As for your last comment, you evidently have a biased and distorted view of those of us in the BGA. We do not think we have a monopoly, some of us have over the years been involved in helping non-BGA clubs to join but certainly we could not make them. I think I know a lot more about that than you are likely to, and certainly I know more than you give any credit for.
Thanks for the other information.
Re your last paragraph:
No, not at all. I was always a member of a BGA club and regularly visited a couple of others. However I could see both sides. At the time I was very involved, at the highest levels, with my own professional body which was in a similar position to the BGA. You didn't have to be a member and we didn't have any statutory powers but did our best to gloss over that!