Christopher Harrold has been a member of our Society for nearly forty years. In that time he has played a major part in our activities. As well as giving talks on a number of topics, he wrote Discovering Thurrock in 1970 and Exploring Thurrock in 1994. He contributed to Queen Elizabeth Slept Here which the Society published in 1988 to mark the 40th anniversary of the Queen's visit to Tilbury. For some years he co-edited the society's Journal Panorama and also prepared the decennial indices. Most recently he edited Thurrock Gold, the story of the first fifty years of the local history society. He also found time to write the best-seller The Story of St. Clement 's.

His first talk to the Society took place in the Carnegie Library in Orsett Road. To those who know him it comes as no surprise that he chose to speak about Heraldry. This is a subject in which he is well versed, being a Life Member of the Heraldry Society and having his own coat of arms. He contributed the County of Essex to the series Hatchments in Britain and has made a study of heraldry in Thurrock. On this subject, he has specially written an article - The Boast of Heraldry.

Sherwin has a passion for maritime history and is an expert on the Thames barges and the training ships, once moored off Grays and Purfleet. His first contribution to Panorama was in 1960. Sherwin decided that the river Thames deserves to have a more prominent place on the site - The river Thames.