The Trust was created by deed poll in 1920 by Thomas Wall and the objects of the Trust were set out in a Scheme of the High Court of Justice dated 15th December 1936- "The income of the charity shall be applied at the sole and unfettered discretion of the Trustees in any matter which they should consider conducive to the encouragement and assistance of educational work and social service".

The Trustees take a broad view of the meaning of "educational work and social service” and applications are encouraged both from institutions and individuals. More detailed guidance is set out in the section "Grants and Loans".

The current Trustees are:

Dr G.M.Copland, CBE, MA, DPhil,C.Phys (Chairman)
Mrs M.A. Barrie, BA
Mr. P.Bellamy BEd
Mr C.R.Broomfield, MA
Ms A.S.Kennedy, MA
Ms A-M. Martin, MSc
Mrs A. Mullins, BA
Mr J. Porteous, OBE, MA
Rev Dr R.Waller, MA, MTh,PhD

The Directors of the Trust are :