John Miller, NCHT Secretary 1968-1993

For nearly twenty five years John Miller has been, for its founder members, synonymous with the Civic Society. For many of us who arrived later on the scene he has been so for the North Craven Heritage Trust.

During that time the Society established the Museum of North Craven Life and after becoming the NCHT it has continued to hold exhibitions, lectures and other social and educational activities. It has built up a rapport with the planning authorities, the museum service and numerous grant providing bodies Much of the success of these ventures has been due to John Miller's initiative, enthusiasm and perseverance.

These labours have been more publicly recognised with the award of an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List, which has delighted the members of the Trust. We are also grateful to Alan Bennett for the warm appreciation in his Presidential Report, which expresses far better than I can the ways in which John has nurtured the Trust from its earliest days.

With the setting up some years ago of the separate Building Preservation Trust, which now also manages the museum, and with the departure from the scene of a number of the dedicated founders, John has decided to devote his time in Settle to the B.P.T. and to channel his interest in other areas of Heritage to Lancashire where he has substantially increased responsibilities.

We shall hope still to have his advice and draw on his experience in carrying on the work in which he has been so active—since the early incident of the mounting block, which marked the start of Settle's awareness of the dangers of uninformed 'improvement'.

John would be one of the first to acknowledge the debt that the Trust owes to the large band of volunteers who worked with him, particularly in the early days: in this first Journal to be produced without his active participation, the Trust thanks him for his labours over a quarter of a century and wishes him every success in his new field. Arthur Lupton.