The Past - The 19th Century
Around the middle of the 19th century, Dr. William Pilkington and his son Richard were among Trustees appointed to a charity to provide education to the "children of poor parents in the township of St. Helens". Along with William Pilkington (Dr. William's older son) they also became involved in the independent Church's charitable work organising schools, relief organisations, nursing and medical services.
Pilkington Brothers was becoming increasingly concerned with the welfare of its employees when, shortly after the schools were formed, the company introduced:
a works doctor
a works dining room
and a home for orphaned boys who would eventually be employed as apprentices
In 1922 Richard Austin Pilkington donated shares and, together with a contribution from the Company, the Employees Benefit Trust Fund was founded. The purpose of this fund, initially, was to pay pensions and benefits before a Workmen's Pension Scheme was formed in 1925.
A short time later, independently of the Company, two more charitable funds were formed, the first by Alfred Cecil Pilkington and the second by Alan Douglas Pilkington. The two funds amalgamated and became known as the Cecil & Alan Pilkington Trust Fund (C & AP) and, together with the Employees Benefit Trust Fund (EBTF) formed the Pilkington Family Trust Funds. The EBTF was wound up and its residual value transferred to the C & AP Fund.
Today
Today, the C & AP Fund finances the Community Programme helping Pilkington pensioners and their spouses, widows and widowers. For many years, a separate charity, the William Windle Pilkington (WWP) Trust, has contributed generously to certain areas of the programme. One off grants from other Pilkington family funds have contributed to the community programme.
Originally, the Trusts were managed through Pilkington Plc's welfare department but Pilkington Retirement Services Ltd was set up as a totally independent company in 1992 to administer the funds world-wide on behalf of the Pilkington family.