Charity day raises £8,000 in memory of High Peak champion

A fundraiser in memory of a Royal British Legion supporter from Hayfield has raised £8,000.
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The community came together for the memorial day to honour David Ash, a Royal British Legion fundraiser who died in April 2020.

The event, which attracted people from Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Cheshire, featured a celebrity memorabilia auction, a bench being unveiled in his memory and saw 40 people receiving a Big Heart in the Community Award to honour their work for others during the pandemic.

Friend and fundraiser Mike Greensmith organised the tribute evening for David.

More than £8,000 was raised in memory of David AshMore than £8,000 was raised in memory of David Ash
More than £8,000 was raised in memory of David Ash

He said: “David was one of a kind and a true gent and was fundraising even after he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

"He was an inspiration who always thought of others first.

“It was a testament to how much he was respected in the community by how many people turned up to honour him.”

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More than 60 items of celebrity memorabilia were auctioned off with the proceeds being split between Hayfield Royal British Legion and other charities.

Mike said: “People were so generous. When we started the auction with a signed Kinder Road traffic cone which went for £90 we knew we were on to something special.”

David raised a substantial amount of money through the organisation of numerous Poppy Appeals in the High Peak and also went much further in his promotion of the cause by raising awareness through creating events which caught the imagination of the public.

In 2016 he hired the Arts Centre in New Mills for an event which remembered the Battle of The Somme through film and music.

He organised a special commemoration celebrating the 1918 Armistice with images being projected onto St. Matthew's parish church, Hayfield. In collaboration with Mike and Lucy Greensmith, David also turned an unused public phone box into a Call of Duty memorial in commemoration of 100 years since the end of WW1 remembering the 69 local lads who made the ultimate sacrifice.

Mike added: “David was one of the last of the great gentlemen, certainly one of the most amiable, talented and charming. A committed lover of life.

“His life was a masterclass in how to be a decent human being and he is missed. A lot.”

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