TRUSTEES & STAFF
The Trust was set up on the 19th December 1907 by Russell Donnithorne Walker, John Bradshaw, Eugene Alfred White and Raymond Turner Barker, the first Trustees. The land was donated in perpetuity to be used forever by the inhabitants of Southgate and any other person or persons who may be members of clubs approved by the Trustees for playing the games of cricket, football, hockey and any other games approved by the Trustees.
Trustees and Ground Staff at The Walker Ground are an asset to the charity and endeavour to provide outstanding facilities for our local community and club users beyond.
If you are interested in becoming a Trustee or volunteer with The Walker Cricket Ground, please get in touch at office@thewalkerground.co.uk
The Walker Ground Trustees
Dain Lewis
Chair of Trustees
Dain was appointed Chair of Trustees in October 2023 and is currently an International Baccalaureate Teacher of Science and Diploma Computer Science at Dwight School London.
Prior to retraining as a teacher, he served his country as an Avionic Aerospace Engineer with many operational tours of duties with the Royal Air Force over a 30 year period. A keen sportsman and coach, he has played and coached both hockey and squash at representative level. He was given the honour of working with England Hockey as a Centrally Contracted Coach, delivering performance coaching to the most talented young athletes, who were selected for the National Player Pathway.
He brings a wealth of experience and transferable skills to the post of Chair of Trustees and pledges to serve the community with integrity, kindness, loyalty and good humour. He promises to bring energy and leadership to The Walker Ground and is passionate about providing a safe and inclusive environment for all to enjoy sport and community activities.
Richard Ellwood
Trustee
Richard, a signal technician, has been a member of Southgate Adelaide Cricket Club for thirty years. He is passionate about sport coaching and volunteers his time to his respective cricket club for colts coaching and local football coaching.
Richard works closely with the ground and office staff and is actively involved making key decisions and overseeing the running of a charity. He is fully committed to acting in the Trust’s best interests to ensure the charity acts out its purposes for sporting and recreational use to local benefit.
Cathy Symonds BSc FCCA
Trustee
Cathy became a Trustee of the Walker Ground in October 2023. She qualified as an accountant with ACCA many years ago and is currently Senior Financial Accountant at The Royal College of Surgeons of England (registered charity). Cathy’s experience within the accountancy, membership and charity sectors means that she is highly knowledgeable in overseeing charity accounts.
Cathy is a huge fan of Tennis and travels widely to watch Grand Slam tournaments, so she is very keen to support the Trust in providing grass roots sporting facilities for the community.
The Walker Ground Staff
Wendy Hall BA (Hons)
General Manager
Wendy joined the Walker Ground as General Manager in August 2023 and is responsible for the daily running of the sports ground.
Wendy grew up in Southgate and her father was a member of the Squash Club for many years, so she’s had a long affiliation with the Walker Ground. As a qualified marketing professional, she has over 30 years’ experience in marketing and management in both the private and charity sectors.
Wendy is keen to see the growth of the Trust and is working closely with the Trustees to develop the offering and facilities at the Walker Ground. Her goal is to ensure that the Walker Cricket Ground will continue to provide sporting facilities for at least another hundred years!
For more information about the club and how to get involved, please contact office@thewalkerground.co.uk
Alan Torrington
Head Groundsman
Alan joined The Walker Ground in 2019 and has extensive experience preparing cricket pitches for club and county cricket. Alan has worked at Hornsey, Royal Hospital Chelsea and Winchmore Hill Cricket Club and has invaluable links within the North London sports community. He is passionate about providing first class sports facilities at the ground with his role including arranging and overseeing end of season renovation, general maintenance of the grounds, landscaping the surrounding area and so on.
Jack Stapleton
Groundsman
Jack has been Groundsman at the Walker Ground for over 10 years and is well known in The Walker community for his work and efforts to support the Trust. He can answer nearly any question you might have about the grounds and history of the Walker brothers and if there's something he doesn't know, he'll be sure to find out. Throughout his employment at The Walker Cricket Ground, he has shown a continued desire to improve the facilities. He is a member of Southgate Rugby Club and going by his profile picture is camera shy.... or passionate about Lego.
Steve Waters
Finance & Office Administrator
Steve has been involved with The Walker Cricket Ground Trust for several years. He works closely with the General Manager and Trustees and is keen to see the growth of all sports at ground. Luckily, Steve is also a Southgate Squash & Racketball Club member and expert so he is great to have close by in the office!