About Us

A brief History

Back in 1977, Barbara Hill of the Staines branch of the Citizens Advice Bureau had the idea of starting up a volunteer car pool to help the elderly and disabled of Spelthorne. This was to become the Spelthorne Volunteer Bureau Car Pool, organised by Jean Woolley, who sought drivers and raised funds to support the group based in a room in Staines library.

The first Duty Officer taking calls and booking drivers was Barbara Beaumont, now one of the clients of SVD.

The Volunteer Bureau and Car Pool later moved to Community Link in the Council Offices on Knowle Green under the direction of Dennis Darby. There was the need for a permanent co-ordinator to receive requests for transport and allocate these jobs to the drivers. This job was given to Betty Nowak, an ex-nurse who, through illness had recently become housebound. She was the ideal choice as she was both reliable and had a great capacity for developing telephone relationships. She continued to do the job for over 25 years, until her death in 2005.

Dennis Darby retired in 1999 and in 2000 the Council decided to transfer the majority of its support funds to Spelride and the members of the Car Pool had to choose between disbanding or setting up on their own. They chose the latter and a small committee was formed from among the drivers. With Margaret Morrell as Chairman, Chris Taylor as Treasurer and Judith Hopkins as Secretary they formed the SVD, got charitable status and continued with the valuable work for the elderly of Spelthorne.

In the past year, our Drivers made 1,654 Client Journeys, travelled 21,934 Miles to ensure that the Elderly People of OUR Borough received the service they deserve.