Chris Witts

Chris Witts Profile

I was born in Bristol and came with my parents, brother and sister to live in what was then the small village of Hucclecote, Gloucester in 1951 at seven years of age. At the age of ten we moved to Grosvenor Road in what is now Elmbridge. I attended Elmbridge Junior School and then went on to Central Technical School for Boys in Derby Road.

I left school at sixteen in the summer of 1960 and joined the company of John Harker Ltd as deckhand on one of their estuarial tanker barges working in the Bristol Channel and River Severn. Following that I worked for three years at the new Walls Ice-cream factory in Gloucester before joining Gloucester City Fire Brigade as a fireman. In 1973/4 the brigade was amalgamated with Gloucestershire Fire Service to be come Gloucestershire Fire & Rescue Service. I retired in 1993 and began working on the River Severn again as mate on the Allied Mills grain barges out of Tewkesbury. In 1995 I was promoted to skipper and worked the grain barges until they were laid up in 1998. I then began a period of working on mud hoppers as skipper.

It was during this time that I began writing books about the Severn, including The Mighty Severn Bore and Disasters on the Severn. I also continue to talk to groups about my time working on the Severn as well as numerous radio and TV appearances.

During 1999 I joined the Liberal Democrat Party and began helping deliver leaflets in the area that I lived. Then in 2000 I was asked to stand as a Liberal Democrat councillor for the old Longlevens ward of Gloucester. I was elected that year, but in 2002 had to fight another election as Gloucester underwent ward boundary changes. I opted to stand for the new two-member ward of Elmbridge where I had lived since I was ten years of age. I won along with my fellow Liberal Democrat candidate Roger Smith. Roger was elected for two years and decided not to stand again so new Liberal Democrat candidate Susan Jones stood and won. I was re-elected in 2006 for a four-year period. Last year I was the 875^th Sheriff of Gloucester and Deputy Mayor.

I currently serve on:

Scrutiny 2 committee (Streetcare, Heritage & Leisure)

Licensing committee

Streetcare Board

Eviction Panel

I am also chair of the Gloucester Executive of the Liberal Democrats.