Issue 122 - the Pembury Village Website

PEMBURY PEOPLE – BETTY HOWELLBETTY HOWELL, long-time resident ofPembury and Chief Executive of thePembury-based charity – Compaid Trust.Many of us in the village are aware of theexcellent work undertaken by our many localcharities. The Compaid Trust,based at Pembury Hospital, isone such charitableorganization and it is theirChief Executive, BettyHowell, whom I have featuredas this edition’s PemburyPerson. I recently had theopportunity to visit theheadquarters of the Trust and,apart from recognizing manyfamiliar faces, I wasastonished to see the breadthof inclusive computer-basedactivity being facilitated byBetty’s devoted team.Everything from computerbasedlearning programmes tofull scale production ofmaterials such as celebratory cards is provided.Betty began her working life as a tracer but herabilities were soon recognised and she becameone of the first female draughtsmen in thecountry, working for the GPO and later forHunting’s at Bedford. “In those days”, recountsBetty, “women did not wear trousers to work and Iwas not allowed on the GPO tower constructionsite.” Later, a suggestion by Betty led to allutility vehicles and operators in the UK beingidentified with Day-Glo yellow paint. Bettyadded “They tried pink but the men refused towear the jackets!”.Betty with her late husband, Eric, moved intothe house in Pembury she still lives in today as aresult of Eric’s company being relocated toTunbridge Wells in 1972. Betty, who wasbrought up in Essex, remembers how quietPembury seemed in the early 1970s eventhough the A21 ran through the village andthere were no traffic lights. Despite beingdiagnosed as having progressive rheumatoidarthritis in 1974, Betty began volunteering forlocal charities such as Meals on Wheels and theWRVS Luncheon Club. “I got told off by my GPwhen he discovered I was carrying the heavy boxescontaining the hot meals”, says Betty. “He saidthat most of the elderly people I was serving werefitter than me!” In addition to this considerableworkload she also helped run the local Pemburyvillage Cubs and still gets recognised bymembers of her old pack.Betty first met LornaRidgway, the founder ofCOMPAID Trust, at theSeven Springs LeonardCheshire Home in thelate1970s and in 1986 foundherself ‘promoted’ to beingbook-keeper for the newcharity. As Betty states:“I’m a quick learner and Lornacertainly kept us on our toes”.COMPAID Trust, which nowhelps disabled adults throughthe use of computers fortherapy, education andrecreation, began as an advicecentre but quickly changedwhen it was realised what a powerful toolcomputers can be in helping disabled peopledevelop new skills.When Lorna Ridgway died in 1994 Betty tookon the responsibility of running COMPAIDTrust, by then based in two temporary buildingsin the grounds of Pembury Hospital. Betty adds“We now have a fleet of nine special needs-adaptedvehicles that we use to bring clients to our DayCentre and we run a dial-a-ride service takingelderly and disabled people to shops and amenities”.Not content with one ‘social enterprise’, Bettyand her staff have developed the highlysuccessful Office Bureau service, offering shortrun,specialist printing for weddings, specialoccasions, etc. The Office Bureau is responsiblefor COMPAID’s unique range of greetingscards, using artwork created in the Day Centre.The distinctive cards provide additional incomeand also promote the charity. I am sure that allof us in Pembury accord with Betty when sheconcludes that “I’m proud of what COMPAIDTrust has been able to achieve and the support thelocal community gives us”. So say all of us!Paul Barrington-King21