Master Craftsmen of the Guild

The Guild Fellowship Scheme was set up in order to recognise those Guild members considered especially worthy of honour, either because of their level of expertise in genealogy and one-name studies, or for their contribution to the running of the Guild - or both.

In keeping with the concept of a Guild, each individual recognised in this manner shall be known as a

Master Craftsman of the Guild (MCG)

Membership is restricted to a maximum of fifty Master Craftsmen at any one time, and no more than five new candidates may be admitted in any one year, except that in 2009/10, the first year of the scheme, up to 20 candidates were allowed.

This list celebrates the first twelve Master Craftsmen of the Guild, who were awarded the honour at the Guild AGM held 10th April 2010.

Steve Archer

Steve was nominated for his three iconic programs: LDS Companion, GenMap, and Surname Atlas. All three are much used and appreciated by Guild members in their One-Name Studies. Steve not only developed the software, but has also provided an exemplary level of support to members in their use.

Howard Benbrook

Howard received more nominations than any other nominee for this first announcement of MCGs. He has been a Chairman of the Guild, and of course has served on the Committee. He has carried out many Marriage Challenges, and pioneered the collection of Cardinal Points. He is well known for his entertaining talks publicising the Guild.

However, he is most well known as the public face of the Guild in his role as the Bookstall Manager. In doing this he has given up numerous weekends, achieved a considerable amount of income for the Guild, and given the Guild a presence at many Family History events as well as our own seminars and Conferences. Through these efforts many people have learnt about the Guild and some of them have joined the Guild.

As our President said, "He has revolutionised the Guild's publications sales function".

We must also not forget that he has a wealth of knowledge, particularly concerning London, and he is always willing to offer advice.

Susan Meates

Susan is well known for her DNA knowledge, and has done a great deal to support and assist our members undertaking DNA studies. She has acted as an advisor to the Guild Committee on DNA, and also chaired the Guild DNA Advisory Group.

She also has considerable experience and expertise in marketing, and has provided much helpful advice to the Guild on this topic, particularly concerning activities in North America.

Andrew Millard

Andrew was nominated for his "level of expertise in genealogy and one-name studies". He is a contributor to the Guild Wiki, and is well known for his help and advice on the Guild Forum. One of the nominations for Andrew said, "I can think of none whose postings (on the Forum) carry such authority and clarity. He would be a very worthy recipient of this honour."

Paul Millington

Paul's contribution in time and technical skill is second to none. He was very much instrumental in the development of our website, working for seven years as its webmaster, and has continued to do development work on parts of the web site including the archives and the membership database. Often somebody asks a question at a Committee meeting and with a few key clicks he has the answer.

The Guild Profiles facility was one of many of his developments, allowing members to have their own web page without needing the technical knowledge on how to create one.

It was pleasing to see that most of his nominations were from non Committee members, showing that although he usually works in the background his work has been appreciated.

He has for a number of years been Vice Chairman of the Guild and given excellent support to the Chairman. In Committee he often comes up with the comment which makes us all think and question our approach to particular problems.

Derek Palgrave

Derek was a founder member of the Guild and held office since 1981 when he became Chairman and then President in 1988. One of the nominations described him as "probably the most respected member of the Guild community."

He can also be described as an expert on one name studies and his work on deviants and variants is used as standard guidance for members.

What more needs to be said?

Chris Pomery

Chris is another DNA expert. He has had two books published on the subject, lectures extensively on the topic and is an active Guild member. He always endeavours to publicise the Guild in his talks and articles etc.

He is always willing to help Guild members.

Roy Rayment

One of the nominations for Roy described him as "an unsung hero of the Guild". Roy is a very long-serving committee member who is always willing to take on jobs few people would want; recently when membership renewals were slow he telephoned all UK and overseas members to let them know that they had not renewed.

If Howard is the public face of the Guild, Roy is the public voice of the Guild, as he mans the Guild Helpdesk, taking calls from members of the public and Guild members. One of the tasks he has done in this connection is offering a help line to talk members through the creation of their Profile.

Roy Stockdill

One of the nominations for Roy Stockdill summed up very well why he should receive this award: "He totally transformed the Guild Journal and indeed the Guild's image, and by exploiting his own journalistic skills set a standard for family history journals in general. This has, of course, been acclaimed by the outstanding results in the Elizabeth Simpson Award competition."

Roy edited our Journal for ten years, and our present Editor has said he was a hard act to follow!

Iain Swinnerton

Iain could fairly be described as another pioneer, as he was one of the founding members of the Guild, served on the Committee, and was Editor of the Journal back in 1984. In 1977, two years prior to the formation of the Guild, he was responsible for publishing the first Register of One-Name Studies.

He is a stalwart not only of the Guild, but was also the first Chairman and later first President of the Federation of Family History Societies. He was instrumental in allowing One Name Societies to join the Fed.

He is also well known for his expertise in military history as it relates to Family History, and regularly writes on this topic.

Ken Toll

Ken served on the Committee for a number of years and was Chairman in the early part of this millennium. He has been the Production Manager, continuing to help subsequent holders of this post. He was also Chairman of the Marketing Sub Committee.

He is extremely knowledgeable and always willing to help others.

Peter Walker

Peter was the Chairman of the Guild for many years. He proved to be an excellent Chairman, with the Guild moving forward on many fronts under his leadership. He used his excellent technical knowledge of genealogy and technology to the advantage of the Guild. He has also been an excellent ambassador of the Guild and is very well respected.

Despite having to step down as our Chairman for personal reasons, he continues to support the Guild as Production Manager.