SS Robin Trust

Our Charity aims to restore, preserve and maintain the SS Robin for the education and benefit of the public through displaying her as a historic ship, allowing access onboard as far as possible. The Trust’s income is via grant funding, bequests, donations and occasional paid admissions from visitors. It relies on a small paid staff and volunteer team to deliver its aims.

The SS Robin Trust is grateful to its many supporters, patrons, partners, retired Trustees and volunteers who have helped make the project possible and kept SS Robin safe for over forty years.

His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh KG KT, has taken a keen interest in SS Robin project and maritime heritage in general. To see more on his visit, click here.

Honorary Member: 

HRH The Duke of Edinburgh KG KT

Our volunteers

Our volunteer team makes a crucial difference to the SS Robin project. They provide and learn a range of skills and help promote and conserve the SS Robin.

If you would like to join us, please contact us.

Trustees

Eric Reynolds - Chairman

Eric Reynolds is the founding director of Urban Space Management (USM). He has been involved in numerous urban regeneration schemes since the early 1970’s. His projects include setting up Camden Lock Market, revitalizing the Elephant and Castle Shopping Center, creating Merton Abbey Mills, bringing new life to Spitalfields Old Fruit and Vegetable Market, turning Greenwich Market around, building a new indoor tented market in Swindon, creating a small business center out of Sneinton Wholesale Market in Nottingham, devising Gabriel’s’ Wharf and refurbishing Bishopsgate Goodsyard.

He created Container City, USM’s design and build side based around re-using shipping containers. He leads the work at Trinity Buoy Wharf, home to London’s only lighthouse as a centre for arts and creative activity including maritime heritage. In addition he acts as a regeneration advisor across the country, is Chairman of SAVE Britain’s Heritage and is a trustee of several voluntary bodies, including Royal Museums Greenwich and the Row Barge ‘Gloriana’.

Dr Paul Brickell

Paul trained as a molecular biologist and was from 1995 to 2002 Professor of Molecular Haematology at the Institute of Child Health at Great Ormond Street Hospital, University College London. He had a career change in 2002 in order to contribute to the gathering regeneration of his “home town” of east London, first as Director of Regeneration and Chief Executive of the Bromley by Bow Center and then as Chief Executive of Leaside Regeneration.

Paul joined the Olympic Park Legacy Company (now London Legacy Development Corporation) as Executive Director of Regeneration and Community Partnerships in October 2011.

David Green

Dave joined the SS Robin project in January 2014 as Project Director and became a Trustee in 2015. He joined the SS Robin project from The National Trust, to further pursue his long held interest in championing heritage's part in urban regeneration. Dave brings experience from years of working in local authority museums and the heritage charity sector along with specific knowledge of the London tourist market. Past venues he has been involved with include; The Natural History Museum, Nottingham Castle and the Old Royal Naval College Greenwich, as well as smaller museums, galleries and heritage sites.

Derek Mann

Derek has over 50 years of experience in the maritime industry. Between 1971 and 1984 he worked as both Master and Mate on various tugs passenger and high speed vessels on the River Thames. From 1984 to 1992 he was responsible for the daily management and safe operation of a large passenger/charter vessel at Virgin Group. He managed ten high-speed passenger catamarans at the Riverbus Partnership between 1992 and 1993. He was then responsible for the safe navigation and operation of various tugs involved in the construction of the Jubilee Line, transporting spoil in craft from the River Thames to the River Medway.

Between 1997 and 2005 he worked at Sea Containers Ltd/Hoverspeed Fast Ferries as part of the company’s senior management team. He joined Collins River Enterprises Ltd (Uberboat by Thames Clippers) in 2006 until 2023. he currently works as a Marine Safety Consultant.

Trustees

Anton Bowring

Anton joined the Merchant Navy in 1967 as a navigating cadet on a cargo ship trading between Liverpool and Brazil. There followed a short period as a recording engineer in a film studio in London before he became a director of Small Craft Deliveries Ltd in Woodbridge, Suffolk, delivering yachts, dredgers, tugs and other vessels around the world. In 1976 Anton joined the oceanographic company, Marine Exploration Ltd, studying the behaviour of icebergs off the west coast of Greenland. In 1978 he joined Sir Ranulph Fiennes on the 3 year Transglobe Expedition as Marine Coordinator and successfully located and negotiated the sponsorship of the ice-strengthened ship Benjamin Bowring. In 1984 he joined the expeditionary project Operation Raleigh looking after the management of the research ship Sir Walter Raleigh. Since then, he has continued to work with Sir Ranulph Fiennes on a number of record breaking projects and from 2007 to 2013 on The Coldest Journey, the first ever attempt to cross Antarctica in winter. In recent years Anton took ownership of the company, Revells Removals & Storage which is based in Suffolk.

ROBERT BARNARD

Robert has spent his career working in Technical Theatre. Training at LAMDA in the early 70's, his first job was as a sound technician with Theatre Projects based in Covent Garden. In the early 80’s he joined The National Theatre on London’s South Bank where he worked for 30 years with the Technical and Production teams first under the auspices of Sir Peter Hall and later with Richard Eyre, Trevor Nunn and Nick Hytner. During this time he worked numerous productions, toured extensively in the UK,  across Europe as well as in the United States and South America. In 2010 he joined the team at the theatre responsible for delivering the National Theatre’s £80m re-development project. He remained working as a project manager with that team delivering numerous construction projects across the NT’s site until retirement in 2020. Since then he has indulged in many interests including 19th century Industrial archaeology. 

KEVIN WHITTLE

B.A. (Hons), Master of Civic Design, Diploma in Urban Design, Former Member of the Royal Town Planning Institute, Consultant Advisor in Regeneration and Urban Planning

Kevin has worked in planning and regeneration in London for over 35 years.

Kevin was Policy Director at the London Thames Gateway Development Corporation before moving into private practice.

Prior to that, he was Head of Regeneration at the London Borough of Tower Hamlets from before joining central Government and advising Ministers on the development of the Government’s flagship regeneration initiative in the Thames Gateway, including the London Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Kevin had specific responsibility for developing the delivery structures and budgets for the Thames Gateway in London, setting up the London Thames Gateway Development Corporation, to which he was seconded from Government.

Kevin has held various non-executive Board Director roles with registered social landlords and registered charities, and has spoken widely on regeneration and housing issues and provided support to a number of public and private agencies.