To mark Volunteers’ Week, we’re shining a light on some of the remarkable people who give their time to support the John Whitgift Foundation. Bill Wood is a retired archivist-turned volunteer whose passion for history shows no sign of slowing down.
From IT Technician to archive expert
Bill’s journey to becoming a volunteer archivist began when he joined Whitgift School in 2001 as an IT technician. It wasn’t long before his love of history caught the headmaster’s eye.
“He’d read my CV and seen I had an interest in local history,” Bill recalls. From around 2002, Bill would meet former archivist Freddie Percy, who called in occasionally, as he took on more responsibility. By late 2003/early 2004, he had made the move official, leaving IT support behind to run the archive full-time.
Bill worked in the role for over two decades, building up an encyclopaedic knowledge of Whitgift’s history and its former pupils. When he retired in 2024, stepping away entirely wasn’t an option.
Volunteering from wherever he is
After retiring, Bill relocated from Croydon, where he had lived for 68 years, to the Kent coast. But distance hasn’t stopped him. Thanks to the archive’s online systems, Bill continues his work remotely, typically putting in several mornings a week.
His main focus is on maintaining and expanding records of Old Whitgiftians, former pupils of the school. He tracks down details from local publications, books, and information supplied by the Old Boys themselves, filling in dates of birth, addresses, and obituaries to keep the records as complete and accurate as possible, with additional help from David and the Alumni team of Alison and Emma.
“It’s all web-based and online,” he explains. “I do mornings normally, throughout the week. I don’t mind if it’s on weekends or in the evenings. I vary it so it suits me.”
His work also means that when David, the current archivist, has a historical query, especially one relating to Croydon’s local history, Bill is on hand to help. “There are things I would know about which he would have to look up,” says Bill, “and he hasn’t always got the time. So, if I can help him, I will.”
Why Bill volunteers
For Bill, volunteering is a genuine pleasure. He spent more than 20 years immersed in the school’s history and doesn’t want to let that go.
“I enjoyed my time at the school so much, the people, the history, the Foundation,” he says. “And it keeps my mind active. I could sit doing my knitting, but if I can help in any way, I will.”
There’s also a deeper motivation. Bill talks about wanting to give something back to an institution he cares about and about the satisfaction of knowing that the records he maintains are a resource that wouldn’t exist in quite the same form without him.
Bill’s advice for aspiring volunteers
If you’re thinking about volunteering, Bill’s message is simple: go for it.
“If you’ve got time, and most of us have some free time in our lives, and you’re prepared to maybe work an hour here, two hours there, even half a day, it would be rewarding. The people you meet add to your knowledge, and you get to meet people you might not otherwise encounter in ordinary life.”
Bill is also keen to challenge the assumption that volunteering means showing up somewhere in person. His own experience proves otherwise. “It’s entirely in your hands as a volunteer. If you’ve got a computer, a tablet, or even a mobile, there are things you can do. You can photograph things, go to local libraries, and find out information. There’s lots you can offer that people might not even have thought about.”
His final word? “You can put a little tick mark against your name and say, at least I’ve been able to give something. Being able to give something back, that’s what it’s all about.”
