It is with great sadness that we record the death of Judge A. Maurice Large.
He was one of the original founders of the Northern Brainwave Appeal with Margaret Cowen, Gerry Cowen and David Mendelow.
The charity was set up to raise funds to provide vital equipment to support staff and patients at the regional Neurosciences Centre in Newcastle in 1988. This equipment was needed to provide assessment, diagnosis, monitoring and treatment for patients with head injury, brain tumours, strokes, brain haemorrhage and spinal conditions.
The Regional Neurosciences Centre serves the whole of the North East of England and Cumbria where Gerry Cowen had lived when he suffered a brain haemorrhage from a ruptured cerebral berry aneurysm. The need for monitoring was recognised by his wife Margaret who began to raise funds for the regional Neurosciences Centre High Dependency Unit after Gerry was nursed back to health over many months.
Maurice Large set up the original charity with its stated aims and Trustee structure. He attended almost every meeting over 35 years: these were held in the Newcastle Hospitals and in Cumbria and he provided excellent advice and encouragement for the development of the unit. Maurice’s wisdom helped the Trustees with the many decisions that a charity must face. His views about charity and its purpose were always wise and helpful.
He supported Margaret in her unceasing efforts to raise funds from all over the North East and Cumbria and he attended fundraising events of many sorts over the decades. He always gave generously of his time and never asked for any reward.
The Trustees of the Northern Brainwave Appeal have evolved over the years and have benefited greatly from Maurice’s wisdom and guidance. He also provided a shoulder to cry on for patients, relatives, staff and trustees when awkward situations arose. He was thus a true pillar of society and a great example of selfless striving for the right way to get things done.
It will never be possible to reward him for all of his work over the years, so the current and past Trustees of the Northern Brainwave Appeal wish to record their thanks for the unfailing perseverance of Maurice Large as a founding Trustee.