20/02/26
In January 2026 the Joint Nautical Archaeology Policy Committee (JNAPC) received the first John Wells Award from RESCUE, the British Archaeological Trust.
The JNAPC was formed in 1988 from individuals and representatives of institutions who wished to raise awareness of Britain’s underwater cultural heritage and to persuade government that underwater sites of historic importance should receive no less protection than those on land. It has campaigned successfully both for specific sites and wrecks (such as the long running issues around the 1744 wreck of HMS Victory) and for improvements in protective legislation for marine archaeology.
RESCUE has supported JNAPC since the early 2000s. The JNAPC has assembled a highly knowledgeable group of people and organisations to work together to on behalf of nautical archaeology, an area where many land-based archaeologists, including RESCUE Council members, often lack the expertise to respond to threats to the resource. The group has shown a selfless, ongoing and high ethical commitment to their aims for a number of years, yet operates on a minimal budget and with few resources. The RESCUE Council agreed that the JNAPC would be a worthy inaugural recipient of the award and hope it helps them to continue their work in the future.
RESCUE Chair, Daniel Phillips, attended the meeting of JNAPC in London on 21 January to present the Award certificate and a cheque for £500 to key members of JNAPC. The picture shows Dan with the current JNAPC Chair, Professor David Parham and to the right Robert Yorke, former JNAPC Chair.
About the John Wells Award: The John Wells Award has been established to celebrate our late supporter, John Wells, in recognition of his contribution to archaeology and heritage. John was a particle physicist at Oxford and a campaigner for disability rights who regularly attended our AGM meetings and helped in the production of Rescue News. John entrusted RESCUE with a legacy to carry on the mission of heritage protection about which he felt passionately and RESCUE in turn has taken the decision to use that legacy to help those that demonstrate an outstanding contribution to that aim, in the hope that they will be able to continue their efforts.
Notes:
For information about the John Wells Award see https://rescue-archaeology.org.uk/the-john-wells-award/
JNAPC 