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Charity

Memories of inspirational Paul Sartori captured for generations to come

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THE PAUL SARTORI HOSPICE at Home charity held a celebration at Pembrokeshire Archive following its 19-month long oral history project which captured precious memories of the man who inspired it.
The charity’s history project officer, Simon Hancock said he was thrilled to welcome staff, trustees, volunteers, interviewees and supporters on such a special occasion.

The official title of the project was ‘Voices from the Community – Father Paul Sartori’s journey from priest to hospice care’ and was the brainchild of the charity’s grant development officer Judith Williams.
Father Sartori was a Haverfordwest-based parish priest who identified a need for hospice care in Pembrokeshire but died of cancer at the age of 39 before his dream could be realised. Inspired by his vision, parishioners and friends formed the Paul Sartori Foundation 40 years ago.

Speaking to a packed room, Simon explained: “This has been an extraordinary journey of discovery over the past 19 months. It’s a matter of no small regret that we contemplate the end of the road. We were keen to identify people who had personal memories of Father Paul Sartori – this young, dynamic, charismatic Catholic priest who inspired the charity which bears his name today.

“We wanted to record those precious memories, and record them as a permanent record for future generations. These memories were so varied. Some people might have known Father Sartori from a one chance conversation, others might have been associates of him – we spoke to them for a full 45 minutes.
“This was enabled thanks to the generous funding of the Heritage Lottery Fund. I want to publicly thank them for seeing the value and virtue of this project, and for being so supportive along the way.”

Simon said the project had exceeded all expectations. “To date we’ve identified and interviewed 64 people who knew Father Sartori either as a family member, as a school friend, a parishioner, or somebody involved with one of the organisations in Haverfordwest – or in the field of social care in which Father Sartori was a compassionate and energetic activist.

“The work of the project was carried out largely by 16 gallant volunteers, including a small cohort of students at Pembrokeshire College.

“It was technically demanding, and I’d like to publicly thank Kiara Quimby, the project assistant, for carrying out a lot of this work herself and liaising with the volunteers involved in the tasks.”

Volunteers carried out interviews, transcriptions, proofreading and Welsh translation. The project aimed to be fully bilingual. The recorded interviews, along with associated material like photographs and ephemera, have been uploaded to the People’s Collection of Wales. Its website provides access to the rich history and heritage of Wales.

Simon thanked Berian Elias of the People’s Collection of Wales for providing invaluable training for the volunteers, and for attending the celebration. There were laptops and earphones available on the day so people could go onto the website and sample some of the interviews.

Simon pointed out that one day there would be nobody left who would have known Father Sartori and that thanks to ‘Voices from the Community’ “the danger of these memories disappearing into an endless void that no historian could penetrate” had been averted.

A number of Father Sartori’s personal possessions have been gifted to the charity including his Bible, photographs, study books, rosaries, trophies, membership badges, even a bottle of holy water acquired on a pilgrimage to Lourdes, and they will be on display at Haverfordwest Museum when it reopens in 2025-26.

All the research and items gathered provide an initial deposit into the new ‘Paul Sartori Archive’ in Pembrokeshire Archive.

Simon said he had been involved in other oral history projects in the past and that the current one had been a model of its kind – “Great scope, great volunteers, insightful interviews which captured a range of emotions and feelings…and outcomes that will stand the test of time”.

Berian Elias told the audience: “I’d like to say a big ‘thank you’ for the invitation to come here today and it’s lovely to see so many faces celebrating the fantastic achievement of this project. It’s bitter sweet, I’m sure, seeing this project coming to an end. The achievement of the project is to safeguard and capture those memories for future generations.”

David Evans, Chair of Trustees, Paul Sartori, thanked the research team for their work, and pointed out that in an average year in which 1,600 people might pass away in Pembrokeshire, up to 400 people are likely to have received help and support from the charity.

Father Sartori died on April 16, 1980, and is buried beside his parents in his home town of Llanelli

Charity

Charity golf tournament to raise funds for Blood Bikes Wales

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A CHARITY golf tournament is set to take place at Milford Haven Golf Club on Friday, August 23rd, with the aim of raising £2000 for Blood Bikes Wales, a volunteer organisation dedicated to saving lives.

Organised by local volunteer Peter Kraus, the 18-hole Texas Scramble promises to be an exciting day for golf enthusiasts, with prizes for the top three teams, as well as awards for the longest drive and closest to the pin. Teams of four can enter for a fee of £50.

Peter expressed his determination to reach the fundraising goal: “I am determined to raise £2000 at the Charity Golf Day on 23rd August for Blood Bikes Wales (Pembrokeshire). They are all volunteers like myself, and saving lives is all they think about.”

The event not only seeks to attract golfers but also sponsors to ensure the success of the fundraiser. Kraus emphasized the importance of community support, stating, “Having this message on your website will definitely make it happen.”

Golfers and sponsors interested in participating or contributing to the event can register their teams or get more information by contacting Peter Kraus directly via email at [email protected] or by phone at 07867765716. Alternatively, the Milford Haven Golf Club Pro Shop can be reached on 01646 697822 ext 2.

Join the Milford Haven community in supporting a noble cause while enjoying a day of golf, camaraderie, and competition. Your participation could help save lives.

Event details:

  • Event: Charity Golf Tournament
  • In Aid Of: Blood Bikes Wales
  • Format: 18-Hole Texas Scramble
  • Date: Friday, August 23rd
  • Teams: 4 players per team
  • Entry Fee: £50 per team
  • Prizes: 1st, 2nd & 3rd place; Longest Drive; Closest to the Pin
  • Location: Milford Haven Golf Club

For more information, please contact:

  • Peter Kraus: [email protected] or 07867765716
  • Milford Haven Golf Club Pro Shop: 01646 697822 ext 2
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Charity

Paul Sartori secures grant from the Albert Hunt Trust

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PAUL SARTORI Hospice at Home have been well-supported by a major national giving trust, The Albert Hunt Trust, over recent years. Their support of £96,000 since 2017 has been invaluable to the charity and has helped to support the core service ensuring families are supported at end of life. This year (2024) has been no different to other years, where they have gracefully supported Paul Sartori with an annual donation towards its end-of-life home nursing care service.

This year, however, The Albert Hunt Trust have awarded this Pembrokeshire-based charity a substantial sum of £30,000. This is not only in recognition of all UK hospices facing funding cuts, but also the continuing challenge of the rise in the cost of living and increases in all bills borne by the charity. Of course, the charity has seen an increase in demand for its services, which continues to rise year after year.

This support is vital for the charity to continue to provide the range of services and to support many local families with a life limiting diagnosis, especially during the cost-of-living crisis with rising costs putting a strain on many charities.

This grant will contribute towards the flexible and responsive Home Nursing Care Service delivered in the county by the team at Paul Sartori Hospice at Home. They offer a 24/7 on-call facility, a standby service, rapid response, as well as Registered Nurse attendance for symptom management. Working closely with other health and social care professionals they complement statutory services to deliver the right care tailored to meet the needs of end-of-life patients, their families and carers. The support provided by the charity is regarded as “invaluable”, a “great comfort” and makes “a difficult time so much easier”.

The donation will help towards providing supportive care at night so family members can get much-needed rests; will enable families to access the fast-track service, and more importantly enable families to be at home together.

“I am delighted to take this opportunity to give our thanks to the Albert Hunt Trust for their very generous donation of £30,000,” said Phil Thompson MBE, Vice Chair of Paul Sartori Hospice at Home, “This is not the first time they have helped us either; they have supported our charity since 2017, to the tune of a massive £96,000. Thank you very much. At times like this, words don’t seem enough, but believe me, we are extremely grateful.”

“The Albert Hunt trust is committed, as far as possible, to continue to provide unrestricted core funding for hospice care for the remaining years of operation and until the Trust’s entire resources have been spent. Paul Sartori Hospice at Home has received faithful support as they continue their work in Pembrokeshire,” said Jane Deller Ray, Operations Manager at The Albert Hunt Trust.

The Albert Hunt Trust was established in recognition of the successful businessman, Mr Albert Hunt, who died in 1957. He left his business jointly to two ladies: Miss Florence I Reakes (his niece) and Miss Mary K Coyle. Miss Reakes and Miss Coyle established the Trust in Albert Hunt’s name in 1979. Miss Reakes died in 1996 and Miss Coyle in 2000. They kindly bequeathed the bulk of their estates to the Trust, providing it with a significant endowment. This enabled the trust to increase its active support of charitable causes. Since the trust was established, significant sums have been paid as grants. However, the Trust plans to spend its entire resources by 2029.

Paul Sartori Hospice at Home has been providing a range of services to Pembrokeshire people living in the final stages of a life-limiting illness for over 40 years. The support now includes home nursing care, equipment loan, complementary therapy, bereavement and counselling support, physiotherapy, future care planning and training. The services provided enable people in the later stages of any life-limiting illness to be cared for and to die at home with dignity, independence, pain free and surrounded by those they hold most dear, if that is their wish. All of the services are free of charge and are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, thanks to the generosity of supporters near and far.

Further information on the charity, and its services, visit their website www.paulsartori.org, or phone 01437 763223.

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Charity

Calls for help over VHF radio may have been a hoax, say RNLI

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THE ANGLE All-Weather Lifeboat was requested to launch on service at 10:23am this morning, Monday (July 22).

Following a call to the Coastguard from Milford Haven VTS, the crew were tasked after the VTS operators overheard a female voice calling for help on VHF channel 12.

After narrowing down the transmission to having been received on the Pembroke aerial site, the crew were requested to conduct a search.

Launching at 10:30am, the lifeboat made best speed to the moorings at Hazelbeach, and a hasty search was requested by the Coastguard of any moored vessels. The crew began making their way amongst the moorings, heading up to the moorings off Neyland. With nothing untoward sighted, the crew proceeded to search the moorings off Hobbs Point, Barnlake Point, Burton, Llanion and Rudders Boat Yard.

With nothing found, the Coastguard requested that the crew continue their search up river to Picton Point. The lifeboat continued searching up the western shore encompassing Llangwm before altering course just past Landshipping and searching the eastern shore back down the river, calling in to Lawrenny on the way to check any vessels moored there.

The RNLI said that the search continued back down as far as the Cleddau Bridge.

On Facebook the organisation posted :”Following a thorough visual, communications and radar search the crew were subsequently stood down when no further information or calls had been received.

“The tasking was therefore deemed to be a hoax call.

“The lifeboat was back alongside and readied for further service by 1pm.”

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