Dedicated warden - Ray Marsh ferrying Roger Hawes and Richard Ranson to Skippers Island nature reserve. Inset: Ray Marsh with his dog Bella A CONSERVATIONIST who spent 60 years on Walton s Backwaters is among those to be named in the New Year’s Honours list. Ray Marsh, 87, from Walton, has been named as a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). He will pick up the award for voluntary service to wildlife and conservation at the Skippers Island Nature Reserve on the Walton Backwaters. The well-known custodian took on the responsibility of the nature refuge in 1969 and had journeyed to the island – only accessible by boat for most of the year - more than 10,000 times.