Mr Mac

David in his famous blue camper van at the 40th anniversary of Ashtac in 2012.

David McCarthy’s contribution to canal restoration is huge. A long-standing Waterway Recovery Group volunteer, he’s been raising funds and pouring refreshments (from his famous blue camper van) for decades. Better known as ‘Mr Mac’, he tells IWA about his motivations and fondest memories

When did you first become interested in canal restoration?

It was really through my son, Ian, who is still very involved with the canals. He had friends in the local Scout group who were also canal enthusiasts, and their Scout leaders had bought a narrowboat for them all to use. One of the leaders, Harold Gwyther, was Ian’s Sunday school teacher, and making the most of his access to the narrowboat he took the class out on the boat one summer. Following this, Ian convinced us to hire a boat and go out as a family. We loved it and I ended up thinking that it wouldn’t take a lot to put the canals right again. Unfortunately, we missed the big clean-up at Ashton, the weather was wet and we had a friend staying, but Ian and I did go along to the later Operation Marple. As we got more involved with canal restoration, my wife decided if you can’t beat them join them, and my daughter Jane wasn’t far behind.

We became quite involved with the Peak Forest Canal Society, especially recruiting new volunteers. Thirty years ago, we would phone people up to see if they would come along and help out. I would look through the newsletters of local canal groups and find the bit that welcomed new members. It usually gave their name and town and, if they lived close by, I would look them up in the phone book and give them a call to see if I could get them on board with our latest project. Cold calling took a bit of courage but they would often have a chat and in the end they might come along and lend a hand.

How did you become involved with WRG?

In 1977 WRG North West was formed. The restoration of the Peak Forest Canal was complete and interest in the society was dwindling. Membership fell from 750 to 350 in two years. A few of us suggested transferring the whole of the Peak Forest Canal Society over to the Huddersfield Canal Society but the idea wasn’t welcomed, so the younger of us in the society split away and became WRG NW. I was involved with fundraising for the Peak Forest Canal Society so carried on in a similar role for WRG NW, but always pointed donors in the direction of restoration work if they were interested.

Tell us about your main fundraising technique, the so-called 'Paperchases'...

Paperchases involved collecting people’s waste paper and then selling it on to raise money. They took place around ten times a year and were the primary source of income for WRG NW – at one time we were getting £30 per tonne of waste paper. Through Paperchases, we accidentally stumbled on the money books can bring in. We took the books out of the waste paper we had collected and decided to trial a second-hand bookstall, which went well and became another fundraising staple. They used to be stored, along with other WRG NW equipment, in my garage and cellars until I downsized. And the paper was kept in an area just outside of my lounge windows. There was a brick wall between me and the house next door about a foot high, which was perfect for storing it. The worst it ever got was one December, when we had the bright idea to do a collection just before Christmas, so people were having a real clear-out to make room for gifts etc. The guy who usually collected the paper had just given up, and the new people I found couldn’t

Turning waste paper into hard cash for WRG NW.

pick up for another few days. So I had 13 tonnes of waste paper, and only just enough room to get down the back steps of my house and walk out. It was absolutely solid with paper.

Are Paperchases still going strong?

Unfortunately, after collecting waste paper for over 40 years, the paper merchant who had been providing the container to collect it decided it was no longer viable, and so our last Paperchase was on 7th April 2018.

You're legendary in WRG circles for the blue camper van you drove to restoration sites to dispense tea and broken biscuits for the volunteers. Can you tell us a bit more about it?

In fact there were two vans. The first one I got was in the 1980s, and then we replaced it just before my wife died in 1995. The later one, which was also blue, is the one everyone would recognise. And it had heating – what luxury! It actually gave out warmth, which is more than could be said for the first one.

I used to drive to WRG events and provide refreshments from it. Over the years I acquired several thermos flasks and I would set out from home with these flasks full of hot water. It used to take me quite some time to boil the damn stuff and fill them up but it was worth it – I was the most popular man on site! And people were always asking to stow valuables in the van too, like mobile phones or wallets. I always tried to oblige. I was only caught out once without milk and hot water – at an event to erect a fingerpost on the Macclesfield Canal. The local pub was closed too. We were scuppered!

Unfortunately these days I’d have a few problems getting into and out of the van – it’s just a bit too high off the ground for someone of my age.

You were made MBE for services to the waterways. What did that mean to you?

I’m not against these types of awards, but I look around and see so many other people more deserving than me. When I analyse my time and effort I can’t help thinking I’m a non-starter!

Volunteers are a great group and it’s a bit embarrassing that you’re talking to me in particular. All volunteers do what they can, I’m just lucky that I’ve been in a position to raise some money and that I’ve been retired for a while. We’re all in it together and it doesn’t matter how much or little any one of us contributes because in the end something is better than nothing.

Do you still have much to do with canal restoration these days?

I still read about it, as I still get [WRG magazine] Navvies. I’ve been getting it since March 1970 and vividly remember signing up for it. I was walking up a frozen Peak Forest Canal in January with a Londoner, who turned out to be Graham Palmer. I gave him half a crown (12½ pence in today’s money). He had a stub of a pencil and I had the back of a fag packet on which to write my address. I received my first copy that March, and I’ve read them ever since.

Which restoration would you love to see completed in your lifetime?

I’d have to say the Montgomery. It doesn’t need all that much to do it. It needs people to say ‘yes’, and then just let us get on with it.

Have you got a fondest memory from your time as a WRG volunteer? Are there any standout moments?

There have been a few but the most enjoyable thing, I think, was just feeling useful and being able to give people a bit of comfort on an uncomfortable day.

I recently received a newsletter from the Hollinwood Canal Society, and the image on the cover of that brought back happy memories. It featured an aqueduct on the original road from Oldham to Ashton-under-Lyne, which I parked under on at least two occasions to serve brews. That was a satisfying time – seeing volunteers get out of the pouring rain to drink some tea and eat a few biscuits. Alright, it was still cold and miserable under there, but at least it was dry! The picture on the newsletter cover was taken earlier this year on a bright and sunny day. There are no leaves on the trees and you can see the aqueduct very clearly. It was very evocative.

Finally, it's the 50th anniversary of WRG this year. How would you sum up its achievements and impact over the half-century?

I’m just full of admiration for everything they do, and especially the sacrifices those early volunteers made and the discomfort they endured to get our canals back to the state we enjoy today. It’s hard for us to comprehend how tough it was for them.

From Paperchases to Pat-a-Mac, David’s inventive fundraising has been hugely successful over the years.

If you’ve been inspired by Mr Mac’s fundraising successes and would like to get involved, contact alex.melson@waterways.org.uk. To donate to IWA, visit waterways.org.uk/donate.

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