Barrie Thompson. Vice Chair. I have been a member of the committee for well over 2 years, and am at the moment temporary Vice Chair.  As well as running the Acoustic Guitar group,  I help run the Mindfullness group and am also a regular member of the Table Tennis.  If you are a new member you will meet me hosting the New Members Meeting which take place every few months.

 I thought that when I retired 6 years ago, I would have nothing to occupy my spare time.  How wrong can you be?  I thoroughly enjoy my role at the moment and have made so many new friends.  It really is a great organisation.`

Val Thomas Vice Chair. I have been a member of Oldham u3a since 2015 when I joined the Dancing Group of which I have been the Group Leader for over 7 years.
I was co-opted onto the Committee in January 2020 and in November after the AGM became our Treasurer, a post which I held for 5 years. I have now taken up the post of Group Leaders Co-ordinator and can help with the setting up of new Groups.
I’m happy to help our u3a to develop over the next few years by using the management and training skills I have developed over many years from both my professional career within Education and Social Services and doing voluntary work with St. John Ambulance, .

Kevin Birch. Treasurer I'm a Mancunianised North Easterner and joined U3A in 2023, living on the Oldham / Tameside border. I have a background in IT project management and in later years working with charities in fundraising, marketing and policy. I have a keen interest in travel as we keep our caravan in Normandy, France and we enjoy cruising too. I also do watercolours and I'm quite creative making small leather goods. I also enjoy building models in both plastic and other materials. Lots of new groups hidden in there I think! I'm Looking forward to working with the team and helping to make a great U3A even better.

Karen Bartlett. Secretary. I have been a member of the Oldham and District U3A since 2019. I was a Welcomer originally then lead the group for a while. I was co-opted onto the committee in 2022 I took over as Secretary in April 2025. Although I am not completely computer literate I have had some much appreciated help from various aids and committee members.

I am a member of the MOTO's group and we go on fantastic trips and  the trips are usually followed by meals which are much appreciated. I am also a member of the Art Appreciation group who are a most welcoming group. Criminology also run trips out which have been fascinating and usually audience participated.  All this is provided at a reasonable cost and the company is priceless!!! 

Jane Lawton. Membership Secretary. I joined the Oldham & District u3A in 2018 specifically to become a member of the Bird Watching group and have now taken over as co-leader of this group which I find very rewarding. Following my retirement in October 2022 I have also joined the Keep Fit, Transport & Industrial Heritage, Walking and Striders groups, and I also take advantage of the Jigsaw Exchange. I believe the u3a to be an excellent organisation providing many opportunities for semi- or fully-retired people.

Rose Hanley. I have been a member of the u3a for a couple of years now since I retired from teaching. I was invited to become a welcomer and really enjoyed greeting people at our monthly meetings. More recently I was asked if I would like to be on the committee. I look forward to the challenges this might bring. Currently I attend monthly Create and Chat sessions but am hoping to sample other groups in the near future.

Robert Cragg. I'm a 'comer-inner' having moved to Oldham a mere 19 years ago. Originally I'm a Leicester lad, although work has taken me around the country. My career background is HR in local government, including learning and development,  and health and safety, and I have some experience of PR and customer services. I still do a little HR consultancy work.

I joined the U3A in 2023, and am a member of the birdwatching, photography and French conversation groups. 

I also chair my local Community Group and the PTA of a small school for children with autism. 

Margaret Halley. As the only Scot on the committee, I have lived in various places from Lossiemouth on The Moray Firth to Letchworth Garden City in Herts.

I trained as a teacher, raised a family, fostered, worked in a care home, then finally found my niche working in mental health.

I have always been a people person, so my role as a welcomer is right up my street.

If you too enjoy baking and sharing it with others over a cuppa and a chat, join me for " Bakes & Blathers"!

Susan Tickle.I have been a member of u3a for 7 years whereby I joined the bowling and dancing group.

I am a cardmaker so in January 2020 I started the Create and Chat group, also in 2020 took on the job of getting the supplies for refreshments for u3a meetings on Tuesday .

The u3a has been a valued part of my life especially in the last 2 years I have gone on trips and holidays with various groups where I have made lots of new friends.

Josie Morris I have been group leader for the Walking Group for 10 years and I set up the Striders Group a couple of years later.  I believe the u3a is a valuable organisation & it’s important to help maintain it.

Chris Drabble Beacon Administrator. Beacon is the u3a movement's integrated membership, groups, and mailing system. Please click on Chris's name above should you wish to contact him.