Popular campaigner and community man dies

JEREMY GAMBRILL 1948-2002

TRIBUTES have poured in for the life and work of one of the best loved personalities in Mid Sussex, Jeremy Gambrill, who died after a brave battle with cancer. He was 54.

His courage, optimism, determination and cheery good humour left an indelible impression on all who knew him. For the last five years he channelled all his energies into health care issues, and helped change the landscape of cancer treatment and patient involvement locally, regionally and nationally.

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But despite a heavy workload and high national profile, he was a community man heart and soul campaigning for the Princess Royal Hospital, serving as a parish councillor, taking to the stage with no fewer than three amateur dramatic societies and throwing the best parties in town.

Even in his last few weeks, he was full of life and delighted in the company of the legions of friends who queued up at St Catherine's Hospice to share a glass of good red with him.

Jeremy, who lived at Rose Cottage, Lullings Farm, Cuckfield, died in the hospice on November 14. A freelance writer and journalist, he moved to Mid Sussex seven years ago at the height of a successful career in publishing. A former marketing director of Janes publishing house, he set up his own publishing company in 1996.

The following year he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. From that moment, he followed a completely different life path in his own words, his cancer journey.

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It was a term which became synonymous with his fight to improve quality of life for cancer patients by giving them a voice, and his reputation as a patients' advocate was respected throughout the NHS and beyond.

He devoted his time to improving care for cancer sufferers through exchange of information, research and experiences, and set up his own charity appropriately named Cancer Journey. The charity supported a unique newsletter, Embark, edited by Jeremy and compiled by patients and carers.

It offers a patients' eye view of many of the issues arising from cancer and is distributed to support groups, hospitals and treatment centres throughout the country.

His tireless campaigning was rooted in the bleak hours following his diagnosis in 1997, when he was briskly told he had two years to live. By his own admission, he sat in the car for several 'lost' hours in shock. But on making it to the house, he turned to the internet to look for advice and discovered the website of The Prostate Cancer Charity.

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Over the next two years his involvement with the charity grew, and he joined the Board of Trustees in 1999.

Armed with his media skills, he became the charity's front man and appeared on many radio and television broadcasts to raise awareness of prostate cancer. At the end of 1999, he was profiled as part of a major prostate cancer campaign by the Daily Mail.

Jeremy was also a key figure in CancerVOICES, a project of Macmillan Cancerlink to support patient/user representation throughout the NHS.

He was the regional contact for the South East and became involved as a patient representative in many national initiatives, including the Cancer Services Collaborative Expert Patient Group.

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At regional level, he was a member of the Sussex Cancer Patients Forum and locally a keen supporter of Crawley Cancer Contact and the Triangle Healing Trust in Cuckfield.

The Trust and its Old Hospital Healing Centre were specially close to his heart, and he spent many peaceful hours of sanctuary there, often in the company of centre founder and close friend Judy Porter. He was a strong believer in the ideal of an integrated approach to medicine, combining the best of NHS services and alternative therapies alongside spirituality and a positive frame of mind.

Last summer he and Judy Porter shared a stage at a major conference in London at which Jeremy, a keynote speaker, talked about new avenues of cancer treatment through such an integrated approach.

His interest in health care was not confined to cancer issues. When the A and E department of the Princess Royal Hospital was threatened, he threw himself into the fray and became vice-chairman of the Action Group.

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It was during this campaign that Jeremy became interested in local government, and was co-opted on to Ardingly Parish Council fellow councillors particularly valued his expertise when dealing with consultation documents.

Jeremy Gambrill, however, was not all about work. He knew how to play. He loved books and the theatre, was a consummate performer and thoroughly enjoyed membership - and the friendships of three amateur dramatic societies: Hurstpierpoint Players, Cuckfield Dramatic Society and the Warninglid Players.

He took major roles in serious drama as well as relishing comedy and some classic pantomime parts- children still pale at the memory of his Big Bad Wolf in Red Riding Hood with the Hurstpierpoint Players. But one of his proudest achievements at Hurst was the staging of a non-stop reading of Shakespeare over three days and nights to raise money for the Players. It was a storming success and raised more than 4,000 - with Jeremy himself reading hundreds of lines.

At Cuckfield, he acted and directed with distinction and only this summer was nominated for Best Actor at the Kenton Festival for his role in the CDS production of One Season's King.

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When things got tough, Jeremy would retreat to his beloved wooden boat Eye of Heaven on the south coast, and spend hours scraping and varnishing her. Sailing was one of his passions, and Eye of Heaven was his pride and joy. He also loved to walk his dogs - aptly and saltily named Friday and Hamble. If he'd had a third, he joked, he would have called it Gin and Tonic.

Twice married and divorced, he leaves his sister Jane, who shared his home for the last four years and was his best friend as well as his carer. Jane said: "In the past few years he came to realise the value of community, of its spirit, friendships and support. He specially loved the community of Cuckfield, and felt very blessed by his friends here. It was their love and support to both of us that helped us through this journey."

A service of thanksgiving in celebration of Jeremy Gambrill's life will be held on Friday, December 6, at 12.30 in Holy Trinity Church, Cuckfield. All are welcome. No flowers, but donations to the Triangle Healing Trust or St Catherine's Hospice are welcome.

Cheryl Barber

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