New Year's Honour for Ealing Hospital's Oldest Volunteer
Beryl Carr receives the British Empire Medal
Beryl Carr (left) with Ann Cousins, Manager of the Friends Café
January 3, 2023
A centenarian, who is the longest serving volunteer at Ealing Hospital and possibly in the whole country, has been recognised in the New Year’s Honours list.
Beryl Carr, who helps out at the League of Friends Café in the hospital, has received a British Empire Medal for services to the community in West London.
She has worked at the café for the past 20 years and is believed to be the oldest volunteer still working in Britain. She started volunteering there when she moved back to London to be closer to her daughter following the death of her husband.
She had grown up in the area but felt lonely when she arrived back in the capital having being used to living in a bungalow in the countryside. Her daughter suggested volunteering as a way to get her out of her one-bedroom flat.
Beryl lived through the Blitz and was bombed out of her home. She helped the war effort by sewing barrage balloons and working as a fire watcher as German bombs fell on the capital.
In August of last year she was named as one of the 50 most happy people in the country.
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