The Volunteer Diaries: Gafyn MacMillan

There are no paid roles within KWCC, of course.  The club has been led, shaped, managed and supported for over a century purely by volunteers.  Each and every member who has or will help out is a vital cog in the club’s past, present and future.  Without volunteers our beloved cycling club has no future.  

During my years with the Wheelers I have met, heard of, and read about many members who have devoted so much time to the club (and to the wider cycling community) – it’s incredible how much some people have given back and still give today; juggling work, family and time on the bike.  So impressive.

Often volunteering is closely associated with flag waving, or other roles, at one of the many races and events KWCC successfully organise every year.  But volunteering roles within our club are so broad and varied; there is something for everyone to help with.  There are usually more ideas than there are willing members to realise them, so there is always something to get involved in.

When I joined in 2002, the club was small, everybody knew everybody and we all clubbed together to get things done and fill any roles that needed filling.  The club wasn’t big enough for members to hide away from volunteering.  Of course we organised far fewer events back then.  In my early years of membership I used to marshal races more frequently but then dropped away.  In recent years I try and ensure I always help out at the Dunsfold races in March and in the past 4 years I have been chequered flag waver, junction marshal, finish line judge and most fun of all in the race car.  You really get to see the race from a different perspective.  

But back to volunteering variety.  Here are some other things I’ve completed for the club recently: wrote the speech given by the compare/host at the Centenary Party, put together a collection of .gpx files based on club runs from the 1930s and 1970s, written the club’s social media post for International Women’s Day, and collated photos for a slide show.  All interesting and good fun.

My main duty, however, is my role as Club Historian.  This is something one could spend endless hours fulfilling, it has no finish line.  The opportunities for research just keep on coming – reading old newspaper articles, online searches, interviewing members past & present, tracking down families of our founder and past club presidents.  For those who have not had a good read of our club history, the version I put together as part of our club centenary celebrations can be found here History – Kingston Wheelers (there is always more to publish). 

If anyone shares such an interest in localised history and would like to collaborate with ongoing research then please do reach out.

Sub roles of mine linked to the club’s history are:

• The custodian of club jerseys: I started collecting club jerseys quite early into my membership and about 10 years ago started to preserve them for the club.  I have pretty much every jersey design and variant since the club’s second ever design from 1985.
• Archivist: as part of my research and meeting up with old members and descendants of even older members, I have collated a collection of old club publications, race programmes, tickets, posters, members lists, and some marvellous photographs.  I could do with some help to digitise all of these items – again please let me know if you can assist.

While the club always needs members to lead club runs and to organise races, I hope this piece shows that volunteering doesn’t have to involve giving up your morning/afternoon standing by the roadside.  Much of my volunteering is at a PC and in libraries.