the "Jewel in the crown" and were eagerly awaited. That same year, in addition to the Club magazine, it was decided to produce a technical hints and tips booklet. These consisted of compilations of a technical nature taken from past magazines and were a great success until it was pointed out to the committee that the Club was leaving itself open to litigation should there be any damage caused to vehicles or injury to members as a result of members acting upon information in the booklet, the CLub could be sued. We could not afford the necessary insurance to cover us and apparently disclaimers would not stand up in a court of law. So the booklets had to be discontinued. A great pity as they were very useful to many people. In 2001 we were devastated by the news that the Explorer Group had made the decision to rationalise their brands. The Herald brand was to be discontinued and the new Ford Transit vehicles would be introduced under the Compass brand. Our constitution was altered to allow owners of Compass vans to become members of our Club. The Club name was changed to the Compass and Herald Motorhome Club. This was an expensive exercise as all our stationery, banners, flags, etc. had to be altered. We had just completed the exercise when a further bombshell dropped. The new Compass vans were to be produced not under the Compass marque, but as Buccaneers! We were present at our Club stand at the N.E.C leisure show in February 2001 and watched in disbelief as the Compass badges were removed and vehicles rebadged as Buccaneers. We would need to change our Constitution once again to allow membership to continue when members bought the new Ford based vehicles. An Extra Ordinary Meeting was held in the Spring 0f 2001 to change our Constitution to include owners of Buccaneer vans and former members who own vans of a different marque, to rejoin our Club. This should now result in a healthy membership for the foreseeable future. It has been lovely to see so many of our former members back in the fold. Motorhome manufacturers seem to change quite regularly and who know where the Herald and Compass names will end up in the future? I wonder what we will be called in a few years time? Hopefully the friendships and camaraderie of the Club will continue, whatever the name we meet under. |
It never ceases to surprise us how far our members are prepared to travel to attend a rally. Some are able to attend just one rally a year. Others manage to make every rally.
With a nationwide membership, we try to rally as widely as possible. In 2015 for example, we have rallies organised throughout the country. We will be visiting Ireland, Wales, Norfolk, Worcestershire, Derbyshire, Devon, Lincolnshire and several other counties also. And in 2016, many others, including Cambridge (& Duxford), roaming through North Wales, walking (& other transport means) along Hadrian's Wall & a Winter sojourn in & around Poole. Some are free and easy rallies with nothing organised. Others have a variety of events for members to join in with should they wish. Some rallies have meals organised whilst others give members the chance to organise a get together with friends they have made through the club. Coach trips are often arranged from a rally site, giving drivers the opportunity to have a day off driving. We try to make every rally different and stay on a variety of sites, from basic greenfield pitches to commercial sites with every imaginable facility. We try to provide new members with a warm, friendly reception and welcome them to our small and friendly Club. |