Our Trustees
William Ziegler, Chairman
William Ziegler has lived in the New Forest all his life and is committed to its preservation and long term well-being. Apart from being a Trustee, Director and Company Secretary for the Trust he is also the past Chairman of the New Forest Association and sits on various other Forest orientated committees.
Sam Dovey, Vice Chairman
Mr Dovey from Pilley, a forest village near Lymington, comes from a family steeped in commoning history in the New Forest. He is the local Group Secretary for the National Farmers Union; the Vice Chairman of the New Forest Pony Breeding and Cattle Society; a director of the New Forest Livestock Society – running the newly refurbished Beaulieu Road Pony Sale Yard and sits on the committee of the Commoners Defence Association. He has particular interests in New Forest Commoning and Affordable Housing for locals and commoners.
Oliver Crosthwaite Eyre
Mr. Crosthwaite Eyre comes from a family with long history involvement with New Forest. He practised as a barrister before joining the family business based in Bramshaw in the north of the Forest, where he lives and manages the family estate. He served as the Official Verderer and chairman of the Court for nine years until 2011 and is currently the Chairman of the New Forest National Park Authority.
Hilary Harper
Hilary Harper is a practising solicitor, focussing on employment law and debt collections. She also runs her farm at Plaitford near Romsey, producing native breed beef and pork. She is a keen naturalist, and takes a lot of pleasure from the New Forest.
Sarah Houston
Sarah is the Head of HR for Mayflower Theatre in Southampton and has many years of HR experience in a variety of industries including financial services, retail and manufacturing. Sarah has lived in the New Forest for over 20 years and, as a keen rider and horse owner, is particularly interested in the preservation of forest life and its traditional activities.
Donald Thompson
A trained forester, Mr. Thompson has worked in several different places in Britain and overseas, including a six year stint in Jamaica . His work for the Forestry Commission has been quite varied including creation of the UK Forest Standard to describe sustainable forest management. Before retiring he was the Deputy Surveyor of the New Forest and as such intimately involved in most problems that affect the future of the New Forest. Mr. Thompson lives at the heart of the New Forest.