Richard Smith Memorial Award presented by Mayor of Ipswich to education consultant Dale Banham

Dale Banham, this year’s recipient of the IMT’s Richard Smith Memorial Award, receiving his bronze medal from the Mayor of Ipswich, Councillor Pat Bruce-Browne.

Ipswich Maritime Trust’s prestigious Richard Smith Memorial Award was presented by the Mayor of Ipswich, Councillor Pat Bruce-Browne, to education consultant Dale Banham for outstanding services to Ipswich’s maritime heritage, in a ceremony at Isaacs on the Quay, Ipswich, on Wednesday 3^rd June 2026.

“We wanted to reward Dale’s invaluable contribution to our phenomenally successful Ipswich Heritage Harbour Project, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund,” said IMT former trustee Dr John Warren.

“He worked with our Project team of Hannah Houghton, Judy Harrison and Sarah Winter to create imaginative resources for local primary and secondary schools – which have been recognised as a model of excellence nationally by the Schools History Project.”

Over 3,000 local schoolchildren were involved in the Heritage Harbour Project’s Education Programme, ranging from hands-on sailing experiences to class tours of the Waterfront, as well as whole school assemblies.

Dale is an Honorary Fellow of the Historical Association and the Schools History Project. He currently works as an education consultant and a part-time history teacher at Northgate High School and Sixth Form Centre in Ipswich, where he was a Deputy Headmaster from 2010-2025. He also works for university-based Initial Teaching Training providers, delivering history-specific training for trainee teachers and Early Careers Teachers.

He said: “It is so important that teachers tailor the curriculum to the local context, linking local history to national and international developments in order that all young people develop a sense of pride in their local town.

“The resources we have produced provide regular opportunities for pupils to use ‘real’ sources and archives, including the incredible photographs and paintings of Ipswich in the unique IMT Image Archive.”

Richard Smith, a founder member of IMT, was an author, photographer and great contributor to the appreciation of local maritime history and heritage. He died in 2017. The Richard Smith Collection of photos, of shipping on the river Orwell in the 1970s and 80s, is part of the IMT’s Image Archive of thousands of photos, drawings and postcards relating to the port of Ipswich over hundreds of years.

After the presentation, Dale gave an inspiring talk on his innovative approach to interpreting Ipswich’s maritime heritage for local teachers and schoolchildren. Members of the audience were encouraged to actively participate in some of the thought-processes and questions undertaken by the schoolchildren themselves – with wildly different responses!

The audience were encouraged to participate in some of Dale’s quizzes for schoolchildren – with wildly different responses!