I am the Finance Manager for Woody’s Lodge responsible for financial reporting and supporting the Operations team making sure our spending remains within budget.

 I grew up in Liverpool and left school when I was 18. I married Lucy, who works as the Administration Officer for Woody’s Lodge  in 1975, and we’ve got 3 sons,  our eldest is currently serving in the  Royal Artillery and the other two are medics.  

I started working for the MOD in 1973 as a RADAR\Radio Technician based at RAF Sealand in North Wales doing second and third line servicing. As a civilian on an RAF base, I worked alongside the airmen in the support wings and established some great friendships during my time there. I managed to visit RAF and Army bases in Germany playing for the MOD National Football team and played against BAOR and RAF Germany traveling on Hercules Transport and RAF coaches between games, which  added immensely to the experience.

As part of my MOD Job, I also visited the Faslane Naval base and was enthralled by the complexity of the operations there. My father had served in the Royal Navy from 1947 to 1950 and remembered his time with great pride.

During my time in MOD I acquired a great deal of Telecommunications knowledge and skills and  in 1983 I took a role as an International Telecommunications Manager working for an American Bank based in Cardiff. Those were the days telecommunications networks existed as bespoke circuits between fixed points, in foreign countries in our case, but the technology in use then was the precursor for what we now know as the Internet.  I laugh when I look back and recall how I carried a portable computer with me, it was the size of a small suitcase and weighed a lot, and those early cell phones we used were the size of and weight of a house brick.

I spent 15 years with the bank and during that time got involved with many projects and learned my many skills as a Project Manager. This was my introduction to controlling budgets, manging teams and departmental finances and that’s something I’ve done for over 30 years. It helps to like numbers, I think.

I’ve done spells as a consultant most recently in the Nuclear Science field in London and I spent my last six years working for CGI in Bridgend until I retired in August 2019. 

I am still a Liverpool football fan, am fascinated by the Welsh passion for rugby and their grudging respect(?) for the English, I play golf and enjoy walking and cycling. I also found a niche role supporting Lucy’s 10-year fundraising cycling activities for Help for Heroes…. Someone’s got to drive the Van, fix the punctures and provide the refreshments…… It was me!

I do love what Woody’s stands for and am really looking forward to help drive it’s future success.