AQUILA MUSIC TRUST

Profiles of The Trustees

Coleen Carlile John Glynn’s younger sister, Coleen, has watched his music grow over the years and been touched by the poetry in his soul.

As a teacher of English, she strives to awaken in her students that same sense of joy and love that lifts our lives above the ordinary and shows God’s presence in all of us.

Ian Forder is married and has no children.

He is a eucharistic minister, sidesman/passkeeper at New Hall (Springfield Parish) in Chelmsford in the Brentwood Diocese of the UK.

Ian is heavily involved in voluntary community work: he is organiser of drivers for two of the New Hall (School) Voluntary Services [NHVS] activities. They are the Saturday Club, which takes deprived children and entertains them for two hours a week, and Riding for the Disabled. He also drives for both groups. Ian is Vice-chairman of the New Hall Group Riding for the Disabled, and was a Parish Councillor on Springfield Parish Council.

At work, Ian is a specialist in international tax and he has a small consultancy as well as being a director of various companies, with interests ranging from stock-broking to property, from fish farming to renewable energy.

And, if that wasn't enough, he's been Chairman of the Aquila Music Trust since its inception in 1991.

Mandy Harman (Flute and backing vocals in Aquila) has played the flute for 25 years.  Her love of music started very young, continued throughout her life and opened many doors for her. She plays at her parish church (John Glynn’s). She describes herself as the mother of three gorgeous children. She has been a secondary school governor and is Deputy Manager of a bank call centre. She now brings her governance and management skills to the Trust.

John Stephenson is a member of St Augustines’s Parish and is also involved with the NHVS.

Christine Thomas Secretary; Christine Thomas (Vocals and Guitar) was born in Barking and now plays guitar and sings at Wickford’s parish church.

She first sang with Fr John as a teenager.  A champion majorette with national stage and TV appearances in the 70’s, she is now a police detective, having joined Essex Police in 1985. 

She met Clive Thomas in 1981 and they have 3 daughters, a son and 4 grandchildren.

Clive Thomas It was Radio Caroline that inspired Clive to open hospital radio in Swansea in 1966 at 17. He went on to be an actor and drama teacher, even starring in the rock version of Henry V at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. He was a pirate DJ on Radio Kaleidoscope in 1975-6 and went on to set up Whitechapel AM at the Royal London Hospital. In 1978, he became Station Manager at Radio Basildon, in Essex, and by 1986 was Chief Whip on Basildon Council. He still lives near Basildon, with his wife, Aquila's Christine, and 2 of their 4 children; the others having married and left home to raise families of their own.

In 1982, the poacher turned gamekeeper and joined the Performing Right Society, and was its Sales Director 1995-2005. In 2006, he took early retirement to pursue his own interests and joined Radio Caroline. He says: "I applied in 1965, it's just taken a while to process the application!".

Clive manages the Trust and is also Administrator of the Commission for Evangelisation and Formation for the Diocese of Brentwood. He is a Master of Business Administration and holds academic and teaching diplomas for drama.