Dozens of memories about 35 years of the Earl Mountbatten Hospice have been recalled during a 2-week tour of the Hospice’s 10 shops across the Isle of Wight.
Earlier this year, the hospice received a lottery grant to produce ‘Mountbatten Memories’, an oral history project charting the organisation’s development and celebrating the involvement of people who have made it the success it has been.
During the tour of hospice shops, volunteers helped to collect memories which included interviews with 2 former nurses who worked at the hospice during the early days, a musician who entertained patients in the 1980s, the owner of the construction firm that was instrumental in the development of the building itself and the former MD of Morey’s who supported Frank Stevens and Bill Bradley to start Walk the Wight. Many other stories have come from people who have received fantastic care and support from the hospice.
These stories have been already shared on social media and, later this year, the audio interviews will be added to a collection of other stories on the hospice’s website. They will also be reflected in the next phase of the project, the Mountbatten Memories exhibition, which will be staged at various events throughout the year.
Nigel Hartley, Chief Executive, said
“I would like to thank everyone who has so far shared their memories with us for this project, which will create a lasting legacy of our Island’s hospice. It is very important that we remember and celebrate the involvement of everyone who has supported our hospice, and we look forward to sharing the results of the project on our website and at the exhibition.”
If you would like to share your story of how you’ve been involved in the development of the hospice, get in touch by email [email protected] or phone 01983 217318.
Below is a small selection of some of the stories that have been provided:
Robert Ventress, from Ventnor (pictured below), owner of Henry Ingrams & Sons Building Contractors:
“We were invited to tender for the first phase of works in the 1980s at Earl Mountbatten Hospice, which was the refurbishment of the existing building including the lodge, which has since been demolished, and which was then used as offices. We won the contract for the initial stages of refurbishment and extending of the existing building, so that they had the required wards to commence. Then, after the new wards were built in the early 2000s, we were involved in a refurbishment of those. It was a very interesting time and quite satisfying to see the results of what you have been involved with. It’s been good to see how it’s evolved over the years”.
Monica Dale, from Chale (featured photo), a former nurse at the hospice in the 1980s:
“Hospice care for me is something that enables me, as a nurse, to give time and quality care to an individual, and get to know them and their family, and make their last days hopefully happy. It was very small when I worked at the hospice, but there were always enough nurses to look after the patients and there was a big day room. One of things I found very important was the need for people to talk, not necessarily now or at the time of death, but after death when the reality hits”.
