Who Are WFG
William Wareing, Chairman and Trustee
With a commercial background in business and technology services, he has lived in Witney since 2003, having moved from London to raise his family here. As a victim of flooding in 2007 and several close calls thereafter, he has first-hand experience of the psychological and financial impact of flooding on families and communities. Since the floods on Christmas Eve 2020, as a member of a group of local residents looking for results, a group of residents formed Witney Flood Group, an action group determined to make a difference by holding relevant authorities to account and by improving our ability to understand and address flood risk. Several hundred interactions and discussions later, and thousands of hours spent on many fronts, Witney Flood Group is now a well-established charity and local partner to: Oxfordshire County Council (the Lead Local Flood Authority), West Oxfordshire District Council, Witney Town Council, the Environment Agency, and with links to several other groups associated with the subject, including the Windrush Catchment Partnership, Thames Water and Thames Valley Flood Scheme.
William runs the charity with three other trustees: Keith, Tony and Mike. Our time, dedication, and drive to achieve results for our community remain our first priority, with an ever increasing build up of knowledge and experience to bring about the necessary change we seek, which can and will deliver results. He firmly believes anything is achievable with the right approach and dedication.
Keith Jameson, Trustee and Drainage Engineer
A civil engineer in the water industry for well over forty years, Keith has operational experience on a wide range of flood alleviation work. Jobs in and beyond the Thames catchment with authorities, consultants and contractors have taken him across the UK as well as overseas. Chiefly to Sri Lanka, the project’s objective was to reduce the inundation from monsoon rainfall of vulnerable communities in Colombo.
Having at one time run a shipyard on the Tideway building dredgers for inland waterways along with sand and gravel extraction, floating plant is a continuing interest. Before retiring he was the drainage engineer for Network Rail’s southern region, responsible for the lines between Ramsgate and Exeter which go to London.
Keith is now a trustee of WFG and the charity’s drainage engineer, leading our drive to reduce flood risk in Witney through better standards of watercourse maintenance and advising us on improvement scheme options.
Tony Stark, Trustee and Treasurer
Tony moved to Witney in 2002, having lived in Long Hanborough since 1978. His background is in managing technical teams and the project management of the implementation of large IT systems. Now retired, he has been employed by various large companies and also worked in a freelance capacity. His home was flooded in 2007 with a further near miss in 2020, so he has a vested interest in seeing appropriate and effective flood alleviation measures implemented to defend Witney from more flooding.
Tony was a founder member of the original Flood Group after the 2007 floods and founder member and trustee of Witney Flood Group formed in early 2021. He loves where he lives and Witney as a town so wants to see it protected from flooding. As well as implementing flood defences in Witney, ensuring new developments in Witney will improve rather than worsen the flooding situation, he is keen for an investigation to take place to establish a Natural Flood Management scheme upstream of Witney.
Mike French, Trustee and Local Expert
Mike has lived in Witney all his life and understands the history of Witney and the Windrush like no one else we know! He is a former engineer at Early’s Blanket Company, where Woodford Mill is now located. He joined the firm’s maintenance workshop at the age of 21. He was once told by a chief engineer that as a new employee ‘there is no such thing as a job we can’t do – “We do everything here” and this attitude has stayed with him throughout his working life. He also served as the company fireman and became Chairman of the Union. Mike worked at Early’s right up until the factory closed in 2002 and was also a retained fireman for 25 years at the Oxfordshire Fire Service, Witney.
Mike is a Trustee and member of the management committee for Witney Museum. Always keeping an ear to the ground, he is well known by many and keeps an eye on the river and surrounding areas constantly. Through interest, interaction and as a source of vital information, he is relied upon for his deep knowledge of our area through his vast experience and numerous personal archives he maintains relating to the town’s development over the years.
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