Meet the Team

John Puddy

Chair of Trustees

John trained as an engineer with EMI before moving into boat and ship repair and, ultimately, running his own marine business. As Lundy Island’s agent for 14 years, he pioneered several firsts: the UK’s first stand-alone wind turbine (1983), the country’s first statutory marine reserve, and the island’s sole passenger‑ferry service.

A longtime advocate for social impact and STEAM learning, he has served as a director of both the Amber Foundation (which supports people out of homelessness, addiction, and prison) and Greenpower (a national engineering‑skills programme for young people).

In 2010, John discovered SS Freshspring languishing in a breakers’ yard and resolved to save her. He gathered a small core team, secured charitable status (2013) and has championed the ship’s twin missions ever since: immersive education and a full return to operational service.

Annemarie Shillito

Deputy Chair of Trustees

With a BSc in Oceanography from Swansea University and a career spanning regional journalism to senior corporate‑relations posts for an international firm, Annemarie now works as a freelance sustainability and income‑generation consultant.

Since settling back in North Devon in 2015, she has helped The Plough Arts Centre exceed its Arts Council funding target, led a social‑prescribing pilot for Torridge, and delivered arts‑and‑health programmes for One Northern Devon and the Burton Gallery.

Introduced to SS Freshspring while advising on fundraising, she quickly became an indispensable trustee, writing bids, shaping strategic plans and rolling up her sleeves at open days and events.

Stephen Attenborough

Secretary & Conservator Trustee

After reading about the vessel's plight, an engineering graduate and long-standing volunteer at the Cambridge Museum of Technology, Stephen co-founded the SS Freshspring Trust.

He steered the successful charity‑registration process in May 2013, secured crucial National Heritage Memorial Fund support to move the ship safely to Bideford, and still oversees the conservation strategy.

Now a Product Assurance Manager for an engineering firm in Barnstaple, Stephen devotes most Sundays to Freshspring, recruiting and mentoring volunteers, supervising “hands-on” work parties, and guiding long-term preservation plans.

Bill Blythe

Treasurer Trustee

A Chartered Accountant, Bill has held senior finance roles across local and central government and the further‑education sector. He is Vice‑Principal (Finance, Resources & Regional Affairs) at Petroc College, President of Barnstaple & District Chamber of Commerce, Director of the South West Institute of Technology, and a member of the LEP Skills Advisory Panel.

Bill champions experiential learning and sees SS Freshspring as a unique platform to ignite historic and modern marine engineering interest.

Away from spreadsheets and steam, he is working towards his RYA Yachtmaster qualification, supports AFC Bideford and The Plough Theatre, and enjoys North Devon’s coast with his two dogs.

Michael Teare

Trustee

Michael began his working life as a marine ecologist specialising in estuarine mud-flat ecosystems, before switching to international medical-device sales and marketing, eventually becoming UK & Ireland General Manager for a Danish company.

Genealogical research—his ancestors were sail-makers and ships’ chandlers on the Isle of Man—ignited a lasting passion for maritime heritage. After moving to Bideford he immersed himself in the town’s history, serving as lead author of A History of East-the-Water, Bideford (2021) and steering the successful 2024 campaign to have Bideford and the River Torridge recognised as a Heritage Harbour.

Michael’s partnership with SS Freshspring now links the two heritage charities, broadening public understanding of Bideford’s seafaring past and supporting shared educational projects.

Richard Slack CEng FIMechE

Engineering Trustee

A Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Richard holds a Mechanical Engineering degree from Brunel University (1982). His career began at Rolls-Royce in aero‑engine development, followed by senior roles at Foster Wheeler, which focused on pumps, steam turbines, and power‑station steam systems.

Semi-retirement—and gentle persuasion from John Puddy—brought Richard to SS Freshspring’s engine room, where he now applies four decades of steam‑plant expertise to restoring the ship’s machinery and mentoring the wider engineering team.

Samantha Roberts

Community Learning Officer

Samantha began her Freshspring journey in 2019, running hands-on holiday sessions for young visitors aboard the ship. The success of those events led to her appointment as the Trust’s Community Learning Officer, a role in which she now designs and delivers curriculum-linked workshops for every Bideford school and many others across North Devon, including several alternative-provision settings.

A teacher by training, Samantha specialises in Special Educational Needs and has taught pupils from primary age through to post-16. While most of her career has been rooted in North Devon, she has also shared her expertise overseas—training teachers in the Maldives for a year, working in special-needs education in Costa Rica, and researching classroom practice during a secondment in New Zealand.

This blend of local commitment and global experience underpins the inclusive, engaging learning programmes she creates for Freshspring’s next generation of maritime enthusiasts.

Ros White

Operations and Development Coordinator

Ros joined the SS Freshspring Trust in 2023 as Trust Administrator on a National Lottery Heritage Fund project. Two years on, she works part-time as Operations & Development Coordinator, a broad remit that underpins both day-to-day running and long-term strategy. Her focus is on streamlining systems, strengthening procedures and making sure trustees, staff and volunteers have everything they need to work efficiently and effectively.

Before Freshspring, Ros built a career in business management and development—first in high-street retail and, for the greater part, within local and national charities. Supporting community-based causes is where her heart lies, so when she relocated to North Devon in 2021 she set out to find a charity rooted in its local community. After an 18-month pause to settle into her new surroundings, she discovered the Freshspring administrator post—and, as she says, “the rest is history.”