Who we are
Patrons
Sir Norman Lamb PC
Official portrait of Norman Lamb by Chris McAndrew CC by 3.0
John Drewry - Patron and Presenter
John has a background in marketing, owning and chairing an advertising agency for many years.
His core skill is copywriting and editing. He also runs workshops across the UK and Europe in successful business writing. He holds an Equity card as a stage director and actor, and is a very experienced presenter.
Professor Christine Hallett – Patron and Nursing History Advisor
Christine Hallett is Chair of the UK Association for the History of Nursing, and President of the European Association for the History of Nursing. She is a trained nurse and holds PhDs in both Nursing and History.
Her most recent research has focused on the work of nurses during the First World War, and she has published several books on the subject, including Containing Trauma (Manchester University Press, 2009); Veiled Warriors (Oxford University Press, 2014); and Nurses of Passchendaele (Pen and Sword Books, 2017).
Christine holds Fellowships of both the Royal Society of Medicine and the Royal Society for the Arts.
- Vice Adm. John McAnally
- Col. Mike Relph
- Mr. Roger Day
- Mr Patrick Hawes
Trustees
Dr Peter Carter OBE - Trustee, Chair
Peter Carter was CEO of the Royal College of Nursing from January 2007 to August 2015. Prior to that, he was CEO of the Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust for 12 years.
He is a registered mental health and general nurse.
Peter is a graduate of the Institute of Personnel and Development. He has a Masters Degree and PhD from the University of Birmingham. He is a visiting professor at four universities, an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of General Practitioners and an Ad Eundem Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland.
One of the things he is most proud of was his membership of the Crown Commission into non-medical prescribing, whose recommendations the government accepted. This led the way to nurse prescribing.
During his time at the RCN, Peter reshaped the organisation, and membership rose from 390,000 to 430,000. The College also achieved recognition in the Sunday Times top 100 companies to work for, and the gold award for Investors in People.
Peter has extensive media experience, and has twice been interviewed for the BBC programme Hardtalk.
He has written for most of the national newspapers and journals, and has contributed chapters to a number of books.
He is now an Independent Healthcare Consultant. Since leaving the RCN, he has worked across the UK and in ten countries internationally. He has twice been asked by the NHSi in England to be the interim Chairman of two NHS Trusts who were in serious difficulties. From November 2016 to March 2017, he was Chairman of the Medway NHS Trust, and from October 2017 to February 2018 Chairman of the East Kent University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
When not working, his interests are music, sport, cycling, literature and politics, and he is a qualified SCUBA diver.
He was awarded the OBE in 2006.
Sonja Curtis - Trustee, Secretary
Sonja comes from a commercial background, as director of a small engineering company and the senior partner of a school uniform business for 20 years, both businesses running concurrently. In that time she founded the Shirley Business Association in Croydon and was Chair of The Police Consultative Group which gave her experience of the workings of different organisations. It was therefore a natural progression, when looking for a career change, to work within the charity sector.
When working as part of the senior management team at The British Home and Hospital in 2011 she was asked to join The New Cavendish Club (The VAD Ladies Club Ltd.) as Membership Secretary. Part of the job specification was to form a charity that would commemorate the VADs who lost their lives in the two World Wars. She registered The Nursing Memorial Appeal in December 2012.