I am 64 years of age, was brought up in Hayle where my parents owned a sweet shop in Copperhouse and I attended Penpol County Primary School and Humphry Davy Grammar School. I trained as a teacher in Coventry where I met my wife, Jean and taught in the Midlands for nearly 10 years. We were lucky enough to return home in 1980 when I took up an appointment at Humphry Davy School, then a newly established comprehensive. I taught there for 25 years, retiring in 2004 as Deputy Head teacher. My wife is now retired having taught part time at Connor Primary School,since 1981! Our sons were educated there and at Hayle School. Both now married, Simon played for and captained Hayle Rugby First Team and now teaches at Liskeard and Matthew played Saxophone for Cornwall Youth Jazz Orchestra and is an accountant living in Market Harborough.

 

We soon became involved in the community, Jean ran the Play Group, and I supervised the Youth Club! I also joined Hayle Town Council in 1982 and since then have worked to help Hayle prosper. I am particularly proud that I chaired the Millennium Committee which undertook the improvements to King George V Memorial Walk and chaired the St Ives Bay Sewage Action Committee which successfully prevented raw sewage being pumped into our beautiful Bay. I am also proud to say that I served as Town Mayor 1986-1988. Council work can be frustrating but it is a privilege to serve the community and with determination and tenacity we are able to bring about change and improvement and enable the people’s voice to be heard.

Although Cornwall Council keeps me very busy I still maintain many of my interests. I am still involved in Oral History recording completing the St Ives Memory Bay project on the artists and their role in the community. I continue to chair the Harvey's Foundry Trust and we are working towards establishing the Heritage Centre as part of our Phase 3 developments. We support the Hayle Archive and the Hayle Oral History Project.Through Penwith Radio I am supporting the attempts to provide truly local radio, albeit only via the internet at this time .I am also very proud to be a Bard of the Cornish Gorsedd - Kampyer A'gan Ertach - invited to be a Bard because of my services to Cornish heritage and history.

If you would like to know more then please do not hesitate to contact me.