At the October meeting of trustees, our very long standing chairman, James Wisdom, stepped down and two newcomers took over his role. We are delighted to welcome two council members from Layton’s old patch: Cllr Craig Owen (Labour, Brentford West) and Cllr Marcela Benedetti (Labour & Co-operative Party, Brentford East). Cllr Owen has lived in Brentford since 2013 and amongst other things serves as Deputy Chair of Hounslow’s Planning Committee. Cllr Benedetti is Vice-Chair of the Brentford and Syon Area Forum. Both are enthusiastic about the history of the area and keen to see greater use made of Layton’s bequest.

James has chaired the Trust for almost exactly 20 years, having become a trustee in 1990 – it is an amazing record of devoted service. He received a thoughtful letter of thanks from the Mayor of Hounslow:

Mayor’s letter to James Wisdom