The group was formed by the late Mick Whittingham, as far as we know in June 1979. Mick was involved in footpath maintenance and formed the club to cater for the needs of people in the area who wanted a shorter walk. The date of the first walk, 15 July 1979, was advertised in the Action Forum.
Six people attended the first walk but, following publicity in the Action Forum, thirty people attended the walk from Bredhurst on 15 July 1979, including Maidstone Borough Councillor Paul Mann who had an interest in the countryside. He promised to assist with footpath problems that existed in the Bredhurst and Stockbury area. Mick, as Chairman, with the help of his friend Bernie Smith as Treasurer and Betty Drury as Secretary, ran the club. Mick and some of the members continued the footpath maintenance for several councils creating income to help run the club. At first the club was run informally but, as membership numbers and attendances grew, it became more organised. Pat Childs joined the group in 1984 and took over as Secretary. He also produced the walk programme. Maurice Collier joined in 1985 and soon became Membership Secretary. Mick Whittingham moved to Swindon and at the 1991 AGM he and Bernie Smith stood down from their posts. The group voted to form a new Committe of six, much as it is today: Chairman, Treasurer, Secretary, Programme Secretary, Membership Secretary and Working Party Leader. We still have some members from this original Committee on our membership list.
Committee Members Since May 1991
Chairman:
1991 - 1994 Maurice Collier
1994 - 1997 John Howard
1997 - 2003 Brenda Wilson
2003 - Chris Morris
Treasurer:
1991 - 1995 Les Collier
1995 - 2022 Joan Weekes
2022 - David Kirk
Secretary:
1991 - 1999 Pat Childs
1999 - 2015 Ann King
2015 - Teresa Norman
Programme Secretary:
1991 - 1997 Roy Gutteridge
1997 - 1999 John Parkinson
1999 - 2005 Derek Bendl
2005 - 2010 Graham Starke
2010 - 2012 Anne Pullen/Michelle Mulligan
2012 - Margaret & Barrie Davis
Membership Secretary:
1991 - 1997 Brenda Wilson
1997 - 2003 Chris Morris
2003 - 2016 Roger Danks
2016 - Colin Lyons
Working Party Leader:
1997 - Jim Pearson