A 71-year-old volunteer who dedicated 400 hours to correcting spelling and factual mistakes on the National Trust's website has been told he is no longer welcome. Andy Jones, who served for 14 years in unpaid roles at sites including Woolbeding Estate in West Sussex and the Devil's Punch Bowl in Surrey, was deemed 'not in line' with the charity's values after a series of emails.
Mr Jones compiled a dossier of errors in November 2024, including misspellings such as 'toliets' and 'permananat', and the incorrect naming of Pre-Raphaelite artist Lucy Madox Brown as 'Maddox Brown'. He sent the document to director-general Hilary McGrady, but received no reply. He followed up in January 2025, again without response, before resigning as a volunteer and sending a strongly worded email to his manager, which he now admits was inappropriate.
In that email, Mr Jones referred to Ms McGrady as 'the Oirish [sic] Dame' and described the website as 'crappy not fit for purpose'. His manager responded, expressing disappointment and stating that the comments were not in line with organisational values, and that the relationship had been 'irreversibly' damaged. He will not be considered for future volunteer roles.
Mr Jones, who has prostate cancer, said his remarks were inappropriate but blamed stress from his diagnosis. He still supports the National Trust's mission but believes senior management is 'past their use by date'. A Trust spokesperson said no one would be banned for pointing out grammatical errors alone, and that relationship breakdown occurs after a series of incidents.
