Michelle Henderson of the British Red Cross was called away from the dancefloor to bring support to those lining up to pay their respects to the Queen
A Chelmsford woman who runs a British Red Cross mobility aid service based in Harlow has described how she was called away from her son’s wedding last weekend to arrange delivery of wheelchairs to London. Support was needed for people lining up around the clock to pay tribute to the Queen as she lay in state.
Michelle Henderson, 55, was on the dance floor late last Friday night with her husband Ernie – who is also part of her Red Cross team – when she noticed her phone was lighting up with missed calls.
“It was three different colleagues, all wanting to know if I could get a delivery of wheelchairs together to take to London the next day,” Michelle says. “I just turned to Ernie and he said, ‘We’ll be there’.
“It’s a good thing we weren’t drinking, as we’d planned to drive our children home!”
She says she immediately “Took off my mother-of-the-groom hat and put on my Red Cross one.” As guests at the Brentwood celebration partied on, Michelle began ringing the drivers in her team to see if any could be available the following morning.
She found a willing colleague. Michelle and Ernie got home shortly before 2am after dropping their family off and were at the Red Cross hub in Harlow at 7 o’clock on Saturday morning.
“We loaded up the van with about 50 wheelchairs, and we were in London by 9.15,” she says.
Michelle and her team were stationed in a car park near to the Tate Modern, where the queue to visit Westminster Hall stretched on for “miles”.
“The atmosphere was just amazing,” she says. “As soon as people saw the Red Cross, they started coming up to us for help. There were elderly people who had been on their feet for several hours and needed a wheelchair to sit in so they could keep going.
“One lady had fallen over, only a week after having knee surgery, so she was really grateful to have a wheelchair to rest in.
“There were four of five deaf people there and I was asked if I knew sign language. Luckily enough I did – I was a bit rusty, but I was able to help them understand the system and find other facilities.”
Despite people feeling the strain, Michelle says the atmosphere in the queue was “joyous”.
“It was such a happy time,” she says. “Everyone had the same purpose, to pay their respects. You could see how much it meant to people to be there. It didn’t matter that their legs were aching, or they were hungry or needed the toilet – they were so determined. And they were all supporting each other. They were chatting, saving each other’s places, sharing food… it was lovely to see.”
Michelle, Ernie and the team stayed on site for several hours, and even after returning to Harlow, Michelle stayed on the phone until late Saturday evening and into Sunday to make sure all the wheelchairs ended up in the right place.
“It was such a team effort,” she says. “I couldn’t have done it without Ernie and the drivers, who responded at such short notice. I felt so proud of the fact that we’re not just a 9 to 5 service – we are the Red Cross, and we will respond when we’re called. It’s a great feeling to be part of an organisation that will do that.”
And Michelle was glad to play a part in the national mourning for a woman who served as British Red Cross Patron for 70 years.
“It was a big privilege to be there on behalf of the British Red Cross,” she says. “I was honoured. It felt like giving something back for everything she gave to us.
“On Monday I watched the funeral from beginning to end,” she goes on. “It was such an emotional tribute to her, I thought, ‘we done her proud’.
“And she done us proud, really, all the years she reigned. I see her as a people person. She was there for the people, and from what I saw on Saturday, the people were there for her.”
The British Red Cross mobility aid service provides over 58,000 wheelchairs every year to people across to the UK, thanks to its team of dedicated volunteers. If you’d like to find out more about volunteering with this valuable community service, please contact Michelle Henderson direct on 07738 944597 or visit https://www.redcross.org.uk/get-involved/volunteer.
