Charles Upham Retirement Village
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Our retirement villages offer a range of care options - not as an add-on, but woven into the fabric of our villages.
Charles Upham care centre offers a range of care options including rest home, hospital and specialist dementia care. Like all aspects of our villages, we constantly look for ways to improve both the care we provide and the innovation behind it. Care is customised using our myRyman Care app and residents love the food in our seasonal Delicious menu, which is prepared fresh on site by village chefs.
Charles Upham is one of over 90% of established Ryman villages that have been awarded 4-year certification by the Ministry of Health. It’s recognised as the ‘gold standard’ in care.
Each Ryman village is named in honour of a Kiwi or Aussie trailblazer: Anthony Wilding, Lady Diana Isaac, Evelyn Page. They pushed further and set the bar high for others to aspire to. In creating communities that challenge the expectations of ageing, Ryman villages are also setting the bar high. They’re demonstrating that a retirement lifestyle brimming with new experiences, connections and fulfilment is something we should aspire to. Our Kiwi and Aussie namesakes represent the measure of inspiration, while Ryman villages represent the measure of retirement living.
Charles Upham (1908 – 1994)
Fiercely loyal, determined, and selfless, Charles Upham was the only combat soldier to earn the Victoria Cross, the Commonwealth’s highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy, twice. Due to his exceptional bravery, Charles is the most highly decorated Commonwealth soldier of World War II. He’s remembered for his staunch commitment to his fellow soldiers and his country.
While valiant, Charles was a humble man. When he heard of his first Victoria Cross award, he stated “It’s meant for the men”. Later, when King George VI remarked how unusual it was for someone to be awarded a bar to the Victoria Cross, Major-General Howard Kippenberger replied, “In my respectful opinion, sir, Upham won the VC several times over.”
The fearlessness Charles displayed on the battlefield was mirrored during his time in various German prisoner of war camps. He was labelled ‘dangerous’ following repeated escape attempts including jumping from a train at high speed. When the Americans liberated the POW camp where Charles was interned, he promptly joined an American unit ready to fight again but was instead sent to Britain for the final five months of WWII.
Upon his return to New Zealand, affluent community members raised £10,000 for Charles to buy a farm. He respectfully declined. Instead, the money founded the C. H. Upham Scholarship for children of ex-servicemen to study at the college of Canterbury or Lincoln University. His persistence and bravery are documented in the biography Mark of the Lion by Kenneth Sandford.
