In light of National Volunteer Week 2017, the Maritime Archaeology Trust would like to highlight some of the important work contributed by our volunteers. We sent out a questionnaire for our volunteers to fill in and give us their view on what it is like to volunteer for the Maritime Archaeology Trust. This is what Mr Mike Greaves thought.

What do you do as a volunteer for the Maritime Archaeology Trust?

Artist in Residence

How did you get involved?

Through Southampton University. My wife Kate and I got involved initially doing research for MAT at Kew.

Anything you have learnt from working with the Trust?

Where do I start? I’ve learnt about boats. WW1 wrecks, WW1 technology, WW1 social history for example how arrogant the Admiralty was in advising families about loved ones lost at sea.

Have you enjoyed anything in particular?

Everything I have done. My work with MAT has given me greater confidence with my painting, taking me out of my comfort zone of buildings and cityscapes to tackle new subjects eg. Submarines, ships and people.

The patience shown to me by a team of experts faced with the trite questions of an obvious novice.

Editor’s Note: Mike’s own website can be found here

Examples of the beautiful artwork Mike has created for us

To learn more about what kind of work our volunteers do for the Trust, see the following blog post: http://blog.maritimearchaeologytrust.org/national-volunteering-week-1st-june-7th-june-2017/

Have you got a spare hour or day in the week and looking for something to do? Fancy learning new skills in archaeology? Want to learn more about our maritime heritage? Well why not drop us an email on volunteering@maritimearchaeologytrust.org today and find out more?