Peter Van Der Gucht (31 Oct 1951 - 6 Jun 2023)

Peter Van der Gucht Obituary
June 2023

Widely respected local mental health social worker and campaigner Peter Van der Gucht died on June 6th at the age of 71. Pete, a resident of Craven since 1984 dedicated his career to supporting the rights of people with severe mental health difficulties and learning disabilities in Craven and Bradford as well as Airedale Hospital and Lynfield Mount. He leaves behind his wife, two children and three grandchildren.

Having grown up in rural Suffolk, Pete first moved to Bradford to go to University in 1971 and enjoy the curry houses around Manningham and Heaton as well as CAMRA real ale pubs. Volunteering at Quaker camps and St Lawrence’s asylum in the summer holidays After leaving university he started work as a nursing assistant on the wards at Lynfield Mount before moving to Nottingham with his wife Sheila in 1975 to study social work.

Pete moved back to the Craven and Bradford area in 1984 with his young family where he remained for the rest of his life. His career in Yorkshire began with the community learning disabilities team in Bradford before moving into mental health, his area of expertise in 1985. Pete became the first social workers with approved mental health status in North Yorkshire. He worked across the Craven mental health and Airedale services until his retirement in 2008 working as a mental health social worker for North Yorkshire County Council in Craven and supporting generations of social work students who trained with him.

Pete was a passionate advocate for people experiencing stigma or marginalisation because of their difficulties. Alongside his career he campaigned hard for equality and respect for those suffering with mental health issues in the workplace and wider society. In 1988, Pete set up a local support group for people with bipolar, or manic depression as it was known at the time, offering much needed opportunities for people affected to peer support, family support, research and learning opportunities and friendship. Over the next 30 years Pete organised social events, holidays, talks, workshops, concerts and walks in the local area as well as bringing in guest speakers, research participation and creating an extensive mental health library for the residents of Craven, now held at Craven Mind.

As well as the support he provided to individuals and families locally, Pete was also involved nationally on the board of Mind, the Manic Depression Fellowship, contributed to book chapters and local charities including Craven Mind and Pioneer Projects in Bentham.

Peter’s health deteriorated and meant his early retirement prevented him from continuing in his professional capacity, but his passion to help others never waned and as well as using his time in retirement to enjoy time with his much-loved family, he also volunteered in a number of local settings in recent years including the shared reading scheme at Steeton Primary School and the Wellbeing Café at Glusburn Institute and befriending. Peter was also an active community member in many local groups following his passions for international film, history, creative writing, environmentalism and politics. Peter’s friends describe him as being a fountain of knowledge of all things relating to film, theatre, literature and real ale. A life-long supporter of Ipswich Town Tractor Boys and international cricket at Headingly, Peter also enjoyed meeting up regularly with old colleagues and friends across the country to enjoy watching the sport and hearing about people’s lives.

Peter touched the lives of many and will be dearly missed. Many will hold the memory of chatting with him as he walked in the local shops and villages. He loved nothing more than to connect with others.

His memorial service will be at Glusburn Institute on Friday 14th July. His family are raising money to plant fruit and other native trees as part of a local community woodland in his memory. Research by Terra and Friends of the Earth has recently highlighted that Craven has the one of the lowest tree coverages in the whole of the U.K. with only 4.8% of its parklands, streets and woodlands covered by trees compared to the national average of 12.8% and the government target of 16.5%.
If anyone would like to contribute, please see the link below: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/TreePlantingPeterVanDerGucht?utm_term=xbrp9rPJ4