Sue May Little – MBE
IN the 11 years since Sue May Little established the Jersey Brain Tumour Charity, they have established what she describes as ‘quite a big community’ of those affected by such conditions.
Relatives and carers, as well as people with a brain tumour – the community is a diverse one.
‘The problem with brain tumours is that there are so many different types that affect people in different ways, so we are a bespoke charity supporting many different needs,’ Mrs May Little explained.
Her motivation in establishing the charity was to provide support to others as they began their recovery, ‘the hardest part of the journey’, as she characterises it. She should know, for if anyone should inquire whether the charity’s founder knows what it feels like to have a brain tumour, she can answer in the affirmative.
In 2010, Mrs May Little was diagnosed with a non-malignant tumour which required a craniotomy, and she needed further treatment earlier this year. It was the lack of an organisation in Jersey for those in her situation that persuaded her to set up the body originally known as the Sue May Trust. The charity was rebranded and launched in its current guise in May 2013.
Speaking from her home in Wales – to which she moved in 2018 and from where she still runs the charity – she estimates that they have today helped between 1,000 and 2,000 people over more than a decade. Providing practical advice including a helpline, they offer a minimum of six one-to-one sessions and monthly ‘buddy support’ for a group of 20-to-25 people.
The road to recovery is often a complicated one – as many as 80% of those with such tumours do not return to full-time work after their operations. What has the experience of establishing the charity taught Mrs May Little?
‘You need a lot of determination and drive,’ she said, adding that meeting the individual needs of sufferers and their carers sat alongside the need to fundraise for the group. Her husband has also taken to his bike in sponsored rides to supplement the generosity of many of those benefitting from their work.
In addition to her efforts supporting those recovering from brain tumours, Mrs May Little has been a disability campaigner, working to support disability in schools in particular. Nevertheless, recognition for her efforts in the form of an MBE was entirely unexpected, she admitted.
‘I’ve worked very hard and it has certainly taken hard work but I have fantastic people who believe in the charity – trustees and volunteers – who really are our backbone.
‘This is an incredible honour but I hope it helps the charity too,’ she said.
Sara McIntosh – MBE
Sara McIntosh hopes that her MBE – awarded to the founder and chair of a charity to help survivors of rape and sexual abuse in Jersey – will help victims take strength from the recognition it also affords them.
Mrs McIntosh’s family founded Jersey Action Against Rape in 2015 after daughter Cassidy was raped. Unable to secure justice through criminal proceedings, the family brought a civil case and, using some of the money her daughter later received in settlement, established a charity to support others.
What Mrs McIntosh describes as ‘very much a family endeavour’ was a direct response to the lack of available support in Jersey at the time. Her daughter was prepared to waive her right to anonymity in the interests of ensuring that others would better understand a crime that people were often reluctant to speak about openly.
Since 2015 the charity has helped ‘hundreds of people’ affected by rape and sexual assault, some recent victims – others acknowledging events which may have happened decades previously. While some might be surprised about the extent of such a problem in Jersey, Mrs McIntosh believes there is no reason to suppose things should be different here from any other community of more than 100,000 inhabitants.
In fact, the nature of a small island only intensifies the ordeal facing those who suffer such abuse. ‘In a small community to speak out – when the perpetrator could be a family member or a friend – can be very difficult when you have nowhere to go. Without support, which is where we provide a safe and independent space, it can be very difficult for survivors,’ she said.
Acknowledging the commitment of her husband and daughter, her committee and the charity’s volunteers, Mrs McIntosh said that the award came completely out of the blue. ‘I couldn’t quite understand what was being said. I was overwhelmed because it really is a team effort,’ she said.
But in the case of a new charity like JAAR, Mrs McIntosh discerns a deeper benefit in the publicity which the MBE inevitably generates. ‘I want survivors of rape and sexual assault to take strength from this. When we founded the charity, ‘rape’ was a word that no one wanted to see or to say. We wanted people to see and say it because there is no shame on those affected by it. The guilt is on the shoulders of the perpetrator,’ she said.
Tony Allchurch – British Empire Medal
After leaving Durrell as director of veterinary services back in 2004, Tony Allchurch was looking for a new challenge.
With the help of the late Ed Le Quesne, he first found himself organising activities for Make Poverty History and then was introduced to a movement supporting ethical trade – he became chairman of the Jersey Fairtrade Island Group.
‘I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the challenges of persuading the community to support the positive aims of alleviating poverty in other parts of the world,’ he said, adding that the ethos of providing a hand-up rather than a handout had been given additional impetus by awareness that Fairtrade suppliers were at the forefront of struggles to reduce the impact of the planet’s carbon footprint.
With former Senator Jean Le Maistre persuading the States to confirm Jersey as a Fairtrade Island, moves to put people and places before profit suddenly ‘turned a corner’, in Mr Allchurch’s words.
Focusing on Fairtrade Fortnight – set to run next year from 27 February to 12 March – he has masterminded a campaign of engagement in schools. In addition to bringing speakers to the Island – often producers from countries like Kenya and Ghana – to talk about the impact that fair pricing of food makes on the overseas communities who produce it, the group has encouraged students to develop their own projects and artwork to promote the message.
Meanwhile, working with its ambassador company the Channel Islands Coop and other local stores, they have seen ‘virtually every supplier’ offering some Fairtrade produce.
‘What has been really encouraging has been to see “own brand” products, which means they are really committed to the Fairtrade philosophy,’ he said.
Describing as ‘amazing’ the phone call he received notifying him of his British Empire Medal, Mr Allchurch wanted to acknowledge the part played by former Victoria College teacher Mr Le Quesne 18 years ago.
‘I thank Ed for introducing me to it and supporting me, and we still try to keep his memory alive,’ he said.
Mr Allchurch has also been recognised for his work with the Rotary Club of Jersey, to which he was introduced by the late Colin Powell, working particularly on the student peace debate later renamed in Mr Powell’s memory.
He has also been active in the campaign to raise funds for polio immunisation, travelling to India and witnessing first-hand the successful efforts to suppress the disease.
Referring to the club’s pétanque team Purple Pinkies, named after the campaign’s distinctive mark, he added: ‘We’re riding high in the lunchtime league’s second division.’
Chris Upton – OBE
An Islander who worked to provide support for pupils in his school in the wake of a major terrorist attack has been made an OBE in the 2023 New Year Honours list.
Chris Upton, who was born and educated in Jersey before moving to the UK and becoming head teacher of Tarleton Community Primary School in Lancashire, led his school community after an eight-year-old pupil became the youngest victim of the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017.
The death of Saffie-Rose Roussos had a profound impact on the school community, with Mr Upton’s leadership helping pupils, parents and staff cope with her loss.
Mr Upton said it had taken a while for the news to sink in after he was told about the honour for services to education.
He said: ‘I am immensely honoured and proud to receive it, not only for myself, but for all those connected with our school.
‘Tarleton Community Primary is a special place to be and I want to pay tribute to our staff, children, parents and the communities of the villages of Tarleton and Hesketh Bank in pulling together in the darkest of times to ensure we did the best for our children.’
In the wake of the bombing, and during the Manchester Arena Inquiry, Mr Upton made a number of recommendations to the Home Office and Department for Education from his experiences to support education leaders’ preparedness for a terror attack, contributing to the development of a national strategy in this area.
The head teacher also set up charity the Sparkle Bean Trust to support primary schools hit by traumatic events.
Mr Upton, who was not named on the local honours list announced by Government House as the actions which resulted in his recognition were carried out in the UK, attended Trinity Primary, Grainville and Hautlieu schools before leaving the Island in 1998 to complete teacher training.
The majority of his family including his parents, Janice and Derek, still live in Jersey.
