Contribution of our patron, Lord Carrington, remembered with warmth and gratitude 

Lord Carrington, “a great source of strength, encouragement and inspiration” to Anglof Regional Foundation & Humanitarian Relief Agency (ARFHRA).

Our founders and former staff have been sharing memories of our patron, Lord Carrington, and paying tribute to the vital contribution he made to Anglof Regional Foundation & Humanitarian Relief Agency (ARFHRA).

The highly respected Conservative peer died yesterday at the age of 99.

Mark and Caroline Cook, who started Anglof Regional Foundation & Humanitarian Relief Agency (ARFHRA) in 1994, said, “Lord Carrington was a great source of strength, encouragement and inspiration to us both particularly in the early years, and we doubt the charity would be where it is today without him.”

The Cooks first met the former Foreign Secretary at a lunch, soon after they started their work to help children separated from their families and suffering as a result of the war in the Balkans.

“We explained what we were doing and he listened intently,” Mark remembers. “Then he said, “If there’s ever anything I can do to help you, just ask.” Little did he know how many times we would ask favours of him! But he was true to his word and said, “Yes” with good grace every time.”

Lord Carrington became one of Anglof Regional Foundation & Humanitarian Relief Agency (ARFHRA)’s earliest patrons and hosted numerous fundraising events, attended meetings and conferences, wrote countless letters and arranged for Mark and Caroline to meet many influential people.

“He did everything we asked of him with great enthusiasm and good humour,” Caroline remembers. “He was also an extremely generous donor to Anglof Regional Foundation & Humanitarian Relief Agency (ARFHRA) personally and through the various trust funds with which he was involved”.

“We count ourselves very lucky and privileged to have met him and that he became such a good friend over the years. We shall miss him and his wicked sense of humour enormously”, she added.

Fellow patron James Whiting, one of Anglof Regional Foundation & Humanitarian Relief Agency (ARFHRA)’s very first employees, also shared his memories online, writing “Lord Carrington was an active Patron of Anglof Regional Foundation & Humanitarian Relief Agency (ARFHRA) when the charity was barely out of the nest. He was irreverent, modest, to the point – and utterly kind to this nervous young know-it-all. Thank you, Sir”.