Labour of love is a team effort

SELFLESS: Gwen has spent 24 years helping others with a host volunteers

MARTYN MEETS... caring social club leader GWEN POSTLETHWAITE
MANY moons ago, while travelling on a package holiday flight to Majorca, I found myself sitting alongside two young people on their first-ever aeroplane journey.

They were so excited, so pumped up, it was impossible to relax and for two hours I found myself almost a carer. By the time we disembarked in Palma I was exhausted.

My two new friends were from a school in Halifax and the entire group had special needs and suffered from a range of learning disabilities. While rewarding in the extreme to help them spend their pennies on snacks and coffee, it was draining.

My admiration for those who devote their time to people who are physically and mentally challenged was forged by those hours on that holiday flight and my appreciation of their patience has never wavered.

Parents have a special reason to be involved, the love of a child is so strong a bond as to be all but unbreakable. But volunteers?

Oldham has an organisation called The Terence O’Grady Social Club which, for 50 years, has provided a safe environment for members to socialise and enjoy the company of others with similar disabilities.

To celebrate, the club had a party at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, attended by more than 300 members, parents, carers and volunteers and I had the pleasure of playing a minuscule part in an evening of pure joy for the people of all ages who are less fortunate than the vast majority of the population.

At the head of the organisation is leader Gwen Postlethwaite, a Grasscroft resident whose full-time job is to teach at St Edward’s RC Primary School in Lees.

She joined the Terence O’Grady Club around 24 years ago when the Oldham Chronicle advertised for a deputy leader spotted by Gwen’s youngest daughter Charlotte.

Husband Roger was a teacher at a special school in Salford so there was an affinity for Gwen who was looking for “something to do” having taken time out of her teaching career to raise her family, Sarah and Emily being older siblings to Charlotte.

And so began a labour of love that has endured for almost a quarter of a century.

Gwen, to whom I was introduced by the legendary Barry King, founder of Ambassador Textiles Ltd in Huddersfield Road, but better known for his joint-ownership of the much-missed Maple Squash Club on Broadway. Yep, he’s till playing by the way, representing Rochdale these days in the North-West Counties League.

He’s also a volunteer at The Terence O’Grady Social Club and, with Gwen, led on the party organisation. Neither were overly keen on contributing to this feature, which speaks volumes for their commitment to the cause, and I had to make a solemn promise to Gwen not to overstate her role in the club which exists on the devotion, dedication and determination of around 60 volunteers.

“I am part of a team, that’s all. Ok, I am ostensibly at the head of the team but everyone plays an equal part,” she said.

People like chairman Phil Webber, who succeeded Ged Tasker — whose late wife Audrey was secretary for many years — treasurer Jeff Simpson, who has been in post for more than 30 years looking after the precarious funds, Barry King, who is now vice-chairman after helping out for 20 years and Gwen’s deputy, Gweneth Smith. Mention must also be made of Jean Owens, whom Gwen succeeded as leader.

Maintaining the family link, Gweneth is Jean’s daughter.

It appears that the organisation grabs you, and won’t let go. It’s a labour of love and at the 50-year celebration the love was palpable in the room.

I was overwhelmed by the pride of the parents when pupils from Newbridge School in Fitton Hill performed three dance numbers. I cannot overstate the admiration I have for every single adult who was part of the evening, ensuring it was a wondrous celebration, from the food to the dancing, the entertainment to the raffle.

It was a humbling experience simply to be there. Gwen and her team deserve enormous credit.

They insist they are simply at the head of an organisation run by a host of dedicated volunteers. They are maintaining a magnificent tradition.

The club was founded in the early 1960s by Dr Terence O’Grady. As local district health officer he felt there was a need for a place where people with learning disabilities could meet to socialise in a safe environment.

Dr O’Grady died shortly before the club’s first meeting in September, 1961. “He would have been justly proud if he could see how his dream had been realised,” says Gwen, adding: “He was clearly a forward-thinking man, a caring man. His legacy is here for all to see and the support given by a host of people is testament to his foresight all those years ago.”

In addition to the weekly meetings, these days on Tuesdays at the Egerton Rooms in Oldham town centre, the club organises holidays, often to Blackpool, weekend breaks, trips and outings.

The club has had various homes, after starting out at The Laurels in April, 1961, and, 50 years on, regularly attracts around 100 people each week, drawn from Oldham, Middleton and Rochdale.

Gwen, who was leaving for India the day after our interview in a cramped, tiny room at St Edward’s, stumbled into teaching.

“I always wanted to be a nurse, that was my calling,” she confided.

But one day, after suffering an injury while playing netball, Gwen was taken for treatment to the former Oldham Royal Infirmary, now the site of the Sixth Form College.

“A patient was in there waiting for treatment with his finger cut off and I thought ‘I don’t want to be a nurse anymore’ and so I got into teaching.”

Part of her training was to attend St John’s College in Manchester and during her time at this seat of learning near the Granada Studios in Quay Street Gwen would be sent out to gain experience.

“I used to visit a school for special needs on Wednesday afternoons and I suppose, with Roger’s connections too, is where it all started.”

After taking her first teaching post at St Albans she took seven years out to raise her family and it was during this time that daughter Charlotte spotted the fateful advert for a part-time deputy leader.

“I expected to do just a couple of years and then go back to teaching full-time. I thought it was only one evening a week — I never imagined I would be still here nearly 25 years on.”

The years have flown by and Gwen’s role has broadened, as has that of all the volunteers.

Funding is a major issue, with the members paying £2 a week and the rest of the overheads having to be met from fund-raising. “We need about £10,000 a year to pay our way and we had a major boost last year when we had a bequest of £2,000.

“This year, staff at Sainsbury’s in Union Street have adopted the club as their charity for the year and this will be a real help.”

Tracy Lawless gave the club a helping hand when she ran the length of Grand Union Canal to raise funds, another example says Gwen of the selfless nature of volunteers.

“And we always need more volunteers so if anyone is reading this and wants to help, please do get in touch. It is extremely rewarding.”

Having witnessed at first hand the utter joy of the members at their party, their enthusiasm for the dancing and the entertainment, their happiness at being dressed in all their finery, I can attest that supporting The Terence O’Grady Social Club is indeed a labour of love.

The rewards are the smiles on the faces of the members, the joy in the hearts of the parents, and, for people like Gwen and her team the unadulterated knowledge that they are making a difference.