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Trustees

Our trustees are elected by our members (the vast majority of whom are volunteers).  They individually serve for a period of three years when they are eligible for re-election up to a total of three consecutive terms.  

Andrew Thomson
Andrew ThomsonBA (Hons) FCA, BFP, Chair
Andrew is a Chartered Accountant with 20 years’ experience in the profession, followed by 20 years at Director and CEO level in UK Law firms.
Roger OakwellTreasurer
Roger has been associated with WEXP as a deputy treasurer over the last 2 years and was elected as treasurer and trustee in May 2025.
My career was spent in international finance with posting all over the world. Nowadays my time is split between WEXP , the National Trust and running a small business with my children.
Gary Carty
Gary CartyTrustee
Gary joined WEXP in 2021. Prior to that he had been a volunteer lock keeper with the CRT at Marsworth. Gary still works full time as a property surveyor so his crewing availability is mainly limited to weekends. He qualified as Skipper last year and regularly gets involved with our Young Carers weekends.
Ian Wilson
Ian WilsonTrustee
Ian has been a volunteer since 2015 and is currently a skipper on our largest boat – Sheldrake 3.
Before retiring, Ian was a commercial/finance director for a events management company organising corporate events globally. He owns his own boat on which he has travelled extensively throughout England and Wales. He also spent many years involved with the Scout Association, both as a “coal-face” leader and a leader trainer.
Chris Saxton
Chris SaxtonTrustee
Chris has been involved with WEXP since 2016.
I have crewed and skippered on many trips on all the boats and have crewed on quite a number of Enable trips. I led the WEXP Crewing Logistics team for a number of years and completely changed the way it worked with increased automation and efficiency that removed the slow processing and errors that used to occur and continue to be involved with the WEXP IT team helping to look after the various Google based systems that we use. Before retiring back in 2017, I was employed by many companies in IT roles, at one stage running my own company, finally ending up managing a high-level worldwide support team for a large American IT company.
Michael AlbanTrustee
Michael has been involved with ReachOut then Waterways Experiences since 2011, initially taking part in a week’s work experience in year 10 at Longdean School spending the week with John Bennett, joining a few trips and jobs around the site.
I signed up as a volunteer shortly after and have been involved ever since becoming a skipper back in 2015. Outside of WEXP I work full time as a learning mentor, forest school & outdoor play leader at a local primary school and am very involved with the local Scouts.
John MorrishTrustee
I went on my first boating trip when I was 11 and have been a canal fan ever since. My career was spent in healthcare sales and marketing at director level. I have been volunteering with Waterways Experiences for over three years and for me the charity wonderfully combines helping other people with my love of canals. I am a Kings Langley Parish Councillor and have been very active in getting the recent and, hopefully, future towpath improvements carried out.
Rick HoggerTrustee
Rick joined ROP, the forerunner of Waterways Experiences, in 1998.
I enjoyed it so much that I bought a Narrow Boat and ran it for 20 years. I am ex chair of both the Trustees and the Team Leaders (currently the Steering Group) and have been Team Leader for five teams.
Linda CrockerTrustee
Linda is a relatively recent volunteer with WEXP and is progressing through the training programme with the aspiration of qualifying as Boat Master.
I have spent my life on the water, initially motor boating on the Thames before progressing to sailing. I am a qualified sailing instructor and serve as a volunteer skipper for two charitable organisations. I have travelled extensively on the canal network, broadening my practical knowledge and experience. I am a Chartered Physiotherapist and currently practise in a specialist capacity, working with dancers aged 7-19. My professional background reflects a high level of responsibility, safeguarding awareness and dedication to supporting young people. I have previously provided long-standing service as a Governor at a primary school, contributing to oversight, accountability and strategic direction. Having recently concluded this role, I am now able to dedicate increased time and focus to supporting WEXP at governance level as a Trustee.