Harrogate Thalidomide campaigner lays wreath 60 years on

Harrogate Thalidomide campaigner Guy Tweedy has laid a wreath to pay tribute to victims of the morning sickness ‘wonder drug’.

Mr Tweedy placed the wreath at the foot of a copper beech tree planted on the Harrogate’s Montpellier Hill in 2012.

The tree was the UK’s first-ever memorial to those who died as a result of their mothers being prescribed the drug in the early stages of pregnancy.

The wreath commemorates the 60th anniversary of the Thalidomide Society, which was formed in 1962 by the parents of children affected by the drug.

Mr Tweedy, who turns 60 in June and is himself a Thalidomider, is a prominent campaigner for the society.

The society was formed by parents of children affected by the drug in order to provide mutual support and seek compensation.

At least 2,000 babies in the UK were born due to Thalidomide, and more than half of them died within their first year. An unknown number also died in the womb.

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Common deformities included missing or shortened limbs, blindness, brain damage and missing internal organs.

442 UK Thalidomiders still alive

There are a total of 442 Thalidomiders aged between 56 and 63 still alive in the UK today.

Over the last two decades, Mr Tweedy – who sufferers from shortened arms and fingers fused together, has helped secure hundreds of millions of pounds from the government for the ongoing care of fellow survivors.

He said:

“A decade ago, we planted this tree to commemorate those who died from this hideous drug. Thalidomide was the worst man-made disaster in peace time history.

“It killed thousands of babies in the womb and in their first years of life. It left thousands more with terrible deformities and affected the lives of thousands of families around the world.

“For the last ten years I have watched the memorial tree grow – and it will be here long after I, and all the other Thalidomide survivors, have passed away.

“The Harrogate district has seven thalidomide survivors, and since its inception 60 years ago the Thalidomide Society has fought our corner and championed our welfare.

“Whilst this wreath is to commemorate the victims of this tragedy, it’s also to recognise the ongoing work of the Thalidomide Society which aims to ensure the impact of thalidomide is never forgotten.

Harrogate thalidomide campaigner defends animal testing firm Labcorp

A Harrogate thalidomide campaigner has defended local firm Labcorp Drug Development in the row over animal testing.

Guy Tweedy said if thalidomide had been tested on animals in the 1950s, thousands of people such as himself might have been spared birth defects caused by the drug.

Mr Tweedy, who is one of 447 beneficiaries of the Thalidomide Trust, as well as a trustee of Harrogate-based charity Disability Action Yorkshire, said thalidomide was barely tested before it went on sale.

He added:

“If there had been better testing on animals before thalidomide came out in the UK between 1958 and 1962, it might have shown they could have been born with deformities, which would have prevented the same thing happening in humans.”

Harrogate and Knaresborough Conservative MP Andrew Jones is lobbying the government to help the company, previously called Covance, to expand. About a third of the American firm Labcorp’s 4,000 UK staff are based in Harrogate.

The site on Otley Road is frequently targeted by animal protestors. Harrogate Borough Council heard this month that live animals, including Beagle puppies, non-human primates. rabbits, mice and mini-pigs are experimented on in Harrogate.

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Cllr Victoria Oldham, the Conservative representative for Washburn, recently called for a moratorium on animal testing in the Harrogate district.

Her motion was rejected but councillors did agree to visit the site.

Mr Tweedy said he was an animal lover with several pets, including a dog and rabbits, but he nevertheless understood the necessity of testing for non-cosmetic purposes.

“At the end of the day they are doing tests for scientific purposes. If they had done the same for thalidomide I wouldn’t still be campaigning 60 years later.”

Primarily marketed under the brand name Distaval, thalidomide was sold to pregnant mothers in the UK for less than four years before it was withdrawn.

Harrogate Thalidomide campaigner takes on key charity role

A well known Thalidomide campaigner has taken a key position with a Harrogate disability charity.

Guy Tweedy from Harrogate, who worked tirelessly for more than two decades championing the cause people affected by Thalidomide, has become a Trustee of Disability Action Yorkshire.

Mr Tweedy helped secure tens-of-millions-of-pounds in additional government support for survivors of the morning sickness drug.

Founded 84 years ago, Disability Action Yorkshire has its headquarters and training centre on Hornbeam Park, a residential care home on Claro Road, and a holiday lodge in Lincolnshire.

The charity’s vision is to empower disabled people to live the lifestyle of their choice, through its training, preparation and other living skills.  It celebrates and promotes diversity at every level of its organisation.

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Mr Tweedy, who was born with shortened arms and fingers fused together, said:

“Being disabled myself, I am fully aware of the challenges and inequalities disabled people face, in particular when it comes to employment opportunities.

“When I left school, I wrote to more than 1,000 potential employers – and I still have the rejection letters!

“It’s a privilege to have joined Disability Action Yorkshire as a Trustee, and I’m looking forward to playing my part within this well-respected organisation.”

Neil Revely, Disability Action Yorkshire Chair, said.

“We are delighted to have Guy Tweedy join our Board of Trustees. He is a seasoned campaigner and is well-known for his unstinting efforts fighting the Thalidomide corner.

“For 83 years, this organisation has been at the forefront of supporting disabled people, and I’m very proud of the work we have achieved throughout the decades.

“However, there is still plenty to be done, and Guy’s experiences will be invaluable as we take the organisation to the next stage and beyond.”

 

Harrogate thalidomide campaigner backs covid vaccine

Harrogate thalidomide campaigner Guy Tweedy has said he had no hesitation taking the covid vaccine and has urged others to do likewise.

Businessman Mr Tweedy has been instrumental in the long-running campaign against the German drug company that gave thalidomide to pregnant mothers suffering from morning sickness in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

It led to thousands of babies in the UK, including Mr Tweedy, being born with severe disabilities.

Speaking today, he said “not all drug companies are wonderful” but added he was prepared to have the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab two weeks ago, particularly after listening to Professor Sarah Gilbert, who worked on the vaccine at the university:

“I was more than happy to take the vaccine. As soon as we can get out of this mess the better.”

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Some anti-vaxxers have used the side effects of thalidomide as a reason not to take the covid vaccine.

This prompted Dr Ruth Blue, a consultant for the Thalidomide Society, to describe comparisons between the two as “insulting”.

Mr Tweedy agreed it was wrong to draw comparisons between the impact of thalidomide and the vaccine.

He added:

“It was a nasty, toxic drug and you can’t compare it with the vaccine.”

He advised others to put their concerns to one side and be inoculated.

More than 70,000 people in the Harrogate district have received their first jab.

Mr Tweedy praised the speed of the UK vaccination rollout compared to other European countries.

“We’ve done a fantastic job.”

Harrogate Thalidomide campaigner pays tribute to Sir Harold Evans

A leading Thalidomide campaigner from Harrogate has paid tribute to Sir Harold Evans, the newspaper editor who championed the cause of the drug’s victims in the early 1970s.

Sir Harold – known as Harry – a former editor of the Northern Echo and the youngest editor of the Sunday Times, has died at the age of 92.

He was instrumental in exposing the Thalidomide scandal, which saw thousands of babies in the UK born with severe disabilities after their mothers were given the drug to cure morning sickness.

Thalidomide victim Guy Tweedy, who lives in Harrogate, became a good friend of Sir Harold, and last saw him at his New York club in July 2019. He said:

“I am very sadden by the news of the passing of my dear friend.

“He was an icon. The world’s greatest journalist, and Harry was, and will always remain, a hero of Thalidomiders worldwide.

“What he did for Thalidomide survivors and their families in the UK was enormous. He trod where no one else did. If it wasn’t for him fighting against the establishment, and having the courage to expose this horrendous scandal, we would never have got any justice at all.

“We owe him a huge debt of gratitude that sadly we will never be able to repay. I hold him up in complete veneration and consider him one of the greatest men of all time. My thoughts are with his wife, Tina, and his family at this very sad time.

“I lit a candle to his memory, which is standing in front of a portrait that I had commissioned of him a few years ago. God bless you, Sir Harry.”

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