The Maritime Heritage Trust are very pleased to announce selection of a new Chair, Gareth Maeer. Gareth is a founding director of Raybel Charters Community Interest Company, a heritage community company established in 2018 to restore the 1920 Thames sailing barge Raybel for community benefit, and has had wide experience of initiating, directing and evaluating heritage, environment and arts based projects.
Welcoming Gareth’s appointment, the outgoing MHT Chair, Henry Cleary, said:
“Historic vessel operation is always a challenge and now we need to link more effectively with coastal communities, the arts and environment. Gareth brings valuable skills and experience in all these areas as well as his time working for the Heritage Fund and other national heritage organisations.
To work well MHT needs to renew itself periodically and we are fortunate to have a younger and more diverse Board. Gareth joining as Chair will complement and strengthen this process at a time when we face some big challenges as well as opportunities.”
Gareth Maeer:
“I’m delighted to be able to take up this role, and look forward to working with the trustee team and all of the membership to ensure the maritime sector is able to play a positive community, social and environmental role in the years to come.”
Notes
1. Recent work by Gareth includes:
• A report on the needs of the maritime heritage sector for the National Heritage Memorial Fund and National Historic Ships UK (2023/24);
• Advice to the Heritage Fund on the economic consequence of Covid-19, including analysis of survey responses collected from a range of community-based heritage organisations (2020);
• Advising various historic ships organisations on business strategy and funding bids (2021-25)
• At Raybel Charters, managing award-winning community and volunteering programmes, Citizen Science, youth theatre and music events as well as the Raybel conservation project and the company’s involvement in the international sail cargo movement since 2019.
2. Before establishing Raybel Charters he was Head of Research & Evaluation at the Heritage Fund. From 2004 – 2017.
3. Previously Gareth worked as economist for British Waterways (Canals & Rivers Trust) and as a television producer / researcher. He has had various roles in setting up and running community organisations and social enterprises, and as a governor of an inner London secondary school.
4. Gareth has been appointed by the MHT Board as Chair Elect, with Trustee elections taking place at the MHT AGM in September, following which the new Chair will take over.
5. Maritime Heritage Trust is the only membership based organisation to represent the great range of maritime heritage projects in the UK from small craft to our largest preserved sea-going vessel, the SS Shieldhall. In its current form MHT was created in 2011 through the merger of the Maritime Trust (1969) and Heritage Afloat formed in 1994. MHT seeks to represent, support, engage and help achieve greater sustainability in the sector.
