Duncan Gray
MCofS Webmaster

An appreciation by John Leftley

When MCofS decided to set up a website in 1999 how to finance it was, as usual, an issue.

Funds were not available at that time to pay professional designers so it was decided to find a volunteer. So I looked around on the www and came across an excellent website providing a guide to the Arrochar Alps, whose author was Duncan. I got in touch and outlined to him what we required. Duncan without hesitation agreed to build a website for us, even though he was not at that time a member of MCofS. The rest, as they say, is history.

During the past eight years Duncan has worked tirelessly behind the scenes, without recompense, maintaining the present website. Someone remarked that during the foot and mouth crisis in 2001 he must hardly have slept because, as well as 'the day job', he was spending many hours updating the latest news and information on the website almost as soon as it became available. He is always on hand to construct new pages or make amendments, and these changes are usually carried out within hours.

It is a measure of Duncan's achievements that the website has become an essential source of information about the MCofS not only for the membership but also for the world at large.

We have now reached a stage where a new website that employs the latest web technology has become necessary. One of the companies tendering for the work expressed amazement at the sheer size of the MCofS website that Duncan has built up, saying that it was bigger than that of a large international bank! We anticipate that Duncan will participate in the management of the new website.

Duncan's selfless and dedicated work for MCofS without doubt deserves to be acknowledged by the award of Honorary Membership.

John Leftley 21 May 2007