40 Faces of Brendoncare – Paddy Mendham

To say Paddy has had a full life would be an understatement. Also, without him, it is unlikely Brendoncare Alton would be operating as he was Chairman of the local planning authority when permission was granted for its construction. He was also Mayor of Alton twice.

After graduating in chemistry at Birmingham University, Paddy worked as a chemist with tyre company Dunlop, then became a chief chemist with Clark’s, the shoe company.

He was in charge of developing new products. This involved him travelling all around the world to set up project sites in places such as the Iranian desert.

He and his wife Annis, a physiotherapist, who he was married to for 57 years, have three children, Paul, Clare and Ruth. They all went to either Oxford or Cambridge universities, while one of his grand-daughters is studying medicine at Oxford.

Paddy also played cricket to county level in Oxford and then played rugby for 30 consecutive seasons.

When the family moved to Beech near Alton, TV presenter and gardener Alan Titchmarsh was one of their closest neighbours. Paddy was a churchwarden in the parish church there for many years.

Paddy’s terms of office as Mayor of Alton were ten years apart. He remembers his time as Mayor and with Alton Town Council with great affection.

“It was a fabulous experience as you meet so many different people and become involved in so many different things. My cousin was involved with the City of London, so we invited the Lord Mayor of London, who was a train freak, to come down here and drive a train on the Watercress Line.”

Paddy was also local area Chairman for the National Trust for 14 years, helping to raise £100,000 for a project at The Vyne in Basingstoke.

His other passions include writing short stories and was a regular contributor to local newspapers.

After Paddy suffered a stroke, the couple decided to move and came to Mary Rose Mews in 2022.

Downsize:

“We lived around the corner from Brendoncare Alton. The house in which we lived was much too big and we needed to downsize. We looked around a lot of places and decided this was the best place. This is a lovely little flat on the ground floor with two bedrooms,” Paddy says.

Sadly, Annis became seriously ill and passed away after they moved into Mary Rose Mews.

Paddy acknowledges that the support he has received from Brendoncare Alton has helped him enormously. “Some of the carers here are absolutely stunningly good,” he says.

“I do try to keep active with the various events going on here and go to meetings of a stroke group in Alton which has been incredibly helpful.”