Interviewer:

Good morning ladies. Perhaps we could start, could I ask your name?

Dorothy Schofield:

Dorothy Jane Schofield

Gaynor Hughes:

Gaynor Hughes.

Interviewer:

And could I ask what friends group we’re talking about today?

Dorothy Schofield:

We are talking about the branch the Orthopaedic League of Friends, Welshpool Branch.

Interviewer:

Excellent. And could I ask your ages, I know it’s a personal question.

Dorothy Schofield:

88.

Gaynor Hughes:

82.

Interviewer:

Okay. So my immediate questions are around, I don’t really understand what a branch of the League of Friends is about?  Would you like to explain a bit about how that works and what happens?

Gaynor Hughes:

Well, the Welshpool Branch there was a meeting held in 1964, May the fourth, 1964 at Powis Castle, kind of in invitation of the Irwin Council, Powys and 20 local and district people attended, and there was a Mrs. Pim, who was chairman of the League of Friends, and Mrs. Green, Organising Secretary of the Orthopaedic. And Mrs. Pim was asked to give information to me of the hospital background, and the way in which the League of Friends had been formed, and reference was made to the Montgomeryshire Voluntary Association, Orthopaedic Association, and connection with the hospital raising money to build the new Montgomery Ward at the hospital. And 1948 Health Act, voluntary services of the MVO are not allowed to fundraise from 1960 onwards. So that also became the League of Friends with branches around Shropshire and Montgomeryshire.

Okay. So that sounds really prestigious beginning, almost. And could I ask your stories on how you got involved? And we’ll start with Dorothy.

Dorothy Schofield:

Well, I have a nursing background, and I started nursing in 1950s in Manchester. And in those days, of course, you always had a Hospital Association, which you did fundraising, didn’t you? And then from then on was, as Gaynor has said, it started off that we, the League of Friends started. So I’ve always thought that really fundraising to help hospitals, in research, and whatever was needed, was very important as well as,  you know, speaking to patients.  I did my midwifery in London, and that was quite interesting, because it was a different community. I was in St. Mary’s, Paddington, and so really that was quite involved. And  so from then onwards, I’ve always thought that fundraising was an important part, and as we went into the NHS, the hospitals couldn’t themselves get involved that much, so really the League of Friends came about. So I’ve always thought it was important to help the hospitals. Moving around, of course, being involved in different hospitals, and when we came here, I think I always felt I wanted to give something back into, after all my training, I wanted to give something back into hospital.

Interviewer:

And you came here in about 1986?

Dorothy Schofield:

Yes. 1985, really. Yes.

Excellent. We’ll come back to you in a minute. So now we are going to move across and Gaynor, I think you are not such a newcomer to the area? I think you were here before 86. So tell me a bit about your story.

Gaynor Hughes:

Yes well I’ve lived in the area, obviously born in 1941, and we, my husband and I, started our business in the area, and it was my two aunts that were on the original committee and, well, not the original committee, but on the committee at that time, at the start 1960s. And they asked me to, you know, to get on,  to come onto the Committee of Welshpool branch. And so, yes, I joined in 1996. And I was secretary for 11 years, and I’m afraid to say that I’ve been chairman for 22 years.

Interviewer:

Oh. I think 22 years is a good length of time. I’ve been Chief Exec at the National Body for 21 years at the moment. So you’re just getting your feet under the table now.

Gaynor Hughes:

Do you think so

Interviewer:

Absolutely.

Gaynor Hughes:

Well, every time we have an AGM I’m afraid to say that we’re both, you know. Oh, no. “We’re quite happy with you”.

Interviewer:

Absolutely. I know that feeling a lot. Can you explain to me the sorts of things that Welshpool does?  And,  back to Dorothy

Dorothy Schofield:

Yes. Well, we have coffee mornings, we’ve had cocktail evenings, which have been very successful. And we started off really with flag days, really on the streets and house to house collections. And we did make quite a bit of money, I think it’s listed how much we’ve made in different years, and we are well and truly, we are supported well, because we are across the border, I think as well. And patients are very grateful to hear to be able to have an orthopaedic operations, and treatments. So it’s very good really. But we are really supported very well in Montgomeryshire because I think they do appreciate the hospital.

Interviewer:

Absolutely. So I saw that little look across to Gaynor. Gaynor, can you tell me how much was raised or how much has been raised?

Gaynor Hughes:

Yes. We’ve raised over the years, £124,000.

Interviewer:

Excellent.

Dorothy Schofield:

Yes.

Interviewer:

That is a fantastic amount of money.

Gaynor Hughes:

And that’s just from the one, from our branch.

Interviewer:

So a question from my point of view. Did Covid change how things happened for you as a group? How, how has it changed and are you going back to how it was or what’s happened for you?

Gaynor Hughes:

It has changed, but people are still very supportive because they depend on it. Because Powys, Powys was Montgomeryshire and is Powys now, and they have not got a main hospital, or orthopaedic or anything like that. So it would depend on coming here for treatment and everything.

Interviewer:

But so fundraising, I mean, obviously the door to door, the coffee mornings, I assume there was just a hiatus during Covid. You didn’t do some of those?

Dorothy Schofield:

We didn’t. No we didn’t , and you could tell from the figures we dropped, didn’t we? Yes. And we’ve got a breakdown of every year really. What was made. And  it dropped, well, because we couldn’t meet.

Interviewer:

And has that restarted?

Dorothy Schofield:

Yes. Oh, yes, yes.

Dorothy Schofield:

Yes. We had a coffee morning made 700 pounds a few months ago, didn’t we Gaynor?

Gaynor Hughes:

Yes, yes. We have an annual draw, which brings in a thousand pounds

Interviewer:

Excellent.

Gaynor Hughes:

And we’ve always been involved with the fete, which, the annual fete at the hospital here. And we’ve had various stalls. We’ve had white elephant,  baby clothes, bric-a-brac, cake stalls.

Dorothy Schofield:

So from 1964, we’ve always had the stall on the summer fete here at the hospital.

Interviewer:

Excellent. And some people will not hold fetes. What do you think the value of a fete is apart from fundraising? Just fundraising? Is it getting to know people? Is it recruiting new people to the cause?

Gaynor Hughes:

Well, I think it brings all the branches together. You know, you’re at a centre point of the hospital and you’re focused on that.

Interviewer:

Excellent.

Gaynor Hughes:

And then we have a liaison meeting twice a year, which we all, all the branches attend. Lovely to see old friends.

Dorothy Schofield:

We’ve had quite a few celebrities really, haven’t we Gaynor? Yes, we have some old photographs. We’ve got photographs.

Gaynor Hughes:

We’ve had Matthew Kelly.

Interviewer:

Okay. That was “Game For a Laugh”, that sort of thing.

Gaynor Hughes:

Yes. Duchess of Kent

Dorothy Schofield:

Duchess of Kent

Interviewer:

Okay.

Interviewer:

Fantastic.  So how did you recruit all of these celebrities? Were they local or how did they find out about you?

Dorothy Schofield:

Well, I think from the first meeting they decided then to have the committee, and it was decided to write to different local organisations, and people, to become members of the committee. And we still do that, don’t we Gaynor, in a way?

Gaynor Hughes:

We’ve also had Charity Golf Days.

Interviewer:

Excellent.

Gaynor Hughes:

You know, the League of Friends as a whole,  have built swimming pools, at the hospital.

Interviewer:

So I imagine as you two ladies have come together, and you’ve known each other since 1986, there’s something about this whole process, which is about creating friendships, and becoming friends. Do you have lots of people who it’s become sort of their friendship network as well as a fundraising network?

Gaynor Hughes:

Definitely. Well, yes

Dorothy Schofield:

It is, isn’t It?

Gaynor Hughes:

You know, as ladies do, you know, they pass away and well, and the gentleman as well, we’ve had gentlemen on the committee. Yes, yes. but we’ve tried to recruit, you know, people, friends, and anybody we think that would like to, but everybody that joins, they support us wonderfully.

Interviewer:

And do you have many youngsters, or younger people, join you, or do you tend to all be of a certain age or how does that work for you?

Gaynor Hughes:

There’s a few. There’s quite a few of us. our age isn’t there? but yes, we have got one or two young young boys. Yes. I won’t say terribly young, but 50 ish.

Interviewer:

Oh, that’s young.

Gaynor Hughes:

Yes. Well, it is young.

Interviewer:

I’m young.

Gaynor Hughes:

That’s right.

Interviewer:

Okay. No, no, that’s good. And that’s interesting that, you know, people do get involved. And you talked about, Gaynor, this was, it felt a bit like a family business that you got dragged in. Do you find that children and grandchildren get involved in this?

Dorothy Schofield:

Yes, they do. I think we find that they don’t seem to have the time, they don’t really, they’re all working more than ever we did in a way, I suppose. I don’t know. But they’re always involved. They do support us, don’t they? They support,  families do support.

Gaynor Hughes:

We,  my sister’s on the committee with us, and she, her husband, her son and the Hatchers always support us. Yes, yes. We’re in the car business, and my son always supports us, so he doesn’t get involved, but he does support us.

Interviewer:

And that’s an important bit. People, people have played different roles. Some people are part of the committee. Some people are supporters who come in. And that’s part of the real story of League of Friends. So interestingly nationally, I think one of the figures that we have is that we have roughly 30,000 active volunteers in Leagues of Friends across the country. But interestingly behind that, the report is that there’s probably about 300,000 supporters. So people who wouldn’t call themselves a volunteer, they support, but when something happens, they’re there with their particular contribution.

Dorothy Schofield:

That’s right. And, also to say that we’ve always supported the hospital in helping with the coffee shop and different things. We’ve always helped the hospital.

Gaynor Hughes:

Yes. As volunteers, we have worked in the coffee shop, and the shop.

Interviewer:

So it hasn’t always been just Welshpool, there’s the hospital as well

Gaynor Hughes:

Oh no. We get involved in hospital.

Interviewer:

Excellent. That’s great. Do you have any favourite memory? Anything particular that sticks out in your time? Any particular story or person or event?

Gaynor Hughes:

Well, I think we’ve always looked up to the people that started the League of Friends. because we are, you know, we’re very proud of Powis Castle and the Earl of Powis, and Mrs. Corbett Windor,  from a lovely family.

Interviewer:

So, the link if you like, the local landed gentry is an important thing as part of the story of the League of Friends.

Gaynor Hughes:

Well, especially Welshpool branch, we do admire the Lord and Lady Powis

Dorothy Schofield:

Yes.

Gaynor Hughes:

Lady Powis, don’t we?

Interviewer:

Is there anything else that you wanted to tell me that you haven’t had the chance to say yet?

Dorothy Schofield:

Well, and I would just say that we get support from the hospital,  from Victoria and different ones, which is very good. They always really try to come along to our AGMs, don’t they? Inform us what is going on in the hospital, which I think that is important.

Interviewer:

Good. Anything else?

Dorothy Scofield:

Well, not really.

Interviewer:

Well, could I say thank you ever so much?