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Friday 7 May, 2010
Elland, West Yorkshire
The Yorkshire Air Ambulance will today (Friday 7th May) be officially opening their new Charity HQ in Elland, near Halifax. The building will be officially opened by the Lord-Lieutenant of West Yorkshire, Dr Ingrid Roscoe.
The building, which is to be called Cayley House, is named after the Yorkshireman Sir George Cayley, who has been described as the ‘father of aerial navigation’ and the pioneer of the understanding of the principles of flight. Sir George was born and lived in Scarborough most of his life.
Amongst the guests at today’s opening will be Sir George Cayley’s great, great, great grandson Sir Digby Cayley and his sister, Josephine who were the charity’s special guests.
Sir Digby commented “The Cayley family are very honoured that Yorkshire Air Ambulance have chosen Sir George's name for their new building. Sir George was convinced that flying would happen and that it would be a boon for mankind. He wrote "This noble art (aerial navigation) will soon be brought home to man's general convenience, and we shall be able to transport ourselves and families, with their goods and chattels, more securely by air than by water...". Not bad considering he was writing at least 50 years before the Wright brothers!”
The new office offers the charity much needed space after their previous office became cramped and financially unviable for them. The building has secured a long-term HQ for the charity whilst being a very cost effective move.
Peter Sunderland, Chairman of the charity commented “We are delighted to be officially opening the new headquarters of the Yorkshire Air Ambulance today and would like to thank Dr Ingrid Roscoe for undertaking the honour for us. The facilities will provide a long-term base for the fundraising and office team to operate from into the future.”
Other guests who joined the Lord-Leiutenant, Sir Digby Cayley and his sister included the Mayor of Calderdale, the Mayor of Kirklees, the Mayor of Barnsley and other supporters of the independent charity.
Cayley House is situated off South Lane in Elland and has easy access from J24 of the M62. Once an old mill building, it was converted into the new office space for the YAA during 2009, before the charity occupied it in early 2010.
