Meet the Committee

 From the Chairman, March 2026

We've had quite a number of new members lately, so it's probably a good time to introduce the Committee. 

Phil Ralls - Honorary President 

I joined the Met.Police as a Constable in 1963 having been a Cadet for the previous 2 years. After 4 years 'on the beat' I transferred to Traffic Division during which time I attended Hendon Driving School for Standard, Intermediate and Advanced driving courses and qualified as a Class 1 driver. I  had attended a Lightweight Motor Cycle whilst I was a beat officer and on joining Traffic Division I attended an intermediate and later on an advanced motor cycle course.

In 1973 I transferred to West Mercia Police and after 3 months back on the beat I joined the Traffic Department at Hindlip Hall. Initially I worked on the Motorway but not long afterwards I filled a vacancy on the Motor Cycle section.

I joined the IAM in 1987 and volunteered as an Observer. In 1988 I became an Examiner and held that post until I retired in 2014.

Mike Kent – Chairman

I did my IAM test in 2022 after retiring from 50 years as a helicopter pilot. I learned to fly in the Royal Navy, then spent my civilian existence on North Sea Oil and Gas support, Air Ambulance and Police work. Having been deemed too old to continue at the sharp end aged 60, I spent the rest of my career as a CAA Approved Flight Instructor and Examiner - a role which has provided a seamless transition to that of Observer within WGAM. I count myself very fortunate to still be able to pass on skills and knowledge which hopefully goes some way to making the roads a safer place.

Peter McCree - Secretary

I left formal education to be an apprentice engineer. Completed that and decided sales was more my style as I would have a company car! Construction industry sales then the tool hire industry followed by a safety role in the trade association. A Department of Trade & Industry project travelling the world and ultimately ten years heading the trade association of Industrial & Commercial boiler manufacturers. In addition to my secretarial duties I Observe, and also coordinate the team of "blood runners" for Midlands Air Ambulance.

David Eastwood - Chief Observer

I have been an active member of the Group for over 25 years. I was Group Secretary for three years and, apart from a short break, Chief Observer for ten years. I joined the IAM in the mid 1980s, having trained with the Chorley Group in Lancashire. I moved to Worcester shortly after and joined our Group. From around 2000, I was able to devote more time to Group activities and became a Group Observer. During the mid 2000s, I became a Senior Observer and joined the committee. I became Group Secretary in the early 2010s and in the mid 2010s moved from Group Secretary and became Chief Observer.

Andy Wildman - Treasurer

I was born near Birmingham, moving to Worcester in 1982 & my working life was spent as an engineer in the West Midlands automotive manufacturing industry. I have maintained an interest in vehicle technology & general motoring driving issues, I joined WGAM in 2010 & passed my advanced test in 2011-courtesy of examiner Phil Ralls- our current President! I was appointed to the committee as Group Treasurer in 2014

Andrew Burnett

I became a WGAM committee member and trustee in 2024. Now retired, I was originally a GP and later an NHS consultant and then director of public health. I see enabling people to become advanced drivers a new and interesting aspect of this latter role: it’s about preventing avoidable risks. Now a magistrate, I also see many who’d benefit from improved driving skills; regrettably, it’s apparent a lot don’t learn from an initial judicial system encounter and end up with driving bans through the licence points totting process. I am thus keen to promote advanced driving as widely as possible.

Mark Garnett

I am only 60 but had a brain tumour last year since removed, and now suffer from reduced vision, so probably won’t be able to drive or observe again. My working life was spent in business systems for manufacturing companies. I wasn't particularly a car person until electric cars came along, and I’ve been driving electric since 2016, done around 140,000 miles and saved £18,000 in fuel after paying for the electricity. Advanced driving is a bit like owning your first Apple device. Everyone condemns it out of hand to begin with, but once you've tried it, it suddenly makes sense. 

Glen Hurst

I left school at 15 years of age and went to work on a structured apprenticeship at a well-known machine tool company, supplying machines to the car and automotive firms, both light and heavy engines and sent to firms in UK and Europe.

I have been lucky in as much that I’ve visited many different countries throughout the world, but always on business. I’ve done a lot of driving both on the left-hand side and right-hand side of the road. I worked it out, that I had driven on business, well over 1 1/2 million miles and a lot of that was either very early in the morning or late in the evening. There were several countries that I flatly refused to drive, namely, Tunisia, India, China, and Japan because they are all crazy!

Experiences on the Roads of India

 The highlight of the recent Member’s meeting was a talk given by Committee member Andrew Burnett about his experiences on the roads of India. The overall impression was that all rules are open to interpretation, or simply ignored most of the time. The picture which sticks in my mind is that of a family of five - Mum, Dad, 2 kids and presumably Grandma - riding a relatively small motorbike without a single helmet between them!

 

Not quite five but you get the picture

First on the Scene - a Presentation by Peter Jones

This meeting was held in early February following several days of torrential rain and I really thought that we might struggle for attendees, however I am delighted to say that for our speaker’s talk we had a ‘full house’.

A number of Associates had joined IAM RoadSmart since our last meeting and those present were given a copy of their certificate and a group pen. 

Through a WGAM initiative, Paul Hatcher of Evesham First Responders was sponsored and duly gained a F1RST.

One of our group members, Peter Jones was the evening’s speaker and his subject was, “First on Scene”.  

Peter is and Advanced Clinical Practitioner and carries with him a substantial number of first aid items should they be required when he is out and about.  He is qualified and capable of using all the items in his kit therefore always stops at incidents to assist should he be required.  Peter stressed that a simple ‘First Aid’ kit is sufficient for most people and many cars are now supplied with one from new.

  

This is a key message that Peter was keen to introduce to us.  Are there enough people on the scene and are they coping with the emergency?   In which case it is best to continue on your journey.  The questions to ask yourself, if you believe otherwise are, is there someone taking charge, is the scene being kept safe and have the appropriate emergency services been called or if I stop am I going to take charge, assist in any way or just be a nuisance.

Peter described to us a simple method of removing a blocked airway, which I had never heard of and he also went through

DR ABC (D).

DR - Danger - Response.   A for airway.  B for breathing. C for Circulation. D for Disability.  He also explained that it is very helpful to be able to advise the emergency services what action you have taken.  SBAR - Situation - Background - Assessment - Recommendation.  (You may consider that your ability and knowledge may not be sufficient to provide any recommendations.)

One question asked of Peter was in the event you come across an incident in your vehicle where and how should you park?  Tess Cooper was able to answer that as an ex police officer and advised unlike the fire service, who tend to park beyond the scene, park your vehicle behind it at a facing outward angle with your headlights on, four way emergency indicators on and don’t forget to lock your vehicle.

Finally, Peter showed us an illustration of what he calls a Hospital Transfer Form which could be filled in should the patient be stabilised and there is a delay prior to the emergency services arriving on scene.

Peter McCree

The RAF Falcons Parachute Team - A presentation by Liam Fox, Team Coach

Group Meeting September 2025

Following Chairman Mike Kent’s introduction, Liam informed us of how he arrived at the decision to become part of the display team.  Quite simply, it seemed the best option jumping out of a plane in good weather conditions and every year spending around ten weeks at work in either California or Dubai rather than suffering the weather in Scotland or Wales.

It takes seven years to go through all the systems to become an instructor so not an easy ride.

The RAF’s main customer is the army, however as many of us are aware, their numbers have reduced rapidly in the last five years.  Now with almost a third of their previous numbers and it seems unlikely to increase in the short term, we have a very small army. 

The RAF team consists of only 14 and therefore only 90 ‘squaddies’ per month are currently able to be trained.  The Airborne Delivery training takes place at RAF Brize Norton.  

As Liam says, “we are only bus conductors”.  Their responsibility is to get them safely out of the door!  The soldiers use large sturdy brown canopies and jump out at one thousand feet but as low as 450feet.  Maximum allowed wind speed is 13 knots whilst in training.  They are landing at 20 feet per second and despite all the training around 4% are injured.  If jumping from a higher height such as twelve thousand feet a larger canopy is used.  Liam says there is a tendency to freeze at the crucial time as the landing site approaches and their legs instead of being together ready to roll sideways the feet stay apart - oops!

(Liam did say the attrition rate in the US Army is nearer 20%.)

     

In addition the team works with the commandos to continually raise the commandos standard of competence.

The display team was formed in 1961 and their first displays were held in 1965.

The display team has a rolling three year programme and being team coach is their pinnacle year.

Back to training, having spent five weeks in California’s sunshine  practicing ‘freefall’, the team have, on return, to quickly adapt to landing in tricky conditions in a 75 X 75 yard area.

The team consists of ten ‘jumpers’ and there are three types of display. Jumping at seven thousand feet and two miles ‘high show’ from the display area, five thousand feet is the ‘mid show’ and finally when the cloud canopy is low, their display will be from two thousand five hundred feet when all they are able to achieve is a ‘stack’.  In other words, quickly out of the plane and form up one on top of the other before they have to quickly separate to land safely. Naturally the wind conditions determine whether or not the team is able to jump.  The maximum wind speed for their displays is 20knots.

Questions came thick and fast and having shown us how the backpack is carried and explained the different toggles and pull chords, Liam was asked whether he had ever suffered a malfunction in any of his three thousand jumps.  Much to our surprise the answer was yes, once when he believed he had not packed the parachute correctly.  Thankfully he was able to pull the emergency chord and landed safely.  Just penalised by having to pay the expert’s repacking charge, as they are not allowed to pack their own emergency chutes.  (The reserve is repacked every 6 months and after 500 descents it is replaced.)

Tandem jumps do take place when an important person such as a doctor or specialist has to be parachuted in and there is no time for training, or it would just be inappropriate to do so.

Finally Liam was asked the thorny question of the disappearance of the famous C17’s and their replacement the A400 built by a European conglomerate.  Nothing but trouble over reliability and the fact that the ‘jumpers’ were never asked about their requirements.

The Dornier is their reliable ‘fall back’ aircraft and for those unaware, it is a propeller powered plane with its wings above the fuselage.  Jumps do take place from Chinooks and Pumas.

Our Chairman, Mike Kent  thanked Liam for a fascinating presentation and, as a professional pilot, assured Liam that he had no intention of leaving a perfectly serviceable aircraft during his career.

The Shelsley Walsh Story - A presentation by Max Hunt

 Group Meeting - May 2025

Max Hunt gave a presentation on Shelsley Walsh, covering the history of the  tiny Parish, the Water Mill, which dates back to 1308 that has now been lovingly restored, the church and of course the world famous hill climb course.

St Andrew’s church has inside it a tomb. We were shown a photograph of it and it really looks like it is made of marble, however it is actually constructed in wood.  

The Manor House near the church has a strong connection with the gunpowder plot of 1605. Robert Catesby who was the ringleader met his co-conspirators there. Guy Fox of course was the ‘action man’ whose attempt fortunately failed.

The iron trade in Shelsley Walsh was very important and wood was gathered from the surrounding area within the parish and pig iron was brought up from the Forest of Dean. Shelsley Walsh had a forge and Mr Foley capitalised on that facility and as a result became a very rich man building the nearby Whitley Court. A colossal 30 tonnes of coal were burned each day to heat the house. 

Dudley’s mines supplied the coal via barges on the Severn, then by carts to a 1,500 tonne coal stack and on via an underground trolley system to the boiler room under the south portico.

He sold the court to Sir Herbert Smith in 1837 who installed electricity, cut staff levels and failed to maintain the fire hydrants with the result in 1937, while he and his family were away, a fire broke out and destroyed the central and eastern sections.  It was never rebuilt.  

By 1860 the mill with its overwater wheel was operational and thanks to the restoration work carried out by a small team of volunteers is once again operational and is the only water powered corn mill in Worcestershire.  Visit on a Tuesday to see it in action. On the 11th of January 1901, 50 in number ‘Midland Automobilists’ decided to compete with their vehicles along a stretch of road at Gorcott Hill.  None other than Herbert Austin was first away, at the wheel of his car and others then followed.

Next in 1905 they were offered Free use of the estate entitled Middle Hill in Broadway, however the cars made quite a mess of the twisting driveway and the competitors were later presented with a repair bill.

Soon after that on August 12th, Montague Taylor offered them the use of Shelsley Walsh.  To ensure no cars would be driven up the hill whilst a previous competitor was yet to complete the steep and twisty course, a multi bell system was used with the loudest being bell operated at the top. Males did not have this pleasure to themselves however as ladies were also seen at the wheel of their cars and it was reported that one Dorothy Levitt, a competitor in 1906, gave her fellow female motorists the advice that all you needed in your car was a revolver and a large hand held mirror.  (The revolver to ensure your safety on country roads and the mirror to see whether your competitors were gaining on you.)  Might this be the first use of ‘the rear view mirror’?

Shelsley Walsh as a competitive venue due to its steep and winding track, was becoming well known across the continent.  In1947 a young driver by the name of Stirling Moss applied to be a competitor but was turned down at his first attempt so popular was the venue. After his successes at other venues in 1948 he was on his second application, given a place to drive his Cooper 500 up the hill. 

On the 17th June 1932 Shelsley was so well known that the BBC transmitted an outside broadcast covering the action during the afternoon in between football matches and other events.  At the time the venue attracted many thousands of spectators who lined the length of the track. Some of the visitors we noticed in the photos we were shown were very close to the action even on bends and in those days a number of the cars had difficulty negotiating the top bend at speed. Suspension and brakes were not sophisticated in those days. 

Finally, Mike reminded members that our next meeting will be on Tuesday 2 September and it is our AGM, however we will also have a presentation by Liam Lyons who is a member of the RAF Falcons display team. Come and learn how to prepare for falling out of a perfectly serviceable aeroplane with nothing but a parachute on your back.

Peter McCree

Group Secretary 

Global Positioning Satellites (GPS) - a Presentation by Ciaran Murphy from QinetiQ

Ciaran Murphy, QinetiQ

Ciaran explained that GPS started following the launch of the Russian artificial satellite ‘Sputnik’ back in 1957.  To connect with us mortals on earth it gave out a regular signal and due to the ‘Doppler’ effect it was possible to learn its position above earth.  The wavelength or ‘signal’ is shorter and the frequency higher when close and longer and lower when further away.  Hence you are able to judge when emergency vehicles are coming closer to you.

GPS however really only came into effect in 1995.  It cost  the Americans $20bn to develop and their system costs $1bn to run every year.  In the first instance they thought that perhaps 10k ordinary people may find the technology useful.  Well here we are in the 21st Century and GPS is ubiquitous - where would we be without it.  Our phones, our cars and our lives rely on the technology.

To run the global navigation satellite system (GNSS) the Americans have GPS, the EU has Galileo, the Russians have Glonass and the Chinese have BeiDou (BDS).

There are three satellite orbits with the Low Earth Orbit being between 99-1,243 miles out and the furthest away being the Geostationary orbit at 22,236 miles.

Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellites represent only 10% of the satellites orbiting the earth, however they are the ones that are used almost exclusively for GPS and related services.  These orbit at 5,000miles (8,000km) to 12,500 miles (20,000km) out.  There are 31 of them however only 24 are needed to provide the service.

Ground stations correct the satellites position or time, to the nanosecond.  Correct time is the key to the positioning system.  Without the invention of the clock in the mid 1720’s by John Harrison none of this would have been possible.  ‘Time is of the essence’. 

How does this relate to me and my life?  Well, if you use a mobile phone for navigation or use satellite navigation in your car your position will be accurate to around 5 metres. There is also the Inertial Measurement Unit or (IMU) which enables your car’s position to be known through motion analysis when you are not able to receive a signal from a satellite. For example when you are driving through a tunnel.

Naturally there are threats to these systems and GPS ‘spoofing’ is the main one.  This is using a radio transmitter to interfere with the actual GPS signal being transmitted.  

In today’s world of most concern would be ‘spoofing’ autonomous vehicles however as safety is at the forefront the human behind the wheel currently has to be present to intervene.  With no driver present however, if there was ‘spoofing’, the car would stop if in danger though the route the car was programmed to take could be changed.  We are entering an era when there is much to be learned about our way forward with self-driving vehicles.

Once again we had an excellent attendance and Mike concluded the evening after Ciaran had answered the questions that were not company sensitive. He thanked Ciaran for his insight into the world of GPS.

Finally, Mike reminded members that our next meeting on Tuesday 20 May is a presentation by Max Hunt on Shelsley Walsh, the hill climb venue and its surrounding history.

Peter McCree

Group Secretary 

The J Type Morris-Commercial, Electric Van - A presentation by Julian Bremner-Smith and Grace Freeman

 

The history of the J Type van goes all the way back to immediately after the Second World War, when it was produced at the same time as the Morris Minor. The aim was to get the UK back on its feet, by providing mass produced, reliable mobility for businesses and families.

The idea of the J Type ‘electric’ is not to cater for the masses, but to serve what is a niche market.  Small companies that wish to stand out from the crowd and either have the van sign written in their colours etc. for display purposes and or use it for local deliveries or collections.  

The company’s CEO headed up LDV vans so she has plenty of contacts in the van world and has several wealthy co-investors to make this a viable proposition.  The company has four ‘pillars’ that it wishes to use to support the business, namely - Quality Design - Sustainability - Technology - Functionality.  So whilst the van has a retro- look, it will be designed and manufactured using the latest technology with sustainability at the forefront.

It has a 1 tonne payload and will carry two Euro pallets, standard 8’X4’ sheets and a 6cu metre capacity.  Uniquely built on an aluminium chassis with a carbon fibre body of which 70% is recycled carbon fibre and only 30% virgin Carbon fibre, where structural strength is required.

As an example of the latest design, the rear doors open in a unique way to allow easy loading without protruding into the pavement or passing traffic.  Three battery sizes will be available giving it a WLTP range of 250 miles. A rapid charge will see the battery back up to 80% in a mere 30 minutes.

Production is expected to commence in late 2025 from a new manufacturing facility in the UK.  It is anticipated that the van will cost in the region of £60k and the current aim is a first year production of 1,000 vans.

As the vehicle is clearly aimed at a niche market, it is anticipated that a substantial number will be exported and in the early days to countries who like us, drive on the left.  It is surprising how many companies bought the J Type van to show to their customers that they were proud of their company and wished to support a UK manufacturer.  Let’s hope that many companies are like minded, when the electric version becomes available.

In due course other versions of the J Type will be produced such as mini-bus and pick-up. These will, of course, have to be subjected to the usual crash tests and be fitted with all the correct safety technology to be allowed to enter both our market and those areas where it will be exported. 

Peter McCree