Len's story

Every once in a while, we have the pleasure of speaking to someone who has lived a truly extraordinary life and so it was when we recently spoke to Mr Leonard “Len” Avery.

A few weeks ago, 85-year-old Len called our Customer Service team at Complete Care Shop to purchase a new walking stick. He’d accidentally left his old one on the roof of his car before driving to the shops, and so used our advice line to buy another one. At 6’ 4” Len is well known around his local area for his height so we suggested a height-adjustable Comfy Grip Walking Stick which would adapt to how tall he is.

Checking in and catching up

Some days later, we rang Len to see how he was getting on with his new purchase and he couldn’t have been happier

“The walking stick is brilliantly made, and it comes in both left and right-handed versions which is great for me as I’m left handed! It has given me the confidence to go out and about on my own, as I occasionally stumble, and is a great support for me when walking to church.”

Len also told us how invaluable he’d found his walking stick last year when he walked beside a number of war veterans from his area on Remembrance Day – mainly those who served in World War 2. It turns out, Len served in the Korean War and was seconded to the UN for which he received commemorative medals. He was also a Prisoner of War.

The more we spoke to Len, the more he opened up to us about his life – and what a life it has been! After completing an MBA in Accountancy at Cranfield University, Len became one of the founding members of The Cranfield Trust – now, the UK's leading provider pro bono business support for the voluntary sector.

According to Len, many of the founding members were post-graduates of Cranfield University and volunteered 2-3 days a week to gain experience in their profession with existing charities, whether that was Law, Finance etc. Len went on to become Finance Director of The Cranfield Trust and has met HRH Princess Anne, otherwise known as HRH The Princess Royal, regularly through the years as she is patron of the Trust.

This year marked the 30th anniversary of The Cranfield Trust and Len told us there had been a national conference held with around 150 attendees from all sorts of different charities that The Cranfield Trust has helped. As a founding member, Len got to shake the hand of HRH The Princess Royal and was seated on the front row for the conference – an honourable moment he will never forget.

We sincerely thank Len for sharing his incredible experiences with us and are thrilled we were able to play a small part in helping him to remain independent and safe when travelling around his local area. All the best to you Len!