Doug Perry is the museum's longest serving volunteer, spending an average of three days a week at Castle Hill - more if there is an exhibition or new display to mount. He does it "because it keeps me young; I look forward to it".
Having trained as a graphic designer and spending time in advertising, Doug worked with adults with learning difficulties and came to Pembrokeshire to set up the Anchorage Day Care Centre in Pembroke Dock. He says that running centres of this kind gave him his first taste of working with volunteers; "It's not qualifications that you need, it's practical skills and the wish to get involved and help out."
Doug first started as a museum volunteer at Narberth where for three years he made display cabinets, mounted exhibitions and dealt with visitors. After moving to Penally, 18 years ago, he became involved with the Tenby Museum and Art Gallery where he intends to keep working until "I'm a nuisance and have to be carted out".
As a volunteer, Doug is prepared to help with anything, but his practical and artistic skills make him invaluable in mounting displays or in hanging art exhibitions.
Having worked with a wide range of volunteers over the years, he has strong views on what makes for a good one. Good volunteers like getting on with things and getting things done; if they take something on they can be depended on to deliver.
This does not mean a full time commitment, a few hours a week can help - provided that the few hours are regular and appropriate to the task taken on. Good volunteers enjoy working with people.
One of the things that makes the museum experience so enjoyable for Doug is that it is a friendly and supportive team; "I like the atmosphere there, it is a good team to work with, they exchange ideas and listen to what everyone has to say." Good volunteers also have something to offer: practical skills, cataloguing, computing or the willingness and ability to "put on a pair of overalls and help repaint the gallery during the Christmas break". He says that knowledge of museums or history is not needed, people from all walks of life and with any qualification or none can make a contribution and enjoy doing so.
Doug also believes that the museum is the repository of the history of Tenby. It is important to keep it going and to make the material accessible. He would like to see more local people (including recent arrivals to the town) actively involved with their heritage, and more young volunteers who would gain useful skills whilst learning about their past.
As he says, "it is worth doing and I love doing it." One of the oldest surviving independent museums in the United Kingdom, Tenby Museum and Art Gallery is a non-profit making charitable trust, run almost exclusively by volunteers. The museum works closely with national and regional museums throughout Wales and elsewhere, having gained many national and regional awards and earning the reputation of being one of the best museums of its kind in the country.
But keeping up such high standards is not easy and there is a lot to do. For that reason, more volunteers are needed with skills in all areas. Mike Brew, the honorary surator, said: "Whether your skills are in computing, dusting or dealing with people, there is a role for you where those skills can be applied and will be valued."
Anyone interested in exploring whether the Tenby Museum is a place for them can call in whenever it is open and chat to Mike or to any of the existing volunteers.