Oxfordshire woman 'Mad Gran' to drive ambulances in Ukraine
Affectionately known as 'Mad Gran' by the Ukrainians she's come to know and love through her volunteering, Brenda Gratwicke, 70, is getting ready for her latest driving adventure.
Brenda Gratwicke, AKA ‘Mad Gran’
What began with the collapse of a food bank has led to one Oxfordshire woman about to start driving ambulances in the war-torn Kharkiv Oblast in Ukraine.
But what makes the story even more astonishing is that Brenda Gratwicke, a former teacher, mother and grandmother who, at 70, says she has no plans to stop any time soon.
I spoke with this remarkable woman, affectionately called ‘Mad Gran’ by the Ukrainian people she has come to know and love, because I wanted to understand what drove her to begin, and why she says she has to keep going, in spite of the PTSD she has developed as a result of what she has experienced, and the mini stroke she’s had as a result.
Her story begins during Covid, before the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. At the time, Brenda was able to step in to help after the collapse of an Oxford food bank, leaving a stockpile of non-perishable food.
Eventually, a syndicate was formed and some of this food began being distributed to Ukraine with her behind the wheel for the first time of a 44 tonne supply lorry.
From there, she has supplied humanitarian aid, driven and delivered vehicles for the military and since June 2023, worked for the NGO Hope Full helping to feed thousands of Ukrainians daily throughout the country.
Along the way, Brenda has taught English at schools and university, served pizza to cold and hungry people, and even provided a temporary home to a Ukrainian mother and two small children here in the UK.
But what’s become clear to Brenda is that the Ukrainian people don’t need food so much as willing hands and hearts and the belief in the Ukrainian’s will to keep fighting - and winning.
And she’s discovered that, in spite of there being plenty of international volunteers all over Ukraine, it’s the Ukrainians themselves who’re in charge.
Lately, she’s been making food in a place called Hell’s Kitchen, a Ukrainian initiative feeding hospital patients and troops.
More than anything, she’s been awe struck at the strength of the people she’s met, from the soldiers buying their own bullets for ancient weapons, to the women who’ve stepped in to fill the spaces left by their men.
Describing them as magnificent, she says it’s the women who run trams and buses, fill empty police stations, teach, and run volunteer projects.
And that feeds her.
What the Ukrainians really need is money and supplies to keep their soldiers fighting a war one they did not start, but are determined to win, and will, she says, succeed, even if they have to do it on their own.
Of the now-infamous clashes in the White House between Presidents Zelensky and Trump clashes, Brenda says that although there was a feeling of hopelessness, the mood has changed and they are more determined than ever to win.
What of the possibility of giving up land to the Russians in exchange for a peace deal?
‘Outrageous. No way…That land is manured with Ukrainian blood…(a)nd it’s not going to Russia. No, absolutely not.’
As the media’s lenses shift focus from Ukraine to many other global conflicts, it’s easy to forget that the war still rages there. Its soldiers are tired, its people battleworn, its land strewn with the remnants of lives lived only a few short years ago.
But Brenda, like the Ukrainian people, will never give up.
Can you help?
Here’s how:
Facebook - All appeals go out on that, for medicines, medical aids and camping supplies:
Christmas presents for the troops campaign:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1B93O3JDovmbHxT5DLD_hFy97J2aOFEDwWvByIdb_y0k/edit?usp=sharing
GoFundMe page to buy medical aid, things like tourniquets, chest seals:
Amazon wish list for those that live too far away to drop off:
Interested in hearing more from Brenda?
Brenda gives talks and if you would like to go along to see her, the next talk is on 11 December at 1900 at Sturdys Castle, Banbury Rd. OX5 3EP. Free event, no booking needed.