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90-year-old takes flight for a good cause

Published on: 20/12/2024

From wing walking to singing in the choir, abseiling to community outreach, there isn’t much 90-year-old Stuart won’t do to support his local hospices. Stuart has been involved in supporting St Barnabas House for the last 6 years and is a more recent supporter of our sister hospice, Chestnut Tree House too.

He’s kindly shared his story with us.

A journey of giving back as a hospice volunteer

‘I first got involved with St Barnabas when I trained as a Community Companion in 2019. My eldest son had died of cancer the year before, and he was treated well by his local hospice. 

I have always liked doing voluntary work so I decided to give back by offering my time as a Community Companion’ 

Community Companions are volunteers who provide befriending and companionship to patients at home who may be struggling with loneliness and isolation. Find out about Community Companions and how to volunteer. 

Finding solace and community through the Hospice Choir

‘When my wife died from cancer in 2020, my friends all said to me ‘Stuart, why don’t you get involved in something new?’ Usually for me that would have been by playing sports: joining the bowls club, or having a game of darts. 

I saw how well the St Barnabas team cared for my wife, so I went along to an open evening for the community choir in 2021 — I just loved it. 

I wasn’t a singer before I joined, and most of the choir say they aren’t singers, but we all can. It’s amazing what it has done for me. It literally changed my life! 

We meet every Wednesday night and it’s a marvellous organisation. Often, members have lost someone who was being cared for at St Barnabas House or at Chestnut Tree House so we really have a special bond — the choir helped me through my sadness.’ 

If you’d like to join Stewart at the hospice choir, rehearsals take place weekly on Wednesdays from 6.30pm-8pm, in the Living Well Hub at St Barnabas House. Anyone interested in joining is welcome to attend a free taster session – just email sing.stbh@gmail.com

Catching the fundraising bug

Not content with just volunteering and singing, Stuart began undertaking daring fundraising activities three years ago. His impressive list of accomplishments includes:

  • Abseiling down the Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth. Take on your own abseil here!
  • Abseiling Arundel Castle. His granddaughters, Hannah and Emily, joining him as ‘Team Morris’.
  • Participating in the “Jingle Bells Drop” abseil down the i360 in Brighton.
  • Completing the South Downs Trek three times.
  • Finishing the Night to Remember fundraising walks in Worthing (coming in second place in the last one!)

‘I like being able to give back, but I also like having something to look forward to,’ Stuart shares.

Stuart wing walking

Wing walking at 90

Stuart’s most recent and daring feat involved strapping himself to the wing of a small aircraft for a thrilling wing walk, raising over £1,300.

‘I had it in mind for a wee while. I had seen other people doing a wing walk a couple of years  ago and I thought to myself, ‘I could do that’. 

The first challenge was signing up… You weren’t allowed to do it if you were older than 80. I’m 90!  

After speaking with the organisers for a while, and telling them about all the other fundraising activities I’ve done, they said yes. ‘As long as you can climb on to the plane yourself, we don’t mind’. 

On the morning of the flight, I had vertigo. I wasn’t scared about the wing walk, but I think I was worried that something would come between me and getting up in the air.  

Once I was up there I wasn’t scared at all – I want to do it again, and next time I’ll ask the pilot to do a loop!’ 

An almighty total

Stuart’s incredible fundraising efforts have raised over £14,000 for Chestnut Tree House and St Barnabas House. His dedication and spirit are a true inspiration.

‘I think there’s something really extraordinary about people that are working for hospices,” Stuart concludes. “I just think they’ve got so much compassion, there’s something very special there.’

You can still donate to Stewart’s amazing fundraising via his JustGiving:

Fundraising ideas anyone can do

You don't have to strap yourself to a plane like Stewart, in order to do something AMAZING for hospice care in 2025. Here's a few ideas of other fundraising activities anyone can do!

💙 Sponsored head shave or wacky hair-do

💙 A 24-hour challenge (for example: dance-a-thon, vow of silence, continuous burpees)

💙 Ask for donations in-lieu of presents your next birthday

💙 Put on your own quiz/bingo event

💙 Sign up to an organised event

💙 Get your work involved – everyone loves a bake sale!

Get in touch if you’re putting on a fundraising event and need any support!

Fundraising enquiries