1970/71
Sub-Centre chairman Jim R Barratt, Assistant Electrical Engineer Steel Peach & Tozer Ltd (Templeborough). Roy Smalley Honorary Secretary for the next three years.

1971/72
Sub-Centre chairman Rex H Thompson, General Manager Sheffield Post Office Telephones. Rex was also Centre chairman for the 1978/79 session.

29th November, Sub-Centre committee meeting held at Sheffield Polytechnic. Meetings for the next year appear to have alternated between the University and Polytechnic (Dyson house).

To mark the occasion of the Institution Centenary the Sub-Centre organised local schools and colleges in constructing electrical models, apparatus and machines for display at a two-day electrical exhibition held a Western Park Museum. The exhibition was opened by the President of the Institution (Prof. John Flavell Coales), and over 3,000 people visited the exhibition. The President and his lady, together with Sub-Centre members and representatives from schools, and industry taking part in the exhibition were entertained by the Lord Mayor and Councillors of Sheffield at the Town Hall.

By the early 70's it was becoming increasingly difficult to maintain the secretarial services previously provided by large organisations, particulary in the North Western Centre. A working party under the chairmanship of F Crawford was set up to investigate the formation of a Regional Office to serve the North Western, North Midland and Sheffield Sub-Centre. The Sheffield Sub-Centre representatives on this working party were P G Thompson and R Smalley.

1972/73
Sub-Centre chairman Maurice Holland, Chief Engineer George Robson & Co Ltd. Maurice introduced a drinks reception after the chairmans address.

25th September, first Sub-Centre committee meeting at Telephone House, Charter Square. For the next five years this became a popular venue for meetings and lectures.

1973/74
P.G. Thompson was Sub-Centre chairman for the session. Peter was Senior Assistant Engineer, Distribution Design for the Sheffield Area of the Y.E.B.

Peter was elected to Council in 1977 and was Council Representative on the Younger Members committee. He took over from Fred Seddon as local Representative of the Benevolent Fund in 1977 and was member of both the "probationary" and "first case" committee set up to deal specifically with the casework aspect of the Funds work. He has been a member of the Court of Governors of the Fund since 1977 except for the required stand down after 3 years. The Sheffield Sub-Centre got Council to agree that Benevolent Fund Reps should become Ex-officio members of Centre and Sub-Centre committees.

John H. Forrest an engineer with the Post Office Telephone Department was appointed Honorary Secretary for the next three years.

The Regional Office in Manchester opened at the start of the session and Dennis Topping was appointed as manager. His first meeting with any of the Centres was with Peter Thompson, who was to become chairman and John Forrest who had taken over from Roy Smalley as Honorary Secretary. Peter joined the committee in 1967 as Social Secretary because Jim Barratt was working outside Sheffield. Peter's chairman's address "Distribution - Engineering Aspects".

The Faraday lecture was "The Utilisation of Electricity" presented by Dr A T Churchman of the Electricity Research Laboratory at Capenhurst. At that time the Lord Mayor of Sheffield introduced the evening lecture and the Master Cutler gave a vote of thanks afterwards. There had been some problems at previous presentations of the lecture and so a representative from Savoy Place attended all three lectures in Sheffield. It was a very good job he did because just as the Civic party were arriving Dr Churchman announced that it was his lecture and he was not going to have any Civic dignitary interfering with it. Fortunately the Savoy Place representative was able to get him to change his mind whilst Peter was greeting his guests.

A working party set up by the North Midland Centre in 1974 recommended that the Sub-Centre reapply for Centre status. Another working party was formed within the Sheffield Sub-Centre to prepare the application. The members were:-

Fred Seddon
Peter Thompson
Ken Holling
John Forrest

1974/75
Sub-Centre chairman Frank Brown, Chief Engineer, Firth Vickers Stainless Steels Ltd, his Chairmans address was entitled "This Special Steel".
In 1944 he was Assistant Electrical Engineer at Samuel Fox & Co Ltd. Stocksbridge Works. Later in 1948 as Chairman of the Graduate & Student Section he gave his G & S Chairman's address entitled "The Electric Arc Furnace". He moved to Shepcote Lane Rolling Mills in 1950 as Electrical Engineer during the initial construction period later becoming Chief Engineer. 1966 saw him joining Firth-Vickers Stainless Ltd as Chief Engineer, later as Director of Developement and finally as Director of Manufacturing. When in 1978 Firth Brown acquired Beardmores Parkhead Forge in Glasgow he was appointed General Manager. In 1992 he was awarded his 50 years service badge by the IEE which is proudly worn at meetings he attends in the new IEE Scotland Centre in Glasgow (1999).

1975/76
Sub-Centre chairman Ken Holling, Head of Electrical & Electronics Department, Chesterfield Technical College. Ken was also Centre chairman for the 1985/86 session. Ken was very active in the third application for Centre status which was produced in his name.

13th February, Membership Panel B meeting hosted by Sheffield Sub-Centre.

8th March, to commemorate the anniversary of the Telephone a 14 day public exhibition was held jointly with the Post Office Telecommunications Division, at Debenhams Store. Rex Thompson (General Manager Sheffield Area) organised the IEE display. A public lecture was also organised which attracted an audience of over 350. Following his visit to the exhibition the Lord Mayor of Sheffield entertained Members of the Institution, Civic and industrial dignitaries at the Town Hall.

Charles G Cooksley appointed as the Sub-Centres first Schools Liaison Officer and served in this capacity for three years.

1976/77
Sub-Centre chairman Alex Scott, Area Manager, Yorkshire and Humberside for Reyrolle Parsons.

Dennis Porter is appointed Honorary Secretary for the next four years.

9th September, Sheffield Sub-Centre makes its third application for Centre status. The Sheffield Sub-Centre had been in existence 57 years and was the most senior Sub-Centre in the Institution. The application was approved by an away meeting of the IEE Council held in Sheffield. The minutes of this meeting have the following items.

"71. Application for Centre Status

71.1 Mr. Tombs, Chairman of the Local Centre Committee, presented the application for Centre status by the Sheffield Sub-Centre (C(76)48), which had been supported by the parent Centre, the North Midland Centre, the Local Centres Committee and the General Purposes Committee. He said that the Local Centres Committee had given further consideration, at its meeting that morning, to the name of the Centre, if the application was approved, and, on behalf of the Committee, proposed that the name should be "The North Midland Centre".

71.2 During the discussion, the following points were made:-

(a) Whilst the application was in order as far as the requirements of Council were concerned, its acceptance might result in other applications from Sub-Centres, which might have a deleterious effect on the constitution of the council, by increased size.

(b) The Local Centres Committee were concerned about the lack of uniformity in the structure of Centres and were studying ways in which the situation might be rationalised.

(c) In order to prevent any immediate proliferation of Centres, the council might rule that there should be no further applications until the study on the local Centres structure had been completed.

(d) Further consideration should be given to the proposed name of the new Centre, since confusion might be caused by having another Centre containing the word "Midland".

71.3 Following discussion, the Council approved the application for Centre status by the Sheffield Sub-Centre, requested the Local Centres Committee to reconsider the name of the new Centre, and agreed that no further application for Centre status would be considered until the report on Local Centre structure had been submitted, or until the end of 1977, whichever was the earlier.

73.4 The President, on behalf of the Council, congratulated the Sheffield Sub-Centre on its elevation to Centre status and wished it well for the future.

7th October, the Council minutes have the following item.

Min 10. Name of New Centre

10.1 Mr M E Broadbent on behalf of the Local Centre Committee reminded Council of its request to LCC to recommend a name for the new Centre based on Sheffield, whose establishment had been approved by Council on 9th September (Min 71.3 of minutes No 883).

10.2 He proposed and it was agreed that the name of the new Centre should be the (SHEFFIELD CENTRE) to become operative 1/10/1977.

The Centre today remains the only IEE Centre to be named after a City rather than a Region. Membership at this time was 965.

1977/78
1st October 1977
SHEFFIELD OBTAINED CENTRE STATUS. John Evans is the first Sheffield Centre chairman. John was the Station Superintendent at Blackburn Meadows Power Station.

Sunday 19th February, 75th Anniversary of the inaugural meeting of the North Midland Centre. Membership of Centre now approx 2000 (excluding the new Sheffield Centre).

1978/79
Centre chairman Rex Thompson. At our first Annual Dinner as a Centre a Gavel was presented by the Lord Mayor in recognition of the IEE's links with the City. This is still in use at Centre meetings.

Rex Thompson became the first IEE member to be President of the Sheffield and District Chamber of Trade, and attended a Buckingham Palace Garden Party with his wife.

John Leeson appointed Schools Liaison Officer following the resignation of Charles Cooksley. John and his many helpers have been active in Schools Liaison and Careers work each year to date (94).

1979/80
Centre chairman John Freeman District Engineer, YEB Sheffield South. John's chairmans address held at Telephone house was titled "Growth and changes in HV and LV Systems in the Sheffield Area". There were 188 active members in the Centre during the session.

Dennis Porter was Hon. Secretary and Ernest Lilleker Hon. Treasurer. The Faraday lecture at the City Hall on 16th January, presented by the N.C.B., was titled "Power Down Below". John Freeman was presented with a miners Lamp by the NCB following the lecture. There were 246 active members in the Centre during the session.

Sadly John died on the 13th September 1981 towards the end of his year as Immediate Past Chairmen whilst taking part in a charity event.