Leicester care home renamed in honour of local hero

Beaumont Hall care home in Leicester has been renamed Bradley Hall in honour of a very special local hero.

Care home volunteer, Tony Bradley MBE (age 96), who received his MBE from HM The Queen in this year’s New Year Honours, was invited to the care home for a special community fun day on Saturday (30April).

What Tony didn’t know was that the care home was about to be renamed Bradley Hall in his honour, in recognition of the huge commitment and dedication he has shown to the care home and all its residents over the last five years.

The newly named Bradley Hall care home, on Beaumont Leys Lane in Leicester, is a residential and dementia care home operated by Ideal Carehomes.

Tony, who lives in Newtown Lindford, is a real local hero. He was appointed MBE for services to the community as he has volunteered for lots of local charities in Leicester over many years.

On the day, Tony was collected from his home by the care home manager, Lee Daly, and brought to Beaumont Hall for the special event. Then, at 1pm, Lee revealed the care home’s brand-new name to Tony, as well as to all the care home staff.

During the day, there was a BBQ and bouncy castle for the local community to enjoy and special guests were also invited from other local charities and voluntary groups which Tony has supported over the years.

Tony’s wife, Renelle, moved into Beaumont Hall in 2017, and Tony has been entertaining and chatting to its residents ever since. Sadly, Renelle passed away in 2020, but he really enjoys spending time with the residents and so he continued his visits.

Tony spends two days a week at the care home, hosting afternoon teas, organising bingo games and special film shows. He also brings his dog Molly in to visit the residents and helps out with any odd jobs that need doing. He has no plans to stop his visits and he has lots of ideas and plans for future events and activities too.

After the event, Tony Bradley MBE, said: “I was totally shocked and wasn’t expecting it at all. I really feel very honoured. It was such a lovely day and so many people turned up. I had no idea what was going on and when Lee invited me to the front and told me I was the guest of honour I wasn’t sure what he meant but he then revealed the new sign with my name on it which was a big surprise.

“I have been caring for people in some form on another for over 50 years. It’s a way of life for me and I get so much satisfaction from it. I have really had a great life and this is such a tremendous honour.”

Beaumont Hall care home manager, Lee Daly, said: “We are all so inspired by Tony and wanted to do something to show him just how special he is to us and so we decided to rename the care home in his honour.

“Tony had absolutely no idea about this, and neither did the majority of our staff, and it has been incredibly hard to keep it all a secret but it made a wonderful surprise and we were very pleased to finally be able to reveal all at our special community fun day on Saturday.”