About us Who we are The Civil Service Retirement Fellowship is a national charity dedicated to helping former civil servants and their dependents make the most of their retirement. History In an article entitled 'A Pension Is Not Enough' written in the early 1960s Douglas Houghton MP highlighted the need for an organisation that offered retired civil servants an arena for friendship and companionship. His idea was supported and taken up by J P Wolstenholme, the then General Secretary of The Civil Service Benevolent Fund and on 9th April 1965 the Civil Service Retirement Fellowship was founded and opened its first branches in Guildford, Birmingham and the Solent area. Our Work today Friendship and support remain at the forefront of our work today. We provide a range of services that include two national befriending schemes to help combat loneliness in later life, local community groups (providing educational speakers and leisure activities) and we are on hand to offer information, advice and signposting to a wide range of other supportive organisations, easily accessible via our Freephone telephone advice line. Patron, President, Vice Presidents and Civil Service Champion Aside from our Board of Directors, the CSRF also has the following people who support our aims and objectives: PatronElizabeth Symons, Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean, PC PresidentLord Sedwill of Sherbourne KCMG FRGS Vice-PresidentsSir Alex Allan KCBPaul Gray CBPeter Jones CBKeith LawranceRoi MilburnIan Rathjen FCAJenny Rowe CB Civil Service ChampionDame Elizabeth Gardiner DCB, QC, First Parliamentary Counsel and Permanent Secretary of the Government in Parliament Group in the Cabinet Office Pictures above: (left) The creation of the CSRF on 9th April 1965 (right) The CSRF stand at Northern Ireland Civil Service Live in 2017