Actor Robert Hardy will be lending a helping hand to the charity Respite Nursing for Oxfordshire’s Sick Youngsters (ROSY) when he addresses a select gathering at this year’s Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials on September 9.

ROSY has been adopted by Blenheim as its chosen charity during this year’s event and who better than Robert Hardy, in his capacity of patron of the friends of the charity and the actor synonymous with the role of Sir Winston Churchill, to make an address at the birthplace of the great man himself.

Robert, who has played Churchill seven times, says it was an intimidating thing to do.

He said: “Playing Churchill was both extremely difficult and absolutely thrilling. Arguably one of the greatest Parliamentarians of our time, he was such a giant of a man mentally. I grew up listening to him through the war and he was a father figure leading us and inspiring us through the worst of times”.

ROSY was set up by Craig Milner and his sister Bev, a respite nurse, in 2002.

The aim of the charity is to provide families in Oxfordshire with respite care and equipment, not available on the NHS.

Today, the charity is run by George Hedges, a retired chief constable, and Lady Rotherwick of Cornbury Park.

Lady Rotherwick became involved with ROSY shortly after the death of her baby son, Tommy, in 2003.

ROSY currently funds the salaries of ten nurses in the Oxfordshire area who work with the Community Children’s Unit to provide additional nursing hours and equipment in the children’s own homes.

Robert, who was approached by Lady Rotherwick in 2009 to get involved with the charity, said: “It is such a worthwhile cause which can give relations or other carers time off to recuperate and that is a terribly important thing to achieve”.

A small voluntary committee runs ROSY and all money raised goes to the families who so deserve the support.

Over the four days of this year’s horse trials, funds will be raised for ROSY through a raffle with donations from some 200 stallholders exhibiting at the event.

Raffle tickets can be bought from the ROSY stand.

Although Robert’s address is not open to the public, sponsors of the show, who will form the audience, will be treated to an insight into both the great man himself and what it was like for Robert to play his character.

Robert said he was able to listen to Churchill’s voice over long periods of preparation on his own personal collection of 24 long-playing records of Churchill’s speeches before, during and after the war.

Visitors to Blenheim Palace can see the room where Churchill was born prematurely on November 30, 1874, after his mother fell during a shooting party in the park — and the Temple of Diana where he proposed to his wife Clementine.

For more information visit the website: www.rosy.org.uk