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It all began on April 1st, 1969 in Stevenage, when Des Gibbons established a youth community action group named Freewheelers to encourage young bikers to use their riding skills to provide a fast and reliable transport service to local hospitals.

This initial group served the Lister Hospital in Stevenage, the Luton and Dunstable Hospital, Hitchin Hospital and maternity unit and two hospitals in Bedford. They carried blood, drugs, plasma, diagnostic specimens and even human spare parts on occasions.

Riders also delivered letters to doctor’s surgeries and collected spare breast milk from nursing mothers to take to the special care baby unit at the local maternity hospital. Unfortunately the Stevenage group, along with Albrighton Freewheelers in Shropshire, are no longer operating.

Passion for bikes

In 1978, 44-year-old Cecil ‘Ces’ Turner from East Coker in Yeovil was a motorcycle enthusiast. Ces was a carpenter by trade and had to give this up as he had broken his back many years before in a car accident and had spent quite some time in Yeovil District Hospital recovering. 

X-rays and blood are delivered

As part of his recovery he joined the local swimming club for the disabled who went each year to a camp at Farnham in Surrey. He got talking to one of the helpers at the camp about motorcycling and found out about the group that had been running in Stevenage in Hertfordshire.

A local lady knowing Cec’s passion for motorbikes approached him with an article she had from a Stevenage magazine about their Freewheelers organisation and asked him if he would start a group up in Yeovil.

During his time in Yeovil Hospital, he got to know chief orthopedic surgeon Brian Madden. Using both Brian as a contact and the Stevenage group as a model, he was given a £200 donation from South Somerset Riders Organization (a group of middle-aged riders who like to play on bikes) and formed the Yeovil Freewheelers on December 4th, 1978. 

The first bike was a Triumph Daytona which was donated by the Stevenage Freewheelers group. Many riders of the South Somerset Riders Organisation became the first volunteers of the group. 

They only had one yellow reflective hi-vis jacket which had a large ‘F’ on the back which was ‘acquired’ from the local fire brigade.

The newly formed Freewheelers group, which was a youth service associated to the National Association of Youth Clubs, encouraged volunteers under 26 to increase their riding skills at the same time as delivering a valuable service to Yeovil District Hospital.

Their aim was, and still is, to assist the local health authority by providing transport between hospitals throughout the region and they are also prepared to travel throughout the country. 

Young, free and single

Before the group formed, they had to be sure that the items they were prepared to carry did not fall into the criteria of items which the police or ambulance service would carry.

They deliver all over the county

The original requirement from a rider was to be under 26 years of age and to be single.  These were chosen because it was thought that by that age the individual would have their own family responsibilities and the effects on the family of a married rider with children would be too great if an accident were to happen whilst riding for the Freewheelers.

Most of the early runs were between Yeovil District Hospital and Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton, and Yeovil District Hospital and the Blood Bank at South Mead in Bristol.

At first, they would transport anything that was ‘useful’ from x-rays, blood, doctors notes, bone samples and artificial joints, although the emphasis was on ‘emergency’ not on ‘couriers’. 

These were initially transported by taxi and it was calculated that this was costing the hospital over £1,000 per year.  Most of the early items transported were for the orthopedic department of the hospitals, this was due to Ces’s contact – surgeon Brian Madden.

In its first year they received just 13 calls, in this time they had to prove to the hospital that they could do the job.  This has now risen to over 300 per year, which is saving Yeovil District Hospital over an estimated £36,000 per annum.

Hospital bleepers

It took a long time and a lot of hard work to develop the trust between the Freewheelers, the Police and the NHS Trust, but the bond and mutual respect has grown over the years.

In 1980 the group bought their first bike a Honda 500T. Ces donated one of his own bikes, a Honda 400 Four.

Communications were poor.  We had hospital bleepers that only reached a radius of 15 miles so once a rider had gone beyond that distance it was difficult to contact them. Several times the transport police had to be called to stop a rider in the next town if a change of tasking had occurred.

The service started by providing emergency transport at evenings and weekends but soon developed into a 24 hour service.  The organisation was affiliated to the National Youth Groups of Great Britain. The criteria which were laid down by the youth group were making it difficult to get new riders so it was relaxed in order to keep the organisation going.

Due to dwindling volunteer numbers, the group had to revert back to the out-of-hours service.

Lack of funds

After 15 years Yeovil Freewheelers became a registered charity.  Within this time Ces had donated his own money several times to stop the service disbanding.

Yeovil Carnival Commitee donated in 1986

Ces’s daughter Nicky became the charities first female rider – there have been several females since.

In 1999 after 21 years of operating successfully, the charity bought a secondhand Honda Deville NT650 after a huge fundraising effort. This bike was fitted with high-vis décor, blue lights and two-tone sirens

Ces kept donating £1,000 occasionally in order to keep the charity running.

In 2002 a second Honda Deville was purchased, again secondhand. This was so the service was never to be withdrawn for any reason and the bike could also be used for promotional work. 

Money was getting tight and the riders had to put petrol in the bikes out of their own pocket to keep providing the service. In 2004 the group was temporarily off the road only for a very short period due to lack of funds, as the bikes were no longer fit for purpose.

In 2006 after help from local business’s and peoples' generosity, the group purchased their first brand new bikes. Two Honda Deville’s, fully kitted out with high-vis décor, blue lights and sirens.  This currently takes the charities bikes to three– the two Deville’s and one Honda Pan European which is used for the longer runs.

They now provide cover from 7pm – 7am Monday to Friday and from 7pm Friday to 7am on Monday. We are looking to once again provide a 24 hour service in the near future due to new riders who can cover the day time hours.

Today more blood is transported for analysis rather than supplying blood for transfusions, although blood for transfusions are still carried by the charity.

Helpful 'shouts'

Ces gave up riding about 12 years ago voluntarily as his reactions weren’t as good as they were. Now at 74-years-old, Ces Turner remains the President of the charity and continues to promote the service by giving after dinner speeches at local events.

A Honda 500T was there second bike

Helicopter manufacturers Agusta Westlands operate an Apprentice of the year Award Scheme and will donate to the charity a brand new Honda Deville fully equipped with Bluetooth, sat-nav, decals, and of course the necessary blues and two’s, which do not allow a rider to exceed the speed limit, it just makes other road users aware of the bikes presence.

The running costs today are £6,000 per bike per year, but this saves Yeovil Hospital in excess of £36,000 per year.

Hospital staff initially call us out. Our on call rider then responds to three categories of “shout”, with the urgency of each case being determined by the patients needs.

• Cat 1 - Very urgent requiring an emergency response.
• Cat 2 - Urgent, requiring immediate action, but not an emergency.
• Cat 3 - ASAP, not urgent, but requiring action in the next few hours.

As we are a voluntary organisation, riders are not paid for their time. Every penny raised goes back into the charity. The only payment they receive is the thanks for a job well done and that is enough, even when riding in the worst of the weather regardless of the time or date.

Each `shout' not only helps one NHS patient directly but also helps their family and friends.