There are at present some 100 Livery Companies within the City of London of which the Coopers' Company is number 36 in the order of precedence. These Companies form a vast fund of knowledge and expertise used to fulfil their ancient roles and responsibilities in their connections with their Craft, in the Civic Life of the City of London, in their work in the fields of education and charity and in promoting good fellowship among their members. The Coopers' Company is proud to be numbered in this body. Its own links with the trade have sadly been lost but the Company still numbers among its membership several craftsmen capable of making a cask in the traditional way. Members give freely of their professional services both in managing the Corporate affairs of the Company and its Charities and in maintaining contact with the needy who benefit from them. Liverymen elect the Lord Mayor and the Sheriffs each year and the Company supports the City Corporation. Hospitality is exchanged with many other Livery Companies and with similar organisations in Glasgow and Sheffield and, perhaps above all, the Company strives to uphold the traditions and wayof life in accordance with its motto 'Love as Brethren'. J.A. Newton Clerk 1992 g