Charity founder and champion of the lonely dies
Philanthropist, retired army major and pioneer of services to alleviate loneliness and older people, Richard Carr-Gomm OBE, died on October 27th 2008, his family announced today.
The founder of three charities, Carr-Gomm, the Abbeyfield Society and Morpeth Society, Richard Carr-Gomm, 86, collapsed from a suspected heart attack from which he never regained consciousness while walking in his village of Batheaston, Somerset.
Richard devoted his life and energy to providing help and housing for people who were disadvantaged. After he left the Army in 1955, he became a volunteer home help in Bermondsey. Moved by the loneliness of the elderly people he met, Richard used his army gratuity to buy a house, invited four elderly people to join him and set himself up as housekeeper. The concept, housing with companionship and independence, took hold. Volunteers came forward (including his future wife) and in 1956 the Abbeyfield Society was formed.
Recognising that isolation affected people of all ages, Richard set up another charity, originally called the Carr-Gomm Society, in 1965. This offered help to those experiencing loneliness, mental health problems and other difficulties and aimed to break down barriers in the community. From a single house in Bermondsey, Carr-Gomm grew, providing supported housing across England. Carr-Gomm is now an award-winning charity providing housing, care and support to over 4,000 individuals and families each year.
Richard was delighted by the growth of the organisations that he founded, which included the Morpeth Society in 1972. Today over 700 Abbeyfield houses, including around 80 care homes, across the UK , are home to more than 7500 older people. In 1995, Carr-Gomm established Carr-Gomm Scotland which became a separate charity in 2002. Richard continued to support the work of these charities and to meet the people using their services until his death.
Richard’s contribution to services for the most marginalised people in society was recognised by two Lifetime Achievement Awards – from the Daily Mirror’s Pride of Britain awards 2005 and Beacon award 2004, as well as a Templeton Prize and an OBE. In 2006, Richard returned to Southwark to unveil a blue plaque commemorating the first Carr-Gomm and Abbeyfield houses.
Gary Lashko, Carr-Gomm’s Chief Executive says: “Richard uniquely combined practical, small scale, local work, with a vision which bridged the gap between vulnerable people and policy makers. Richard has had a profound and lasting influence on the way services developed. His commitment to helping social excluded people to live as part of, rather than apart from, their community is still central to Carr-Gomm’s work today. The world would be a sadder, lonelier place without his vision, inspiration and sheer hard work over the last 50 years.“
Paul Allen, Chief Executive of the Abbeyfield Society says “Everyone at Abbeyfield is deeply saddened by the death of our founder, Richard Carr-Gomm. Richard pioneered a change in how older people are viewed in society and his work, which continued right up until his death. I had the privilege to meet Richard twice recently. He was a great inspiration to us all and Abbeyfield will do all it can to continue to care for the lonely elderly, in his memory.”
Richard was a devoted husband to his late wife, Susan, and leaves behind five children, and nine grandchildren. The family has asked that further enquiries and condolences are directed to Carr-Gomm. Funeral arrangements are to be finalised but it will be a private family affair with a memorial service in London in the early part of 2009.
Richard Carr-Gomm:
• Born in 1922 in Warwickshire, Richard Carr-Gomm was educated at Stowe school in Buckinghamshire. Richard was in the army from 1939 to 1955, first in a young soldiers’ battalion of the Royal Berkshire Regiment and then with the Coldstream Guards. He was with the first troops to enter Belsen in April 1945.
• Richard resigned his army commission in1955 to work as a home help in Bermondsey, London. He was inspired to set up a service which would offer elderly people companionship and care and bought a small house with his £250 army gratuity. In 1956 the first Abbeyfield Society was registered as a charity.
• Recognising that loneliness affected people of all ages, Richard set up the Carr-Gomm Society to help anyone suffering from loneliness and other difficulties.
• He started the Morpeth Society in 1972, helping people with adequate incomes who were in need of daily living support.
• In 1984, Richard received an OBE and in 2005, received Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Beacon Fellowship and Daily Mirror Pride of Britain Awards.
• Richard was awRichard remained a strong supporter of the charities he founded until his death on 27 October 2008.
• Married in 1957 to Susan Gibbs who died in 2007, Richard was the father of five children and grandfather of eight and lived in Batheaston, Somerset.
