John Holmes, a member of St Michaels on Wyre Lodge No 8348 is one of four finalists of around 350 nominations whittled down by committee for the Granada TV Northwest region Daily Mirror Pride of Britain Awards. The awards celebrate the nation’s unsung heroes, children of courage, blue light heroes and inspirational fundraisers and campaigners at a Gala dinner in London at the end of October. The gala awards dinner is the biggest event of its kind and will be screened in prime time on ITV.
Granada TV made a film about each of the finalists and John was featured on the Granada Reports programme broadcast on 16 September. One of the finalists will be selected to represent the Granada Region at the National Pride of Britain Awards Ceremony.
John was nominated by the Burns Unit team at Royal Preston Hospital for whom he has been a tireless fundraiser. He completed a walk from Silverdale Lodge to Wyrebank, Garstang to raise money for the Royal Preston Hospital Burn Unit in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the terrible Abbeystead disaster.
John Holmes, a survivor of the 1984 Abbeystead Disaster that killed 16 people, has raised over £43,500 for the burns unit at Royal Preston Hospital through a series of sponsored treks. The funds raised are making a massive difference to people’s lives, which are being used to improve patient comfort and aid recovery.
John is one of the survivors of a group of 44 visitors from St Michaels on Wyre village who were on a public visit to the Abbeystead valve house on 23 May 1984. They had been invited to witness a demonstration by the North West Water Authority on the operation of the underground station designed to alleviate flooding in St Michaels on Wyre. Just after the visit started the valve house was destroyed by a massive explosion caused by methane gas which had ignited.
Eight people were killed instantly by the explosion and the others were severely injured. Another eight people subsequently died from their injuries including an 11 year-old boy and his mother.
The blast brought the ceiling of the underground chamber crashing down on top of the visitors with the crater formed immediately filling with river water. The visitors were engulfed by a huge ball of fire. Many were trapped inside while others were thrown out into a neighbouring field.
The injured, many suffering from the most horrendous and extensive burns, were treated at the Royal Preston Hospital Burns Unit and there is no doubt that the ultimate death toll would have been even greater without the skill, care and compassion of the consultants and staff of the Burns Unit to whom the community of St Michael’s on Wyre owe a great debt of gratitude.
In January 2024, John and his wife Christine decided that they wanted to raise some funds for the Burns Unit to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the disaster. In collaboration with Lucy Clark, fundraiser, from the Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Charity, John decided to undertake a two-day 30 mile sponsored walk stopping at each of the five Masonic halls within the Lancaster group from 22 to 23 May.
John, together with a support team of family members, friends and fellow Freemasons, took part in the walk, commencing at Silverdale Masonic hall, visiting Carnforth, Morecambe and Lancaster halls. They walked 17 miles on the first day despite the heavy, torrential rain. The final leg from Lancaster to Garstang Masonic hall was completed the following day in marginally better weather.
Prior to the commencement of the walk John had already raised over £17,000 which was boosted by a charity raffle and auction at the lodge festive board in November 2024 attended by 73 brethren, family members and guests. A Chorley raffle raised £798 with an additional £1,225 raised from the auction making a total of £2,023 on the night. Simon Weston CBE DL, the Welsh Guardsman who suffered terrible burns following the bombing of the Sir Galahad during the Falklands war joined the evening by Zoom and brought his congratulations to John.
John’s walk was supported generously by Masons from the Lancaster Group and he presented a cheque to the team at the Burns Unit for in excess of £36,000.
The team at the Royal Preston Hospital developed such a good relationship with John during last year’s event that this year they asked him if he would join a team on another challenge walking up to the top and back of Snowdon. Led by Advanced Clinical Practitioner Marcia Roach, this took place on 7 June this year and to date has raised nearly £8,000. Lucy Clark, Royal Preston Hospital’s charity fundraiser and her daughter Freya also took part in the climb, joining a group of 23 walkers, including friends, family and five brilliant volunteer guides.
