John Randall

(8th December 2011)

Mike Hanson

(8th December 2011)

Geoffrey Kelland

(14th February 2012)

David Charlton

(17th October 2018)

On 13th December, SCPF President, Peter Rocchiccioli, presented a Roll of Honour Certificate to Dave Charlton of Andover Camera Club. Dave has been a member of Andover for over 50 years, he has done most of the committee roles in that time and has been meeting and greeting new members for many years. He has always been ready to welcome and mentor new and prospective members. He is always happy to explain different aspects of photography from composition to how to present a panel of images. Dave has always got a story to tell and is always prepared to explain how he produced an image or how to improve an image you are showing him. When a primary worker asks him to look at an image he is always positive with his response.

Rod Cotton writes:
“I have been friends with Dave for 35 years and have many memories so here are just a few of them. 
It all started when I was working as a temp at TSB, I was working with Dave’s wife Hazel, at this time I was just getting into photography. One lunch time I bought a lens from Simmonds Camera Shop in Union Street. On seeing the lens Hazel said you should meet my husband he’s into photography and a member of the local camera club.
Hazel gave me the address of the New River Club behind Kellys printers. So on a dark Thursday evening I met Dave Charlton for the first time and attended my first meeting at ASIPS as we were called then. The rest as they say is history.

Dave was one of the founding members of the club, he joined one of the two clubs that shortly after merged to form the club we all know today, his first visit was in 1968, whenever this was mentioned I would rub in that I was born in 1967.

We became firm friends and over the years, we saw and commented on many change in both the camera club and photography. I have spent many a happy afternoon sat in Dave and Hazel’s front room discussing photography, commenting on how the judge last week didn’t know what they were talking about, how digital has changed photography and generally putting the world to rights. I have fond memories of Dave explaining the concept of synchro-sunlight flash photography to Arthur Blake the then club president.

Poor Arthur never grasped the concept but Dave would patiently explain it to him each time he was asked. The club has always had an active summer season where we would meet up at a pub and talk the evening away. Dave was always central in these discussions. Again I have fond memories of those summer evenings with Dave, Sandy Wilson, Sandy’s twin brother and Mike Hanson, not forgetting all the other members past and present. We would talk about everything from modern art to UFO’s which would often result in Dave telling the story of his own alien encounter. Dave wasn’t the biggest fan of modern art which always caused much consternation with Sandy’s brother who was.

There was always a lot of good humoured banter between Dave and Sandy, especially when it came down to the subject of what a photograph was. Sandy’s view was that if the image was taken on a camera no matter how much it was manipulated it was still a photograph, Dave didn’t agree with this and the subject would be brought up repeatedly
over the years. I now find this even funnier when looking at some of Dave’s later work. Over the years Dave took on many roles in the camera club, and would tell me of the times he was chairman, projectionist and did the tea all on the same evening. The club used to have an annual auction evening where members would bring along
unwanted photography equipment and either donate the proceeds of the sale to the club or give the club a percentage of the sale. Dave was central to these evenings as “Dave the Gavel” was the auctioneer, he was very good at selling obscure bits of ‘kit’ but if he thought it wasn’t going high enough would put a bid in himself… sometimes ending up with him winning the item.

These were always fun evenings with much laughter when Dave won something he didn’t really want.

Dave and Sandy were the clubs official meeter and greeters for many years, any potential or new members would be approached and made welcome, I know that over the years Dave introduced a few members to the club and was the first smiling face many new members were greeted with. He would always ask what sort of photography they were interested in and would take them under his wing and explain how the club worked and point out people of interest. It made the club feel so friendly to the many visitors we have had over the years.

I remember Dave doing wedding photography. He used a medium format Bronica not because it was better than 35mm but because it was bigger than anyone else’s and the wedding photographer had to have a camera that stood out from the crowd. Dave was always ably assisted by his wife Hazel, but I’m not sure how much he enjoyed it as he always likened it to “doing the triple”. He did admit his favourites were military weddings… because they were used to taking orders.

Dave embraced digital and was chuffed to bits when I printed one of his images off on my new A2+ printer, this was before inkjet printing had really taken off in the photography world. This quickly progressed to Dave’s abstract phase where he used Photoshop to distort images beyond recognition. He always said he wasn’t sure if he liked them and was shocked when other people did and even sold a few at club exhibitions. In fact one of these images was one of Dave’s proudest moments when he entered it into a bi-monthly and received the lowest score in club memory.

I’m sure people like John, Ken and Esther have there own memories from over the years, but I think I should finish now. Dave, you have been a great friend and will be greatly missed, I’m also sure that no matter where you are you’re telling them how it should be done. I’ll finish with the greeting I always had from Dave either in person or on the phone “Wotcha!””

Esther Gallimore

(29th June 2022)

Esther has been a long-standing member of the Andover Photographic Club, joining when it was still called The Andover Split Image Photographic Society some 20 years ago, joining in about 2001. She is one of the longest-standing members of the club. She has always been an active member of the club, and has served on the Committee in different roles. She was a Committee Member from 2002 until 2009, then Chair from 2009 until 2011, Committee Member from 2011 until 2014.

Esther is currently the Programme Secretary, and has been since 2014.  She worked hard to revitalize the programme, and she has been tireless in arranging speakers and judges over the last few years. She is always very helpful and considerate to other members, as well as making a valuable contribution through her participation in club activities.

The last two years have been particularly demanding and it is in large part down to Esther’s hard work that we still have a viable club. The pressures caused by COVID and its associated lockdowns and restrictions would have been too much for many, but Esther carried on with determination and a calm competence that was truly impressive. She saw the opportunities, did her research and arranged for some speakers over Zoom, whom we would never have been able to get physically to the club. Thus, we benefitted from some excellent and inspiring talks.

Esther does not draw attention to herself, the efforts she puts in, or the achievements that she makes, but works away in the background. As a result, her contribution could be taken for granted by some. however, the committee members fully appreciate her selfless hard work, and unreservedly nominate her for the SCPF Roll of Honour. 

Will Delves

(8th January 2025)

Few individuals have contributed to the Andover Photographic Club as much as our nominee. He has a busy and demanding life, but has managed to devote a lot of time and effort to the club. In addition to filling a number of committee roles over the last 12 years, he has been very generous in sharing his passion and skills with all club members who have approached him for help.  

Will joined the committee as ‘Committee Member’ shortly after joining the club. He quickly realized that the club was losing members and the programme had become a bit stale, with some speakers giving the same presentations two years in a row.

Rather than complain or leave the club, Will took on the task of Chairman in 2013. He worked hard with others to make the programme more appealing, and was successful.  
He introduced some more practical sessions both in the main programme and on other nights.

Shorter sessions included Water Droplet photography.

Longer sessions included trips out, sometimes overnight to places such as The Gower in Wales, and the Lake District.

Some extra sessions were held on Monday nights, and these included tutorials on post processing as well as ‘Digital Surgeries’ where any member could ask any question on using Light Room and Photoshop. His communication skills were so strong that these sessions were highly valued that when he handed over as Chair, the committee instituted a new role designed especially for him and he became the ‘Development Secretary’, a role he still fills. 

When the Covid response led to Lockdown, all clubs faced challenges, and Will again stepped up. He has computing skills beyond most of the club members and he ensured that the club continued throughout the Lockdown via Zoom. He took on a role as Co-Chair and used his computing skills and photographic contacts to ensure that we took full advantage of opportunities to engage with some outstanding presenters on Zoom, including John Gravett.

The club’s webmaster unexpectedly stopped all engagement with the club and Will stepped up as webmaster, another role he still fills. 

Will has done so much for the club that it is impossible to cover it all or to pick out one particular aspect of his contribution as being the top one. It is no exaggeration to say that without his contribution over the last 13 years, this club would be severely challenged. The committee is clear that he deserves recognition for his outstanding efforts.