Peter Jones, Eric Reynolds and Mike West met as students at Swansea University in 1964. Together, they formed the vision that would become Discovery SVS, the University’s student volunteering service.
It was Peter’s misfortune to be diagnosed with appendicitis in his first year, but the silver lining to this was that while at Swansea General Hospital, conversing with other patients he became aware of the interest people had in their local university, and the intrigue in what it was students did. Shortly afterwards, Mike experienced similar interest from patients during a hospital stay for a knee cartilage injury. It was then that Mike, Peter and Eric realised how highly local people regarded their university, and as Peter said: ‘We decided we wanted to put back something into the local community.’
The three friends enlisted the help of Graham Chadwick, or ‘Father Chad’ as he was better known, the then Swansea University Chaplain, to consolidate their idea for offering a voluntary service. Father Chad had an amazing career that carried the weight of volunteering forward. Peter said: ‘The issue of how to get started and funded was solved by asking Father Chad to become the ‘respectable front man’ who would be able to deal with the local authorities that undoubtedly would have given short shrift to three young students.’
Father Chad proved an invaluable help, negotiating with the local council and businesses and seeking funding for equipment and materials, while Mike, Peter and Eric provided the labour, which initially took the form of painting and decorating.
The students’ first client, Gina Wilson, proved a ‘tough nut to crack’ and was, to begin with, suspicious of the three friends’ intentions, but the more time they spent helping her and transforming her home, the closer they all became, and as Peter said, ‘we came to view Gina as a much loved and valued friend’.
Discovery SVS had begun and over the summer term, the team recruited more volunteers, adding gardening to the services they offered.
Things really took off in the trio’s second year, when Mike, Peter and Eric started a campaign to enlist new recruits from the student population. Some one hundred students turned up to a meeting during Freshers’ Week and at around the same time, SVS also received a cash boost of £800 from the Rag Committee having been awarded five pounds in the first year.
By the middle of the autumn term, 1966, SVS had about twenty teams out in the community – a tremendous achievement. Members of SVS also played a significant role – and made many memories - raising money for good causes during Rag week.
As Discovery SVS blossomed, and as Mike, Peter and Eric were coming to the end of their tenure at the University, it became clear that the organisation needed dedicated coordination and fellow students Sue Ridout and Sue Secker stepped into the role. Fellow student Steve Knott, who had attended the Freshers’ week meeting, and who was something of a ‘human dynamo’ proved instrumental in drumming up enthusiasm and ensuring the continued success of SVS following the founders’ graduation.
I know Mike, Peter and Eric feel indebted to a variety of organisations that enabled the early activities of Discovery SVS, not least local councillors, local authority officials and employees, and local government agencies. The support of the Students’ Union was also a crucial factor in adding further financial support and encouragement.
And of course, there were the individuals who were so instrumental in getting Discovery SVS off the ground, notably: Graham Chadwick, ‘Father Chad’ and Dr Vivian J Phillips, a member of the University staff and Resident Tutor in Neuadd Lewis Jones during the sixties, who helped secure Mike, Peter and Eric a place in Halls thus ensuring they were well-placed to recruit new members to their cause.
Mike, Peter and Eric have gone on to enjoy diverse careers. Peter, having graduated in 1966 with a BA Hons in Politics, spent some time at the London School of Economics, worked at the University of Aberdeen and eventually settled in the Department of Politics at the University of Reading. Eric graduated in French and Italian in 1968 and went on to hold headships at several schools. He also travelled with his wife to various locations overseas to recruit students and he managed the French outpost of a prominent girls’ boarding school before retirement. Mike graduated in 1967 with a BA Hons in Economics and became the first graduate hired by Rank Xerox. He went on to work in marketing positions in the US and Australia and has run a consultancy company with his Australian wife, Lee Anne for the last 35 years.
Although their paths diverged, Mike, Peter and Eric have maintained an avid, shared interest in volunteering throughout their lives; Mike worked for The Prince’s Trust for 10 years as Chairman for his county and spent several years at the Lords Taverners helping disadvantaged youths through cricket; Eric has raised considerable amounts of money for charity through the completion of three London Marathons; and Peter was an elected member of Reading and Berkshire County Council from 1972-1985 and again from 1989 to 2014 when he retired. He has also volunteered in his local Oxfam Bookshop and local Sue Ryder Charity Shop.
Since its inception, Discovery SVS has helped thousands of students support local communities through projects focused on wellbeing, inclusion, youth work, and the environment. Last November, Discovery SVS marked its 60th Anniversary, and with a grant of nearly £14,000 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, launched Discovery60, a year-long commemoration of student-powered change.
When Mike, Peter and Eric, had the seeds of an idea for a volunteering service back in 1964, none of them believed they were doing anything special; they just ‘wanted to contribute something of value to the local community.’ This impulse, to give something back, is of course, the most special thing of all, and Mike, Peter and Eric should be justly proud of their role in establishing a voluntary organisation at Swansea University that continues to go from strength to strength and has played no small part in developing the identity of the University as one wholly dedicated to the needs of its local community.