Who are we? – The Friends of Conquest Hospital

Our Trustees

Thomas Gardiner

Chair of Trustees

“At the heart of our mission is a simple but powerful belief: Conquest Hospital is a fundamental building block for nurturing a healthy, economically progressive, and proud Hastings and surrounding community. As someone who has personally experienced the exceptional care provided by the Conquest, I know how important it is to have a well-equipped, thriving hospital at the centre of our town.”

Sarah Coop

Trustee

Sarah and her family moved to St Leonard’s on Sea 7 years ago from Belsize Park in North London. Sarah is a professional fundraiser and previously spent 15 years as the Development Director of Artichoke whose huge outdoor art projects were dependent on fundraising, the average project cost was £4m.

Previously Sarah worked at Hampstead Theatre, The Roundhouse, The Philharmonia, The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and The Academy of St Martin in the Fields. Sarah possesses a wide spectrum of fundraising experience across major gift, corporate, statuary, charitable trust and direct mail fundraising.

In London Sarah was a Trustee of Theatre de Complicite, Hofesh Shechter Company, Artichoke Trust and Burgh House. In Hastings she sits on the Charity Committee of the Foreshore Trust. Sarah was a judge for Miss Gilbralta 2013 and was awarded Freedom of the City of London in 2016.

Alastair Fairley

Trustee

Alastair Fairley is a writer, fundraiser and community development specialist with an exceptional track record. Author of eight books, he has raised millions of pounds for leading projects in his community and for eight years was a member of the National Lottery Heritage Fund’s Southeastern board.

Today, he spends his time running a busy charity he co-founded to help people in need in Hastings, managing an extensive archive of original space photography he inherited from his father, and keeping fit by cycling, swimming and walking the hills of his coastal home.

Richard
Fisher

Trustee

Richard, a solicitor with over three decades of experience, has been the Managing Partner at Heringtons Solicitors for the past ten years. Under his leadership, the firm, which has five offices stretching from Rye to Eastbourne, has continued to thrive.

Richard’s focus has been on achieving both financial success and a positive, supportive workplace culture at Heringtons. Alongside his management role, he is responsible for overseeing the firm’s compliance obligations.

Beginning his career in family law, Richard spent his early years supporting clients through issues related to divorce, domestic violence, and child arrangements. He then shifted to resolving complex disputes in property and inheritance, bringing a practical, solution-driven approach to his work. Known for his skill in handling intricate problems, Richard is committed to helping clients achieve success—whether in court, through mediation, or in finalizing important transactions.

Background: Richard qualified as a solicitor in 1990 and has practiced locally ever since. He has served as a governor at Rye Community College and as a member of the Sussex Courts Liaison Committee. His personal experiences with Conquest Hospital inspired him to give back as a Trustee of the Friends of Conquest Hospital, supporting the vital services they provide.

Outside the Office: Richard is a dedicated badminton player (though he tells us he still shows no improvement) and has recently taken up tennis. He also enjoys cycling or walking with his beloved Labradoodle, Hugo. Working from Heringtons’ Hastings branch allows him the occasional lunchtime swim in the sea. Richard is a regular at the theatre, cinema, and the occasional rave, but also treasures relaxing evenings dining out at Hastings’ fantastic restaurants or curling up with a great book—Hugo by his side.

Dr Rosie Guy

Trustee

Dr Rosie Guy joined the Friends of Conquest Hospital as a Trustee in 2023. She was a consultant radiologist at the Conquest hospital from 1993 to 2022.

Her husband Adrian Butler-Manuel was also a consultant at the Conquest hospital and her son Will was recently a junior doctor here.

Building on her prior experience in MRI as a consultant radiologist at the Royal Marsden hospital she was instrumental in acquiring the Conquest’s first MRI scanner. She also forged links with teaching hospitals to establish a training programme locally in Radiology. She has personal experience of the huge impact that fundraising projects by the FOCS can have on patient care, in particular for the purchase of CT and MRI scanners.

Recently retired, she is keen to maintain links with the Conquest hospital, which has been such an important part of her life, and to make use of her medical knowledge. She joined the Friends to support fundraising projects to help improve the health and well-being of the local population.

Rosie has also been a trustee at St Michael’s Hospice for 9 years.

Sebastian Hedencrona

Trustee

Sebastian Hedencrona is a founder and intrapreneur with two decades of experience turning ideas into market-ready ventures. His career spans strategic framing, go-to-market design, and operational scale-up—skills he now brings to the Board of The Friends of the Conquest Hospital.

A strategic thinker and hands-on operator, Sebastian applies commercial rigour to fundraising and community initiatives, helping the charity maximise impact for patients and staff. Proud to call Hastings home, he is deeply committed to strengthening local healthcare and ensuring the town thrives.

Sarah Kowitz DL

Trustee

Born and educated in London, Sarah trained as a reporter in Sussex and worked as a subeditor in print journalism before settling to raise a family.

She is a Deputy Lieutenant of East Sussex and was presented with an honorary doctorate from the University of East Anglia in 2019.

She lived and worked in Asia and America for over ten years and since returning to the UK has been an active supporter of various charities supporting the arts, education, and horticulture. She is a trustee of Hastings International Piano, the Rye Art Gallery, the Friends of the Conquest Hospital, a trustee of Fairlight Hall Riding for the Disabled, and a Director of the Community Interest Company which manages Rye Creative.

Jeremy Llewellyn-Jones

Trustee

Jeremy Llewellyn-Jones studied photography at The London College of Printing then post-graduate film and television at the Royal College of Art. He has spent most of his professional career as documentary filmmaker directing award winning films for UK and international broadcasters.

He’s filmed extensively in NHS hospitals and spent most of 1994/95 making a series for BBC2 in the war-torn hospitals of the besieged city of Sarajevo during the Balkans war. Today he works more as an artist using analogue film technology and has consistently exhibited in galleries in the south east.

Dr David
Walker

Trustee

Dr David Walker qualified from Cambridge University and St Thomas’s Hospital Medical School in 1985 and then trained in Cardiology in London and Southampton.

He was appointed as Consultant Cardiologist at the Conquest Hospital in Hastings in 1998 and was Medical Director of East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust (2016-2022) before retiring from clinical practice in 2024.

David has been Clinical Director of the Sussex Heart Network and Vice President of the British Cardiovascular Society.

He has been a Trustee for a local charity, Parchment Trust, for 15 years and on the Board of Trustees at St. Michael’s Hospice.

“I greatly appreciated the work of the Friends when I was Medical Director and saw first hand the enormous benefit they bring to the hospitals by raising funds for essential equipment. It is therefore a great pleasure to join the Board and hope that my experience will be useful to patients and staff.”

Dr Richard Wray DL

Trustee

Dr Richard Wray trained as a Consultant Cardiologist and General Physician and worked for many years both in Hastings and at Kings College Hospital in London.

He is a Deputy Lieutenant of East Sussex.

Whilst working he noted how much appropriate music helped those in hospital, and so established the live music programme at the Conquest Hospital in Hastings which became one of the largest in any UK NHS hospital. A particular feature is the Young Musician in Residence programme. Richard is also a Patron of the Young Classical Artists Trust which prepares young gifted potential international musicians for their future careers. My longstanding appointment as one of the Deputy Lieutenants of East Sussex has been very helpful in that regard.

I work with and support the East Sussex Schools Music Service, a remarkable high quality organisation noted particularly for the expertise and dedication of its teachers who go far beyond the call of duty to enthuse young people from an early age.’