About the Trust

Adam Davison (Chair)

A great-nephew of Claude Bache, Adam became involved with the trust in the mid-1990s when he moved back to Midlands after working in the South-East and has been Chair of the trust since 2015. An IT professional by trade, he reluctantly admits to be being just about old enough to remember visiting the forge when it was still being worked as a business.

Lee Hale

Lee is Director of Winterbourne House & Garden, the University of Birmingham’s botanic garden. He holds a Master of Arts degree in International Heritage Management at the University of Birmingham and a Master of Horticulture degree from the Royal Horticultural Society and is particularly passionate about local, social, and industrial history. He serves on a number of boards including those of the Lapworth Geology Museum, the Virtual Museum of Printing, the Centre for Printing History & Culture and The International Centre for Heritage and is a Fellow of both the Lunar Society and the Royal Society of Arts and a trustee at the Merlin Trust which supports training opportunities for young horticulturists. As a trustee at Churchill Forge Mill Lee is committed to help preserve the site’s unique industrial archaeology and promote the site and its heritage to new audiences.

David Bache

Studied maths and computing at Cambridge University. On leaving university worked in IT, first in software development, then later in support for two large computer equipment manufacturers. I retired in 2014 and surprisingly have not missed IT. Got involved with the Forge on seeing an advert in the local paper looking for volunteers at ‘Bache’s Forge’. Since Bache, also my surname, is a very local name I went along to see if there was any family connection. There is nothing obvious so this might be a future winter research project, for when I am less busy!

Dave Galley

My working life was unambitious day to day factory working doing what was asked of me. Fortunately I never had to travel far and could concentrate on my home life and other interests. Volunteering at the forge satisfies some of those interests. It is in Worcestershire countryside (my county), and its energy comes from a watercourse. Rivers and canals are another interest.

I am drawn to its timeline of history in general but also its strong connection with its village through its connection with one family.

Bryony Hayward

Bryony Hayward is the grand-daughter of Claude Bache and grew up next to the forge. Some of her earliest memories are of her grandfather working on the site. She still lives in Churchill and following on from her parents Geoff and Pauline Hayward, she plays an important role in representing the Bache family on the trust and ensuring the continuity of her grandfather’s wishes for the forge to be preserved for future generations.

Anne Luckett

Anne is a retired Financial Director / Company Secretary who started as a Cost Accountant within the Sand, Aluminium and Smelting Foundries. She then moved on to Cold Rolled Mills with CNC Machines and then on to the Engineering Industry including Heavy Plant.