The Basingstoke Canal Society is a registered charity dedicated to working and campaigning for the sustainable future of the Basingstoke Canal. The Surrey and Hampshire Canal Society was founded in 1966 and the name changed formally to The Basingstoke Canal Society in 2022.
The Basingstoke Canal is 32 miles of beautiful scenery and history stretching through Surrey and Hampshire in the South East, from New Haw in Surrey to Greywell in Hampshire.
Back in 1966, most of the canal had fallen into disrepair and thousands of volunteers gave their time and energy to restoring the canal which was finally reopened in 1991. The work involved rebuilding 29 locks, constructing 110 lock gates, and the dredging and clearance of an estimated quarter of a million tons of mud.
Whether you are interested in the hundreds of years of history of the waterway, or the slightly shorter 60 or so years of The Basingstoke Canal Society, there are many ways to get involved and learn more.
The Society is governed by a committee made up of the below members.
Ian Moore – Chairman
A member of the Canal Society for over 30 years, Ian first began volunteering as a crew member on the John Pinkerton I, then a skipper before working set up the Kitty operation in Woking.
My professional life was spent with The Geological Survey, Chevron and latterly with Capgemini where my last project was working in Mozambique on a power station site, a far cry from the Basingstoke Canal!
Ian’s maternal grandfather and great grandfather were Engineering Officers in the Merchant Navy, while my paternal great grandfather worked at Pimblotts boatyard in Northwich as a
foundryman making parts for small vessels. My aunt worked in the drawing office at Furness’s shipyard on Teesside. while I spent time at the Astano yard in Ferrol in Spain building a large unpowered tanker. Finally one of my sisters was in the Royal Naval
Reserves! Perhaps being part of the Basingstoke Canal Society was meant to be!
David Wall
Having been a member of The Society since the 1980s, David began volunteering and took over as the Canal Society Treasurer in 2020.
David is one of two treasurers for The Society; looking after the accounts of The Society itself. David is a retired accountant and ran his own accountancy practice in Ash until 2018,
dealing with tax returns and accounts for self-employed and limited company businesses.
David has always had an interest in canals and boating. With his wife, Christine, he I lived near the canal in West Byfleet when we first married and more recently moved to a canal side home in Ash Vale. Together they walk, cycle and boat on the canal and were members of the now-dissolved Basingstoke Canal Boating Club.
We are lucky enough to have our own boat and whilst it is moored in Crick Marina this winter, it has spent around twenty years, on the canal.
Ken Sankey
Ken has been involved with the Society for over 10 years initially on the Tuesday Work Party and crewing on John Pinkerton I, and latterly as a trustee helping recruit volunteers. Ken says it’s been great to see the Society become a strong partner with the council owners albeit there is more to do to protect this wonderful community asset. I love and value the waterways and have my own narrowboat on the Oxford Canal. Aside from waterways, Ken’s loves are travelling and photography.
Celia Griffiths
Celia recently retired and enjoys giving back to the local community hence joining the Basingstoke Canal Society. Before retiring, Celia was an Insurance Broker but is now the Society Secretary. Outside of this Celia enjoys travelling and seeing the world in her camper van as well as relaxing in the garden and live music.
Janet Buckley
Janet has been leading the work party activities for 10 years and loves to spend time by the Canal especially as it’s so close to her home in Church Crookham. Once an IT Specialist, Janet is now a qualified Plumber, which comes in very handing when they are installing new water points!
Mike Cawthra
Mike used to use the canal towpath to cycle to work as often as possible for a beautiful release from his normal 20 mile commute. Upon leaving that role he wanted to give back and so became a lengthsman, regularly patrolling a 3km stretch of the canal close to home. He is also a regular attendee at the Tuesday workgroup.
Latterly Mike joined the committee to look after health and safety for all our collective volunteering and activities.
Mike has a background Engineering Management and gained quite some experience in Health and Safety matters so is happy to put that to use in a volunteer setting.
Charlotte Rodgers
Charlotte joined the Canal Society as a volunteer back in 2022, looking for something to do outside of work and for a way to give back to the local community after enjoying a Canal walk most days during the COVID lockdowns.
With a professional career in Marketing (albeit children’s toys), Charlotte enjoys putting these skills into practise in a very different way on her evenings and weekends. Becoming a mum in 2024, Charlotte has enjoyed many a day time weekday walk down the canal path in the last year!
John Turner
