Governance

Founder

Graham Stow CBE DL FCIPD FCIB FRSA

Previously Her Majesty’s Vice Lord-Lieutenant of Staffordshire

The Friends Trust would not exist if it weren’t for the vision and foresight of Graham Stow.  In 2008/2009, as Honorary Colonel of Staffordshire and West Midlands (North Sector) Army Cadet Force, he witnessed first-hand the positive impact the Army Cadet Force has on young people and how this impact could be magnified with additional funding, targeted towards specific endeavours. He recruited the Trust’s first Board of Trustees and was appointed as its first Chair of Trustees. The initial visionary purposes of the Friends Trust, established at the launch of the Trust have stood the test of time and remain the guiding principles of the current Board of Trustees.

Graham has played an extensive role in the life of Staffordshire, including as Chair of Governors of Staffordshire University, as a trustee of the National Memorial Arboretum and of Lichfield Cathedral, amongst others. Graham is a businessman by background, having held a number of senior appointments in retail and financial services. He was awarded the CBE in 2004 for his services to business and to the Department for Work and Pensions.

Graham Stow has been the High Sheriff of Staffordshire, a Deputy Lieutenant and was, until he retired from Staffordshire Lieutenancy in 2019, the Vice Lord-Lieutenant of Staffordshire.

In 2018, he became Honorary President in recognition of the outstanding contribution he has made to the Friends of the Staffordshire and West Midlands (North Sector) Army Cadet Force. Whilst Graham stepped down from this role in 2025, he remains committed to the Friends Trust and the work it does.

Patron

Prof Liz Barnes CBE

His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Staffordshire

Prof Liz Barnes spent her career in education, starting out as a  PE and Maths teacher in Longton before moving into the Higher Education sector where she worked for nearly 35 years in 4 universities. Liz concluded her full-time career as Vice Chancellor and Chief Executive of Staffordshire University.

Liz spent 23 years in the North East working at Teesside University and where more recently she served as a Non-Executive Director for University Hospitals Tees and as a Governor for Sunderland University.

Locally, she was a Board Member for the Staffordshire Local Enterprise Partnership, a member of Stoke-on-Trent City Council’s Children’s Services Improvement Board and a Board Member for the Donna Louise Trust. Staffordshire University awarded her an Honorary Doctorate after her retirement in 2021 and she remains an Emeritus Professor of the University.

In 2019 Liz was awarded a CBE for her service to Higher Education. She was a Board Member for Universities UK, vice Chair for the Million Plus Universities’ Mission Group and a Trustee for JISC, the provider of IT networks for Universities and Colleges. She was a Governor for Middlesex University until July 2025 and is a Board Member for the Lifelong Learning Institute.

Honorary President

Sir Ian J Dudson KCVO CBE KStJ

Previously His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Staffordshire

Sir Ian Dudson was appointed as Lord-Lieutenant of Staffordshire in 2012 and served in this capacity until his retirement in 2025. He was appointed as Patron of the Friends Trust in 2018 and succeeded Graham Stow as Honorary President upon his retirement from the role in 2025.

Ian is an industrialist whose family business, Dudson Ltd, manufactured ceramic tableware for the worldwide hospitality industry from Stoke-on-Trent since 1800. He was Chief Executive from 1988 until 2009 and then Non-Executive Chairman until 2016. Other Ceramic industry appointments included being President of the British Ceramic Confederation from 2007 to 2009, a non-executive director of British Ceramic Research Ltd from 1994 to 1999 and President of the European Federation of Porcelaine and Faience from 2005 to 2008.

Ian was awarded the CBE for services to the ceramics industry in 2002 and made a Knight of the Order of St John in 2017. He was appointed as a Knight of the Realm in the New Year’s Honours 2024.

Prior to appointment as Lord-Lieutenant, he was a Deputy Lieutenant from 2001 and was High Sheriff of Staffordshire from 2010 to 2011. He was Pro-Chancellor of Keele University and Chair of Council from 2005 to 2012, a board member of the North Staffordshire Chamber of Commerce from 2002 to 2014 and he was also a founding member of the Local Enterprise Partnership. Currently, he is Chair of the Trustees of The Dudson Centre, which acts as a resource centre for voluntary groups.

He has been a keen supporter of the work of the ‘Friends’ since itsformed in 2009 and regularly attends our fundraising events. In addition, he and his wife Jane often accompany the Trustees on their visit to the Cadets annual training camp each summer to meet the Cadets and to spend time with the Trustees.

Trustees

External Trustees

Graham Morley DL – Chair of Trustees

Until 2017, Graham was the Chief Executive Principal of South Staffordshire College. After taking early retirement, he formed his own business successfully providing interim senior leadership and governance support to Further Education Colleges across the country. He is Vice Lord-Lieutenant for Staffordshire, a past President of the Staffordshire and Birmingham Agricultural Society and is a Fellow of the City and Guilds of London Institute. Graham is passionate about the county of Staffordshire, the city of Stoke-on-Trent and providing opportunities for young people. Graham has been a Trustee since 2016 and was elected as Chair, effective from 1st April 2022.

Kate Farmer – Charity Secretary & Vice-Chair of Trustees

Kate lives in Blythe Bridge, Stoke on Trent with her husband Paul. She has spent most of her working career in the Ceramics Industry; in Sales, Marketing and Administration. Kate also spent 10 years as Lord Mayor’s Secretary for the City of Stoke on Trent. Kate has travelled extensively around the world for business and pleasure. Now semi-retired, Kate gives lots of support to charities and is proud to be a trustee of The Friends of The Staffordshire & West Midlands (North Sector) Army Cadet Force Trust.

Gary White – Treasurer

Gary is currently employed as Head of Operations at Muller, overseeing their most modern site in Telford, Shropshire, which manufactures 10 million pots of private label yoghurts per week. He manages the whole operation with a leadership team covering finance, health and safety, quality, engineering, supply chain and operations. During his career, he has managed annual budgets in excess of £650 million and up to 2,000 employees at any one time. Gary is an engineer by trade and has been in general management for the last 30 years.

Gary is currently the Chair of Governors at the Academy for Theatre Arts based in Bradwell. He has been an elected Borough Council member on Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council. During his time at the Council, he was chair of the Economy and Place Scrutiny Committee, Vice-chair of Public Protection Committee and sat on the Local Planning Committee.

Jenny Amphlett

During a 25-year career as a journalist Jenny Amphlett edited glossy, lifestyle magazines across the Midlands and Wales, worked for regional newspapers, won awards as a columnist and features writer and also organised high-profile events. After leaving The Sentinel newspaper in Stoke-on-Trent during the pandemic, she worked as a freelance journalist for a year, helped to establish the Made in Stoke diaspora network and is currently employed as High Value Relationships Manager at the University of Staffordshire. Jenny was named Columnist of the Year at the O2 Media Awards 2019 and Feature Writer of the Year at the O2 Media Awards 2015.

Colonel (Retd) K J Knutton OBE ACF

Kim Knutton has been a volunteer member of the Army Cadet Force for 48 years during which he has, at some point, held every position within Staffordshire & West Midlands ACF including Commandant from 2010. During his command, S&WM ACF was awarded the Queen’s Award for voluntary service and in 2018 he was awarded the OBE for services to the Cadet Forces and Youth. In addition to the Army Cadets, Kim has extensive involvement in many Boards, Committees and organisations across the West Midlands. When not involved in Cadet Force or Youth duties, Kim runs his own landscape design and contracting business which carries out extensive projects for large country house hotel chains throughout the country.

Mohammed Khuram

Stephen Smith

Stephen has lived in the Hanbury/Draycott-in-the-Clay area all of his life and comes from a long established Staffordshire farming family. He is currently Managing Director of Hayes Industries Ltd, based in Marchington. Stephen has been a Parish and District Councillor in East Staffordshire and he designed and commissioned the Millennium Monument located in Market Square, Uttoxeter. Stephen’s hobbies include cycling, skiing, sailing, long distance hill walking and he was a soldier of the Reserve Army for 11 years.

Colonel Toby Gaddum DL VR

Toby has spent more than 30 years in the textile industry. Having sold his textile factory in 2020 during the Covid pandemic, he now runs a small textile business together with his wife, Jane, specialising in silk and high-tech textiles.

Toby, commissioned into the Royal Mercian and Lancastrian Yeomanry, has served in D Squadron (RMLY) in Wigan for 10 years before holding appointments at Birmingham University Officer Training Corps and Engagement Reserves HQ London District (Horse Guards, London). In 2017, he was appointed as Commanding Officer of the Scottish and North Irish Yeomanry based in Edinburgh. From there, he moved back to the West Midlands in 2019, where he served as SO1 Engagement Reserves at 11 Sigs and West Midlands Brigade, which subsequently became HQ West Midlands in Telford, Shropshire. He has recently served on the staff at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. Toby assumed the rank of Colonel as Colonel Royal Armoured Corps Reserves in August 2023.

He is involved in charitable activities mainly in the offender and ex-offender space through his Livery Company, the Worshipful Company of Weavers and was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Staffordshire in 2023. He has recently represented Great Britain and Northern Ireland at the World and European Transplant Games in a variety of sports.

Victoria Hawley

Victoria, who is from an Army family, has lived in Staffordshire for more than 30 years. She started her career in PR before having a career change to become a sociology and politics teacher. She was a member of the Senior Management Team at Abbots Bromley School where she worked for 20 years.

She is a former High Sheriff of Staffordshire with a particular passion for cadet services across the county. She has numerous Board level positions including the John Sandy Trust which is responsible for HMP Featherstone Visitor Centre. Victoria is married to Charles and has three daughters.

S&WM(NS)ACF Officer Trustees

Lieutenant Colonel Phillip Hurley – Deputy Commandant

After 38 years in the Reserves, Phill made the jump to Staffordshire Cadets in 2020. Phill started as a Combat Medic in 1983 and served most of his time with 202 Field Hospital and Birmingham University Officer Training Corp rising to the rank of Lt Col. Commissioning in 1997. Phill initially found himself involved in training roles but then progressed into Operational Planning and Command. In Civilian life Phill is a Biochemist, currently working as a Pathology Operational Manager at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospitals. Living in Fradley, Near Lichfield, he is also a Group Scout Leader and a School Governor. He is passionate about his Rugby and is qualified as both a Referee and a Youth coach.

Lt Col Hurley is a full Trustee with full voting rights.

RSMI Shannon Phillips

Shannon has experienced first-hand the difference the Army Cadet Force can make to young people. She joined in 2002 as a young cadet and after six years reached the rank of Cadet Sergeant Major and became the Lord-Lieutenant’s cadet for Staffordshire. After spending a few years focusing on her career, Shannon rejoined the organisation in 2014 to pay forward the opportunities that she’d once been given. She spent five years within detachments across the Stoke-on-Trent area, before becoming the Training Sergeant Major for Adult Training. In May 2023, Shannon was appointed the new RSMI for Staffordshire & West Midlands (NS) ACF. Outside of the ACF, Shannon has worked as a Service Manager for several years, responsible for a portfolio of Digital and Network Services for a FTSE 100 company.

RSMI Phillips is a full Trustee with full voting rights.

Senior Officer – Commandant

Colonel Chris Edwards OBE TD FIFST VR

Colonel Chris Edwards OBE TD FIFST VR joined the Royal Corps of Signals in the Territorial Army in 1985 and was Commissioned from Sandhurst the following year. His distinguished Territorial Army/Army Reserve career includes numerous deployments in senior Command roles and he experienced active service in Bosnia. He became an Officer of the British Empire in 2007 and has specific skills in delivering capability in barracks and the field Communication and IT systems. His 40-year civilian career has been spent in the food manufacturing industry. He was a senior leader in a Further Education establishment where, amongst other things he was responsible for the building of a new £5M manufacturing plant. He currently holds a senior executive position in a multi-national food manufacturing company. Colonel Edwards took up the role of Commandant of Staffordshire and West Midlands (NS) ACF in September 2023.

Whilst the Commandant attends all meeting of the Friends Trust to offer advice and guidance, he does not take part in any decision making and does not have a vote.