The Society is delighted that The Hon Ralph Montagu agreed to replace Peter Nicholson CBE as its President.
Peter Nicholson had been President of the Society since 2005 and has made a major contribution to its work, due to his active involvement, and for which the Society remains in his debt. However he decided that, having reached a landmark birthday, it was time to reduce his commitments and pass the Presidency to the next generation. We are however delighted that he is retaining his links with the Society by becoming a Vice President.
The new President is Ralph Montagu, whose family have been associated with the Society since its creation in the late 1950s and is co-owner of the Beaulieu Estate, with his father Lord Montagu of Beaulieu. He was born in 1961 and graduated as a Graphic Designer at the Central School of Art and Design in 1983. He then trained in Estate Management and has pursued a dual career, spending much of his time running the Beaulieu Estate, and the rest in London where he worked for the BBC as a designer and a co-ordinator of programme restoration projects and is now Head of Heritage at the Radio Times.
At Beaulieu he oversees the management of the land and property of the estate, and is also Chairman of the Beaulieu Enterprises which operates the leisure and tourism activities on the estate, including the Beaulieu River.
His other appointments include Chairman of the Countryside Education Trust and trustee of the National Motor Museum Trust, both of which are based on the estate. He is also a governor of Hordle Walhampton School and a trustee of the Hampshire Archives Trust and Wessex Film Archive.
The formal handover of the Presidency took place at the SPS Council Meeting on 3rd March 2014
Solent Protection Society 