Ralph is a most valued member of the volunteering team based at Hatton. He started off as one of the original volunteer lock keepers at Hatton and has then gone on to do a wide variety of roles within the Trust.
Ralph has spent quite a few years in the boat moving team as a helmsman, a role which he found most enjoyable. He has also been a seasonal operative, where his assistance was greatly appreciated.
Media star
Ralph is one of the few CAATS assessors we have in the region and has given his time freely around the region to help with the assessing of volunteers from other areas, not just his own at Hatton.
He is also one of our go-to volunteers for media enquiries and has been interviewed for radio and tv on a number of occasions.
He was instrumental in starting up the carpentry workshop at the bottom lock in Hatton, where volunteers spend the winter months creating bird, bat and owl boxes, planters and signs to be used around the canal network.
This has been fantastic for those volunteer lock keepers who wish to continue after the traditional season ends.
Awarded in 2019
Ralph has always been willing to help the Trust in any way he can, and this culminated in him getting a Marsh Christian Trust volunteer of the year award in 2019 for his work with the Trust.
Ralph has also taken on a lot of admin tasks, and his volunteering team leader is hugely grateful for the support that he gives.
Ralph gets a lot of enjoyment from his time volunteering with the Trust, from getting to meet new volunteers and being involved in their training, the camaraderie with the volunteers he started with 10 years ago, and a great satisfaction in the knowledge that he is doing is bit to look after the great history and heritage that our canal system contains.
