Meet the Trustees

The running of the museum would not be possible without the time and skills generously given by our board of trustees.

Joy Reynolds, Chair

Joy Reynolds has lived in Blandford since 1976 and first sat as a trustee shortly after the museum was set up by John and Sue Tapper in the late 1970s. Joy has been Chair of the Trust Board since January 2021.  She has been very involved in the Stour Valley Project and its offshoot, the Stour Valley Sampler group.  As well as her interest in local history and genealogy, she also is a keen craftswoman, which has fostered her interest in the roles of women in the past. Now retired, Joy spent most of her career in NHS research and management, with a particular focus on public health and public involvement.

Franki Campbell, Hon. Treasurer

“I was born and grew up in Blandford, I now live in Gillingham but work across Dorset as an Art Therapist working with young people. I joined the board as Treasurer in May 2023. My qualifications include Fine Art, Creative Pattern Cutting and Art Psychotherapy. I have a special interest in sustainability and ethics; in the past I have written blogs on ethical fashion. I have run my own business for over 10 years and am excited to be able to support the museum. I love spreadsheets.”

Heather Packwood, Membership Secretary

“I have lived in Blandford for 2 years and want to contribute to the local community. I am a retired Software Developer and I enjoy doing admin and working with numbers. I also enjoy gardening and walking and have an interest in history.”

Rex Badgley, Archaeology Club

 

Nicci Brown, Civic Group

Nicci has lived in Blandford since 1994, and from 2000 to 2011 was the local reporter for the Western Gazette, having worked in and with local newspapers since the 1970s in Lancashire, Herefordshire, Hampshire and Dorset. From 2012 to 2022 she was editor of the town’s community magazine Forum Focus.

Nicci’s participation in a number of organisations, including the Disability Action Group (DAG), Blandford Environmental Trust (BET) and Tourist Information Centre (TIC), gives her a wide appreciation of volunteering locally. Since 2002 she been a member and latterly secretary of the Blandford & District Civic Society, which has now come under the Museum’s umbrella as the Civic Society Group.

She looks forward to the involvement of other Museum members in group activities and projects.

Gillian Jones, Garden Club

“I’ve lived in Blandford Forum since October 2014 but had visited relatives here since 1978. My son and his family now live in Blandford and after retirement from the NHS I was free to settle here too.  When I moved in to my new home I was introduced to the Museum Garden Club.  I’m a keen gardener and was pleased to join like-minded folk in creating and nurturing this special garden.  It is special because everyone is welcome however much or little they know about gardening and there is plenty of opportunity to learn more whilst enjoying the beauty of the place.”

Teresa Cooper

Teresa (Terry) moved from London with her parents at the age of four and grew up in Winterborne Whitechurch, attending that primary school followed by Blandford Grammar School which became part of the comprehensive school in 1967.  Married in 1975 to Jeremy Cooper, whose family own the Down House Estate farm,  she worked with him helping to run the estate which includes The Inside Park, a touring caravan and camping site which they started in l986.  Tourism has become a key interest to Terry which is why she became involved with setting up what is now known as The Blandford Fashion Museum working with Betty Penny and her friends to achieve her dream.  From that she learned something about what is needed in the running of a museum, together with experience of the tourist industry and some retail knowledge, so happily agreed when asked to join the Trustees of the Blandford Town Museum.

Linda Johnson

Linda became a trustee in 2021, having visited the museum on several occasions and feeling that she would like to play a role in supporting it. Her varied interests have always included learning about the past and especially the history of Blandford. She is a keen horsewoman and Chair of the Bryanston Riding for the disabled, where she is also a coach. Linda also volunteers at the Blandford Tourist Information Centre once a week.

“My hobbies are gardening, jewellery making and I also paint. This is mainly in acrylics though I enjoy pastel painting if doing portraits. I am always keen to try new methods of art working.”

Anne Quinney

Anne retired from Bournemouth University in 2022. Before her long career as an academic, she qualified as a social worker, youth worker and teacher, taught in the Sudan, worked as a social worker in Scotland and in Dorset and was the youth worker-in-charge at Treads youth advisory centre when it first opened in the Salisbury Street premises.  Anne returned to live in Blandford in 2017.

Anne’s interests are in social history, informal and adult education, researching her roots in rural Yorkshire, arts and crafts and more recently in sympathetically restoring her Georgian Listed house. Anne is also a keen amateur photographer.

Melanie Wyles

Melanie moved to North Dorset in 2017, having lived in Australia for 10 years, and joined the Trust Board in 2022. She previously worked in Social Housing in Kent for a District Council, and is now semi-retired though still working part time for the NHS.  Since moving to North Dorset she has been involved with the Museum first as a volunteer steward and then as a member of the social team organising events the Stour Valley Project and its offshoot, the Stour Valley Sampler group. Melanie has always been very interested in history particularly the medieval. She likes to explore these interests and use her craft and artist skills to tell stories. She is a poet who self-published a book of poetry in 2018 and belongs to local writing groups.