In 1981 I may have been the youngest Churchill Fellow at 23, studying for an MSc on the cultivation and utilisation of poplar (timber) faced with few marketing opportunities. My 13-week tour took me 3,750 miles to the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, France and Belgium meeting pre-eminent growers, breeders, research institutes and industries using poplar.

As a direct result of my Fellowship tour contacts, poplar growers were introduced to fast growing clones (some, sadly, notably proved a disaster due to disease). There was a resurgence of interest in growing poplar for future timber market opportunities. My Fellow's Report was widely circulated amongst growers. I contributed to poplar-growing forums and timber committees for many years.

In 1987 I established my own forestry consultancy. Poplars were grown on many client estates. Forty years after receiving my Fellowship I have handed on most clients to young and capable hands and reduced my professional interests to Norfolk and Suffolk – where I still manage poplars.

I am immensely grateful to the Fellowship for the belief in me and my study objectives, for the support I received and the lifelong honour that being a Fellow represents.