Sir Michael Sobell's legacy

Sir Michael’s philanthropy – continued today through the Sobell Foundation – has supported countless charitable causes across the UK. Here, his granddaughter and Sobell Foundation trustee, Gaie Scouller, reflects on the man behind the name.

“My grandfather, Sir Michael Sobell, was born in 1892 in Boryslav, a small town in Galicia – then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and now in Ukraine. Despite the region’s prosperity, life for Jewish families was becoming increasingly uncertain.

My great-grandfather recognised the danger early on and brought the family to England while my grandfather was still young. Michael arrived in London as a boy and became a British citizen in 1911. From the moment he arrived, he was determined to belong. He worked tirelessly to master English, keeping a dictionary beside him even into his eighties. England had given him safety and opportunity, and he never forgot it.

As a teenager he sold wind-up gramophones and radios. Because he was only 16, he worried customers might not take him seriously, so he printed business cards describing himself as a ‘sales representative’, though in reality he was a one-man operation! That small venture grew into a successful electronics business. He later moved into television production, becoming one of the early figures in Britain’s television industry. Around that time the family name also changed slightly, with an extra ‘L’ added to ‘Sobel’ to create ‘Sobell’.

Success brought him considerable wealth, and philanthropy became central to his life. Through what is now the Sobell Foundation, he supported a wide range of causes including medical research, education, sports centres and community projects. But one of the most significant outcomes of that generosity was the hospice that would later bear his name.

At the time, the hospice movement was still in its infancy. The idea that people at the end of life deserved specialised care focused on comfort, dignity and compassion was only just beginning to take hold. Sobell House was among the earliest of its kind and one of the first to be funded in partnership with the NHS.

Although he made the founding gift, my grandfather never sought recognition. His role, as he saw it, was simply to enable good ideas – to help make something possible that otherwise might not have happened.

When I visit Sobell House today, what stands out is not the building, although beautiful, but the care – the compassion and expertise shown to patients and families during the most difficult moments of their lives. And it’s wonderful to see this care expand over the years into people’s homes and the local hospitals.

If my grandfather could see it now, I believe he would be immensely proud of the difference the hospice has made to so many people.

Everyone deserves dignity, comfort and kindness at the end of their life.”

In memory of Sir Michael Sobell (1892–1993)