TCF President, Patrons and Trustees
TCF President
Countess Mountbatten
Countess Mountbatten was in a boat which was blown up by the IRA off the shores of Sligo in 1979, killing her fourteen-year-old son Nicholas, her father, her mother-in-law and fifteen-year-old Paul Maxwell, a boat-boy from County Fermanagh. She, her husband, and their son Timothy Knatchbull (Siblings patron) were injured but survived the attack.
TCF Patrons
Baroness Susan Miller
Sue Miller was born in Hampshire in 1954 and went to a Quaker school in Somerset. She has lived in Somerset most
of her life working in publishing, bookselling and becoming involved in local politics. She was elected in 1987 to her local council where her radical reforming leadership led to her nomination to the House of Lords in 1998. In her time in the Lords she has been spokesperson on the Environment and Rural Affairs (1999-2007) and Home Affairs (2007-2010).
Her elder daughter Charlotte died in 2001 due to the negligence of an electricity company in Ecuador. She has founded a charity in her memory www.cmap.org.uk
When not in Parliament she helps her husband on their vineyard.
Dr Ann Dent
As one of the first Macmillan community nurses, Ann was involved in the setting up and running of St. Peter’s Hospice in Bristol. She has worked to achieve community care for dying children and their families in the South West Region.
More recently she has conducted research into support for families after sudden child death at the Department of Health in Bristol University, giving papers nationally and internationally on her work.
Over the years she has been involved in initiating and running two branches of Cruse. For four years she was chair of the consultant panel of the Child Bereavement Network.
Paul Flynn MP
Paul Flynn has kindly allowed us to reprint a chapter of his recent book 'The Unusual Suspect' in which he talks with devastating honesty about the loss of his daughter Rachel.
http://db.tt/SCXI1UH
TCF Siblings Patrons
Hon. Timothy Knatchbull
Ruthie Henshall
TCF Chairperson & Vice Chairperson
Mark Ferland
Mark's been a member of TCF since 1989 following Simon's death in the May. He's a County Contact for Herts and a Local Contact for the Saffron Walden area. Also a member of the Helpline Team for about seven years.
Interests include music (organist), reading and civil aviation. He is totally committed to the ethos and support offered by The Compassionate Friends.
Patrick Roberts
Patrick lost his 21 year old son Sam in 2007. Patrick has spent his life working in the publishing and printing industry. He is a CAB adviser specialising in employment matters, and has served as a trustee on many charities. Untill Sam's death he was very involved in local community affairs and has been Mayor in his Suffolk hometown.
He spent over 40 years treading the boards and directing in local amateur dramatic groups, his other interests include history, reading and cricket.
His wife Gil is the TCF librarian and they both enjoy time
spent with their surviving daughter and grandchildren.
TCF Trustees
Stuart Craig
Stuart and his wife Lynn lost their daughter Natasha in July 2007. She was 35 and had been suffering from anorexia for over 25 years.
Stuart began his career by reading law (LL.B) and qualifying as a chartered accountant (FCA) before joining a City merchant bank’s investment management division. He retired in 2003 and since then has devoted his time to voluntary work, mainly with the NHS with a particular interest in eating disorders and mental health generally.
He was Lead Governor of the Surrey NHS mental health Trust and has been a Trustee of various charities both local and national and was a Governor of his old school (KGS) for 26 years, he is presently a Community Governor of Oatlands Infants School which both children attended and where Natasha was a voluntary Classroom Assistant.
His leisure interests include his family (their son Nolan’s family, particularly their 2 years old grandson Joshua), his local parish church, St James’ in Weybridge, where they have lived since 1967 and rowing where, no longer active on the water he is involved in helping to run various local regattas and events.
Rebecca Fitzsimons
Rebecca lives near Kettering in Northamptonshire with her husband Steve and her two cats! Rebecca lost her only sister Naomi in 1990 in a car accident when Naomi was 14 and Rebecca 17 years old. Her involvement with TCF initially came about through her parents as her mum is a County Contact & her dad a Regional Coordinator for TCF. For a number of years Rebecca wanted to support TCF but didn’t know how best to do this until by chance she heard about a scheme which would sponsor her to work for TCF for 2 months, which she did in April/May 2011. As a result of this placement Rebecca took the opportunity to become involved with TCF as a trustee where she hopes to utilise her training and business skills learnt from her background in Supply Chain Management, Training & Development. Her spare time is spent baking, cooking, walking and spending time with friends & family.
Bronwen Ferland
Shaun Hewitt
I lost my only child Oliver in his sleep, early in 2006 aged 23.
For the last twenty years I have been a self-employed decorator, I was a manufacturing jeweller in Birmingham for 17 years prior to that.
I have never been a trustee, or even been on a committee before I joined TCF, and although having absolutely no knowledge of finance, or the intricacies of charity workings, I have found a niche and feel I am serving a useful part.
I also run a TCF group in Birmingham.
My main pastimes are Gracie Fields, gardening, reading Victorian lady novelists and keeping my hands occupied.
(If you have ever thought of volunteering to be a trustee, don’t let the fact that you have never done it before, or the feeling that you do not have the right experience stop you, we all have something to give).
Shushma Jain
I lost my younger brother Arvind in August 2009 aged 13. He had Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy but due to a world famous children's hospital’s negligence his life was cut short and he died suddenly due to this.
I have another brother Nitin who is a year older than me and we live together in London with my parents where we have lived all my life.
In Arvind's memory, and to repay the help my mum and I received from TCF I decided I wanted to help develop the siblings aspect more, I am now a sibling contact and run a siblings group in London too.
I also work for the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign and a children's hospice, as well as working full-time at a special needs school.
Kendall Massey
Jannet Mathers
Jannet is married to Stephen another Trustee. Their older daughter Anna is at university in Swansea, their younger daughter Jessica died in a car accident in 2007 aged thirteen.
Jannet worked in the City before giving up to look after the children. She was a govenor for many years at both their primary and secondary schools, becoming chair at the primary school. She has recently become a TCF contact and is planning to start a new group in SE London in 2012.
Jannet is also chairing the 2011 Friendship Gathering Committee.
Stephen Mathers
Stephen is married to Jannet another Trustee. Their older daughter Anna is at university in Swansea and younger daughter Jessica died in a car accident in 2007 aged thirteen. Stephen worked in the Lloyds insurance market in the City for the same company for 35 years, being a director for 20 years, until retiring at the end of 2010. He is currently a trustee of two other charities and a director of a building company.
Spare time is spent gardening and playing golf.
Anita Murray
Anita Murray is from Co. Tyrone in Northern Ireland. She is married to Wingfield and has two married daughters, a son and a 5yr old grandson.
Anita became involved in TCF after the sudden death of her only son William aged 15 on Christmas Eve 1997 as the result of a freak accident.
In the past she has owned her own taxi business and was one of the drivers in the company and was on the samaritan helpline team. After William's death she became a registered childminder and helped out on her husband's dairy and beef farm. Since 2006 she became more involved in voluntary work, most of which is within The Compassionate Friends. At present she is Regional Co-ordinator in Northern Ireland, facilitates a support group and is on the helpline team there. Anita became a Trustee in 2010.
Her pastimes are walking, and spending quality time with her family.
Caroline Vidler
Caroline Vidler is married to husband Ian and they are the proud parents of four children. Matthew, their eldest, died in October 2005 aged 2 following complications after heart surgery. The family live in West Lothian, near Edinburgh and enjoy cycling, photography and trips to the cinema.
Caroline joined TCF in August 2007 and benefited so much from the support that she received that after several months she felt ready to "give something back". She has been a member of the wonderful TCF Scottish Forum organising committee since October 2008.
Chief Executive
Diana Youdale
