Museum Matters - November 2014

Museum MattersNovember 2014

Newsletter of The Friends of The CanalMuseum, Stoke Bruerne

© The Friends of The Canal MuseumRegistered Charity No 1121146

www.friendsofthecanalmuseum.org.uk

AFTER a period in the relative doldrums,things at the Museum are definitely hottingup! Quite apart from our own efforts inputting on what are becoming nationally-known events, changes are working theirway through the Museum administration aswe speak. The first, and probably mostsignificant change, is that as from 1st

November our Museum will no longerbe controlled from Ellesmere Port butwill become a part of the South EastWaterways Partnership, based atMilton Keynes. This does not meanthat we shall lose all contact with theother museums, for we shall still havecuratorial and technical support fromEllesmere Port, but the day-to-dayrunning and maintenance will belocally based. We do not have anyinformation as to exactly how fundingwill be arranged between the twodiscrete units of CRT, but are assured thatthe Museum will not be the loser. From a

local point of view we can see that theMuseum will, in addition to its presentfunction, become the SE WaterwaysPartnership’s shop window, which iscertain to raise its profile and prestige. Fortoo long our Museum has been at thebottom of the pile when it comes to

developments. Now we stand a muchbetter chance, and not least because notonly do we have two Council members asmembers of the local Partnership, but wehave a number of other good friends thereas well.

The matter of Sculptor is proceeding wellunder the dynamic leadership of Kathrynand the basis of an operating agreementhas recently been agreed with CRT,Museums & Attractions. The details have tobe worked out, but the general principleswere agreed at a meeting in early October

In this IssueChairman's Jottings 2Jack James 5Images from recent events 9Sculptor update 17As others see us 18Village at War report 19Not so 'Idle Women' 20FoCM News 21Living Waterway Awards 22AGM Notice 23

Cover picture: Sculptor on her way to Blisworth tunnel on a training trip with 15 tons ofcoal and 2 tons of water ballast (Photo: SD)

Chairman's JottingsDavid Blagrove

Alex, Steve and Ryan transferring solid fuel fromBideford to Sculptor (Photo: KD)



and Kathryn is now looking at a schedule ofmaintenance work for the immediate futureand an ambitious programme of visits tocelebrate the boat’s 80th birthday next year.More of this will be vouchsafed unto youonce a definite programme is in place laterthis winter. The boat was dry-docked atBraunston in late September. It is currently

loaded with 15 tons of solid fuel on behalf ofJules Fuels and looks absolutely splendid.A new set of top cloths in Grand Union styleis on order and should be fitted by the timeyou read this. Up to date information onprogress and plans may be found atwww.nbsculptor.blogspot.co.uk

Back at the Museum, this is of course thecentre point of the current Stoke BruerneInterpretation Project. This has been putforward by the Stoke Bruerne CanalPartnership, of which we are members.However, although the Friends are officiallyrepresented on the Partnership by yourstruly, we do in fact have considerable inputfrom other members of the Friends who

represent other organisations. KathrynDodington represents canalside residents,while the Chair, Helen Westlake, and one ofthe advisors, Brian Collings are also amongour members. Helen Westlake and LyndaPayton sit on the IWA Northamptoncommittee. So I suppose we have moreinfluence than it may appear. Be that as itmay, the matter of interpretation of thecanalside features has been underdiscussion for many years but onlyrelatively recently has it come to fruition,thanks to a successful bid to the HeritageLottery Fund, largely master-minded byLynda and Helen. Things are now movingtowards a conclusion and it is to be hopedthat the New Year will see this veryworthwhile project completed.

Closely connected with the above project isthe Partnership’s ten-year plan for theCanal Corridor, as the section fromBlisworth Tunnel to Bottom Lock is calledthese days. This is another project that hasbeen steadily gathering momentum forseveral years, but it is now about to bepublished. Needless to say the Museumand its environment form a large part of theproposals. All members of the Partnershiphave signed up to it and the proposals willbe going on public display very shortly.

Another feather in our cap has been therecent award in the Tourism andRecreation category of the LivingWaterways Awards, made to us for ourEvents. The final winners were announcedat a special ceremony at the RoyalArmouries, Clarence Dock, Leeds on 24th


The 'Winner's' page from the programme ofevents for the Living Waterway Awards - see

Page 22 for more information



September and we were represented thereby Mick Butler. To his and our delight weemerged as the winner in this category, andthis fact is in no small measure due toMick’s organisation of the Village at Warevent, but I must also add my thanks to allthe members of the Events sub-Committees who toil behind the scenes formany months to put these great successeson.

You will see in this issue a notice regardingour next Annual General Meeting, which isto take place at the Museum LearningCentre on 27th November next. This will befollowed by an informal soiree on the linesof the very successful one held two yearsago. I hope that as many members aspossible will try and attend - it will be mypleasant duty to welcome you.

So, in conclusion I would like to wish all ourmembers a Happy Christmas and NewYear and look forward to a new era ofprogress and development for ourmuseum.

Death of Sonia RoltIt is with very greatsadness that, as we were about to go topress, I received the news of the death onWednesday 22nd October of our good friendand supporter, Sonia Rolt. Sonia was oneof the last survivors of that gallant band ofladies whose contribution to the war effortwas to help crew the boats on the GrandUnion and other canals in order to keep vitalsupplies moving. She had been involved intheatrical work and design before the warand in the early part of hostilities foundherself working at the Hoover Factory on

Western Avenue in Perivale, West London.She answered the call for volunteers towork on the canals and ever after the canalswere to play an important role in her life. Anearly member of IWA, she subsequentlymarried Tom Rolt and was also involved inthe early days of railway preservation,running the mobile booking office attachedto trains on the Tal-y-Llyn railway in WestWales.

Sonia was a delight to know. Although inlater years her health was frail, she retainedher wit and incisive intelligence to the end.She made a memorable visit to our firstVillage at War in 2008, along with severalother survivors of the wartime boatwomenand, the following year, in her late 80’smade a stirring speech from Butcher'sBridge at Braunston in support of the 'Saveour Waterways' campaign, which many seeas the catalyst that brought about thepresent CRT administration. Among hermany attributes she was a most graciousPresident of the Commercial BoatOperators Association to the end. Those ofus who were privileged to know Sonia willmiss her wise and eloquent counselgreatly.


Sonia Rolt outside the Canal Museum(Photo: JR)



THE Grand Union Canal CarryingCompany was in the throes of making agallant attempt to bring canal carrying intothe twentieth century. Although stilldependent upon family boating to make thebooks balance in other ways the Companydid its best to provide some form of welfarefor its employees. A boat children’s schoolhad been established at the fleetheadquarters at Bulls Bridge, Southall; asocial club was provided at the same place;some form of medical service had beenestablished by means of an annual grant toSister Mary Ward at Stoke Bruerne, roughlymidway between the extremities of thesystem and a fleet of modern boats built allof which had standardised diesel engines,electric light (including powerful headlampsfor night working in place of the traditionalparaffin lamps) and rather roomieraccommodation than older craft. Crewswere issued with 'Trip Cards', on which theirjourneys and tonnages were recorded.These could also be used at certaincanalside shops for obtaining goods on acredit basis, making housekeeping rather

easier than formerly. The mainstay trafficshandled by the Company were steel to theMidlands from Limehouse, grain to variousdestinations from Brentford and coalsouthwards from the North Warwickshirepits to various industrial plants in theLondon area. This and other traffics were

strictly controlled andthe progress of boatsemployed was closelymonitored on a dailybasis. It was verydifferent from the lessformal ways of theOxford Canal. So Jackand his family nowfound themselves partof a busy and thrivingoperation very differentalso from the semi-dereliction of theKennet, the bucolicUpper Thames or the

Jack JamesA serialised biography by David Blagrove - Part 10

Balham passing under the M1 duringconstruction (Photo: J Payler Collection)

Badsey at Hillmorton with the butty Angel in the background (Photo:Omlexia.com)



sophistication of the Middle Thames.

Jack and his family moved aboard a pair ofalmost new steel boats: the butty boatBalham had been delivered new fromHarland and Wolff in December 1936 andthe motor boat Badsey from the same yardin January 1937. Some of the families whohad worked the long distance general

cargo trade were rather dismissive of Jackat the start. One then young boatman toldme that his wife’s family had to show Jackhow to cloth up properly the first time hetook his boats to Brentford to load. This isnot really surprising, since none of the workthat Jack had previously done had involvedthe carriage of perishable loads. Whenworking deep loaded with stone, coal orscrap it was only necessary to pull up theside cloths to prevent ingress of water -weather protection hardly mattered.Needless to say it was not long before Jackand his family had mastered this new skill

and had demonstrated that they were justas capable of working general cargoes asthe others. From 1938 onwards the familyworked their pair of 'Grand Unions' until thetime came for Jack and Emma to moveashore nine years later.

When the following year the Second WorldWar broke, out the railway companies

found themselves instantlyoverburdened with war time traffic,while petrol rationing and the call-upremoved many lorries from theroads. The government set up aMinistry of War Transport and theGrand Union Company was involvedwith this from the start. After theGerman invasion of France and theLow Countries in 1940, the coastalshipping along the south and eastcoasts became subject to continualenemy harassment, resulting inmuch shipping traffic beingtransferred to rail, especially coal

from the North East to London powerstations and gasworks. The knock-oneffect of this meant that much Midland-based coal traffic was transferred from railto canal as well as the natural increase intraffic due to military requirements. TheIrish-based brewers Arthur Guinness andSon Ltd brewed much of their products atPark Royal Brewery in West London, fromwhence the stout was distributed in casksby road, much of it going to the Birminghamarea where it was a popular tipple of factoryworkers. With the onset of war and fuelrationing they were obliged to find analternative form of transport and turned to


Balham with Edgware - looking a little worse for wear,moored between Gayton and Buckby (Photo: RW)



the canals. The carriage of alcoholic liquorin casks had long been a speciality of canaltransport, but so had a practice known as'sucking the monkey'. This involved theboatmen obtaining a private supply ofbungs and some rubber tubing. Once awayfrom prying eyes the bung of a cask wouldbe knocked out, the rubber tube insertedand a quantity of liquor siphoned out. It wasthen replaced with canal water and a newbung knocked in. The Grand Union CanalCarrying Company was well aware of thisand consequently only captains of thehighest probity were employed on thistempting traffic. The slightest suspicion of'monkey sucking' would result in theboatman concerned being removed fromthis highly lucrative traffic. The Guinness

was treated as a wartime priority and wentthrough when all other traffic was stopped.Sometimes, if there was an engineproblem, fitters would be sent overlandfrom Bulls Bridge to Park Royal to begin thetask of undoing the bolts round the engineroom casing. By the time the boats hadarrived at Bulls Bridge the roof would be off.Once the engine stopped the bed bolts,stern gear and pipework would be

disconnected, the engine craned out, areplacement engine craned in, lined up andrefitted and the boats would be away withina couple of hours at most.

'Beer boating', as the traffic was called,entailed a tight schedule for delivery atCamp Hill depot in Birmingham, with boatsreturning with empty barrels. Sometimes, ifthere were no empty barrels available, theboats would be loaded back with otherthings, or else they would be sent to theNorth Warwickshire pits to load coal, butmore commonly the boats and familiesconcerned stayed on the regular ParkRoyal to Camp Hill run, leaving the coal orother commodities to the rest of the fleet.Jack’s daughter Doris recalled in 2009 thatthey were ordered to Limehouse in theaftermath of one of the air raids, probably toload steel, but this was not an everydaymatter. In order to keep to the schedule itwas sometimes necessary to work throughthe night and the blackout regulations ofwartime made this a difficult and dangerousbusiness. When the 'Blitz' of 1940-41 wasat its height the work was furthercomplicated by the Company’s practice ofplacing stop planks in key locations on longpounds as a precaution against floodingshould the canal be breached by bombs.

The worst of the bombing was over by June1941 as the German’s attention turned tothe Russian Front, but there wereoccasional raids which tended to disrupttraffic for a short time. Then in the summerof 1944 the London area was subjected toa massive assault by V1rocket bombs,


A German V1 doodlebug



commonly known as 'doodle bugs'. Nosooner had the worst of this threat beenovercome by the capture of the launchingsites in northern France and Belgium, thanan even worse attack ensued from V2rockets launched from Holland. Jack’sboats escaped damage but had a narrowescape from a V1 near Alperton. It dronedoverhead but cut out just after it had cleared

the canal and exploded some distanceaway.

Over the war years the children grew upand in some cases moved away. John, theeldest, had found a job in Oxford afterleaving school. He had considerableartistic ability and eventually managed toobtain a scholarship to art college; Georgejoined the Royal Navy and Tom went towork with another family on the boats. Thisleft Noel, Doris and Christine with the family

boats. One evening in April 1945 Dorismanaged to fall off the fore end of Badseyas they were approaching Cowroast Lock,near Tring, heading downhill. There waspanic as she did not reappear and bothJack and Emma feared the worst. Howevershe had managed to swim ahead of theboats and was extricated from the water inthe lock. A journalist who was present later

composed a ditty on the subject,the first verse of which went (tothe tune of 'Villikins and HisDinah'):

Come all of you lads and youlasses so fine

And listen to this little ditty of mine

It’s about a young maiden whohad such a shock

When she fell in the cut at the oldCowroast Lock.

After the war the Guinness tradecarried on, but the winter of1946/47 brought canal traffic to astandstill. From late January untilmid-March movement wasimpossible because of ice andthe brewers were obliged to

transfer the traffic to road. It never returnedto the canals in spite of the Grand Union’sbest endeavours. At the end of December1947 the Grand Union Canal CarryingCompany, along with its parent companyand other canals, was nationalised and anew chapter in the history of the canalsbegan. This coincided with another chapterin Jack James’ career.

The weather map from Saturday 4th January 1947




The Dakota - FZ692 ‘Kwicherbichen’ - from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight displaying onthe Saturday of the Village at War weekend in September(Photo: DS - http://www.darrenskidmorephotography.com)

Happy dancing to the vocal accompaniment of Lola Lamour and George Formby(Photo: DS - http://www.darrenskidmorephotography.com)

Village at War 2014



Re-creating a 1948 event (so slightly post war) - Sculptor being towed by Sickle withNorman Mitchell commentating (Photo: RW)

Village at War 2014

The last Hurricane ever built (PZ865, a MK IIc), of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, fliesover the Village at War on the Sunday

(Photo: DS - http://www.darrenskidmorephotography.com)



Village at War 2014

Royal British Legion and Army cadets marching along the canalside on their way to the DrumHead service at St Mary's Church, Stoke Bruerne (Photo: KD)

The US Army on station opposite The Navigation pub (Photo: KD)



Village at War 2014

Grace, Charlotte and Becca looking wonderful 1940s style in the Museum (Photo: LP)

'Monty' inspecting the Royal British Legion standard bearers (Photo: JR)



Village at War 2014

Ray 'The Spiv' allowing Valerie and Anita to sample his wares in the Museum tearooms(Photo: KD)

Visitors to the Village at War, all appropriately attired, enjoying the sunshine outside theMuseum tearooms (Photo: KD)



Village at War 2014

Lola Lamour entertaining the crowds at the 2014 the Village at War weekend (Photo: LP)

Stoke Bruerne Primary School children singing war time songs to open the Village at War(Photo: KD)



Sculptor blacking and loading

Sculptor, in the Braunston Flight, after three days in dry dock (Photo: SD)

Sculptor lying at her Stoke Bruerne moorings with 15 tons of coal and 2 tons of water ballast(Photo: KD)



Geraint Jones (Hyder Consulting), Mick Butler (Chair of the Village at War) and Jim Hancock(awards host) with the award to The Friends covering Toursim and Recreation in the Living

Waterways Awards 2014 - see page 22 (Photo: Supplied)

The dry dock being flooded to refloat Sculptor after blacking (photo: KD)

Candid Camera



IN RECENT months, Sculptor has been outand about - been in dry dock, on TV andreverting to her original work by carrying aheavy load of coal.

On the Friday of the Village at Warweekend, Sculptor carried an ITV crewthrough the tunnel to Blisworth, ITV Angliabroadcasting a news item about the tunnelon 22nd September. The footage may beaccessed by going to Sculptor’s blog page.

At the Village at War event Sculptor wastowed from the top lock to the winding holeby Alan and Cath Fincher’s tug Sickle which

recreated a little bit of history as Sculptorwas towed by Sickle to the northwest in1948 (see picture on page 10). On theSunday of the Village at War, she alsofollowed Nutfield and Raymond down to theA508 and back.

Less than two weeks later, Sculptor was offto Braunston to go into dry dock forinspection, blacking and repainting of thetunnel bands and fore-end. Steve Dean,Rob Westlake and Mike Gardner took herto Braunston; the same three plus Richard

Cox, Phil Kidd and Kathryn Dodingtonworked on her over the three days she wasin dry dock and Steve, Rob, Mike andKathryn brought her home. She’s nowlooking a bit shiny but we are sure the waterwill do its best to make that fade over thecoming weeks.

A week later and she was partially loadedwith coal in Stoke Bruerne to lighten theload on Julia Cook’s butty Bideford toenable it be taken out of the water atDodford. Then Sculptor was off down tolock 19 to top up the load of coal to 15 tons- the first time, we believe, she has beenloaded to this extent since at least 1988.Rob, Kathryn and Steve brought her backto Stoke Bruerne on a very wet Mondaymorning.

Not to be outdone by ITV, Sculptor wasused by BBC Look East to enhance theirreport of the South East WaterwaysPartnership AGM in an item broadcast on16th October – again available on Sculptor’sblog.

Sculptor is expecting new cloths in the verynear future and whilst she remains loadedshe will be used to give the volunteer teamexperience of handling a loaded boat.

The Sculptor crews will shortly beundergoing a CAATS (Competency,Assessment and Training) assessment byCRT to gain formal competency to operateSculptor.

If you would like to join the Sculptor teamplease contact David Blagrove or Kathryn.

Sculptor leaving Braunston tunnel on herreturn from blacking (Photo: RW)

Sculptor UpdateKathryn Dodington



As others see usFrom The Transport Trust Magazine



THIS YEAR'S Village at War event inSeptember was blessed with lovely warm‘Indian Summer’ weather, which ensuredlarge numbers of people enjoyed awonderful weekend. Many dressedappropriately for the occasion, with theladies from the Museum looking especiallyfetching. Not to be outdone, the view fromthe cabin top of Sculptor was one of historicboats as far as the eye could see.

On the Saturday, the Battle of BritainMemorial Flight graced us with a displayfrom their Dakota, FZ692 ‘Kwicherbichen’,painted in D-Day markings and on theSunday the last Hawker Hurricane everbuilt, PZ865, delivered a wonderful fly-pastdespite being delayed earlier on the groundat the Goodwood Revival Festival with aradio problem.

Lola Lamour started the weekend with acracking evening in The Navigation puband was supported over the weekend byPaul Casper as George Formby andMarjorie Cartwright-Jones with a startlingresemblance to Joyce Grenfell. We alsohad King George VI, Winston Churchill(who gave a number of rousing speeches)and Lord Montgomery of Alamein inattendance.

There has been plenty of feedback, someof which is reproduced below:

Just wanted to say we had a fab Sundayafternoon at Village at War. Really lovedthe whole atmosphere and all the great(and interesting) things to do and see.Thank you!

Many thanks for a superb weekend at theVillage at War. My friend and I reallyenjoyed everything about the celebrations.

The dinner/dance was very enjoyable andthe food and entertainment was so good.We hope it will be beneficial to the CanalMuseum.

Just a quick email to say how much Ienjoyed your Village at War weekend andto thank you plus all the other people whomade it possible.

It is, of course, difficult to judge accuratelythe numbers of people attending as we arean 'open' site. Suffice to say, there wereseveral thousands and we seem to haveachieved a financial surplus of around£10,000 to help the Museum, particularly interms of future projects. Warm thanks toVaW chairman Mick Butler and his team ofvolunteer helpers - a great effort. And,needless to say, we are already planningthe 2015 event.

Village at War 2014Kathryn Dodington

A policeman, 'George Formby', 'WinstonChurchill' and 'King George VI' enjoying

Village at War 2014 (Photo: KD)



Not so 'Idle Women'Mike Constable

NO need at all for theories into the origin ofthe myth of the ‘Idle Women’. There is nomystery there. The blame falls squarely onthe feet of Susan Woolfit’s daughterHarriet. Susan Woolfit was a part timetrainee in the Canal Boatwomen’s TrainingScheme and at the end of the war not onlydid she join the fledgling IWA and the WI butshe also wrote a couple of books. As one ofthe very late trainees she did receive one ofthe infamous badges with the IW lettering.The letters did indeed stand for ‘InlandWaterways’ but were only issued at thevery end of the Training Scheme, earlierTrainees being given first a button holeversion (male) of the metal Grand UnionCanal Carrying Company badge and laterone of the broach pin type. GUCCC, GUCCand GU(S&W)C first had these produced

early in 1941 and Eily(Kit) Gayford wasgiven her blueGUCCC badge inJanuary 1942. It is notclear still whether theshortage of metal ledto all boaters beingissued with them oncethe Ministry of War

Transport took over running the canals, butof course there were very few newcomersneeding them by 1944.

Susan Woolfit's first book mentions herbeing given the plastic ‘IW’ badge and shemakes it quite clear that daughter Harrietcame up with the title for this book fromthose letters. The title was of course ‘IdleWomen’ and because this was the first

book to be written by one of the trainees,this rather catchy title started the myth thatthe trainees were always called IdleWomen. The fact that the badge did notappear until very late in the scheme seemsto have escaped everyone and this mythhas been perpetuated.

Having read ‘Idle Women’ at least 40 yearsago I knew of this fact and when I wasinvolved with the October 2008 plaqueunveiling at the Museum I was able toinfluence the wording of the plaque andalso in my exhibition to avoid any referenceto it. Sonia Rolt was an old friend but I hadnot previously met any of the other traineeswho attended that day. Walking round withthem looking at the exhibition, it was madevery clear to me that they had never heardthe term during their time on the cut andthey considered it a serious insult. 'Could Ido anything to set the record straight?' wasthe question posed. Further research hasput me in contact with many more of themembers of this very exclusive club. I havea number of magazines and newspaperarticles written during the war and none ofthem use this derogatory term but of courseit is much harder to stop something like thatthan it is to start it. One only has to look atthe April Fool's joke sent to one of the canalmagazines some years ago that Monarchwent to Dunkirk to know that oncesomething has appeared in print it will bepassed on as gospel, however ridiculousthe idea is known to be. The myth of the IdleWomen is just such a tale.

The IW badge(Photo: MC)



Financial UpdateTHE profit from Village at War was£10,065.

This quarter we have had outgoings of£1,007.36; the majority, £764.11 beingassociated with Sculptor's docking

The finances of The Friends are inreasonable shape and the position, as atthe 1st November 2014, is as follows:

Charity Account: £22,907.37

Company Account: £27,812.17

Business Reserve: £ 1,051.71

Cash in hand: £ 0.00

Total Liquid Assets: £51,771.45

Additional Assetsequipment etc: £ 4,300.00

David Blagrove, Chairman

From the Royal Society of St Georgemagazine - July issue

FoCM News

A view from Sculptor's cabin top duringVillage at War (Photo: KD)



WE are delighted to be able to report that The Friends won the Tourism & Recreationcategory of the Living Waterways Awards 2014.

The citation below is as follows:

These events clearly have a strong social impact, with a reach well beyond the canalcommunity. The diverse events programme is helping to strengthen the reputation ofStoke Bruerne as a unique canalside destination, where the canal is seen as the highstreet.

Project Overview:

Working with the whole community The Friends of the Stoke Bruerne Canal Museum havesignificantly developed their events programme since 2006, bringing thousands of visitorsto the museum, canal and village and raising more that £62,000 for museum and localcommunity programmes. (£62K at the time of entry for the competition - now £76K.)

Events include model boat displays, illuminated boats and carols, Christmas markets,guided walks, open gardens, auctions, Blisworth Tunnel 25th anniversary celebrations, a50th birthday party for the museum, the Stoke Bruerne Family Festival and 'Village at WarWeekend'. All are well promoted via their website, social media, leaflets, local businessesand other partners.

Living Waterway Awards



November-2014

20th FoCM Winter Talks 19:30An Evening with Bob Nightingale

27th FoCM AGM at the Museum 19:30

December-20146th FoCM Illuminated Boats and Carols 16:00

January-2015February-201519th FoCM Winter Talks 19:30

Steam Locomotives - Mike GardnerMarch-2015

19th FoCM Winter Talks 19:30Speaker to be confirmed

FoCM Diary 2014/15

THE FRIENDS OF THE CANAL MUSEUM ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

to be held on Thursday 27th November 2014 in the Learning Centre, Canal Museum commencing at 8pm

AGENDA

• Apologies for absence• Minutes of the previous Annual General Meeting of The Friends of the Canal Museum held on

Thursday, 5th December, 2013 at the Canal Museum, Stoke Bruerne• Matters Arising• Chairman’s Report• Treasurer’s Report• Subscriptions• Election of Members of Council• Presentation of Friends Achievement Award• Any other business

At the time of publication of this notice, there are three vacancies on the Committee, which also includes one ex-officioseat held by the Manager of The Canal Museum at Stoke Bruerne. Under the terms of the Constitution Lorna York andMick Butler retire by rotation and seek re-election. Rick Thake and Jenny Copeland retired during the year and DenisAtkinson retires at the AGM. Roger Hasdell, Brian Everest and Linda Clark who have been co-opted during the yearseek election for the first time. Other nominations for Council must be received by the Chairman, David Blagrove, WharfCottage, The Green, Bridge Road, Stoke Bruerne, NN12 7SE by 20th November 2014.

All those voting must be fully paid up members of The Friends of The Canal Museum at Stoke Bruerne.

David Blagrove, Chairman, The Friends of The Canal Museum at Stoke Bruerne.

After the Annual General Meeting, there will be a social evening with refreshments served.



ChairmanDavid Blagrove, MBE(01604) 862174 also member of the Curatorial Group and Trustee

Vice-ChairmanLorna York (Trustee)

TreasurerBrian Everest ([email protected])

Minutes SecretaryRoger Hasdell

Membership SecretaryLinda Clarke ([email protected])

Publicity & Website, Grant Funding & AwardsLynda Payton (01604) 861205 ([email protected])

NewsletterKathryn Dodington ([email protected])

Museums & AttractionsPartnershipJohn Alderson

Volunteer Co-ordinatorTrevor Allum

OtherMuseum Manager (ex-officio seat)Jenny Copeland (Trustee)Bill Mann (Catering)Michael Butler (Village at War)

Events Sub-CommitteesTrevor Allum, Dennis Atkinson, Michael Butler, Jenny Copeland, David Daines, RogerHasdell, Bill Mann, Sandie Morton, Mike Partridge, Lynda Payton, Victoria Powell, TerryRichardson, Graeme Scothern, Louise Stockwin, Laura Sturrock (also Trsutee), HelenWestlake and Liam Whitby.

Non-Council PostsRoger Hasdell Asst Newsletter EditorTerry Richardson Asst Publicity OfficerBrian Collings Curatorial GroupRose Granaghan Winter Talks Organiser

Photographic Credits

LS Louise Stockwin CRTKD Kathryn Dodington FoCMDS Darren SkidmoreMC Mike ConstableSD Steve Dean FoCMLP Lynda Payton FoCMJR James Rudd About My Area NN12RW Rob Westlake FoCM

FoCM Council

Museum Matters - November 2014

Documents

Transcript of Museum Matters - November 2014