Harry Spry-Leverton – Chair and Honorary Librarian 

Harry travelled the world for five years as a young man and had a variety of odd jobs in odd places to finance it.  This was followed by several years of soldiering in The Light Infantry before attending university as a mature student.  He remained a Reservist for many years and was mobilised for operations in The Gulf in 2003.  However, a degree in International Politics and Librarianship led to thirty years as Librarian of two of the country’s leading independent schools and an intimate knowledge of the Dewey Decimal Cataloguing system, catalogue cards and the challenges associated with smaller and specialist libraries.  He returned to his native Cornwall some years ago and is settled in Penryn.  He sails a Shrimper on the Fal and is an enthusiastic gig rower.

contact – chairman@morrablibrary.org.uk 

Ian Summers MBE – Honorary Treasurer

Ian is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy. He spent most of his working life with the National Audit Office responsible for auditing and reporting to Parliament on the accounts of UK Government Departments and numerous non- departmental public bodies. Much of this time was spent in Wales and, following the devolution referendum in 1997, Ian advised on the financial aspects of the legislation that established the National Assembly for Wales (now the Welsh Parliament). In 2005, the Welsh “arms” of the National Audit Office and Audit Commission merged to form the Wales Audit Office which became responsible for the audits of all Welsh Public bodies reporting to the National Assembly. By that time, Ian was an Assistant Auditor General and played a major role in that merger. In 2007, he left the Wales Audit Office and joined the National Assembly as its Finance and Governance Adviser. That role included advising the Assembly’s Finance and Public Accounts Committees on their work examining the use of resources by the Welsh Government and related public bodies. He also advised on the Assembly’s own internal finance, governance and risk management arrangements. He was awarded an MBE in 2013 for parliamentary service. He retired to Cornwall in 2014 where he has strong family connections with Porthleven. He is learning to play the piano and sings with Marazion Apollo Male Choir.

contact – treasurer@morrablibrary.org.uk 

Paget MacDonald – Honorary Secretary

Paget’s professional background is in law, as a Solicitor in a City practice where she specialised in litigation and dispute resolution. She is now involved in commercial property and manages a portfolio comprising a range of commercial properties across Devon and Cornwall. She has a particular interest in art history and from 2006 to 2017 was Company Secretary and a Trustee at a not for profit arts organisation in Farnham, Surrey, which supports emerging artists through its exhibiting and professional development programmes. She has a strong family connection to West Cornwall, and Penzance in particular, and following her move to the area in 2017 is looking forward to making a contribution to the community and to The Morrab Library.

contact – secretary@morrablibrary.org.uk  

Christina Carson, Trustee

Chartered Librarian and front desk volunteer at The Morrab Library, Christina began her professional career in the 1980s when she worked as a library assistant at Penzance Public Library.  She went on to have 3 children, a brief sojourn into farming, and then on to study for a Library & Information degree. Soon progressing to the role of  Library Manager at St Ives and St Just in 2007, she then moved to a senior management position in 2011 at the University Campus Library at Penryn. Having retired from full time work in 2020 she continues to mentor colleagues in their professional registration applications, and is treasurer of CILIP SW. Being an avid swimmer and horse rider keeps her smiling. 

 Peter Chapman – Trustee 

 After graduating from Bristol University in 1980, Peter’s career in television began at the BBC. Moving to Tyne Tees in Newcastle he became a director of arts documentaries. He left Tyne Tees and, with his wife Jennifer, formed Lightyears Films. Over the next thirteen years Peter made arts films for ITV, Channel 4 and the BBC, a number of these were screened at international film festivals. Peter also has an MA in screenwriting from Royal Holloway University of London. Away from television Peter was a Samaritan volunteer in Newcastle and east London for ten years. Peter has a passion for art house films and is a committee member of the Penwith Film Society. He also loves swimming in Penzance Lido and spending time in the Library, which exercises a mysterious but enduring hold over him.

Richard Davies, Trustee

Richard has spent much of his working life advising politicians, of various sorts, in the UK and overseas. Post-devolution, he led the Government Departments responsible for all cultural matters in Wales (including libraries and museums), for education and skills, and then for public service reform. As a consultant and non-executive director, Richard remains extensively involved in professional regulation and organisational development. As a trustee his interests in housing and community have taken him to the Nationwide Foundation and to Carnegie (UK), and as an academic he teaches currently on social policy, governance and ethics. He is an all-season daily swimmer.

Paul Inman, Trustee

Paul was born in Birmingham and went to school under the shadow of the floodlights at Villa Park. He has degrees from three universities and, after working as a film and television producer/director, moved into a senior leadership and management career in higher education. In 2022, he retired from full-time employment after serving as Pro-Vice-Chancellor (International) at University of Reading, where he led on strategic global engagement and international student recruitment. He also headed up local community partnership project working to ensure the University took appropriate local actions informed by its global thinking. Throughout his life Paul has devoted time to working in a voluntary capacity. This has included establishing a technical school in Swindon, a Confucius Institute in Oxford, a community radio station in Falmouth, and serving as a director of Fifteen Cornwall, the restaurant and social enterprise set up by Jamie Oliver. Paul is currently the Chair of Trustees at The Acorn Theatre in Penzance, and lives in Mousehole with his wife and two daughters.

Stephen Oliver, Trustee

Steve’s main career has been in teaching (of English, primarily to foreign professionals), including as Principal of a business language consultancy in Devon.  He lived and worked in Paris and Kuwait in the early years of his career and has travelled widely since. He has written English language course books and online teaching material. He still teaches online and is co-editor of an academic journal about African politics and economics.  He is a parish councillor in the neighbouring parish of Ludgvan.  He is interested in all aspects of the arts, in politics and history, and likes watching almost any sport.  He enjoys walking, birdwatching, photography and playing tennis. He sings in a choir called Levow An Bys (“Voices of the World” in Cornish) and is re-learning to play the piano.  Steve and his wife moved to Cornwall in 2018 after a lifetime of intention; they are not disappointed!