A former Eton pupil, described as 'quirky and eccentric', has left his Grade II listed home in Gloucestershire to a homeless charity in his will. David Guinness, who passed away at the age of 81 in 2020, bequeathed his three-bedroom cottage in Stroud to Emmaus Gloucestershire, with the aim of "making a difference" in the local community.
The charity is now preparing the property, valued at up to £180,000, for a family to move into by Christmas. Rose Niland, 55, from Stroud, was a close friend of David's for over a decade and characterised him as "very eccentric and quirky".
Rose, a retired physiotherapist, first encountered David at a local Christmas carol service where he was playing the organ. She revealed that David, born in Belgravia in 1938, was an Eton alumnus and studied at Trinity College, Cambridge.
His career spanned various engineering and teaching roles, including working on the US space programme. Rose shared: "He started to notice that there were a lot of homeless people in Stroud.
"He even befriended some people who were sleeping rough, so he just decided to leave his house and made his bequest to Emmaus. I think he wanted to feel he'd made a difference.
"He would often look back on his life and wonder what he had done, what he'd achieved, what his standing was in society. So leaving his house was a way that he could at least accommodate two or three homeless people and make a difference."
Rose added: ''He was just one of these people who could be very funny without trying. He was very tall, he was 6'3 and had very long legs, so he would always lean back on the organ stool.
"One time he leaned back on his organ stool and caught fire on one of the candles. I don't think he realised he was on fire, but one of the ladies sitting at the back did, and she managed to put him out.
"It seemed to be a real sort of Father Ted or Monty Python sort of moment.''
Lorraine Watson, Chief Operations Officer from Emmaus Gloucestershire, expressed her gratitude, saying: "How do you thank somebody who has left a house? I wish he was around to see what we are doing and I wish he would be around to see a family when they walked in here.
"So David, thank you from me and thank you from the various families over many, many years that might occupy this property."
According to Rose, David had previously been married but had spent the last two decades living alone in his Stroud cottage.
Rose recounted their conversations about homelessness and inequality, subjects that David was passionate about, during their tea times. David lost his battle with COVID-19 and passed away at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital on December 6, 2020.
"I felt absolutely awful," said Rose upon receiving the sombre news. Her inability to visit due to the prevailing COVID restrictions left her feeling distraught.
"I was very sad that I couldn't do anything. I just felt so helpless. There was nothing I could do," she reflected.
In 2022, Emmaus took possession of the keys and is currently in the process of refurbishing the property.
Rose expressed that David would be "very pleased" to witness the house's progress, remarking, "If he's up there, he'd be delighted that it's happening," and added, "Hopefully his spirit is wandering around somewhere in here watching."
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