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The Medway Queen Preservation Society will improve its visitor offering and develop its structure and organisation in 2017 as the Heritage Lottery Fund Transition Project continues. Changes within the board and elsewhere in the society have resulted in this process taking longer than was anticipated but it is progressing.
To that end we are actively seeking more volunteers in technical, administrative and sales/marketing roles. If you think you can help us restore this famous old ship in any way at all please get in touch. We were able to recruit additional trustees earlier in the Transition Project but, again, more are needed to develop our organisation in the way we would like for the future. We urgently need to build the Visitor Centre team to show people round the ship and to operate the souvenir and coffee shops. An interest in the ship and her history will help as will the ability to talk to people and pass on that knowledge. Behind the scenes there are a myriad of administration tasks to be undertaken and more pairs of hands are needed there too. On the technical side we have two teams of volunteers specialising in woodwork and mechanical fitting. More hands here will enable us to progress more quickly with the fitting out phase of Medway Queen’s restoration and in time to extend the number of days in each week that work is undertaken. Volunteers with any level of skill will be made welcome and we can schedule work that suits your interest and abilities. For both volunteers and trustees willingness and enthusiasm are the most important “qualifications” as that allows us to tailor a role to suit the individual’s other capabilities. Phone 01634 575717 or email [email protected] for more details. Alternatively come and see us; a “Volunteers Day” is planned for 11th February so come along and see what’s involved. That day is the start of our 2017 season and the Visitor Centre on Gillingham Pier, and the ship herself will be open from 11am to 4pm with last admissions strictly at 3pm. We must say special thanks to our Site Manager, Mr Bryan Hulley. Bryan has been with us since 2011 and the EU funded Heroes to Sea project. We hoped to keep him with us, but unfortunately we are not able to and have had to make the position redundant so Bryan has now left us after all those years of hard work. He has stated that he will retain an interest in the ship’s progress and we hope to see him down in Gillingham from time to time. Again I thank Bryan for his work with the ship over the last five years, and wish him all the best for the future. I must also say how grateful we are to our volunteers for their sterling work in fitting deck covering plates to ensure a dry after saloon and I would also like to pass on my thanks to all of those who work off site to support the ship and society. As ever, your support, interest and work for the ship is very much appreciated. It is great that people want to support our ship in these ways, all the best to you and yours, and look forward to working with you in 2017, A very Happy Christmas to you all John Kempton (Committee Chairman) Recent work has included fitting an access stairway and temporary decking in the lower aft saloon, making it available to the public for our 2017 season. Now it just needs handrails on the stairway to complete.
The Medway Queen Preservation Society extend their gratefull thanks to Belinda and the congregation of St. Barnabas Church, Gillingham for their donation of redundant church pews. The timber will be very useful in the fitting out phase of Medway Queen's restoration. Our thanks also to staff at Foreman's Removals of Medway for transporting the pews to our site on Gillingham Pier.
Links to: Foremans Removals St. Barnabas Church |
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