The BABA Education Fund
(The Rachel Reckitt & Tommy Tucker Fund)
The BABA Education Fund was established in February 1998 from an initial donation from the trustees of the Rachel Reckitt estate. A wood engraver and sculptor Rachel Reckitt learnt to weld and forge with Harry & Jim Horrobin in the 70’s and so began a close friendship with BABA.
The trustees of the Tommy Tucker estate donated into the fund in 2000 and 2001. Tommy Tucker was an instructor for CoSIRA (Council for Small Industries in Rural Areas) and had a major influence on the training of many of today’s top blacksmiths.
The money donated by the trustees of both these estates has been securely invested with the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF), and the conditions of both bequests were that the interest generated was to be used to provide a hardship fund for BABA members and to give grants to assist blacksmiths in the development of their careers. The income generated from the current fund is modest with approximately £1,400 generated annually. The award will cover up to 50% of the cost of any proposal and applicants will have to advise on how much they require.
Fund Management Team Overview
The management of the fund is currently administered by Don Barker, Shona Johnson and the BABA Treasurer.
Don Barker was BABA Treasurer for seven years, a past Prime Warden (Master) of the Worshipful Company of Blacksmiths and a WCB Silver Medal holder. Shona Johnson is the current BABA Chairwoman and holds a silver medal from the Worshipful Company of Blacksmiths.
The BABA Treasurer is Tony Ingarfield who has held the role since 2017 and holds a Bronze medal from the Worshipful Company of Blacksmiths.
Tony also manages the CAF fund within his role as BABA Treasurer. All three administrators are professional full-time smiths.
Colleges offering blacksmithing courses have access to information about the BABA Education Fund, it is advertised in the BABA monthly Newsletter, sent out digitally to the membership, and articles by recipients of the fund appear in our quarterly magazine Artist Blacksmith ensure that members continue to be aware of the fund.
The basic criteria for eligibility to apply for the fund are
- To be a member of BABA
- To have already completed a minimum of one year’s training in blacksmithing. This could be either in the form of work experience or attending a college course.
- Applicants are asked to submit a clearly written statement describing what their experience of blacksmithing has been to date, what level of funding they require and what the funding is intended to be used for. This should be supported by three good-quality photographs or drawings of recent work with a brief description for each.
- All recipients of the award will be expected to submit a report on completion of their project which may be published in Artist Blacksmith magazine.
Applications should be submitted to the BABA Secretary at secretary@baba.org.uk and are reviewed quarterly.
Submissions should be received by the last day of the following months: March - June - September - December All applications are put in front of the BABA Council and if the council