The Witham Hub, a Witham based charity with close connections to the Village at Hardy’s Green, has installed a new 24/7 access defibrillator at Beckingham Hall Farm, as a heartfelt tribute to the late Alan Cridland, partner of Nanita Albone and a family friend of Tina Townsend, founder of The Hub. This life-saving device was installed through the efforts of Tina, who had known Mr Cridland for many years and was devastated by his unexpected passing. She wanted to do something positive in his memory.
The funding for the installation of the defibrillator was provided by The Hub, who will maintain it and it was also made possible by the generous support of Donald and Claire Macaulay, and Stuart and Jo Macaulay of Beckingham Hall Farm, near Hardy’s Farm, who graciously offered their property for the device to be installed on and by providing the necessary electrical supply.
Tina, Chair of Trustees at The Witham Hub said: “We are deeply grateful to the Macaulay families for their incredible generosity. Their support demonstrates the strong sense of community that exists in Hardy’s Green.”
Nanita Albone, partner of the late Alan Cridland, expressed her gratitude, saying: “My daughter Jessica and I are very grateful to Tina and the Witham Hub for funding this equipment. We hope it will never be needed, but it’s comforting to know that it’s there if it is. In Alan’s case, we will never know if having one nearby would have made a difference but we don’t want anyone to have to ask that question again, so this is something positive out of a tragedy.”
The Witham Hub has long recognised the importance of community preparedness in emergency situations and maintains 10 defibrillators in the Witham area and four in Braintree. To ensure residents know how to use the new defibrillator, free training sessions will be offered at Birch Village Hall and Copford Village Hall. These sessions are supported by the Charity and by both Copford and Birch Parish Councils. They will cover CPR and other essential first aid procedures.
Tina said: “We believe that by educating our community on how to use this vital equipment, we can save lives. This initiative is a testament to the power of community and our commitment to the well-being of the residents.”
The Witham Hub encourages all community members to attend the upcoming training sessions and familiarise themselves with the location of the new defibrillator, more information will be made available via the Witham Hub Facebook page, local WhatsApp groups and the Parish Councils. The First session is on Saturday 1st February at Birch Village Hall.
