Richard Hewitt

Richard has been a passionate fisherman since the age of 7 and still gets a buzz from fishing whether it be for gudgeon or marlin. He has been fortunate to have enjoyed two careers one in the world of Lloyd’s insurance broking, where he still retains an interest, followed by the more tactile world of fishing tackle. This new career started with the purchase with friends of Tidelines Tackle in Pall Mall. This followed with a merger with Sportfish and then the acquisition of Farlows of Pall Mall from the owners of Hardy. Following various corporate adventures involving the sale of Farlows Group Richard then acquired Thomas Turner Fishing Antiques from the late Michael Stratton (a real stalwart of the trade) and here we are today helping to build the passionate interest in vintage tackle globally.

Attempts to retire have failed miserably but his role in supporting Dave with the buying of large collections is not really work. Is it?

Dave Townsend

Dave runs Thomas Turner from offices at Stable View Business Park in Weston-super-Mare. Dave started fishing at the age of 5 with his dad and uncles and has been hooked ever since catching his first roach. Most weekends and school summer holidays were spent fishing with his dad. On a family camping trip aged ten, Dave and his dad bought a Hardy rod from an antique shop, sparking his interest in vintage fishing tackle. Together they researched the rod and bought Graham Turner’s ‘fishing tackle’ book, which became the ‘bible’ for their research. They began regularly visiting car boot sales, antique fairs, and tackle fairs and selling online to buyers all around the world. This continued as a hobby for 21 years, until Dave joined Thomas Turner in 2021. He now does what he loves on a full-time basis! The love for fishing continues and Dave now regularly takes his sons fishing to his favourite rivers, lakes and reservoirs where he used to fish with his late father Nigel. Dave is responsible for the buying and valuing of tackle and for the day to day operation of Thomas Turner.  You can contact Dave directly on 01275 261099 / 07535 590617 or davetownsend@thomasturner.com

John Bailey

We are delighted to have John Bailey as part of our team. John needs little introduction, having written over 50 books on all aspects of fishing and travel, plus many thousands of columns and features, and more recently working as fishing consultant on the highly successful BBC2 series Gone Fishing with Paul Whitehouse and Bob Mortimer.

In the 2000s John joined Hardy and Greys as part of their creative team, with responsibility for their brochures, adverts, lifestyle photography, and importantly for Thomas Turner, tackle development. John Bailey alongside Dave Coster have been the team behind the development of the brand new Thomas Turner Classic+ range of rods.

Kirsty Hewitt

‘Kirsty has returned to her career in Public Health but it still a director for Thomas Turner.