A founder member of the SWF Local History Group 

How long have you lived in South Woodham and why did you become interested in the history of the town?
I moved to South Woodham in 1973, initially occupying a bedsit at Fenn Farm, which at that time was Essex County Council’s development office. My interest in the history of the village, as it was then, began the year before when I joined the ‘new town’ team in Essex CC’s Planning Department and was inspired by a work colleague whose girlfriend worked at the Essex Record Office. His interest and enthusiasm rubbed off on me I think. We were fascinated by the unique ‘plotland’ landscape of the area planned for the new town.

You wrote the book, “South Woodham Ferrers, A Pictorial History.” How long did it take to compile and where did you obtain the photos and all the information from?
The collection of information and photographs must have begun some 20 years before the book’s publication in 1992 but such material was not collected with any intention of producing a book. Once Phillimore the publishers accepted the idea they set quite tight deadlines for the submission of catalogue entries, text and images so the writing, selection of photos with detailed captions, gaining copyright approvals, drawing of maps etc occupied about 10 months. As regards sources, apart from the Essex Record Office and newspaper archives, I relied heavily on the generosity of residents and ex-residents who willingly shared their photographs and their memories with me.

What, in your opinion, is the most essential quality in a local historian?
For some reason I don’t like being labelled ‘local historian’. Affection for a community combined with a strong curiosity might be a good starting point. Patience and determination help too – wondering when that vital ‘missing piece of the jigsaw’ might unexpectedly appear.

Are you still interested and do you stay abreast of developments in the town? What changes have you welcomed in the town, and what do you feel needs improvement?
I am a ‘SWF enthusiast’ and since retiring from professional planning in 2010, have maintained a strong interest in developments in the town. Unfortunately, in my view, there have been too many things – like Sainsbury’s – that have gone wrong and should never have been permitted… Which doesn’t really answer your question I know. I think the town needs a transfusion of something. For another time perhaps…

You were also Editor of a SWF Community magazine. How did you enjoy doing that, did you find it stressful and did you have a team behind you?
This was ‘Link’ – a community magazine that ran from 1972 to 1991. It was established and run by the local churches and I represented South Woodham Evangelical Church, of which I am a member, and became editor in 1983. Although it pre-dated Focus (and The Informer before that) as a church magazine run entirely by volunteers, Link was not really part of the lineage of either. It was, for the most part, enjoyable – although I recall it involved occasional ‘all-nighters’ on the typewriter and quite a bit of frustration with deadlines not being met by contributors! There was a good editorial team, a management team comprising the local clergy and a fine team of voluntary distributors and others responsible for advertising and finance. Today I think it provides a really interesting archive from a key period in the town’s life.

Is it true you might be retiring from SWF History Society, how do you plan to spend your time?
I am not intending to leave the Society, of which I was a founder member in 1978, but am stepping down from its committee and from my roles as chairman and publicity officer. Although the Society’s constitution does not have a place for an archivist, I would envisage fulfilling some such role informally for a while and continuing to answer local history queries when these arise. I have produced a detailed discussion paper on the future of the Society and the archives and artefacts that I hold on its behalf and this will need sorting out. There are a few local history ‘papers’ and extended research works I would like to complete.