Sixty-five ramblers gathered at Purley Barn, Tilehurst to honour Ray Clayton who has been awarded a Commendation from Ramblers “for his significant impact on behalf of Ramblers”. This is the highest award that Ramblers bestow.
Ray is now 86 years old and has been rambling since he was about 16. He is an inspiration to all he meets. He has been the lynchpin of Pang Valley Group of Ramblers for 20 years and has led in the region of 200 walks. For 17 years he has been solely responsible for organising the Group’s programme of walks where his wealth of local knowledge has been of great advantage. He has served on the Group Committee since 1998 and has attended Regional meetings in his roles as Footpath Officer and Countryside Officer. He’s also been involved in National initiatives – he assisted in Reading Borough’s initiative to produce local maps of paths (to encourage children to walk to school), was a major player in the West Berks project to replace stiles with gates in order to make rambling more accessible, and works with the ROAR project which gets children with special needs out into the countryside. He gave 50 years service to scouting and with his wife, Gill, ran a troop of disabled scouts. He received the Gold Medal for his services to Scouting. Until recently he provided tea and biscuits at local blood donor clinics and only gave up refereeing for Henley Hockey Club on his 80th birthday, having given up playing for them when he retired.
Pang Valley Chairman opened proceedings by welcoming all the friends and guests. The Commendation was presented to 
Ray by John Stoves, the Group’s Treasurer. John also presented Ray with a potted acer in recognition of his valued work for Pang Valley, and Gill was presented with a bouquet as a mark of gratitude for her continued support. After the presentation a fine buffet lunch was served and a handsome cake decorated with walking boots and rucksack was cut by Ray.
Ray was born in Sonning Common and spent his childhood in Shiplake Bottom. He attended Rotherfield Peppard School and Henley Grammar School and now lives in Tilehurst.