Our patrons
With the SDBTT William Doolin Fund taking on a wider perspective, both nationally and internationally, we are particularly interested in enlisting the support of people who would be willing to be Patrons of the Fund. Our hope is that Patrons would, in addition to lending their name, be willing to be kept informed of the development of the Fund and help publicise fundraising events through their own organisation.
So far, the following have kindly agreed to become Patrons
Gwyn Prosser - Member of Parliament for Dover and Deal
Gwyn Prosser was first elected Labour MP for Dover and Deal in 1997and re-elected in 2001. He is a former seagoing Chief Engineer Officer and before entering Parliament he headed up economic development on Kent County and Dover District Councils. Gwyn is a highly active constituency MP who sits on several influential Parliamentary committees. Gwyn has joined the All Party Parliamentary Group on Brain Tumours.
David Fulton – ex-captain of Kent County Cricket Club
David played for Kent from 1992-2006, captaining them from 2003-2005. He scored over 12, 000 first class runs including 28 centuries. He now reports cricket for Sky Sports. David had a benefit in 2006 and gave 50% of the proceedings to charity including 40% to The Samantha Dickson Trust, following the death at 37, of his brother-in-law, and fellow Kent player, Richard Davis, from a brain tumour.
The Mayor - Councillor Mrs Diane Smallwood
The Right Worshipful the Town Mayor of Dover
Diane, once the all England schools high jump champion, was born in Elvington and brought up in Whitfield. She went to school at Waldershare, Castlemount and St. Ursula’s Convent before going on to the technical college at Folkestone where she trained as a secretary. She has worked as a secretary for the NCB at Dover, at AVOs for 15 years then for a solicitor in Folkestone. She is now retired. She has three children and is married to Brian.
Diane has served as a Town Councillor representing Castle, Tower Hamlets and St Radigund’s Wards since the Town Council was established in 1996. As a Councillor with a great deal of experience associated with the Mayoralty she hopes to build on the great work of her predecessors and take the Council forward in partnerships with with local groups and organisations.
Diane has also been a District Councillor for twelve years representing Town and Pier and Tower Hamlets Wards.
The Headteacher - St Richard’s Catholic Primary School, Dover
The Head Teacher of St. Richard's School is a Patron of the Fund.
William attended St Richard’s School.
C J Atkins – The Headteacher, St Edmund’s Catholic School, Dover
C. J Atkins is Headteacher of St Edmund’s Secondary School. William had made clear his wish to attend St Edmund’s School.
Philip Smye-Rumsby – Director, Smye-Rumsby Limited
Philip Smye-Rumsby is a senior member of Smye-Rumsby U.K, a family run business, started in Dover in 1948, and specialising in radio communication and electronics, both nationally and internationally. Philip is an assistant Scout leader with the 13th Dover (St. Paul’s) Scout Group and is a member of the Dover Operatic and Dramatic Society, where his acting ability in pantomimes is well documented.
Marion Aylott – Director for Financial and Human Resources, Summit Media Limited
Summit Media Ltd was founded in 2001 by Marion Aylott, and her son, Hedley and it is still family run company with an international portfolio of clients.
Summit is an online strategy and marketing company that supports businesses throughout the UK with Internet-related solutions. Marion regularly commutes between her home in Norwich and the company’s bases in Yorkshire and Prague.
Hedley Aylott – Managing Director, Summit Media Limited
Hedley Aylott founded the first of the Summit companies in 1994 with his mother, Marion, launching it with a record released from Strangeways prison that was played worldwide. Summit Media Ltd was set up six years ago and the company remains a family concern, with a prestigious client portfolio that includes London’s Royal National Theatre; Microsoft; Panasonic; Powergen; Play.com; Argos; Comet and 3 to name but a few. It is a truly international company with offices in York, Prague, London and the Midlands.
Stephen Yarrow – Forwoods Music By Mail, Dover
Stephen Yarrow runs Forwoods, a specialist music mail order business and one of the leading UK suppliers of printed music, with his wife Sue, from an Old Kent Barn on a farm near Dover. In his spare time Stephen is Director of Music at Dover's Parish Church, St Mary the Virgin, and is a member of Dover Operatic and Dramatic Society.
