FOR a man of 62 who’s lately spent several February days and nights in a tent in a town centre, Terry Williams is remarkably cheery.

“Saturday was very noisy after the disco and birthday party finished,” he said with a chuckle.

“There was a sort of surreal hour or two hours when you had groups of people standing outside talking, and then that group of people disappeared and another one seemed to come along.

“Or, perhaps, it was the same group coming back...”

Terry can’t say for sure, because his nightly routine tended to involve being tucked up in a sleeping bag with a book. He started and finished a John Grisham during his seven nights under canvas.

At other times he was too busy dealing with a steady stream of visitors including members of the public, fellow Rotarians and a party from Westrop School who interviewed him for their newspaper.

“I’ve been really pleased at the generosity of everybody,” he said.

The sum he has raised for ShelterBox has yet to be tallied, but it’s probably more than £3,000. The charity assembles boxes containing tents, tools, cooking utensils, tools, a stove, activity packs for children and other basic necessities. Boxes are sent to disaster zones and other places of great need.

Terry said: “The great thing about it is that what goes into the boxes will keep a family alive or give them the ability to stay alive for maybe twelve months or two years.

“The box is given to a family and they get a certificate saying it is their box. The volunteers that go out make sure the boxes go to people who need them and not people who are going to make a profit.”

Originally from Parkstone, near Poole, in Dorset, Terry is the son of a housewife and a carpenter. His parents were involved for many years with a local group that helped disabled children.

The young Terry showed an aptitude for figures and trained as an accountant with the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment at Aldermaston.

About 30 years ago, he got a job in Swindon with Thorn EMI, which was in the process of setting up a plant making video discs. These 12-inch precursors of the DVD soon became obsolete and the Swindon operation went on to be a major centre for CD pressing.

Terry and Chris settled in Highworth, and within a couple of years Terry was treasurer of the local Scout group. He became involved with other groups such as the Wiltshire and Swindon Community Foundation, and joined Rotary about six years ago.

He rejects the widespread notion that people are becoming less charitable, but believes changes in society and the economy can make it more difficult to volunteer.

“There are a lot more pressures on people,” he said, “particularly financial pressures.

“When I was first married and we were having a family and so on, we didn’t both need to work to pay the mortgage, but nowadays with the way things are a large majority of couples both have to work.

“That puts more pressure on people. They have less time with their children so when it comes to weekends and evenings they want to spend that time with their families, perhaps, rather than going out and doing something else.”

Nevertheless, to those who can find the time, he heartily recommends volunteering.

“It’s nice to be involved, and it’s not exactly hard to be involved because in the main you’re doing things you enjoy.”

The ShelterBox website is www.shelterbox.org. Terry’s Rotary branch welcomes new members — for details Google ‘Rotary Club of Swindon North’.