On Thursday 8 May 2025, Pilgrims Hospices joined the nation in commemorating the 80th anniversary of VE Day – the momentous occasion that marked the end of war in Europe during World War II.
Across our three hospice sites in Ashford, Canterbury and Thanet, staff, patients and their families came together to remember, reflect and celebrate. Each hospice was beautifully decorated with red, white and blue bunting, creating a festive atmosphere that honoured the spirit of national unity and remembrance.
The day was filled with warmth and reflection. Celebration cakes were shared and enjoyed by all, prepared with care by our dedicated catering teams. The event brought people together in both joy and quiet contemplation, recognising the incredible sacrifices made by generations past and the peace and freedom that followed years of hardship and conflict.
VE Day 2025 3
VE Day 2025 4
VE Day 2025 1
Some patients and visitors shared personal memories or stories handed down through their families, while others took comfort in simply being part of a collective moment of gratitude. These connections, rooted in compassion and history, are at the heart of what Pilgrims Hospices stands for.
We are proud to create opportunities where community spirit and shared values shine through, even in the most challenging times. VE Day serves as a poignant reminder of resilience, peace, and the strength of the human spirit – values we uphold every day in our work.
A heartfelt thank you to all our staff and volunteers who made the day so special.
Lest we forget.
Each year, Pilgrims Hospices care for thousands of people across east Kent, with services provided from its three hospice sites in Ashford, Canterbury, and Thanet, as well as in patients’ own homes. It costs over £17.2 million annually to run these services, much of which comes from the generous support of the local community.
9th April 2025
Pilgrims Hospices is grateful to Quinn Estates for their donation
Pilgrims Hospices is very grateful to Quinn Estates Ltd, who have made a significant donation to the charity. This will greatly help us with the modernisation project on London Road.
Mark Quinn, Chairman and Chief Executive of Quinn Estates Ltd, has been a long-standing supporter of Pilgrims Hospices and our ambition to improve our facilities in Canterbury.
Pilgrims Hospices have a special place in Mark Quinn’s heart and we are very moved that he has made such a generous donation at such a critical time as we embark on modernising our hospice on London Road. We wish to place on record our thanks and it is enormously touching that Mark and his team will continue to support us.
Helen Bennett, Chief Executive of Pilgrims Hospices
The Pilgrims Hospices deliver amazing work for the community, something I have first-hand experience of. I am incredibly proud to have supported their ambitions over the past decade, whether that’s through strategic land consultancy and planning support or funding towards building a new hospice, or now to support the refurbishment and modernisation of their existing facilities. I look forward to seeing the refurbishment and supporting them for the future.
Mark Quinn, Chairman and Chief Executive of Quinn Estates Ltd
Pilgrims Hospices is a charity dedicated to providing expert care and support to patients with life-limiting illnesses in east Kent. Our services ensure comfort, dignity, and quality of life for patients and their families, offering compassionate care both in hospice settings and in the community.
6th September 2024
Pilgrims Hospices patients showcase artwork at Margate exhibition
Pilgrims Hospices offer many therapeutic activities through its Wellbeing Programme, giving both patients and carers the opportunity to try something new.
They can help with relaxation, reducing anxiety and forming new social connections.
Beverley with her husband, John
Time to Create therapeutic art group sessions provide creative and social activities to enjoy with others.
In July 2024, patients attending Time to Create were invited by local artist, Beverley Parker, to showcase their artwork in her exhibition Then & Now at Pie Factory, Margate. Beverley’s husband, artist John Horton, was cared for at Pilgrims Hospice Canterbury in 2023. The exhibition was dedicated to his memory.
John had prostate cancer and was referred to Pilgrims in 2022. He chose to remain at home, rather than going into the hospice, and received support and care at home when he approached the end of life.
Beverley said: “Pilgrims played an enormous part; they were supportive, caring and understanding, treating him with dignity and a gentle sense of humour, which he would have loved. They guided me through his last hours, and he died peacefully on 25 September 2023.
“I turned to the hospice nurses after John’s death. There was someone on the phone who listened when I had no one else to talk to late at night, and they put me in contact with the counselling services at Pilgrims, which has been so helpful.
“Through visiting the Canterbury hospice, I saw a different side to the hospice than I had imagined. The first time I walked into the reception area and saw the boxes of tissues on the tables, I could hardly say my name I was so upset. However, I also felt an enormous sense of comfort. The volunteers on reception were warm and friendly. It didn’t smell like a hospital (which I dreaded), there were flowers, there was art on the walls, people were smiling.
Time to Create patients with their artwork
“I heard about Time to Create, and as an artist I was very interested in art as therapy, recognising how powerful it is – it is a living statement, it is positive and empowering. I met Sharon from the Wellbeing team and patients attending the sessions, and I asked if they would like to exhibit their work with me at my exhibition. It was a success. We had a private view where I met more of the artists and their families, and that was particularly poignant – to meet others who are currently going through what I had been going through. We hugged, there were a few tears, but there was so much joy in the gallery. I felt I was giving something back for the support I’d received from the hospice. John was an artist himself, and he would have been delighted to have seen the work we all exhibited.”
Patients created their exhibition artwork within Time to Create sessions at each hospice in Ashford, Canterbury and Thanet. They enjoyed the process and seeing their work showcased in a gallery. The Wellbeing team showed digital versions of the artwork in the Pilgrims Therapy Centre, for patients who were unable to attend the exhibition.
Sharon Smith, Wellbeing Practitioner Team Leader, said:
“It was an amazing opportunity for our Time to Create participants to be invited to showcase their creative work alongside Beverley’s artwork. Patients allowed their emotions – happiness, sadness, even anger – to guide their creativity. Attending the private view and seeing them show their work to family members and friends, reminded me how important creativity can be. It allows people to express themselves, improves wellbeing and makes people feel empowered.”
For more information on Pilgrims Hospices’ Wellbeing Programme:
Call the Pilgrims Hospices Advice Line on 01233 504 133
Pilgrims Hospices is a charity dedicated to providing expert care and support to patients with life-limiting illnesses in east Kent. Our services ensure comfort, dignity, and quality of life for patients and their families, offering compassionate care both in hospice settings and in the community.
30th March 2023
Kent Police visit Pilgrims Hospices to empower patients to stay safe
Emma Swietochowski-Hay, Kent Police’s Fraud Prevention Co-ordinator, was invited to talk at the Living Well Group in the Therapy Centre at Pilgrims Hospice Canterbury, by Kim and Kelly, Wellbeing Practitioners.
The talk was to highlight how criminal activity faces us all, and how we can make simple changes to our reactions, and practices to help to keep safe and secure when it comes to fraudulent activities.
Emma has hands-on experience, working as a uniformed Police Community Support Officer in Ashford. She is passionate about passing on her experience of local crime, and how to take steps to prevent this, by empowering vulnerable people within our community, to keep them safe and keep criminals at bay.
Emma said: “This role is so important within our community, helping people to keep safe from scams and fraudsters is vital in today’s world of the internet, and telephone criminals. My work helps people to understand how to make sensible choices and decisions when being approached by potential criminals, and how to report those trying to scam them via the internet and email.”
The talk was well received and created a lot of discussion within the group. Emma covered scam calls, text message scams, investment and romance fraud to name but a few. Most importantly, she reassured the group that no one person should ever feel embarrassed or unable to call the Fraud Police for help and advice, as this is an all too common practice, and gave the group useful numbers to contact.
Advice was given regarding banking, internet, remote access and courier fraud. She explained how to take appropriate measures to ensure people are speaking to the ‘right’ contact, and not unscrupulous scammers.
The Therapy Centre is a safe space, where patients and carers have mentioned how comfortable and at ease they feel when they arrive. This makes us really proud to be a part of Pilgrims and being able to make a difference to peoples’ wellbeing.
Kim and Kelly, Wellbeing Practitioners
The group commented how informative the session was, and that they realised the need to keep extra safe when storing information, and passwords online, and that they would be passing on the information they gained to their friends and family. They said that they had really enjoyed the session.
Kim and Kelly, Wellbeing Practitioners, said:
“Our groups are great fun, including creative and educational activities, enabling our patients and their carers to regain their identities and not feel overshadowed by their illness. The Therapy Centre is a safe space, where patients and carers have mentioned how comfortable and at ease they feel when they arrive. This makes us really proud to be a part of Pilgrims and being able to make a difference to peoples’ wellbeing. We enjoy helping people to ‘Live Well’, and the smiles and laughter we see during our groups.”
Pilgrims Wellbeing team run a wide variety of activities to support patients living with life-limiting conditions. Patients can join Pilgrims groups to improve their mobility, mental wellbeing, creativity and general interest.
Our Wellbeing Programme is free if you live in east Kent, and you have been diagnosed with a palliative illness. It aims to enhance your wellbeing, in mind and body.
Each year, Pilgrims Hospices give care and comfort to thousands of people in east Kent coming to terms with an illness that sadly cannot be cured. The charity supports patients to live life as well as possible until the very end, free from pain and distress. Care is provided from three hospice sites in Ashford, Canterbury and Thanet, as well as in patients’ own homes. To offer these services to patients and their families, the charity must raise £11 million each year from the generous local community.
3rd March 2023
Take a virtual tour of Pilgrims Hospices
What do you think a hospice looks like?
Many people imagine a ward and beds, a space where people spend their last days, but that is just a small part of what they offer.
Our hospices feature beautiful, tranquil landscaped gardens, professional kitchens where fresh meals are prepared daily, family lounges where patients can spend precious moments with their loved ones, Therapy Centres where we run our popular wellbeing groups, areas for spiritual reflection, and so much more.
Kate White, Head of Nursing, explains how our new virtual tours can be a helpful first step for someone considering coming into one of our hospices, and also for healthcare professionals when referring patients to Pilgrims’ services:
“The prospect of coming to a hospice can be daunting, so being able to see what it looks like can help to alleviate that. The virtual tours give people an idea of what to expect when they come to the building, and hopefully to see how the hospice is a home from home with plenty of creature comforts. To be able to view the hospice this way can also save patients and families valuable time when this is most precious.
“The tours can also enable healthcare professionals in hospitals and other settings to show patients at the bedside what the hospice looks like, to explain facilities and view the environment before physically entering the hospice. This brings the conversation to life, aids the discussion and may help to lessen the fear of the unknown. They help to show that the hospice is a calm and homely environment with a range of facilities, allowing patients and families to make the best of one of the most difficult times in their lives.”
Each year, Pilgrims Hospices give care and comfort to thousands of people in east Kent coming to terms with an illness that sadly cannot be cured. The charity supports patients to live life as well as possible until the very end, free from pain and distress. Care is provided from three hospice sites in Ashford, Canterbury and Thanet, as well as in patients’ own homes. To offer these services to patients and their families the charity must raise £11 million each year from the generous local community.
28th June 2022
Annie reflects on 36-year career at Pilgrims Hospices
Annie Hogben has worked for Pilgrims Hospices since 1986. Initially a nurse, she then helped to set up the Therapy Centres, and is now based within the charity’s Education team, developing volunteer roles that support patients, carers and bereaved loved ones.
In Pilgrims’ 40th birthday year, she reflects on her memories with the local hospice charity.
I started work in Canterbury hospice as a State Enrolled Nurse in May 1986. I was so keen to join the hospice team after hearing a lecture by Cicely Saunders, one of the early founders of the hospice movement, and felt it was the right place for me. When I came to the hospice, there was purely a ward, with the availability of 20 beds for patients across east Kent. Our Medical Director did home visits to support patients in the community, and as always we worked very closely with GPs, district nurses and hospital staff, to support palliative patients and their families in our local communities.
A day centre was opened a year or so later, and this operated five days a week for our community patients. This enabled patients to have an overview of their symptoms as well as engage in a variety of social and creative activities, whilst providing some worthwhile respite for their families. These centres have always been so positive, enhancing the wellbeing of patients of various ages and situations, with much shared joy and laughter.
Pilgrims has grown and developed dramatically to meet the needs of the people of east Kent, but always with the wonderful philosophy to support and come alongside patients, families and bereaved loved ones throughout the latter part of their lives.
I consider it a real privilege to have been part of this amazing team of staff and volunteers for so long.
Annie
Annie
Allied Health Care Professionals have always been such an important part of the team supporting patients, families and bereaved relatives at Pilgrims, as have volunteers, who were present on the ward, supporting staff in those early days. It is so lovely that part of my current role has been to be part of the team to reintroduce Ward Support Volunteers, which adds great value to patients and their loved ones.
I left the hospice in 1989 to continue my training and then to work on an oncology unit, the Mountbatten Centre at the Kent and Canterbury Hospital. I returned to Canterbury hospice in 1992 as a Registered Nurse on the ward. Shortly after this, the specialist community nursing team were introduced, to support community patients and families across the whole of east Kent. This invaluable service now runs throughout all three hospice sites.
I was fortunate to move into the role of Senior Staff Nurse on the ward, and throughout that time experienced many celebrations with patients on the ward, including weddings, anniversaries and other important events. The addition of the Thanet hospice allowed the growth of support services for the people of east Kent, enabling access to services in the local area and increasing the amount of beds available for those requiring in-patient care.
After having my family, I was on duty on nights for a couple of years, before finally leaving the Canterbury hospice in 2000 to move to the Ashford hospice, to set up the day services centre there. Over these past years, Pilgrims has grown and developed dramatically to meet the needs of the people of east Kent, but always with the wonderful philosophy to support and come alongside patients, families and bereaved loved ones throughout the latter part of their lives. I consider it a real privilege to have been part of this amazing team of staff and volunteers for so long.
Pilgrims Hospices opened in Canterbury in June 1982, followed by Thanet in 1992, and Ashford in 2001. That means we have a lot to celebrate this year!
If you’d like to join us to celebrate our special birthdays by donating you can visit our JustGiving or Facebook pages.
Pilgrims Hospices cares for thousands of local people each year, free of charge, during the most challenging time in their lives. They offer care and support in people’s own homes, in the community and in their inpatient units as well as running a 24-hour advice line.
