Charity champion to walk from Chesterfield to Sheffield on Christmas Day

A well-known charity champion will spend Christmas Day walking from Chesterfield to Sheffield to raise vital funds for Macmillan
By The Newsroom
Published 14th Dec 2018, 15:01 BST
Updated 14th Dec 2018, 16:08 BST
John Burkhill.John Burkhill.
John Burkhill.

John Burkhill, 79, also known as ‘the man with the pram’, sadly lost his wife June to cancer in July 1992.

On Christmas Day that year, John walked from Sheffield to Doncaster in her memory and has been fundraising ever since.

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And while many of us will be opening our Christmas presents or tucking into turkey dinners, John will be out walking once again. But this time he will go from the new NGS Macmillan Unit at Chesterfield Royal Hospital to the Palliative Care Unit at the Northern General Hospital in Sheffield - starting at 8am.

The route that John will be taking.The route that John will be taking.
The route that John will be taking.

“The walk is very special to me because it is exactly 26 years ago since I walked from Doncaster to Sheffield on Christmas Day,” John said. “Back then I managed to raise over £1,000 to

help Weston Park Hospital who tried so very hard to save my lovely wife June.

“In her memory I will be pushing my pram once again to try and raise as much as I can to help me reach that magic £1million for Macmillan. I don’t think there is a family in this country who

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hasn’t been affected by cancer, but Macmillan are and always will be there to help each and every one of us.”

John Burkhill, also known as 'the man with the pram', has raised close to 500,000 for Macmillan.John Burkhill, also known as 'the man with the pram', has raised close to 500,000 for Macmillan.
John Burkhill, also known as 'the man with the pram', has raised close to 500,000 for Macmillan.

John, from Handsworth, Sheffield, has completing over 1,000 races including the London Marathon 16 times, New York Marathon and every Sheffield Half Marathon. He has raised almost £500,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support.

“I know it’s Christmas Day, but my family have agreed to wait for me, for Christmas Dinner,” he added. “I know they probably think I’m barmy but they know what I’m like.”

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Related topics:SheffieldChesterfieldDoncasterChesterfield Royal Hospital