Trustee Profiles

As an experienced engineering and business management professional, I have been involved in the aerospace, defence, automotive and marine industries for my entire working career.

I have specialised in the production engineering and manufacture of advanced composite components produced from various resins combined with carbon fibre, glass, quartz and other reinforcements and I am now delighted to be able to extend my knowledge of composite products further by learning about the brick making industry, bricks after all being one of the first man made composite materials. I have also previously run a successful online based computer and laptop repair business in my spare time.

Hopefully, I bring a wealth of experience to the Brickworks having been involved with various projects from both the engineering perspective as well as the commercial and legal sides of negotiations.

Living locally, I am married to my wife of nearly 40 years and have two grown up children and two dogs.

Penny Cameron Watt joined as a trustee in 2023. Her interest in bricks started at a very early age as her Father ran brickworks in Lancashire and Bristol for many years and she fondly remembers visiting the coal fired (and subsequently gas fired) factories on many occasions. Visiting the Brickworks Museum now revives some wonderful memories each time!

After Oxford University, Penny trained as an investment analyst and was the second woman to train on the London Stock Exchange trading floor before it became computerised. As an Investment manager she worked for several investment houses and spent almost 5 years in Hong Kong as an Investment Director at Indosuez.
After a career break to bring up her family, Penny retrained as a teacher of English as a foreign language and she founded her own Business English School, the Oxford School of Business English.

For the past 14 years, Penny has been a trustee at two well known Independent schools, as Chair of Finance and Safeguarding Trustee. She is also trustee at the Severn Rivers Trust and was a board member of The Story Museum trading company in Oxford.

Penny hopes that her interest in bricks, finance, education and safeguarding will contribute to the Brickworks Museum’s future. In particular, she hopes that she can help the Museum reach out to children and help offset the effect of the Pandemic on their education and mental health.

On leaving school Nigel commenced an Engineering Toolmaking Apprenticeship in the Nuclear Industry; at the end of which he became a Senior Design Draughtsman, using and managing the UK’s first CAD system. At the age of 45, he achieved a Master of Science in Applied Computing with distinction; majoring in Advanced Project Management & Control. He worked as a CADCAM Manager, Programming Consultant, Regional Consultancy Manager, Senior Project Manager, and a Program Coordinator, then ran his own company for 14 years.

Nigel had always thought he would volunteer after retirement, to give back using his skillset but was unsure doing what or where. He started volunteering at a charity helping mentally challenged adults, where he ran a weekly Archery Day (being a GB Archer himself). After two years, he decided it was time for a change and utilised ‘One Community’ to identify what might suit his skills and they put him in touch with The Brickworks and The Hovercraft Museum, both engineering based.

Having never visited the Brickworks, he came along one day unannounced as a visitor which he really enjoyed, He met a long-term volunteer who was friendly and helpful, showing him around the site and he quickly requested to join the team. He became really interested in manning the brickmaking machine during event days (a public facing role) and a role in Museum artefact cataloguing. An opportunity presented itself to become more involved as a Trustee with Project Management as his area of expertise which he accepted.

Keith has recently joined the board as a trustee. He is the current Chief Executive of the Brick Development Association (BDA) which represents the UK brickmaking industry. The BDA membership accounts for about 98% of all bricks made in the UK, so his work brings him into close contact with all things clay brick, from its manufacture to its use in building.

Keith is delighted to be joining the Trust Board of the Museum, as it’s his first foray into acting as a trustee for a museum although he is a trustee for a number of other charities and a director of a number of other businesses.

He lives in Canterbury, Kent but grew up in Southampton so he is familiar with the area and the work of the Museum. Indeed, he can remember visiting the Museum as a child, so it was a great pleasure to return and to be asked to act as a trustee for it. Keith is really looking forward to supporting the development of the Museum, as he believes that it has enormous potential to grow into a very useful showcase for clay brick making throughout the ages, its collection is very extensive and of course as an attraction, it has enormous scope.

Trained as an electrical installation engineer, Keith has also been a schoolteacher, and during his career he was responsible for delivering a wide range of industrial training in both construction (all building trades) and engineering construction (oil & gas, nuclear and chemical processes) sectors. He has worked across the globe covering and promoting subjects as diverse as IT, cleaning, rope access, animal welfare and plumbing. He is also a member of the Worshipful Company of Bricklayers and Tylers. As the CEO of the BDA for 51⁄2 years, he feels that he has landed in the centre of this wonderful industry and has fallen in love with clay and clay bricks, as it’s a material that is totally sustainable, natural, beautiful and brings out some sort of visceral link with his childhood that he simply cannot resist.

I was born into an RAF family in the nineteen fifties. I attended many different schools at home and overseas eventually studying electrical and electronic engineering the university of Bath.

My career was in mobile radio communications in research and development laboratories. Ultimately this led to management of R and D labs through to directing a subsidiary company of Vodafone and Ericsson.

On retirement I was lucky enough to be able to own a small dressage horse establishment. This led on to running a small farm together with my husband, Ian. We have started to reduce the numbers of animals now as we are wanting to be freer to travel more and visit our ever growing number of grandchildren!

In recent years I have had plenty of volunteering experience both with the National Trust, working in the gardens at Uppark, and for various organisations in our village including the Parish Council.

I first heard of the Brickworks museum through my sister, Carolyne Haynes. I have always been interested in the project and jumped at the chance to become a
trustee. Currently I am taking an interest in the shop. Although a really big retail base cannot be envisaged until financial stability has been achieved we are learning what sells and getting lots of ideas for the future.

Paul is a chartered accountant with former finance experience in a medium-sized practice and more recently in industry at finance controller level with a subsidiary of Siemens, the large national and international engineering group. Now semi-retired he runs a small self-managed practice offering accounting and tax services. Paul has a lifelong involvement in the UK charitable and not-for-profit sector as trustee, director and auditor with several organisations having a strong personal desire to utilise breadth of experience and knowledge to maximise the potential for all stakeholders and beneficiaries. He has a strong interest in heritage and museums generally becoming Treasurer of the Museum Trust in 2016. Outside of work Paul keeps fit with tennis, cycling and swimming, and occasionally cruising his narrowboat single-handed.

After completing a PhD, I had a brief period teaching in universities, before moving into the heritage sector. I have worked as a curator for large heritage organisations, beginning my career at the Tower of London for Historic Royal Palaces, before moving to the National Trust in 2017 where I work with various properties in Hampshire, Berkshire, and Oxfordshire.

My curatorial specialisms relate to the history of buildings and their materials and building conservation although I am also experienced at advising on acquisition and disposal of collections and interpretation.

I worked in the Brickworks in the early 70’s, during my school holidays. My father, who worked there for 24 years, got me a job. After I left, I worked full time as an Analytical Chemist, I obtained my professional education by part time study. My interest in science had been sparked by the fossils my father brought home when he worked in the clay pit.

I got involved with the museum in about 2013, talking to visitors on event days and doing the Chemical Hazard Risk Assessments for the museum. After I retired as Company Chemist in 2017, I was able to get more involved and prepare reports on restoration and conservation of outside exhibits as well as carrying out conservation work. Some of this is experimental preventive conservation (which attempts to preserve the artefact as it is at the time of the work) and depends heavily on my experience with materials degradation in my working life. I also carry out tests to check the boiler water is fit for purpose, something I first did at work about 50 years ago!

I offered myself as a trustee because I thought my past experiences and interest in environmental science were potentially valuable.

I am married to Judy, who has recently stood down from the trust after 8 ½ years’ service and who volunteers as the museum librarian. My other interests are gardening, cycling, music and extending my scientific knowledge.

Tim has extensive experience in the brickmaking industry ranging from Labourer and brick stacker at Westbrick, Exeter 1981, Management Assistant and training at London Brick Co 1981-1984 in the Peterborough area, including 8 months with Hallett Brick and Tile in South Australia and 3 months with Claughton Manor Brick in Lancs.

Along with Brian Howard (concrete block maker) purchased Alne Brick in 1986 & renamed to York Handmade Brick Co. leading to a Management buyout with David Armitage in June 1988 and from 1988 to 1997 I was Managing Director York Handmade Brick Co.

From 1997 Salesman exclusively for York Handmade in most of Southern England plus Channel Islands and all of Ireland.

Now based at ClayClay in Bembridge Isle of Wight also paints, composes and makes mini bricks and terracotta letters (also for The Brickworks!) as well as pop art pottery and does a line in politically incorrect postcards and greetings cards.

A career in Further and Higher Education teaching and management, including Third sector/Not for profit organisations, followed by a period of Project Management for NHS Information Centre for Health and Social Care. Longstanding Parish and City Councillor (15 years) including cabinet roles of Portfolio Holder / Shadow. Trustee of local environmental charity, and member of a number of History/Heritage organisations.

Jon Sullivan – very new (will be appointed at the AGM in June). Have been running a Health & Safety Consultancy since 2013 with a range of clients who work in a variety of sectors including: boat building and marina management, warehousing, consumer event organisers, commercial rigging hire and a Film and Sci-Fi museum.

Experienced in business and consumer events; construction; leisure facilities; distribution and large scale public sector projects (Olympics London 2012 and Commonwealth Games Glasgow 2014).   Holds professional qualifications including Graduate/Certified membership of the Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, Food Safety & Hygiene Level 3, Emergency First Aid at Work, NEBOSH Construction Certificate and the NEBOSH National General Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety.

A retired Deputy Head Teacher with experience of teaching Design and Technology for many years. Engineer by training and a keen restorer of 2,3 and 4 wheeled vehicles.

Currently working as Director of Fundraising and Marketing at Wessex Cancer Support, Sally is an experienced fundraiser with over 30 years in the charity sector and has spent her career raising money for several national, regional and local charities with a passion for helping people. She is keen to build good relationships with businesses and individuals.

Outside of work, Sally is a keen theatre-goer and loves musicals in particular, Blood Brothers being her favourite which she has seen 19 times! She also loves spending time with her four children and two grandchildren.