Barbara Bus Fund Celebrates 50 Years

The Barbara Bus Fund is celebrating 50 years of service this year. The charity, based at the RNOH, was set up by Barbara Werndly who was a patient at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital, having contracted Polio when she was 13 which left her paralysed.

The charity provides transport for people who are unable to transfer from their wheelchair, and therefore unable to use public transport or standard vehicles. Barbara continued to run the charity from her bed in the hospital until she sadly passed away in 1995. The full story and background of Barbara’s life and the Barbara Bus Fund were detailed in a book entitled “Barbara – Girl of Courage” written by Penny White.

The Chairman of the charity now is Richard Holland, who received an MBE for his services to charity. He came in to speak to Radio Brockley about the charity, and we attended the charity’s special 50th anniversary celebrations. You can hear all of the highlights on a special edition of Brockley News Extra here: