Alan,  married with a daughter, originally started his working career as a sports teacher, he later retrained and specialised in human resources and health & safety for a number of years. Latterly he managed his own textile retail business.

Alan started his involvement with charity work at an early age and continued this through school, college,  teaching years and beyond.  In 1982 he joined Banbury Cross Round Table, where he subsequently held many positions including Chairman and was made a Life Honorary Member in 2005 for service to Round Table. He has also served as a member of a medical support charity at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford for ten years, being their chairman for seven years.

In 2004, Alan joined the Rotary Club of Banbury, an international service organisation. In 2005 he visited Sierra Leone as volunteer with the Rotary Mission Challenge team to build a hospital. He  subsequently visited the country on nine occasions and has raised funds for the building and development of four schools and other much needed resources to these communities.

In 2009 he was made a Rotary Paul Harris Fellow, this is the highest award given by Rotary Clubs for Rotarian’s and members of the public for exceptional sustained community service.  In 2013 Alan was presented with the Rotary International “Service Above Self ” award, one of only 150 awarded worldwide that year. He became a Trustee of Goodwill & Growth for Africa UK in 2008. Since his first visit to Sierra Leone he has raised in excess of £211,000 for projects in the country.

Alan will receive a Rotary  “Champions of Change award”  (one of only 12 awarded annually), with other Rotarian’s from across the country, at a ceremony hosted by the Lord Mayor of Cardiff in Cardiff City Hall in May 2018.

Denis Spiller, President of Rotary International in Great Britain & Ireland, commented:-
“The selfless and truly life-changing impact of our champions really demonstrate that we can all make a difference. Alan’s work in Freetown has given the communities a new lease of life. He is a very worthy recipient of a Rotary Champions of Change award.”

Alan is a founding Trustee of the Westminster Group Foundation.