Museum Matters by Friends of the Canal Museum

Museum Matters February 2015

Newsletter of The Friends of The Canal Museum, Stoke Bruerne

Chairman's Jottings David Blagrove JUST before the publication of our last first Village at War event in October 2008, Issue we received the sad news of the along with a number of other ladies who had death of our very good friend and patron, served on the boats during the Second Sonia Rolt OBE, who died on 22nd October World War. following a short illness at the age of 95. Sonia’s illustrious career in the canal world has been well covered since her death and most members will be well aware of the significance of her work. Suffice to say here that, so far as this organisation is concerned, she was in it from the beginning. When Lynda Payton first approached me about forming the Friends at the end of 2005, I turned to Sonia and sought her support. Of course it was immediately Sonia Rolt on Phobos (Photo: Telegraph.co.uk) forthcoming and, although by then she was beginning to show the infirmities of I have many memories of Sonia over the age she was able to use her not- years, but one that remains most vivid is the inconsiderable influence in smoothing the visit that Lynda and I and our respective pathway to our acceptance by the then spouses paid to her at her home at Stanley authorities. From then on she always took a Pontlarge in Gloucestershire. It was a keen interest in what we were doing and gorgeous summer’s day and the wonderful managed to make an appearance at our old house looked absolutely perfect. After tea we asked her whether she would like to In this Issue have a short drive. She immediately agreed and suggested that we go to visit Chairman's Jottings 2 Toddington Station on the preserved Sculptor update 5 Gloucester and Warwickshire Railway, Jack James 6 which runs past her house. On arrival at the FoCM News 10 station she was treated almost as Royalty Family Festival 2015 11 and insisted on examining some of the Photos from recent events 12 working engines at close quarters, Eric Young 14 although then she was in her late eighties. FoCM Diary 2015 15 I was honoured to represent the Friends at her funeral on 13th November when she was laid to rest beside her husband Tom in Cover picture: The bright and airy new layout of the shop in the Museum following the winter closure. (Photo: KD)

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Chairman's Jottings David Blagrove the tiny churchyard opposite her house. My impression was that everyone of the multitude at the service was a person who both cared for and loved the same sort of things as Sonia. There were people from the canals, railway preservationists, those who loved historic buildings, lovers of gardens and all the other things that concerned this most loved lady. She leaves a slot that can never be fully filled.

Sonia Rolt (Photo: independent.co.uk)

Of course I may live to regret making the comment that this winter so far has been even milder than last year's, since February can always mount a sting in its tail, but so far at least (late January) we seem to have missed the worst of what the climate can throw at us, and it is only a matter of days to Valentineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day when, apart form the usual lovers' exchanges of tokens, the calendar can be marked as the day on which the Museum reopens for business after its Christmas and New Year break. In fact Louise, Mat and Co have not, as some might imagine, swanned off to some tropical paradise for the intervening period, but have in fact been busy in the office preparing for the oncoming spring and summer seasons. Similarly the Friends ÂŠ The Friends of The Canal Museum Registered Charity No 1121146

have not been idle: Already arrangements for our two major events have been agreed in outline; curatorial questions have been addressed, including the financing of new display cases; training of Sculptor crews has been undertaken; a winter volunteer party has continued the trimming of the excessive laurels by Museum Green and planned a programme of further improvements to the canalside environment. This spring and summer should see the completion at last of the physical part of the Interpretation Project following Planning Approval in late January, and work should soon commence on opening up part of the Quarry Field to the public consequent upon the completion of the sale of part of that field to a third party by CRT. A full season of events and visits is being planned for Sculptor. This year sees the bicentennial of the opening of the Northampton Arm and IWA Northampton Branch are planning a 200th birthday celebration at Gayton Junction at the beginning of May. We have agreed to lend the Branch some of our event equipment and this will be delivered on site by Sculptor. Kathryn has been planning an outing to London to celebrate the boatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 80th birthday and the 70th anniversary of the end of World War 2 by returning the boat to its wartime pastures at Alperton. We have since been invited to present the boat at a large Pageant on the Thames in June to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta. This last is a great honour, since the sealing of this document, original copies of which still exist, is often taken as one of the foundation stones of our modern system of government, and one that is of www.friendsofthecanalmuseum.org.uk Page 3

Chairman's Jottings David Blagrove international importance. The connection between the thirteenth century Barons’ Charter and twentieth centuries’ struggle for freedom from oppression can be succinctly summed up by a humble cargocarrying boat that served as a fire boat in the war against Hitlerism. More relevantly though, it can be seen as a goodwill gesture on behalf of its owners, CRT, to the Thames organisations that care so passionately for that river.

downside of this is that it will not be a cheap option but it certainly needs doing and if CRT can’t find the funds immediately we may have to help out. At our AGM in late November we said farewell to Denis Atkinson, who had been our assiduous Minutes Secretary for several years. His place has been taken by Roger Hasdell, who not only is an old waterways hand of many years’ standing,

Later in the year we shall be visiting Braunston once more to honour our arrangement with our good friend Tim Coghlan, and in August we shall once again support our IWA friends by attending the National Festival of Water at Northampton. We are arranging for another historic boat to take Sculptor’s place at the Museum while the boat is 'off Steve Dean and Mike Gardner on Sculptor station'. at the top of the Rothersthorpe flight in the Over the last few seasons our events people have found increasing difficulties with setting out tentage and stalls on Museum Green owing to subsidence in the area of the one-time Mill Dock. This has caused the area of the old dock to sink and to create a hazard to persons using the Green at other times. At the last few Council meetings this has come up for discussion, along with the overgrown state of the laurels that bound the north side of the Green. This latter has been taken in hand by the Adoption group and we have regained a substantial slice of the Green. It has been proposed that the depression in the Green be filled in with topsoil and that the outline of the dock be both accurately plotted and marked before the area is consolidated, turfed and seeded. It can then be fenced off until spring. The © The Friends of The Canal Museum Registered Charity No 1121146

snow (Photo: RW)

but also the ffather-in-law of our Council member Mick Butler. With the election of Linda Clarke as our new Membership Secretary and Brian Everest as Treasurer now have a strong Council team with new blood. Both the Honorary Curators, Mike and Sue Constable, also retired during last autumn and a small presentation was made to them at the AGM as a token of the Friends’ appreciation of their work over the critical years when the future of the Museum hung very much in the balance. Finally I must mention the well-deserved Achievement Award that went this year to Trevor Allum. Trevor has been a tower of strength in many ways behind the scenes. Along with the other members of what might be called the 'Services Crew', he has www.friendsofthecanalmuseum.org.uk Page 4

Chairman's Jottings David Blagrove caused tents and marquees to rise and fall, to carry out esoteric works with electronics, to trundle bits and pieces for miles in his pick-up and many other similar tasks. Always each monstrous new task that seems to fall to him is greeted with a cheerful grin and the Friends are lucky to have such a member living right on top of it all. We are also extremely lucky in that we have a brilliant team of people to support Trevor and I am very happy to pay tribute to the rest of them for their hard work in

Sculptor Update A QUIET time for Sculptor over the winter. Sadly the new cloths that were ordered were late arriving and when they did arrive they didn't fit as they should. The cloths have been rejected and we shall take advice from CRT at Ellesmere Port about ordering new ones. We had a 'Sculptor day' on 14th February when the expertly repaired (by Bill Mann) throttle quadrant was refitted - it would never stay quite where it was put! We also cleaned up the hold and inspected the shutts for winter damage. Sculptor has been registered for the Magna Carta event on the Thames which may mean she is not here for the Family Festival weekend but we have, just in case, arranged for an alternative historic boat to take up her usual moorings.

Trevor Allum receiving his award from David Blagrove (Photo: LP)

making sure that events go off smoothly. Not least of Trevor’s attainments was his assistance in setting up the Carols by the Cut event, which goes from strength to strength each year, not to mention the parallel Christmas Market held at The Navigation. In fact both village pubs played their part, The Boat providing Andrew Woodward to lead the carols. Last December’s event took place in very cold but dry conditions and was a great success, raising a considerable sum for our funds, although fund-raising is not the main aim.

Our thanks must be expressed to Emma Hermon, from CRT, who looks after us from the volunteering point-of-view on Sculptor. In early February she arranged for those who wished to go to attend a most interesting day at CRT's Gloucester Museum, primarily aimed at the preservation of boats but it also encompassed other metal and wooden objects such as bridges - a really great day. We did try and undertake a CAATs assessement on Sculptor at the top of the Rothersthorpe flight but we chose the one day when the snow was flying around Northamptonshire, so we'll have to try again.

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Jack James A serialised biography by David Blagrove - Part 11 SISTER Mary Ward, the nursing sister, had been born and brought up in Stoke Bruerne. She had returned to the village in later life to nurse her father, who had owned property on the canalside. Her husband, Charles took over the boatman’s shop that his father-in-law had run and Sister Mary took it upon herself to provide a sort of health service for the boat people who passed by her front door. Jack and Emma

and Emma found themselves owners of a century-old canalside cottage and Jack applied for the vacant post of lock-keeper for the seven locks of the Stoke Bruerne flight. Whilst it was undoubtedly a wrench to come ashore after a lifetime living afloat, they had in some ways the best of both worlds, for the canal ran right outside their front door. Stoke Bruerne was a regular overnight stopping point for boats, and in any case Jack’s job required his reporting daily names and numbers of boats passing through top lock, which was a reporting point for the Boat Control system. Jack’s sons Tom and Noel remained boating as did Emma’s brother Arthur, and of course they frequently passed the front door, so the family connection remained strong. In 1944 an Ealing Studios film, 'Painted Boats', was made using Stoke Bruerne as one of its locations. An impression that one gains today when viewing this film is how

3 Canalside Cottages (on the right) which became the James' home

James had come to know Sister Mary in the course of their regular journeys through Stoke Bruerne. She owned four cottages adjoining her house and facing the towpath and, following the hard winter of 1947, Jack learned that one of them, number 3, was becoming vacant. Accordingly he and Emma called upon Sister Mary and were offered the freehold there and then at a very reasonable price. Emma had brought her handbag and immediately took the amount asked out in cash, which Sister Mary politely declined, saying that matters of real property were rather more complicated than buying a boat. However, once the legal matters were duly negotiated, Jack © The Friends of The Canal Museum Registered Charity No 1121146

A scene from 'Painted Boats' showing the 'run down' towpath in Stoke Bruerne

run-down and untidy the canalside was in those days. One of the first things that Jack did on his appointment as lock-keeper was to begin a campaign of tidying up the canalside environment. As a former Thames boatman he recalled the pristine www.friendsofthecanalmuseum.org.uk Page 6

Jack James A serialised biography by David Blagrove - Part 11 condition of many of that river’s locks. Whitchurch and Bray locks in particular were celebrated for their gardens, while Sonning regularly took the prize for the best-kept lock and could be seen in the photographs displayed in the compartments of Great Western Railway carriages before nationalisation. Although he knew little at first of the science of

A well looked after Sonning Lock

gardening, Jack as ever was quick to learn. Before long the top lock area was planted with roses and other perennials, weeds were removed from paths; the white and black lock gates were touched up with paint and the paddle gear oiled and greased; the distinctive twin-arched bridge was whitewashed and a flagpole erected. All this was done in addition to Jack’s paid duties. Year by year the smartening up process continued and the newlynationalised Docks & Inland Waterway Executive of the British Transport Commission, the new owners, instituted a national competition for the best-kept lock with a valuable trophy, which Jack consistently won. Jack’s work was matched by other developments outside his control. When the family arrived in 1947 there was no mains electricity, drainage or water in the village. The Boat Inn had a generator supplying a 12v DC current to the pub and also used for charging batteries, © The Friends of The Canal Museum Registered Charity No 1121146

but everyone else was reliant on oil lamps, wells and cess pits. Before the war Stoke Bruerne had acquired a local reputation as a pleasant place to visit at weekends but petrol rationing had largely put an end to this in wartime. As the economy of the country began to recover from the post-war austerities of 1945-50, and motor cars once more took to the roads, so did the village begin to regain its pre-war popularity. Mains electricity arrived in 1950 and water and sewage soon after. Population numbers had declined steadily from a peak in 1851 and the Census of 1951 records its lowest point. From then on it began to recover and Jack James’s efforts played no small part in turning Stoke Bruerne into what estate agents now call 'a sought-aftervillage'. The Boat Control system was operated by telephone from a small stone hut adjoining The Boat Inn. This hut was originally where the leggers who worked boats through Blisworth Tunnel were based, but had become the lock-keeper’s office. Jack moved some pieces of horse boat gear in here as a sort of display and would spend much time explaining to interested visitors exactly what they were and how they were used. There was so much interest shown that Jack began to have ideas for expanding the display. In the year before Jack James was born, the Grand Junction Canal Company appointed a 36-year-old engineer called Thomas Millner to their Northern District, based at Blisworth Arm, or Gayton Junction as canal people now call it. Millner served the Grand Junction Company for the rest of its existence, retiring in 1929 when the Company was taken over by the Regents www.friendsofthecanalmuseum.org.uk Page 7

Jack James A serialised biography by David Blagrove - Part 11 Canal to form the Grand Union Canal Company. He was a keen photographer, cyclist, motor-cyclist and motorist, which last three items gave him a certain mobility denied to other contemporary photographers. He was encouraged by the Company to photograph matters of

Thomas Milner (Photo: Blisworth.org.uk)

engineering interest, but he also managed to capture other contemporary canal scenes on the glass plates of the time. For some reason, on his retirement, he left his entire photographic archive behind in a loft at Blisworth Arm. These lay undisturbed until shortly after the end of the Second World War when Charles Hadlow, Millner’s successor as engineer, rediscovered them. Hadlow was interested in the history of the canal and had collected a number of documents relating to this so, when in 1947 the author L.T.C.Rolt moored his boat Cressy at the Arm End and asked Hadlow about some illustrations for a forthcoming exhibition in London, he was shown these hitherto unpublished views and immediately recognised them as a unique record of a past way of life. The exhibition © The Friends of The Canal Museum Registered Charity No 1121146

was organised by the then newly-formed Inland Waterways Association (IWA) and was put on in Heals department store in Tottenham Court Road. It created much interest and, for the first time, copies of Millner’s work went on public display. Today these images form an icon of the historic canal system but in 1948 when they were first shown they caused a minor sensation. Jack’s son, John, by then an art student in London, had joined the IWA and visited the exhibition and was greatly inspired by the favourable reaction to it. In 1951, the year of the Festival of Britain Exhibition held on the South Bank of the Thames in London, John, helped by his father, obtained an ex-working motor boat called Jason on which he lived at Paddington while completing his art college course. During his vacations he would work the boat north to Stoke Bruerne to visit his parents and, in doing so, found that there was a demand for some sort of trip boat to take visitors along the canal. At the time Stoke Bruerne was not the ideal place for such a venture, but John became convinced that Paddington might be, especially with the numbers of visitors coming to the capital for the Festival. By 1954 he was ready to inaugurate a regular trip boat service on the Regent's Canal from Paddington through Maida Hill tunnel and Regent's Park to Camden top lock and return, a venture in which his parents supported him both morally and financially until the business was capable of standing on its own two feet. John later opened his own art gallery at Paddington, a part of the canal system now better known as Little Venice which has become a popular and fashionable residential area. www.friendsofthecanalmuseum.org.uk Page 8

Jack James A serialised biography by David Blagrove - Part 11 The next year, 1955, saw Jack James, with the encouragement of a local resident and the assistance of Charles Hadlow, put on an exhibition about the canal in the village school at Stoke Bruerne. This was very popular and in 1957 the newly-opened secondary modern school at nearby Roade put on a similar exhibition which likewise proved successful. The then Chairman of British Transport Waterways, Sir Reginald Kerr, was aware of the importance of preserving the past history of the waterway system and used the success of these two ventures as a means of persuading the

Jason - still operating today

British Transport Commission to include waterway items in its growing collection of transport artefacts. Jack James meanwhile had suggested to Hadlow that the disused corn mill on the canalside at Stoke Bruerne would make a good place for displaying his collection of horse boating and other equipment. It had at one time been mooted that the building would be an appropriate place for a boat childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hostel and school. Sister Mary was greatly in favour of this, but by 1955 the once heavy traffic of the Grand Union Canal was showing signs of decline and a Government report of that year effectively put the Grand Union Canal north of Berkhamsted under a sort of 25 year suspended sentence of death. From ÂŠ The Friends of The Canal Museum Registered Charity No 1121146

this time onwards the number of carrying boats diminished year by year. The BTC, faced with finding some sort of use for the old mill building, finally decided that it would be a suitable place for a public exhibition, since by now visitor numbers to Stoke Bruerne were increasing exponentially. Already some items of canal interest had been preserved by the BTC and exhibited in a disused bus garage at Clapham, South London, from 1961. The Curator, Dr John Scholes, did his best with the collection of railway and road artefacts placed in his care, but there was very little room, nor sufficient public concern, to include more than a few items of waterway interest. By this time political opinion was turning against the monolithic BTC as a means of controlling the railway industry; any idea of co-ordination of public transport had long been abandoned; and the retention of the canal system as a viable freight transport mode was in serious doubt. Although the initial stages of establishing a Museum in the old mill at Stoke Bruerne were initiated by the BTC and Dr Scholes, the BTC was not destined to inaugurate the Museum. At midnight on 31st December 1962 the BTC ceased to exist and its waterway assets became the responsibility of a newlyconstituted body, the British Waterways Board. By now work on adapting the Mill building and assembling a display collection was well under way and by coincidence both Jack James and Charles Hadlow were approaching retirement. In view of the great interest shown by both men, the new Board offered Jack the position of Caretaker and Doorman and Hadlow that of Curator.

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FoCM News

Financial Update

An MBE for our Chairman

IN NOVEMBER and December from the Charity account we had no outgoings and income of £25,970.00. A transfer of £25,800 was made from the Trading Account to the Charity account as an end of year procedure. From the Trading account we had no income and outgoings totalling £26,557.75 which included costs for ‘Carols on the Cut’ of £344.01 and the transfer to the Charity account mentioned above.

AS YOU WILL all be aware, David was awarded an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours in June 2014.

The financial position of the Friends as of 31st December 2014 is as follows: Charity Account: Company Account: Business Reserve: Cash in hand: Total Liquid Assets:

£48,867.17 £ 320.54 £ 1,052.02 £ 0.00 £50,239.73

On 30th January 2015 David, together with his family, attended Buckingham Palace in order that David could be formally presented with his MBE by HRH Prince Charles. David has kindly made the following comments about the day: It was damn cold in the courtyard but before the ceremony we managed to get both Tom and Steve in, as well as the three ladies. HRH Prince Charles did the deed and asked some very relevant questions about progress on the Montgomery, a detail that I have privately forwarded to Richard Parry. A good family blow-out at Rules in Maiden Lane followed.

Brian Everest, Treasurer

Membership Subscriptions JUST A REMINDER that annual subscriptions are now due for the 1st April 2015 renewal. There has been no increase in subscription fees with the rate remaining as follows: Individual member Joint members Joint members (over 60) Family membership Concessionary rate *

£15 £20 £15 £20 £15

David and Jean with son-in-law Steve, daughter Margaret, grandson Tom and daughter Sarah outside the Palace

* Students and those over 60 © The Friends of The Canal Museum Registered Charity No 1121146

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10th Anniversary Family Festival - a milestone event A NEW EVENT TEAM headed up by Trevor Allum are busy preparing plans for this year's Stoke Bruerne Family Festival which is set to take place on Saturday and Sunday 13th and 14th June. This year's event will be a milestone, the 10th anniversary since the first Gala Weekend organised by the Friends in June 2006, so definitely something to celebrate and the new team are setting out to achieve a new record for fundraising.

crafts, music, theatre, a bustling market along with our usual real ale bar and food and lots more. As usual entry will be free and parking only ÂŁ5 per car. Remarkable value for a family day out! Bookings are already coming in, so if you are coming by boat make a note to reserve your mooring now! Booking forms for moorings and traders are available to download on-line at www.friendsofcanalmuseum.org.uk/ family-festival-2015.

Like in previous years you can expect to see rampaging vikings, historic and model boats, dance, displays of traditional canal

We hope to see you all there, but can you lend a helping hand with our objective of raising a bumper surplus in our 10th Anniversary Year? We'd like to run more fundraising stalls than ever before and need volunteers ready and willing to give a few hours on either Saturday or Sunday to help run a stall. Any offers of help 'on the day' with putting up and taking down tentage and market stalls or helping 'man' car parks will also be gratefully received, especially as some of us are getting older and no longer as fit and able as we once were. Let Trevor know at trevor@machzone.co.uk if you can assist. Meanwhile, for more information about what is planned as it becomes available please check-out our website at www.friendsofcanalmuseum. org.uk

ÂŠ The Friends of The Canal Museum Registered Charity No 1121146

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Photos from recent events

Mike and Sue Constable being congratulated on their achievements following retirement from their curatorial role at the Museum by The Friends Chairman, David Blagrove (Photo: LP)

The flag pole as a blue Christmas tree at the 'Carols on the Cut' event (Photo: LP) ÂŠ The Friends of The Canal Museum Registered Charity No 1121146

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Photos from recent events

The canalside lit up for 'Carols on the Cut' and parade of illuminated boats (Photo: LP)

The lights on Inchy, the winning illuminated boat (Photo: LP)

The Grafton Regis marching band was a popular attraction at 'Carols on the Cut' (Photo: LP) ÂŠ The Friends of The Canal Museum Registered Charity No 1121146

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Eric Young Lynda Payton WE ARE saddened to report the death of Eric Young, who passed away peacefully at home on 1st January after a long battle with cancer.

He could fix almost anything and he was always willing to give his time for free to help out his friends. In 2012 Eric answered FoCM's call for help and overhauled and repaired 23 out of 26 defective audio trail handsets for the Museum, soldering broken joints, glueing cracked cases and replacing batteries. He also roped in Northampton Radio Club to set up a radio event at one of our early Gala Weekends with specially printed QXL cards, containing a picture of Blisworth Tunnel, which were posted out to all amateur radio operators contacted during the event.

Eric, with David Blagrove and Lorna York, presenting an IWA cheque to The Friends of The Canal Museum Eric will be sadly missed by his Sculptor appeal for £1,000 (Photo: LP)

many boating friends. Our condolences go to his wife Irene, brother Peter and family.

Eric joined FoCM in 2006, and was an active member, narrowboater and waterways supporter, as well as an ardent fan of Ruston and Hornsby vintage engines and a radio ham to boot. He was Raynet’s County Controller; a role he held for over 30 years and President of the Northampton Radio Club. He was also active in the local Northampton Branch of the Inland Waterways Association and in 2009 presented a cheque to FoCM for £1,000 towards the Sculptor Appeal in his capacity of ViceChairman. Trained in the RAF, Eric’s knowledge of radios, power Eric with two of the repaired handsets (Photo: LP) supplies and TVs was legendary. © The Friends of The Canal Museum Registered Charity No 1121146

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FoCM Diary 2015 March-2015 19th

FoCM

Winter Talks My time with BW - Lee King

19:30

FoCM

Winter Talks Speaker to be advised

19:30

9th/10th

Canal Art Painting Workshop

10:00

24th May / 1st June

Pond Dipping

Daily

Canal Family Festival

10:00

April-2015 16th

May-2015

June-2015 13th/14th

FoCM

Sculptor, with 18 tons of coal, leaving Blisworth Tunnel (Photo: RW)

Handsets New recordings have now been transferred to the museum handsets by Chris Whitby. Thank you Chris and also to Trevor Allum and David Blagrove for all their work on the new recordings. The Friends of The Canal Museum at Stoke Bruerne may not agree with the opinions expressed in this newsletter, but encourages publication as a matter of interest. Nothing printed may be construed as policy or an official statement unless so stated. The Friends of The Canal Museum accept no liability for any matter, errors or omissions contained within this newsletter. We will however gladly publish corrections if notified. The Editor reserves the right to shorten or modify articles published in the interests of space or clarity. ÂŠ The Friends of The Canal Museum Registered Charity No 1121146

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FoCM Council Chairman David Blagrove, MBE (01604) 862174 - also member of the Curatorial Group and a Trustee Vice-Chairman Lorna York - also member of the Curatorial Group and a Trustee Treasurer Brian Everest (treasurer@friendsofcanalmuseum.org.uk) Minutes Secretary Roger Hasdell Membership Secretary Linda Clarke (membership@friendsofcanalmuseum.org.uk) Publicity & Website, Grant Funding & Awards Lynda Payton (01604) 861205 (publicity@friendsofcanalmuseum.org.uk) Newsletter Kathryn Dodington (editor@friendsofcanalmuseum.org.uk) Museums & Attractions Partnership John Alderson Volunteer Co-ordinator Trevor Allum

Photographic Credits KD LP RW

Kathryn Dodington FoCM Lynda Payton FoCM Rob Westlake FoCM

Other Museum Manager (ex-officio seat) Jenny Copeland (Trustee) Bill Mann (Catering) Michael Butler (Village at War) Events Sub-Committees Trevor Allum, Michael Butler, Jenny Copeland, David Daines, Roger Hasdell, Bill Mann, Sandie Morton, Mike Partridge, Lynda Payton, Victoria Powell, Terry Richardson, Graeme Scothern, Louise Stockwin, Laura Sturrock (also Trustee), Helen Westlake and Liam Whitby. Non-Council Posts Roger Hasdell Asst Newsletter Editor Terry Richardson Asst Publicity Officer Brian Collings Curatorial Group Rose Granaghan Winter Talks Organiser ÂŠ The Friends of The Canal Museum Registered Charity No 1121146