Since March 2022 the Chorley & District Support for Ukraine group has been tirelessly gathering, packing and sending all kinds of humanitarian aid to various people and organisations in Ukraine.
The group has grown and become a focal point in the region for people to donate supplies. Regularly, people are travelling from across Lancashire, Yorkshire, Cumbria, Merseyside, Greater Manchester and even North Wales, to deliver items and view the display of Ukrainian artefacts and souvenirs inside the ‘Ukraine Unit’ donation centre next door to Chorley Town Hall.
As the group has grown, so too has their ideas on how to provide support to the people of Ukraine. To date, they have been able to raise funds to donate eight 4×4 vehicles to be used as Medical Evacuation Vehicles and transport wounded Soldiers from the front lines, they then bought a van for transporting medical supplies, and they have just completed their most ambitious project to date, the delivery to Ukraine of a decommissioned NHS Ambulance.
Group Founder and Coordinator Stuart Clewlow said, “I am overwhelmed by the way this group has grown and the scale of support it has been able to offer Ukraine is phenomenal. When this all began, I simply wanted to try and help find a way of sending supplies from Chorley that had been gathered in response to the initial escalation of the conflict in 2022. What we have just managed to achieve, as a relatively small but tight knit group of volunteers, is nothing short of incredible.”
“As a local historian I have always been fascinated by the way Chorley and District had responded to national appeals to raise funds and donate machines to support the war effort. During World War Two for example we sponsored a Spitfire aeroplane and a Submarine. During World War One, we sponsored Ambulances to send to the battlefields of France. Now, over a hundred years later, as a community we have answered that call again.”
“Having already been able to donate 9 vehicles to Ukraine, I wanted us to try and do something as grand as the gestures made during the World Wars. I thought the best thing we could do was to send a fully operational Ambulance to Ukraine and help save the lives of not only the wounded Soldiers, but also civilians.”
The Ambulance set off on its 1,250 mile journey in early July and it took the drivers around four days to make the eventual rendezvous in Lviv. The drivers were Alan and Linda Taberner from Standish and both are former Officers of the British Army. They accepted the challenge of taking not only the Ambulance through Europe, but also the half ton of medical supplies that had been loaded on board. The valuable and life changing cargo included an electric wheelchair, stretchers, oxygen machines, crutches, wheelchairs, generator, and dozens of boxes of various medical supplies.
Eventually, the ‘Chorley & District’ Ambulance reached its destination and the keys were handed over to Yuliia and Olya from the Ukrainian voluntary organisation called Machok. The group now has the vehicle in its workshop and very soon it will be handed over to its new owners, where it will go into service helping the wounded.
Stuart said, “Every vehicle we have sent has been given a name and I called the Ambulance Raphael, the Biblical Angel of Healing. I think it is an appropriate name for a vehicle such as this and Ukraine is a very religious country. Hopefully it will also offer some inspiration to keep the faith; not only in their own religious belief, but to also keep faith in the fact that they still have our support and that we will continue to offer help for as long as we can.”
Stuart concluded, “I have to say a big thank you to Alan and Linda for taking on this special mission. Also thank you to my hard working Volunteers for getting all the supplies boxed and labelled ready for the journey. Also, naturally, a special thank you to everyone that continues to donate items and finances to our appeals. If we can all continue to do just a little bit, together we can make a big difference.”
The ‘Ukraine Unit’ donation centre can be found on Mealhouse Lane, next to Chorley Town Hall, PR7 1DZ. It is open every Wednesday 2-4pm and every Saturday 10am-12. The group can be found on Facebook and it also has a website: www.chorleyukraineunit.org
For any enquiries about donations you can email Stuart Clewlow on: saclewlow@yahoo.com
Photos:
Stuart Clewlow during the loading of supplies into the Ambulance.
The ‘Chorley & District’ Ambulance outside the ‘Ukraine Unit’ donation centre in Chorley.
The handover of the Ambulance in Ukraine, with Alan and Linda Taberner and members from the Ukrainian organisation Machok.
6 year old Roman waving the Ukrainian flag to celebrate the arrival of the Ambulance in Lviv.
