Lady Sue Ryder of Warsaw

There are hundreds of Sue Ryder charity shops throughout the UK, but few shoppers sorting through racks of jackets or piles of paperbacks know much about their founder. Sue Ryder was a determined, philanthropic and driven woman who set about creating homes for those in desperate need of care. The suffering of most of her patients was the result of trauma experienced in WW2, or from serious disability or illness. Sue Ryder was born into a very privileged family. When she was only sixteen years old, she chose to leave her expensive private school and throw herself into the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry. This was the beginning of her vocational career and led to an affection for the people of Poland, who she cared for during Special Operations Executive work. In the post-WW2 chaos she supported displaced people in a range of European countries. She worked directly in the field, sourcing and supplying food, medicine and clothing for those who were otherwise entirely abandoned. She constantly needed money for her work but her shops and radio appeals raised some, and local authorities made financial contributions. Eventually she opened homes and hospices in places as diverse as Malawi, Albania and Wales. Sue Ryder made a huge and positive difference to the lives of thousands, despite - or perhaps because of - having a character which could, at times, be as obsessive and downright difficult as it could be creative and inspiring. Over the years she was awarded various civic, military and academic honours, including being made a life peer in 1979. Sue Ryder was brought up to help others and she committed her life to doing so. This book is written so that Sue Ryder's name, work and life are known about and not forgotten.