Generosity won't be forgotten

TRADITION: Switzer Residential Care was founded on a bequest, and continues to benefit from what general manager Jackie Simkins says is one of the greatest gifts.

Sidney George Farmer was an Englishman; how he came to be living in the Far North of New Zealand is not known, but he spent the final years of his long life happily ensconced at Kaitaia rest home Switzer Residential Care.

Now it is the turn of the Claud Switzer Memorial Trust to thank Mr Farmer for what it describes as a very significant and generous bequest.

"We recognise that legacies are one of the greatest of gifts, and we will ensure that this legacy will live on for years," general manager Jackie Simkins said.

"It is 60 years since Claud Ivon Switzer made the first bequest, that enabled the building of the original 15-bed home, and it is only because of the generosity of many individuals and organisations that the trust has grown to what it is today.

"We are now able to provide rest home, hospital, dementia and day care services to support older people in this community. The trust has 91 beds and employs 110 people.

"Most bequests are made by ordinary, hard-working people who want to make a positive difference to their community after they're gone," she added.

"The simple fact is that without this generosity, many of the charities, including Switzer, that we know and support wouldn't even exist. Bequests are absolutely essential for ensuring that the good work we do continues into the future."

Mr Farmer was born in England on November 15, 1916. He was educated at an English Grammar school and graduated from university with honours. His interests were boxing and sailing. He never married.

He served with the British Army for the duration of World War II, firstly with the Royal Engineers in the UK and then with the Border Regiment in North Africa and Italy, under General Bernard Montgomery. He rose to the rank of Company Sergeant Major (CSM), but did not escape unscathed. He was badly burned, suffered severe damage to his sight and hearing, and was afflicted with headaches for the rest of his life.

He immigrated to New Zealand in 1949, arriving in Christchurch aboard the ship 'Karamea.' Initially employed by Firestone, in 1952 he enlisted with the RNZAF as a driver/mechanic with the rank of corporal. He underwent basic Air Force training at Woodbourne, trade training at Ohakea and non-commissioned officer training at Wigram, all of which he passed.

He served with the RNZAF for a year before embarking for overseas service. In the immediate postwar period UK-led Commonwealth forces maintained a presence in the Middle East and in South-East Asia. New Zealand's contribution to the former was 14 Squadron, a fighter squadron equipped with de Havilland Vampire jets, which Mr Farmer joined on Cyprus.

In 1955 he and a detachment from 14 Squadron were sent from Nicosia to Abu Suier in Egypt, and a few months later he was transferred to the Far Eastern Air Force based in Singapore, at the time of the Malay Emergency.

Shortly after returning to New Zealand in 1956 he trained as an instructor, and served in that capacity at Ohakea until his discharge in 1959.

"We met Sid when he came to Switzer after the floods (in Kaitaia) in July 2007," Mrs Simkins said.

"The home was fully occupied at the time, and we had to set up a bedroom for him in a lounge. Sid stayed with us as a guest until his home, which had been damaged in the flood, had been refurbished and was ready for him to return to. He decided to stay.

"A gentle, quiet man, he was most proud of his military service. On his door he posted the words, 'I walked with the Eighth Army.'