Ryder-Cheshire
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The Ryder-Cheshire Foundation is dedicated to the relief of suffering among people who are sick, disabled or destitute, without regard to age, race, religion or gender.
The Ryder-Cheshire Foundation was founded in 1959 by the late Group Captain Lord Cheshire of Woodhall VC OM DSO DFC and the late Baroness Ryder of Warsaw CMG OBE.
Leonard Cheshire was Britain’s most highly decorated WW2 airman and a British observer at the atomic bomb raid on Nagasaki. His reaction to the war led him to undertake humanitarian work as a contribution to peace.
Sue Ryder served in the Special Operations Executive in WW2 with responsibilities in Poland. After seeing the terrible destruction she set up homes in Eastern Europe to help sick, disabled and destitute people, especially those from concentration camps.
In the years immediately following WW2, separate Sue Ryder and Leonard Cheshire Foundations were thus established. Subsequently Leonard Cheshire and Sue Ryder married, and set up the Ryder-Cheshire Foundation. It was in 1959 that their first combined home, Raphael, at Dehra Dun in northern India, was established. The couple visited Australia in order to gain support for the new home in India, and the Ryder-Cheshire Foundation was started in Australia soon after.
The Australian Association of Ryder-Cheshire Foundations supports homes in India, Australia and East Timor.
Separately incorporated Foundations in NSW, South Australia, Victoria and the ACT, operate autonomously, and several have regional support groups. Overall policy is co-ordinated by a National Board which convenes a biennial conference for the State Foundations.
The Ryder-Cheshire Foundation in Australia is run entirely by volunteers at all levels, ensuring 98% of funds raised reaches the intended recipients.
It is an organisation that is making a real difference to the lives of people who are sick, have a disability, or are destitute; with a proven track record of achieving its goals for over forty-five years.
Images of Leonard Cheshire and Sue Ryder
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