Trevor Lyttleton
Nominee Profile
Location: London
Trevor Lyttleton is the founder of Re-engage formerly Contact the Elderly, through which he pioneered one of Britain’s most inclusive and enduring models of multi-ethnic volunteering and intergenerational community engagement.
Founded in 1965 to combat loneliness among older people, the organisation brought together volunteers and isolated elderly guests in small friendship groups over tea, conversation and companionship. Long before terms such as “social inclusion”, “community cohesion” and “diversity volunteering” became widely used, Contact the Elderly was already demonstrating how people of different ethnicities, faiths, nationalities, ages and social backgrounds could work together in a shared humanitarian purpose.
The inspiration for the charity came partly from Trevor Lyttleton’s childhood memories of seeing isolated older people living lonely and forgotten lives, despite possessing immense warmth, humour and humanity. He believed companionship could restore dignity, confidence and joy to later life.
Rejecting the traditional “duty” model of volunteering, Trevor promoted friendship, warmth and shared experience rather than hierarchy or institutional formality. Volunteers were not recruited into a rigid charitable structure but into a welcoming community built on kindness and human connection. This helped attract volunteers from many different backgrounds and made the organisation especially adaptable to multicultural Britain as society changed over the decades.
The movement quietly became a remarkable example of practical integration. Volunteers from Asian, African, Caribbean, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, Hindu, Christian and secular backgrounds worked together to support lonely older people. Instead of focusing on ideology or division, the organisation united people around hospitality, companionship and mutual respect.
The simplicity of the model was one of its great strengths. Ordinary people opened their homes, shared tea and conversation, offered lifts and built lasting friendships with older guests who were often isolated and forgotten. Older people were treated not as “cases” but as valued friends whose humour, wisdom and humanity mattered.
From these modest beginnings, the organisation grew into a nationwide movement involving thousands of volunteers across Britain and transforming the lives of countless older people. In the process, it helped redefine volunteering itself — showing that volunteering could be inclusive, joyful, multicultural and deeply human.
Trevor Lyttleton chaired the organisation for fifty years and remains active in public life at the age of 90. His wider work has included campaigning for intergenerational understanding, social cohesion and practical solutions to loneliness and housing pressures. In 2024 he received the National Lottery Game Changer Award for Communities in recognition of his lifelong contribution to society.
At a time when public discourse often emphasises division, Trevor Lyttleton’s work continues to demonstrate the enduring power of simple human connection. The legacy of Contact the Elderly/Re-engage extends far beyond loneliness alone. It has helped foster trust, friendship and solidarity across generations and communities throughout modern Britain.
Trevor Lyttleton MBE
See history of Trevor's 60 year campaign against loneliness in weblink below
https://www.trevorlyttleton.com/60-year-campaign-against-loneliness
Founded in 1965 to combat loneliness among older people, the organisation brought together volunteers and isolated elderly guests in small friendship groups over tea, conversation and companionship. Long before terms such as “social inclusion”, “community cohesion” and “diversity volunteering” became widely used, Contact the Elderly was already demonstrating how people of different ethnicities, faiths, nationalities, ages and social backgrounds could work together in a shared humanitarian purpose.
The inspiration for the charity came partly from Trevor Lyttleton’s childhood memories of seeing isolated older people living lonely and forgotten lives, despite possessing immense warmth, humour and humanity. He believed companionship could restore dignity, confidence and joy to later life.
Rejecting the traditional “duty” model of volunteering, Trevor promoted friendship, warmth and shared experience rather than hierarchy or institutional formality. Volunteers were not recruited into a rigid charitable structure but into a welcoming community built on kindness and human connection. This helped attract volunteers from many different backgrounds and made the organisation especially adaptable to multicultural Britain as society changed over the decades.
The movement quietly became a remarkable example of practical integration. Volunteers from Asian, African, Caribbean, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, Hindu, Christian and secular backgrounds worked together to support lonely older people. Instead of focusing on ideology or division, the organisation united people around hospitality, companionship and mutual respect.
The simplicity of the model was one of its great strengths. Ordinary people opened their homes, shared tea and conversation, offered lifts and built lasting friendships with older guests who were often isolated and forgotten. Older people were treated not as “cases” but as valued friends whose humour, wisdom and humanity mattered.
From these modest beginnings, the organisation grew into a nationwide movement involving thousands of volunteers across Britain and transforming the lives of countless older people. In the process, it helped redefine volunteering itself — showing that volunteering could be inclusive, joyful, multicultural and deeply human.
Trevor Lyttleton chaired the organisation for fifty years and remains active in public life at the age of 90. His wider work has included campaigning for intergenerational understanding, social cohesion and practical solutions to loneliness and housing pressures. In 2024 he received the National Lottery Game Changer Award for Communities in recognition of his lifelong contribution to society.
At a time when public discourse often emphasises division, Trevor Lyttleton’s work continues to demonstrate the enduring power of simple human connection. The legacy of Contact the Elderly/Re-engage extends far beyond loneliness alone. It has helped foster trust, friendship and solidarity across generations and communities throughout modern Britain.
Trevor Lyttleton MBE
See history of Trevor's 60 year campaign against loneliness in weblink below
https://www.trevorlyttleton.com/60-year-campaign-against-loneliness