Category: People News

People News – August 2026

Welcomes

We are delighted to share that, in August, Matt Jukes joined the Development Team as our new Group Travel Sales Executive. Matt brings with him a wealth of knowledge from Severn Valley Railway.

We also welcomed Matthew Robinson, Emma Colgan, Alex Orchin, David Inglis & Valentina Schiarti as contracted Historic Characters.

In addition, we welcomed Ashley Baylis as a casual Duty Manager.

Please join us in giving all our new colleagues a warm welcome when you see them around the site.

Farewells

In August, we said goodbye to Jake Thompson, Electrician Apprentice.

We thank him for his contributions and wish him every success for the future.

Sadly Departed

Last month we learnt about the passing of a Friends of President member, Corinne Hennman. Although not a direct volunteer for BCLM, Corinne supported the Friends of President efforts from 2005 until her death in August 2026, and her passion and dedication will be sorely missed.

15 September 2026
Our Kid of the Month – August Results!!!
Thank you to those of you who took the time to nominate your colleagues for their GREAT contribution to Our Bostin Promise. We received a total of 35 votes from 9 departments.

Our Kid

Jen Kettle – Historic Character

Jen was nominated this month by 3 people within her team. She was recognised because she went above and beyond to create outstanding experiences for both visitors and colleagues. She demonstrated the Bostin Promise through her thoughtful approach to making an inaccessible house experience meaningful for a wheelchair user, bringing the story and activities to them. She has also shown exceptional calmness, initiative and professionalism in an emergency, providing immediate first aid and reassurance to a visitor who collapsed. Time and again, Jen steps up wherever she is needed — whether supporting first aid, transport or visitor engagement — quietly making a significant difference to the people around her and to the wider Museum experience.

Runners Up
- Aaron Williamson – Enterprise; Calmly supported a fallen visitor, following first-aid procedures and keeping him safe and reassured until help arrived.
- Cerys Chilton – Admissions; For her enthusiasm, reliability and exceptional support to colleagues and visitors, consistently going above and beyond when needed.
- Chantelle Richards – Programming; For her kindness, compassion and thoughtful support, taking time to comfort a colleague and check in afterwards.
- Benjamin Lucas – Enterprise; Caring, inclusive approach and ability to quickly learn and share Museum history with warmth, humour and professionalism.
- Ryan Colton – Historic Characters; Willingness to help, positive attitude and care for the Museum, while taking time to support and learn from colleagues.
It’s been great to read all the lovely comments and to see a wide range of colleagues being nominated so do take a look. Every nomination submitted for August can be found here; Our Bostin Promise Nominations August 2026

Our Bostin Promise Postcards

3 postcards were given out this month:
- Jo Turner gave Kev Cooksey a “Care” postcard for acting quickly in a First Aid call and possibly saving someone’s life.
- Demi Whitehouse gave George Homer “Care” postcard for ensuring some disabled visitors felt included by singing to them outside the chapel.
- Jon White gave Drew Rhodes a “Know Your Stuff” postcard for demonstrating how good cleaning impacts the visitor experience and understanding how it connects to other operational teams
A reminder to Managers and Supervisors to give out these postcards when you see exceptional service against one of the pillars of Our Bostin Promise.

And to record it Manager/Supervisor – Colleague Recognition Cards – Fill in form to ensure it is acknowledged.

Voting for September is open!

Living the Bostin Promise – Colleague Recognition – Fill in form

Or complete a slip and post in the white boxes across all break areas.

Reminders
- A gentle reminder that each colleague should only vote once per month, any votes after the first will be discounted.
- You have until 12pm on 30th September to vote. Any votes received after midnight will be counted in October.
- There will usually be 6 winners in total as long as sufficient nominations per team have been made, the highest scoring being Our Kid of the Month. 2 from Enterprise, 2 from Historic Characters and 2 from all other departments.
9 September 2026
People News July 2026

Welcomes

We are delighted to share that, in July, William Wetherall joined the Maintenance Team as an Apprentice Carpenter.

We also welcomed Ryan Colton, Katherine Gill, Amelie Edmondson, and Matt Cullane, who all joined the Museum as Historic Characters.

In addition, Elsie Lane, Sarah Tavered, Codagh O’Dwyer, Ciara O’Dwyer, Dynetta Laird, Megan Cochrane, Noel Clarke, Arsalan Ahmed, Joseph Bates, and Sophie Davis all commenced summer fixed-term contracts as Enterprise Team Members. Dynetta, Megan, Noel, Arsalan, Joseph and Sophie were previously casual workers.

In addition, we welcomed a number of new casual team members across our Enterprise, Historic Character, and Cleaning & Recycling teams.

Please join us in giving all our new colleagues a warm welcome when you see them around the site.

Farewells

In July, we said goodbye to Matthew Cowpe, Head of Interpretation & Collections, Jake Ensor, IT Apprentice, Kate Goode, Site Cleaner, and Sarah Bunce, Enterprise Team Member.

We thank them all for their valuable contributions and dedication, and wish them every success and happiness for the future.

Sadly Departed

We’re incredibly sorry to share news of the passing of one of our volunteers, Kate Meldon. During her 7 years with the Museum, Kate brought an abundance of knowledge, mostly from personal experience and involvement with the Methodist movement, towards the storytelling of the Gospel Car and Providence Chapel. It’s fair to say that the presence of the Gospel Car on site wouldn’t be what it is today without Kate’s generous contribution.

It is with great sadness that we share the news of the passing of Brian Marsh. While Brian was not a staff member or volunteer; he was a larger than life character who helped us achieve what we thought was sometimes impossible. He had such a wealth of knowledge and his involvement with Forging Ahead, Joes Tools along with so many other projects such as installing Tommy’s statue will leave a lasting legacy with the Museum.

13 August 2026
Kate Meldon (1944-2026)

We’re incredibly sorry to share news of the passing of one of our volunteers, Kate Meldon.

Kate started with the Museum in May 2019 when she joined an informal group specifically to support the development of the Gospel Car interpretation on site.

During her 7 years with the Museum, Kate brought an abundance of knowledge, mostly from personal experience and involvement with the Methodist movement, towards the storytelling of the Gospel Car and Providence Chapel. It’s fair to say that the presence of the Gospel Car on site wouldn’t be what it is today without Kate’s generous contribution.

Our thoughts are with Kate’s husband Michael and their family at this sad time.

If colleagues wish to send their condolences or would like to know the funeral details, please contact the People Team via [email protected] or 0121 557 9643.

We’d like to remind you that the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) is available for confidential support from trained professionals. You can contact them directly at any time by calling 0800 756 0861, quoting “Perkbox” and “Black Country Living Museum”.

30 July 2026
Charlie Millward (1962-2026)

We’re deeply saddened to share the news that one of our colleagues – Charlie Millward – passed away in June.

Charlie began his time at the Museum all the way back in 2015 in the role of Demonstrator. During his 9 years with the Historic Character Team, Charlie wore many hats, which saw him in many different roles across the site. Most commonly, however, you would often find Charlie in his usual home at the Mine and Racecourse Colliery area.

Many of you may remember Charlie portraying the key character of Dudley Wood, who was part of the Christmas programme as a facilitator supporting the busy Santa Hunts. In more recent times, Charlie played an important role in bringing the story of Langers Army and Navy stores to life; he contributed some of his own experiences and stories to the building that will be used in training and passed on to future new recruits.

In 2024, Charlie accepted a permanent contract with the Museum, further solidifying his place in the Historic Character team. He further developed his skillset through training to become a guide for school groups. It was wonderful seeing Charlie progress his career with us, which continued to the very end as he still attended work in the weeks before he passed away. This only emphasises his love for the Museum, and we’re so grateful for his unwavering commitment over the years.

Our thoughts are with Charlie‘s wife Carolyn and their family and friends at this time.

We’d like to remind colleagues that the EAP continues to be available for confidential support from trained professionals. You can contact them directly at any time by calling 0800 756 0861, quoting “Perkbox” and “Black Country Living Museum”.

7 July 2026
People News (June 2026)

Welcomes

We are delighted to share that this month, Ellie Vernum has successfully secured a contracted position within the Enterprise Team, having previously worked with us as a casual team member. Congratulations, Ellie!

Later this month, we will be welcoming Shannon Bradley, Digital Growth & CRM Manager, and Anna Pickton, Events Operations Manager, to the Museum. We look forward to them joining the team.

We have also welcomed a number of new casual team members across our Enterprise, Admissions & Welcome, Historic Character, and Cleaning & Recycling teams.

Please join us in giving all our new colleagues a warm welcome when you see them around the site.

Changes

Susannah Green will now hold the title of Lead People Business Partner.

Farewells

In June, we say goodbye to Toni Tart, Ticketing Administrator, who is leaving the Museum to pursue her own business venture, and Carol Johnson, Historic Character, who has retired from the Museum.

We thank Toni and Carol for their valuable contributions and dedication and wish them every success and happiness for the future.

Sadly Departed

It is with great sadness that we share the news of the passing of our colleague, Charlie Millward. Charlie had been a member of the Historic Character team since 2015. Our thoughts and condolences are with Charlie’s family, friends, and colleagues at this difficult time.

15 June 2026
People News May 2026

Welcomes

This month Kyle Salmon, Owen Larkens, Amy Churm and Melanie Toy have been successful in gaining a contracted position in the Enterprise Team, all 4 were previously engaged as casual team members.

We have also welcomed a number of casuals to the Enterprise and Cleaning & Recycling Teams.

Please join us in giving them all a warm welcome when you see them on site.

Changes

The work of our People Team; Following Hayley Boswell’s return from maternity leave at the beginning of May and a review of the needs of the Museum, Hayley will be returning to focus on a number of important projects, including developing our People Strategy, reviewing and implementing a Pay & Grading Framework, and further developing the Museum’s Manager Hub.

Susannah Green will continue with the day-to-day management of People work, as Susannah has been doing during Hayley’s maternity leave, including continuing management of the People Team, and continue to report to Andrew.

We will review this arrangement in three months’ time to make sure they are supporting the needs of staff and the Museum.

Farwell’s

In May we say goodbye to Martin Crage from the Cleaning & Recycling team and Carol Johnson, Colin MacDonald and Alex Orchin from the Historic Characters team.

We thank them all for their contributions and wish them every success for the future

21 May 2026
People News – April 2026

Starters

This month, we welcomed Alice Thacker, Public Programme Producer to the programming team, Raj Athi, Site Cleaner to the Cleaning & Recycling team, along with a number of casual team members joining our Car Park, Cleaning & Recycling and Historic Character teams.

Please give them all a warm welcome when you see them on site.

Changes

Karen Kennedy, Enterprise Supervisor will be seconded to the role of Enterprise Team Manager for 2 months within the Enterprise team.

6 May 2026
Introducing: Bostin’ Promise Recognition

We love celebrating the brilliant work our teams do every day – and now there are even more ways to recognise them when we see our colleagues going above and beyond.

Monthly recognition scheme – Our Kid

If you’ve seen your colleagues putting their Bostin’ Promise best practise in action, you can now nominate them in our recognition scheme.

To nominate someone, you can use our online form. You can also complete a paper form and pop it in the post boxes available in all break spaces, or the People Team post boxes at Rolfe Street or Hartills.

Colleagues may only vote once – any double votes will be disregarded.

Every month, a panel will come together to review the nominations and select the top six. To thank the top six for their demonstration of the Bostin’ Promise, they will be gifted a £20 voucher. The best of the six will be named Our Kid of the Month and will be gifted a £40 voucher. All monthly winners will go into a draw to win Mukka of the Year and will be recognised for their achievement during January Reset.

Please note that vouchers are gifted in good faith to recognise and thank special one-off contributions made by colleagues that go above and beyond, in line with the Bostin’ Promise. Vouchers cannot be transferred or exchanged i.e. for a different voucher type or equivalent cash value.

Manager Recognition Cards

Managers and supervisors will also be on the lookout for great examples of the Bostin’ Promise in action. Managers have four recognition cards to award (one per pillar of the Promise) which can be given to any colleague they personally see living our values.

Colleagues who receive all four of the different Bostin’ Promise Recognition Cards will receive a special thank you gift!

All recognition, colleague nominations and manager-awarded cards will be shared monthly on the intranet under the People News section.

2 April 2026
People News March 2026

Starters

This month, we welcomed Stewart Hayfield, Site Cleaner to the Cleaning & Recycling Team, along with a number of casual team members joining our Car Park and Cleaning & Recycling teams.

Please give them all a warm welcome when you see them on site.

Changes

Following a review within the People Team, we’re pleased to share that Ricki Boden’s job title has been updated to Volunteer and Placement Manager, better reflecting the important role she plays in leading our volunteer and work experience programmes.

We’re also delighted that Yasmin Beddall will soon complete her CIPD qualification. As she takes on more complex People matters, alongside developing our training and apprenticeship programmes, her new job title is People & Talent Coordinator.

Leavers

In March, we said goodbye to Aitana Ramos, Audience & Communications Assistant, who has relocated to Sheffield and will be working at Sheffield University.

We also bid farewell to Debbie Harris and Rebecca Lynch both Historic Characters from the Historic Character Team, and Nada Adrwish, Enterprise Team Member from the Enterprise Team.

We thank them all for their contributions and wish them every success for the future.

Recruitment

We currently have 2 new vacancies in our Development & Communications Team;

Digital Growth & CRM Manager

Marketing & Development Assistant

If you know anyone who might find this of interest, please direct them to the Museum website to apply.

20 March 2026