‘We dreamed, dared, strived, and achieved for you to hold dear this special place.’

Rhodney Haydn Bray Lofting (‘Rhod’) was born on 5 May 1938 in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia). Rhod left Africa in 1964, and has now have lived in Woking for fifty years.  In 1978 Rhod became a Woking councillor and was Mayor in 1990.

After struggling to find quality care for his father suffering with cancer, Rhod’s mayoral charity project was to build a Woking Hospice. After five years of fundraising, the hospice opened in December 1996. Woking Hospice and Sam Beare Hospice at Weybridge united in 2014 to meet growing demand.

With more fund raising and a grant and loan facilities from Woking Borough Council a new state-of-the-art hospice was built in Goldsworth Park and opened by HRH the Countess of Wessex in December 2017.

Rhod Lofting was made a Deputy Lieutenant of the County of Surrey in 1996 and an Honorary Freeman of the Borough of Woking in 2010.  Recently the west wing of the new hospice was named ‘The Rhod Lofting Wing’.

Find out more about Rhod Lofting in our Local Hero display in Woking's Story.