DUDLEY CANAL & TUNNEL TRUST LTD
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Paul Smith – Chairman – Paul has known the tunnels and caverns under Dudley all his life, with his father involved with the saving, restoration and development, and he tagged along out of interest. Paul obtained a Masters engineering degree at Nottingham University, and has worked in industry, owned a boat brokerage and qualified as a marine surveyor. Paul felt Singing Cavern would be a great place to be married, and after persuading the Trust, obtained the first wedding licence and married underground in 2005. He joined as a Trustee in 2017, in 2019 became the Chairman of the commercial company within the Trust, and then in 2024 became the Chairman of the Trust.
Kate Bennett – Although Kate was born in Birmingham after living over 60 years in the area she regards herself as a Black Country Wench! An interest in local history came from her parents who were long time members of the Black Country Society. Her mother was secretary for a while and wrote the Black Country cookery book Boston Fittle. Kate worked for over 25 years in the voluntary sector, both as a volunteer and latterly as a paid member of staff. She helped set up Dudley Advocacy and later moved to work for Citizens Advice. Before retirement she was Chief Officer at Citizens Advice Wyre Forest where she was responsible for both paid and voluntary staff.
Les Bradshaw -Les spent 40+ years working in Internal Audit in the NHS, Tarmac and Dudley Council. Most of his career involved working in the Black Country with 21 years working in Dudley. Internal Audit is all about reviewing controls, performance, governance and controls, so Les brings extensive experience to the Trust. Les has a Masters in Business Administration at the University of Wolverhampton and having left School at 16 with limited qualifications found it to be a great experience. Les is interested in history and especially the Black Country in terms of buildings, mining and transport. He was attracted to the Trust as it aims to preserve an important part of the history of Dudley and the Black Country.
Les helps the Trust by contributing to the governance of the organisation whilst also helping with projects
James Deacon – James’ professional background started with undertaking a Bachelor of Science (with honours) in Computer Aided Design (CAD) at Huddersfield University in 2007. Following the completion of this he started work as a mechanical fitter for a company in Willenhall, before moving into the design office where he produced technical drawings and designing the items to be fabricated. It wasn’t long before he joined another manufacturing firm in Kings Norton, Birmingham. Here he was a 3D design engineer for several years before being made the lead design engineer. It was then he decided to pursue a career in 3D data capture which led him to his first master’s degree in Landscape Archaeology. After talking with the head course leader who was fascinated with his proposal of an aerial based 3D data capture using consumer technology, it led to his dissertation proving some ground-breaking revelations about the application of consumer drones in archaeological practice.
Upon completing his masters, he joined Johnson Poole & Bloomer in 2017, where he collects, analyses and produces interpretive spatial datasets of the natural and built environment in a variety of different ways. James was invited to become a trustee in 2019 after involvement as a consultant engineer during a rock slip within Singing Cavern. His involvement with the Trust is steered predominantly around knowledge and experience as a surveyor.
Andrew Truslove – Andrew’s dad ran a light engineering company in Dudley (Joseph Gillott, later Silverthorne-Gillott) for many years, so Dudley has a place in his heart. The place has become larger over the 30+ years he has lived in London, where telling people that you’re from the Black Country tends to induce a sense of pity. This became one of his motivations for becoming a trustee of Dudley Canal and Tunnel Trust, to remind people outside of the West Midlands about the tremendous engineering and canal heritage.
Andrew has a law degree and an MBA, and initially started his professional career as a tax accountant. Quite quickly, however, he moved into marketing, predominantly advertising and (for the last 20 years) market research. He’s a senior director at Kantar, one of the world’s largest consumer research agencies, and over the last few years his role has encompassed strategy, finance, HR, procurement, compliance and operations matters – at last finding a use for the legal and accountancy efforts of his youth!
Kerri Williams – A Black Country girl, Kerri spend most of her life on or by the water. She’s a full-time decorative artist, sign writer and guilder, and constantly covered in paint.
Kerri has been lucky enough to decorate historic boats, fairground rides and wagons. Although her time is split across many forms of painting, she specialises in canal boat roses and castles and sign writing.
Heritage Crafts is Kerri’s focus; preserving and adapting traditional skills for future generations. Visiting schools regularly, to help children understand our boating past, and inspiring artists of the future.
Before picking up the brushes, Kerri worked in IT Architecture for many years, focusing on change management, helping to roll out projects countrywide.
When not splattered in paint, she can be found at the stables with our horses and dogs or visiting castles with her daughter.
Lyn Head – Lyn joined Dudley Canal & Tunnel Trust as a volunteer in April 2016 and supports the Trust with many different opportunities of this role. Having been elected as a Trustee in March 2019 Lyn provides invaluable support and insight from her extensive background in both Customer Service and as a previous business owner.
Richard Langford – Richard’s father was one of the earliest members of the Dudley Canal and Tunnel Trust so he has been in and around Dudley’s canals all his life. Richard has been a member of the board since 2016. Having graduated as a Civil Engineer in 1989, he spent his early working life as a mine surveyor in the gold fields of Western Australia.
Subsequent to this, Richard became a primary school teacher and for the last 18 years, a primary school headteacher, from which he is now retired. His passion is to ensure the Trust uses its wonderful heritage site to provide opportunity for as many schools and children as possible to visit our incredible resources to enrich their education and deepen their cultural understanding of the history of their local communities.
Dr Michael Collins – Professional Mike is an Associate Professorial Research Fellow at the London School of Economics. He undertakes research in and publishes about adult social care, dementia care, mental health, and homelessness. He is also editor of the Journal of Long-term Care. In his personal life Mike is married with one teenage son. He lives locally to the canal trust and is a regular customer, where he is very pleased to see many family, friends and neighbours making use of this outstanding community asset.
Ian Watson – Ian spent many years working in distribution, retail, construction and fit out, and currently work for Historic England in the Midlands. He hasa volunteered in the Heritage sector for just over 8 years at Hartlebury Castle before joining Dudley Canal and Tunnel Trust, and for over 20 years a volunteer cricket coach at Swindon CC, where he is also a Trustee, board member and head coach.
Dave Rogers – Born and raised in Dudley, as a trustee, Dave brings over 30 years of experience across the private sector, mental health, and education. His work, as a business consultant, coach and speaker, focuses on helping organisations grow through strategic thinking and innovation—skills that will be invaluable as the Trust continues to evolve.
Dave currently chairs the Board of Trustees at The Kaleidoscope Plus Group, a leading mental health charity, and supports youth careers education as a Lead Enterprise Adviser with the West Midlands Combined Authority. With deep roots in the local area and a lifelong connection to the canals, Dave’s appointment strengthens the Trust’s commitment to preserving and sharing Dudley’s unique heritage
Laura Bratt – Laura joined as a trustee in September 2024. As a local, and someone who has visited Dudley Canal and Caverns several times with her family, she was, and continue to be, excited to be able to support such a wonderful charity who preserve and teach our rich history.
Professionally, Laura has a Masters in Procurement and Supply Chain, and has worked in Procurement for over 15 years. Spanning large Facilities Management organisations; one of the largest funeral chains in the UK; and currently the heading up the Procurement Department in a national law firm. She graduated from Warwick Business School with Masters in Business Administration, and is passionate about change and experience outcomes within organisations, working with institutions globally to write whitepapers and advocate for a more experience-based methodology to business strategies.
DUDLEY CANAL & TUNNEL TRUST ENTERPRISES LTD
DIRECTORS
Carla Thomas – Carla is an experienced manager who has specialised in training, management and administration in the software industry for a range of international clients. Since retiring she has worked in a number of voluntary roles including supporting the Dudley Canal and Tunnel Trust in its many and varied activities.