Remembering former Scope Chair Anthony Hewson

Former Scope Chair Anthony Hewson OBE passed away recently. He was a member of our Executive Council for almost a decade and our Chair from 1992 to 1997.

Scope Chair Robin Millar said: “The sad death of Anthony Hewson OBE signals the passing of a true giant in the world of disabled people. Anthony’s determination, fearlessness, innovative thinking and drive changed the lives of hundreds of thousands of children and their families.

As the current Chair of Scope, the disability charity Anthony Chaired and named in the 1990s, I feel we owe him a huge debt and we are determined his work and his influence will live on.

On behalf of the trustees and all at Scope we give thanks to Anthony and to his brave and dedicated family.”

Scope Chief Executive Mark Hodgkinson said: “We are deeply saddened by the death of Anthony Hewson OBE. He was responsible for setting our strategic direction and importantly overseeing our name change from the National Spastics Society to Scope.

Our rebrand was a landmark moment, dropping a name that had become known for playground insults and making a strong statement that attitudes towards disability needed to change. It was an important part of our transition to becoming the disability equality charity we are today.

The Queen awarded Anthony an Order of the British Empire (OBE) for outstanding services to disabled people.

Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time.”