News Item:  8th Feb 2011

Peter Redway, Chairman of the Surrey & Hampshire Canal Society has died following a long period of poor health.

Despite this, he was still overseeing work parties and attending meetings to discuss volunteer work on the Basingstoke canal almost up to the moment he was finally admitted to hospital.

Peter and his wife Margurite and their two sons lived in a row of cottages built by his grandfather beside the canal in St John’s near Woking , so it was perhaps inevitable that he should get drawn into the restoration that took place during the 1970s and 80s. It was in fact Margurite who entered a national competition for local environmental improvement proposals and won £5000, which enabled work to start on the five locks at St John’s . However it was not long before Peter was leading the work parties there.

After the canal re-opened in 1991, Peter became the Society’s Vice-Chairman and subsequently Chairman. Although the canal was open, he continued to lead volunteer work parties doing work to improve the navigation. It was due to his instigation that back-pumping schemes were installed on the two lower flights of locks and the council named the pumphouse for the Woodham flight in his honour. This scheme was installed by contractors, but the second one at St John’s was done by volunteers, led by Peter.

In more recent years he masterminded the rebuilding of the wing walls of Locks 17 and 21, the installation of landing stages for the Woodham locks and the purchase and refurbishment of an ex-BW work boat. He was also planning another back-pumping scheme at Brookwood and had ideas for a reservoir at Deepcut. His leadership technique was simple and very effective – work incredibly hard on the canal and shame everyone else into following. It earned him the admiration and respect of the County Council owners of the Basingstoke , who nominated him for the MBE that he received in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List in 2007. The admiration, respect and affection were shared by everyone who knew Peter and his parting will leave a huge gap that will be very hard to fill.