True story: Leonard Cheshire V.C.

As a student at Oxford, Leonard had loved racing through the countryside in his little red sports car. When World War II broke out, he trained as a pilot, and was soon flying huge bomber planes. He took part in many dangerous raids over Germany.

After 100 trips he was awarded the Victoria Cross for his skill and bravery, and was sent as an observer in the plane that dropped the first atomic bomb over Japan.

Once the war was over, and Leonard had left the RAF, he gradually became a changed man. Why shouldn't ex-service people work together for the good of all?

Leonard found out about a man called Arthur, who was suffering from cancer, and had been discharged from hospital with no relatives or money. Having failed to find anyone to look after Arthur, Leonard decided to do it himself. He cleaned and decorated a room in the large but shabby house that he had, and took Arthur in. He had to borrow a bed and blankets for Arthur. Soon they were joined by an old lady of ninety, who was also without other help.

Leonard did all the cooking and gardening, as well as nursing the patients in his care. Through the influence of Arthur, a Christian, Leonard began thinking about God, and his faith grew.

When the residents numbered thirty, he looked around for another refuge. He and his ex-service friends partly rebuilt and repaired an old RAF station to suit the purpose. For a time Leonard worked so hard he became ill, and had to take two years off for rest and recovery. While still in bed he managed to obtain some secondhand buses that his friends drove around, playing recordings of his voice to attract people to enter his 'churches on wheels'. Although he had gained a great reputation for all his wartime achievements, his main aim now was, humbly, to show love and concern to poor, lonely and sick men and women.

Together with his wife, Sue Ryder, he did a tremendous job in resettling refugees who had been displaced by the chaos of war. The number of Cheshire Homes, as they came to be called, mounted steadily, not only in Britain, but in India, Malaysia, and Africa, to name but a few. Leonard's vision for helping the ill and homeless was being realised, and the important work he started still flourishes today.

Website

http://www.leonard-cheshire.org