FOLLOWING in the footsteps of her late grandfather, Bill Prior, Kate Prior recently took on her own fundraising mission by walking the Three Peaks Challenge to raise money for the Royal British Legion (RBL).
Bill, who died last year aged 89, was well known throughout Westbury through his fundraising efforts as the local Poppy Appeal organiser for over 30 years for the RBL.
Kate and her boyfriend, Tom, raised over £1,000 for the Royal British Legion after they climbed the peaks of Snowdon, Cader Idris and Pen y Fan – all within 24 hours of each other.
Kate said, “It all seems a bit of a blur really! We managed to complete the challenge in 17 hours and 30 mins, with breaks and travel included. We were blessed with the weather, we seemed to manage to experience every kind of weather under the sun; snow, rain, fog, hail, and even some sunshine at some points! We were so lucky – every time we got to a summit there was not a soul to be seen.
“We wanted to do something to honour gramps, we know each year he used to do something a bit out of the ordinary in terms of fundraising, so we wanted to continue that tradition. It’s frustrating that the bank holiday was moved, as we would have taken on the challenge on the May bank holiday just like gramps did.”
At the time of writing, Kate and Tom have raised over £1,300.
Kate added, “Gramps worked so hard throughout the years in Westbury to support and raise money for the Royal British Legion, especially with the Poppy Appeal, so we wanted to raise awareness, not just to his selflessness, but also to the British Legion as it is such an important charity.
“We wanted to create a lasting legacy for gramps, and I think the money we’ve raised, on top of everything that my grandad has done in his life, has helped establish this. We’ve had so many donations from people that knew him from the St John Ambulance service and from RBL, and we’ve been swamped with messages of support.
“I’d love to think that gramps would be proud of what we’ve accomplished – he’d be wanting to come along with us if he was still with us, that’s for sure! Thinking about him and what he would have done in the same situation, really helped me in the final push of this challenge. By the end my legs were aching, and it had been a long day, but I knew he wouldn’t stop, so we simply couldn’t.
“Tom was a great help; we were both completely exhausted by the end of it, but luckily we had the support of my mum and her partner for the last hurdle tackling Pen y Fan which was a great boost, so a big thank you to them.”
In supporting the RBL, Bill raised thousands of pounds each year for the Poppy Appeal. Each year, on May bank holiday, he undertook a charity ride using a different vehicle each time. Bill received certificates and a medal from the RBL for his fundraising achievements. He was also presented with two civic awards from Westbury Town Council for all his work for the community.
You can donate to the Just Giving page here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Kate-Prior3
Pictured: Kate Prior and her boyfriend, Tom, at the summit of Pen y Fan.
