Douglas Pluck Collection

  • This material is held at
  • Reference
      GB 3132 PLUC
  • Dates of Creation
      Late 20th century
  • Name of Creator
  • Language of Material
      English
  • Physical Description
      42 small slide boxes
  • Location
      Upper Heyford - BX0000000425887
      Upper Heyford - BX0000000425736
      Upper Heyford - BX0000001517787

Scope and Content

35mm slides of UK windmills and watermills.

Administrative / Biographical History

Douglas Pluck was born and raised in Suffolk, and worked as a chartered surveyor. He served in the Royal Regiment of Artillery in the Second World War, becoming Instructor-in-Gunnery at the School of Artillery, Central Mediterranean Forces, Italy. After the war Douglas was in private practice as a surveyor in Norfolk, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire. He was an active member of the British Legion and was awarded their Golden Badge in 1984.
Douglas became interested in wind and watermills in 1958, and was a life member of both the SPAB Mills Section (serving on the committee from 1979 to 1988) and TIMS, and a member of the Association for Industrial Archaeology. On retiring in 1983 he moved to Harleston, Norfolk. Here he joined the Suffolk Mills Group and began to research the watermills of the River Waveney. The results of this study were published in 1994 as The River Waveney, its Watermills and Navigation.
Douglas married Sheila and they had a son and a daughter. He died on 18 September 1994.

Access Information

This collection may be consulted free of charge at the Mills Archive; please email [visitors@millsarchive.org](mailto:visitors@millsarchive.org?subject=Request%20to%20consult%20collection%20PLUC) to arrange an appointment.

Note

Douglas Pluck was born and raised in Suffolk, and worked as a chartered surveyor. He served in the Royal Regiment of Artillery in the Second World War, becoming Instructor-in-Gunnery at the School of Artillery, Central Mediterranean Forces, Italy. After the war Douglas was in private practice as a surveyor in Norfolk, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire. He was an active member of the British Legion and was awarded their Golden Badge in 1984.
Douglas became interested in wind and watermills in 1958, and was a life member of both the SPAB Mills Section (serving on the committee from 1979 to 1988) and TIMS, and a member of the Association for Industrial Archaeology. On retiring in 1983 he moved to Harleston, Norfolk. Here he joined the Suffolk Mills Group and began to research the watermills of the River Waveney. The results of this study were published in 1994 as The River Waveney, its Watermills and Navigation.
Douglas married Sheila and they had a son and a daughter. He died on 18 September 1994.

Archivist's Note

Collection level description revised by Nathanael Hodge, May 2012.

Custodial History

Given to Mildred Cookson by Douglas's widow for passing on to the SPAB Mills Section. As the SPAB lacked space, the material was donated to the Mills Archive in November 2002.

Additional Information

Published