Leslie Dickson – In memory
Staff and volunteers share their memories of one of our most memorable volunteers and his four legged friends.
Ask those who spent time with 40-year veteran volunteer Leslie Dickson, what he was like, and they’d most likely tell you he was both a gentleman and a gentle man. They’d also find it impossible not to mention his canine companion, Dusty – an eight-stone gentle giant of a Bernese Mountain Dog.
Following Les’s death, a day after his 89th birthday, in April this year, fellow volunteers and members of staff started sharing their memories of the pair who left a huge mark on St Christopher’s, countless patients and colleagues.
Les started volunteering at St Christopher’s in 1985, and there are photographs on display in the hospice of his first dog ‘Boss’, another Bernese Mountain Dog – an ancestor of Dusty’s – pulling toddlers around in a little cart.
After a hiatus, Les, following the death of his beloved wife of 50 years, Maureen, in 2018 under the care of St Christopher’s, and united with a new Dusty, began visiting the wards again. In all, Les brought five dogs to St Christopher’s over the four decades.
His visits were eagerly anticipated and his and Dusty’s arrival needed no announcement, as Dave Manners, Senior Facilities Manager at the hospice, recalls.
“Dusty loved coming and started to bark excitedly as they drove towards the Lawrie Park Rd turning. We could hear the barking quite clearly from the Estates office and knew he was nearing the car park, a signal to get his welcome biscuit ready!
“They lifted the spirits of the entire building and Thursday actually became known to some of us as Dusty day.”
Martyn Buss, a retired police officer, who’d been visiting patients at St Christopher’s for a few years already recalls the first time he met Les – and Dusty.
“I remember this man turning up with a huge dog. He had a grip of iron, so much so I thought I wasn’t going to get my fingers back.
Martyn was always struck by Leslie’s modesty and keenness to protect his own privacy.
“I remember him saying he only told people what he wanted them to know. But fairly quickly I learned he’d been an RAF dog handler and done the same job in the Met police. We also shared a dry, black sense of humour.”
One thing that was crystal clear was Leslie’s utter devotion to both Maureen and Dusty.
Fellow volunteer Dilip Varma says Leslie shared with him that meeting Maureen was a lifechanging moment – although it was one that took a while to materialise.
“Les used to walk past this shop in the West End every day and one morning spotted a beautiful young woman dressing the window. He went past day after day until he plucked up the courage to go in and ask her out.
“He was a shy man but also very personable and exceptionally good with the patients. He’d always joke about Dusty being eight years old but acting like an eight-month-old and would call him an old rascal.”
“He was immensely proud of Dusty,” adds Martyn.
“The thing he always used to say was how, when this damn great dog went into people’s rooms, the smiles on their faces and the joy it brought people. Leslie would just melt into the furniture. It was all about the dog and since Maureen died, Dusty was his world. He just described himself as the transport manager – so unassuming.”
Martyn fondly remembers one occasion when a woman who’d welcomed Dusty into her room, got down on the floor to get closer to him.
“She just sat there cuddling him. Eventually we had to help her back up. She had tears in her eyes and said thank you.”
Although fellow ward visitor Johanna Sullivan has only been at St Christopher’s since December 2023, Dusty and Leslie still had time to make a serious impression on the retired health NHS employee.
“Leslie just had this aura about him – it was his very dignified and gracious way. What he had a was deep understanding of both people and animals. He was a gentleman, gracious and gentlemanly.
“As for Dusty…the look of wonderment in some people’s eyes was amazing. You would see tears, excitement and then a big cuddle. It was sheer joy.”
In terms of Leslie and Dusty’s legacy, Johanna is quick to point out that there are other dogs that visit the hospice, but stresses that Dusty was one of a kind.
“Dusty was an extension of Leslie’s arm. It was as if they were velcroed together. Dusty was a very big dog with a very big personality and he’s left a Dusty-sized hole.”
The other extension of Leslie’s arm was a paintbrush. Borrowing photographs of friends’ pets he would produce exceptional paintings – never accepting any payment.
Bernie Moloney who, as Ward Administrator at St Christopher’s, knew Leslie well, treasures the drawing Leslie did of her border collie. “He wouldn’t take anything for it, so I got around it by buying treats and toys for Dusty. I’m not sure what to say, just that Les was one of a kind.”
St Christopher’s isn’t the only health organisation that will miss them. Dilip says one of the things he was most proud of was the positive impact Dusty had on a young female patient at St Thomas’s Hospital whose brain illness responded to nothing as positively as his visits.
Since Les’s death, Dusty has been looked after by All Animals Rescue and Rehome.
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