Colchester & District Cat Rescue and Rehoming Society - Reg. Charity no. 275238
Founded by the late Sheila Parsonson MBE in 1974, becoming a Registered Charity in 1978. Sheila was awarded the MBE by the Queen at Buckingham Palace for services to animal welfare in November 2004.
The Charity was originally formed by Sheila, and her friend George Charles and was based at Great Tey just outside Colchester.
However, due to planning restrictions and lack of space, in January 1996 the Charity moved to its purpose built premises at "Lyndhurst" in Bromley Rd, after a public appeal and fundraising campaign.
Sheila Parsonson MBE 1926 - 2011Sheila Margaret Parsonson lived in London for most of her adult life, working for an insurance company, and it was then that she started to rescue cats and look after them in her own home.
After taking early retirement Sheila moved to the village of Great Tey near Colchester in the early 1970s. By 1974 she was well known for taking in cats to rescue and rehome them. In 1978 she applied to register with the Charities Commission.
After a fundraising campaign championed by George Charles, a fellow cat lover and one of Sheila's friends from London, she bought a derelict smallholding in Bromley Rd, on the road between Colchester and Ardleigh. The site was resurrected and landscaped as the new Sanctuary. Sheila continued to rehome cats for many years whilst living in the cottage at the front of the site. Sadly her health worsened in 2004, and after that time she was unable to be as actively involved. The other Trustees took over the running of the Charity, and have kept it as an independent rescue as Sheila wished.
The Sanctuary in Bromley Rd and the Charity Shop in Eld Lane continue to run in her memory. raising funds and rehoming cats to continue the work that Sheila started.
