All Things Considered

About the Book

This is an autobiography, which leads from a conventional and pleasant upbringing to the setting up of several Charities. What these Charities have in common, as an ideal, is the conviction that loneliness is a condition, which can be ameliorated if its sufferers can feel themselves not so much part of a family but part of a community of neighbours.

On leaving the army it was the lonely whom the author felt called upon to help and his fifteen years of military service, both around the Mediterranean and on ceremonial duty in London, were clearly of immense help to him. He has paid a number of visits to Uganda and, after the mysterious death of the Kabaka, he was one of the party, which took the body back for burial.

His journey has been both straight-forward and spiritual and the practical result is now seen in about 1500 houses run by these Charities around the world. With their Golden wedding looming, he and his wife live near Bath in Somerset; they have 5 children and nine grandchildren. Though aged 83 he is still involved with his work and remains active enough, obviously, to enjoy it thouroughly.

About the Author

Richard Carr-Gomm was born in Warwickshire, England, in 1922 and, after a normal and happy childhood with boarding schools, he served in the Coldstream Guards throughout the war. Twice wounded, he was Mentioned-in- Dispatches and awarded the French Croix de Guerre. Immediately after the war ended he served for three years in Palestine and, then, in Suez and elsewhere in the Mediterranean. Completing his service in London, he resigned his commission in 1955.

After a period in SW London as a home-help, he founded the Abbeyfield Society; this Society now has over 900 houses for the elderly and more in 14 different countries around the world including Poland, Germany, South Africa and Japan. In 1965 he founded the Carr-Gomm Society for people of all ages (including single mothers with babies), who were lonely.

He married Susan Gibbs in 1957 and they have 5 children and 9 grandchildren. They live in Bath, Somerset. He received the UK Templeton Award for a 'signal contribution to the field of spiritual values' in 1984 and in 1985 he received an OBE for his 'services to sheltered housing'. In 2005 the Beacon Fellowship judges awarded him a special prize for 'lifetime achievement after the public nominated him for his outstanding contribution to charity over the last 50 years.

To find out more check www.abbeyfield.com