News

The family of a disabled boy who loved Aardman’s Gromit the dog character has donated his special collection of the models to the hospice which cared for him.

Ollie Lewis’s family began his collection of Gromit characters, made famous by the Aardman Animation film series Wallace and Gromit, when he was just a baby.

The collection quickly grew, with friends and family making sure Ollie always had the latest model of Wallace’s famous 4-legged sidekick for the display in his bedroom.

Ollie, from Weston-super-Mare, was left with Cerebral Palsy, Epilepsy and seizures after a brain injury at birth.

A small number of children, families, staff and supporters were delighted when Her Majesty The Queen paid a visit to Charlton Farm children’s hospice in North Somerset on Thursday 14 December.

Her Majesty, Royal Patron of Children’s Hospice South West (CHSW), was taken on a tour of the children’s hospice by Co-Founder and CEO Eddie Farwell, Patricia Morris, Chair of Trustees along with Charlton Farm’s Head of Care Karen Greaves and Medical Director, Emma Heckford.

The tour included meeting children and families supported by the hospice, a small number of long-serving members of staff and

Families currently receiving care and support from 2 Cornish charities enjoyed the opportunity to make some special memories at the Tunnel of Lights Christmas attraction at Charlestown’s Shipwreck Treasure Museum.

The museum provided complimentary and exclusive access to the festive event before it opened to the public for families with a child or children with a life-limiting condition and being cared for by Children’s Hospice South West.

The visit provided an opportunity for families to enjoy some quality time together in between busy care routines, appointments, and respite breaks at

Alisha and her family had a wild time during their stay at Little Bridge House recently. The Sibling Team had arranged a whole host of activities around the theme of 'Wild West' including panning for gold, which had been kindly donated by local business, Ilfracombe's fossil shop, 'Bones To Bones'. The children also got to meet local police who had taken time out of their day to meet them!

The Sibling Team have a variety of themed days planned throughout the summer, including Italian, Middle East, Australian, and (British) festival. On the surface these may just seem like fun days for the

The Little Harbour children’s hospice in St Austell has been presented with a tree from Her Late Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee tree sculpture.

The spectacular 21-metre-high ‘Tree of Trees’ sculpture, designed by Thomas Heatherwick, was made up of 350 saplings from British native trees and formed the centrepiece of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations outside Buckingham Palace in June.

The individual trees, set in aluminium pots embossed with Her Majesty’s cypher, have now been gifted to selected community groups and organisations across the UK, including three in Cornwall.

Children’s

This year Children’s Hospice South West (CHSW) is celebrating 10 years of providing care and support to local families at its Little Harbour children’s hospice in St Austell.

Little Harbour opened its doors in December 2011 following the success of the Precious Lives Appeal which saw £5 million raised by the local community in just four years to fund the build of the hospice on land at Porthpean which was kindly donated by local farming couple; the Late Howard and Shirley Rosevear.

Little Harbour was CHSW’s third and final hospice, following Little Bridge House in Devon and Charlton Farm in

A dedicated super fan of the 1968 classic film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang embarked on a lockdown project to create a replica of the flying car featured in the film.

Kevin Edge, a retired kitchen fitter from Lympstone, made the magical car in his workshop, using various materials, including household objects such as a toilet brush holder and a thermal flask.

Members of the community donated parts to support Kevin’s creation; a local garage donated car dials, while an upholsterer donated real leather for the seats.

Kevin, 72, who worked on Chitty for two years, has donated the car to Children’s

Her Royal Highness, The Duchess of Cambridge has sent a personal message of support for Children’s Hospice Week 2022, asking everyone to join her in celebrating the extraordinary work the UK’s 54 children’s hospices do for children and young people with life-limiting conditions, helping families make the most of their lives together, no matter how short. The Duchess is Royal Patron of East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH).

Children's Hospice South West (CHSW) is one of the charities joining The Duchess in marking Children's Hospice Week. CHSW is delighted that The Duchess has sent a special

The team at Children’s Hospice South West (CHSW) is celebrating winning the Charity award at last week’s glitzy Bristol Life Awards ceremony.

CHSW was in a hotly contested category, nominated alongside 12 other charities, all doing vital work in the city; Alive Activities, Billy Chip Community Interest Company, Bristol Autism Support, Bristol City Robins Foundation, Caring in Bristol, Creative Youth Network, FareShare South West, Great Western Air Ambulance Charity, The Sky Project, South Bristol Youth, St Peter’s Hospice and Young Bristol.

On collecting the award CHSW's Corporate

The teddy bear department at Children’s Hospice South West’s Little Bridge House stood to attention this week to salute a very special new member to their ranks!

There may also have been a few tears in reception when RAF veteran Jim Squires, 97, from Barnstaple, dropped in to donate his treasured bear to the hospice in Fremington.

The bear is dressed in a replica of the uniform that Jim wore during World War Two and was made for him by Pauline Tonkin of the Allied Air Forces in Plymouth, who was inspired by hearing his story.

Former Air Gunner Jim – who flew many daring missions on Lancaster