Why the “Cora Phillips Award”?
Cora Phillips was one of the four original founders of the Alzheimer’s Disease Society, later known as the Alzheimer’s Society. She moved to Bromley following the death of her husband, who had developed young onset dementia, and became instrumental in establishing a strong local Alzheimer’s Society presence in the borough.
Under her leadership, Bromley developed a thriving local branch and the Society’s second day centre, initially based on the site of the former Farnborough Hospital before later relocating to White Gables, remembered by many local residents. As organisations and funding structures have changed over time, there is no longer an Alzheimer’s Society presence in Bromley.
Bromley Dementia Friendly Community is proud to honour Cora Phillips’ legacy by naming its annual Dementia Friendly Award in her memory.
If you would like to nominate your organisation for the Cora Phillips Award, please complete the nomination form here. Closing date: 23rd March 2026.
We have an independent panel of judges lined up for the award.
In alphabetical order:
Chris Maddocks
I am a retired Police Officer. I was born and brought up in Wales where I lived until 2017. I now live in the South East of England.
In 2016, at the age of 60 I was diagnosed with early onset Vascular dementia and since then have also been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and Lewy Body dementia.
I wanted to make a difference following my diagnosis and now describe
myself as a dementia activist, giving talks and lectures to a variety of audiences to educate others about the realities of living with the condition. Becoming actively involved with the dementia movement has given me a renewed sense of purpose. I have a passion for inclusion and fairness and strive to make the world a better place for people with dementia.
I am an Ambassador for a number of charities including Alzheimer’s Society, The Lewy Bodies Society, the National Activity Providers Association.
October 2023 – October 2025, I was the first person living with dementia to become a trustee for Alzheimer’s Society.
I am also an active member of the DEEP network and advocate the benefits of craft and outdoor activity for people with dementia.
Ian Sherriff
Ian Sherriff B.E.M, MA, DMS, CQSW, Dil Cll, is the Academic Partnership lead for Dementia at the Faculty of Health University of Plymouth, where he is a lecturer and a researcher. Ian has had three successful careers. He spent the first 25 years of his working life keeping aircraft at 30,000 feet as an aircraft engineer with the Fleet Air Arm working all over the world. On leaving the services at forty he returned to academia and gained a CQSW and a master’s degree. This led to Ian to becoming a Senior Manager in Local Government, this is a flavor of the programs and services he has managed, they include: – managing Devon Local Government Review both operational and politically and 12,000 staff. Following on from twenty years in local government he joined Plymouth University faculty of health as their Academic Partnership Lead for Dementia. To date he is leading on research in China, Africa and other national programs.
Ian after six years on the Board nationally for the Alzheimer’s Society he is now one of their International and National Ambassador. He is a founder member of the Plymouth Dementia Alliance (which won the UK’s Dementia Friendly City award) and Dementia Friendly Parishes around the Yealm (Rural Dementia). Ian chaired the Prime Ministers Rural Dementia group. He also chaired the Prime Ministers National Air Transport Hidden Disability group. He co-designed the Sunflower lanyard program; this now has global recognition.
Ian launched the first dementia friendly community in Italy. He has given keynote talks at the Tokyo, Osaka and Krakow Alzheimer’s International dementia conferences 2024/25. He is the driving force behind fifteen Plymouth International/National dementia conferences. Ian co-wrote the National Dementia Friendly Dementia Dental Program.
He is an active member of the British Standards Organization(B.S.I.)and International Standards Organization (I.S.O.) where he is part of a team writing the international standard for “Neighborhood’s that Care” and the ISO standards for Dementia Inclusive Communities. He is chairing a group from UK and Ukraine in response to dementia in Ukraine, supported by the Ukrainian lead for Dementia. Ian is currently leading a major Memorandum of Understanding with Nanfang University China and the University of Plymouth covering: – Dementia, AI, Student Summer Schools, student exchange, Derriford Hospital and Nurse training. Ian is leading on a dementia program in Tanzania, Ghana, Nigeria and Kenya. Supporting these projects is the BBC World Service.
Since 1975 Ian a has been actively involved in Blind Veterans UK BVUK (formally St Dunstan’s) He is currently on the of Board of BVUK and Chair of the operational group.
Jane Ward
Jane spent several years caring for her mother who had Vascular Dementia whilst volunteering for a local dementia support group and the Alzheimer’s Society Research Network, on her mother’s death Jane also became involved with the local Dementia Friendly Communities pilot project in Hampshire, eventually founding the Charity Dementia Friendly Hampshire to continue the work. Jane also volunteers with Dementia Adventure, continues her volunteering role with the Alzheimer’s Society Research Network, Marie Curie and Cicely Saunders Patient Groups and is a Research Ambassador at her local hospitals in Portsmouth and Southampton. Jane’s PPI experience continues to provide opportunities and she is co-applicant on several projects and a PPI member on several others.
Jane is also a Director of Dementia Community, a Charitable Community Benefit Society which publishes The Journal of Dementia Care, runs the Annual Dementia Congress, regular webinars and a newsletter for members.
Margaret Phillips
Margaret Phillips is Cora’s daughter.
One of the United Kingdom’s outstanding concert organists and teachers, Margaret Phillips studied with Ralph Downes and Marie-Claire Alain. After her London début, she soon gained an international reputation as a soloist, playing at concert halls and cathedrals throughout Europe and in the U.S.A., Canada, Australia and Mexico. Performance highlights in recent years include celebrity recitals at York Minster, Westminster Abbey and St Paul’s Cathedral, and, in 2015, two marathon series, each of 18 concerts, of the complete works of Bach. In June 2016 she played an evening recital at the Royal Festival Hall which was broadcast by BBC Radio 3.
She is much in demand as teacher and masterclass tutor as well as recitalist, and from 1996–2021 she was Professor of Organ at the Royal College of Music in London. In 2022 she was awarded the Medal of the Royal College of Organists, the highest honour given by the College.
Her numerous CDs, which include the complete organ works of Bach, Mendelssohn, Saint-Saëns and Stanley, have been highly praised. In 1994, Margaret Phillips and her late husband founded the English Organ School and Museum in former chapel premises in Milborne Port, Somerset, where there is a small collection of organs by English organ builders from the eighteenth century to the present day.
The honorary President of the Bromley Dementia Friendly Community, Angela Clayton Turner, will be the non-voting chair of the judging panel.
If you would like to nominate your organisation for the Cora Phillips Award, please complete the nomination form here. Closing date: 23rd March 2026.