Kentish Express Ashford & District
Society appoints new general secretary
The Kent Archaeological Society has appointed a new honorary general secretary.
Dr Robert Cockcroft succeeds Peter Stutchbury in the role.
Known as Bob, the 62-year-old was born in Bradford but moved to Kent 30 years ago.
He said: “I think Kent is one of the most fascinating counties in Britain. It has a truly extensive history and has been a backwater, a front line, a cultural bridge and an industrial pioneer. There’s nowhere else like it in Britain.
“I’ve always been interested in history and archaeology. I’m a keen railway enthusiast and am particularly interested in railway buildings – a neglected area of the subject. I have photographs of many thousands of them and architectural drawings of several hundred.”
The father-of-two and his French wife, Muriel, live in Ashford.
He runs a market research company and specialises in the analysis and interpretation of quantitative surveys and product tests as diagnostic tools.
He has worked in market research since he was 24, initially with Unilever in Port Sunlight and subsequently with their subsidiary in Ashford, Proprietary Perfumes (now part of Quest International) and a company in the Netherlands.
He then returned to the UK to set up his own consultancy.
The Kent Archaeological Society has 1,200 members and was founded in 1857.