"My grandfather, Charles Francis Cooke, and his brother Ralph went into business together in 1922 when they bought the Ministry of Munitions’s explosives factory site in Penrhyndeudraeth – known today as North Wales Wildlife Trust’s Gwaith Powdwr Nature Reserve. He left a wellpaid engineering job in Norwich to jointly set up the business and both put their savings into the venture – during the first few years, whilst the business became established, my grandfather only took £1/week in pay. He lived next door to the factory and was on site every day of the week; occasionally taking my mother there too – the family would go on to own the business until 1958".

"Charles Cooke, as the engineer, designed and built the overhead transporter system for raw materials, so that they could be moved more easily around the hilly site, ensuring much less heavy lifting for the workforce. He also designed and built a tunnel to gain easier access from one side of the site to the other whilst still enabling the two locations to be kept separate for safety reasons. Many years later, when I was offered my very first job as an accounts clerk at the Trawsfynydd Nuclear Power Station, I was able to experience the combination of spectacular views and underlying danger for myself!"

"As my working life progressed, I moved around the country working in general management in the NHS and then as Chief Executive of a health and social care charity. There, contract negotiation, grant applications and general fundraising were all part of my role, and I came to appreciate how valuable our supporters and donors were in enabling us to meet our objectives. Eventually, in 2008, my mother and I bought a property together in Llan Ffestiniog – which had once, in an odd coincidence, been owned by the Casson family that held the very first licence (in 1875) for an explosives factory in Penrhyndeudraeth".

"Soon after returning to the area, I attended a special artistic event that the Wildlife Trust put on at Gwaith Powdwr – an experience which was inspirational, thought-provoking and highly enjoyable. It was then that I realised what an important role the Trust was undertaking – not only in managing the environment on the site but in encouraging children and adults to use their imagination and to care about the wildlife and the land for future generations to experience. Thinking back on my working life, I realised that I wanted to help ensure that the Trust could continue to undertake its amazing work – without using too much of its own precious resources on trying to raise money from another source".

"With this in mind, when I recently made my Will, I wanted to include the Wildlife Trust as a beneficiary. After all, family fundraising for the local area is a fine tradition – in the late 1930s, my mother, Audrey, was the Carnival Queen in Penrhyndeudraeth and the council’s fundraising from the festivities was used to pay for a new playing field for the village, which she had the honour of opening and planted a tree there to commemorate the event! I know how all the work the Trust undertakes has to be supported financially – and how valuable a legacy could be when added to my existing membership. I also agreed to write this piece for the magazine you’re now reading in order to help explain why I decided that my own legacy should become part of my family’s legacy at Gwaith Powdwr – and, of course, to encourage you, too, to consider making your mark for wildlife in this way".

Diane Lea