A Harrogate crematorium has donated £12,000 to two charities as part of a county-wide metal recycling scheme.
Stonefall Crematorium raised the funds through the recycling of metals recovered from cremations — with the consent of bereaved families.
Parts used to construct coffins and orthopaedic implants including hip, knee, and replacement joints were all retrieved to be recycled.
North Yorkshire Council bereavement services raised £82,000 in total from its four crematoriums, which besides Stonefall also include Skipton Crematorium, Maple Park in Thirsk and Woodlands Crematorium in Scarborough.
The council partnered with the Institute for Cemetery and Crematorium Management and BRUCE Metals to choose which local charities receive donations.
Stonefall donated £6,000 to Candlelighters, a children’s cancer charity, and another £6,000 to The Friends of Harrogate Hospital which raises money for advanced hospital equipment and services the NHS cannot provide.
Cllr Michael Harrison, the charter mayor of Harrogate, presented the cheque to the Friends. He said:
“The charity, run by volunteers, helps ensure patients of Harrogate hospital have the most pleasant experience possible, often during an unsettling time.
“I’d like to thank those families who, during a difficult time, have consented to us recycling metals recovered. By raising this money, everyone involved has done their bit to helping local charities.”
John Fox, chair of the Friends, added:
“We are extremely grateful for this generous donation to support our future work.
“As well as thanking the ICCM for their generosity, I’d like to thank our former mayor, Trevor Chapman, for nominating us and the council’s bereavement services.”
Read more:
- Man dies suddenly in Harrogate town centre
- Concerns over encampment of rough sleepers in Harrogate’s Crescent Gardens
White horses to carry Harrogate’s Sophie Lambert on her final journey
White horses decorated with purple will carry Harrogate’s Sophie Lambert on her final journey this week.
Sophie, 22, was found dead last month after a five-day missing person search that touched the lives of thousands of people in Harrogate and beyond.
Animal lover Sophie was particularly fond of horses and her big brother Craig Robinson has chosen two to pull a carriage carrying her body to Harrogate’s Stonefall Crematorium on Friday.
Her pet chihuahuas Boston and Bentley will wear jumpers saying ‘my mummy is in heaven’.
Sophie loved animals and had two dogs.
A crowdfunding appeal set up by Craig to give Sophie “the best send-off ever” has raised more than £3,700 — well above the £3,000 target.
He wrote on social media:
“Well, Soph, these beautiful horses are the ones I’ve picked for you with purple on there as well as you loved bright colours, these horses will bring you home one last time my angel.
“I hope I’ve done you proud and done everything to be perfect for you.”
The 40-minute service at 11am, which will be live-streamed, will be followed by drinks celebrating Sophie’s life at the Malt Shovel in Brearton.
The purple and white horses will match Sophie’s favourite colours.
There is no dress code but Craig has requested everyone wears odd socks because, as Craig puts it, “Sophie never did believe in wearing the same coloured socks as she said life was to short to match them”.
He has been setting of bio-degradeable lanterns this week in memory of Sophie, and said:
“I thank you all once again for the support help and donations you guys have given us in order to give Sophie the spend off she has always deserved. Rest easy Sophie my little Angel night night.”
Read more:
Fitting send-off for Harrogate’s humble D-Day veteran
A bugler from the Royal Marines today marked the final journey of Harrogate’s humble D-Day veteran, who has died at the age of 97.
John Rushton, known as Jack to friends, passed away peacefully at Harrogate District Hospital after a visit from his family on New Year’s Day.
There was a fitting send-off for Mr Rushton today, which began with a procession from his former home on Beech Road to St Robert’s Church for a funeral service.
The procession then headed to Stonefall Crematorium on Wetherby Road where it was met by representatives from the military.
A bugler played The Last Post in front of a packed crown to mark the committal.
Jack on his 96th birthday and during his military service.
Son’s tribute
Dave Rushton, one of John’s four sons, said:
“We are very sad but my dad has left a great legacy and history. We have had so many goodwill messages, which has been an enormous help.
“He fought the illness really hard, he fought right to the end. I want to put on record our thanks to the staff on Wensleydale Ward and at Lister House care home in Ripon.
“I think people will remember him for his character. So many people have told me how much of a character he was, even if he never thought he was a hero.
“We did manage to get in a trip back in 2019 to Normandy to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day. We had hoped to go again but we certainly ended on a high.
“I already know a lot about his life but since his passing I have learned a lot more about the affection people held him in.”
A buglar played The Last Post for Mr Rushton.
A British Army spokesman said:
“We are indebted to the bravery of Mr Rushton and his comrades. Our thoughts are with Mr Rushton’s family and friends at this difficult time.”
David Houlgate, vice chair of the Knaresborough branch of the Royal British Legion, said:
“What I will say is clearly he was in a sense a true hero of this country. John defended this country and helped to free Europe from tyranny.”
Military Standards for the committal.
The remarkable life of John ‘Jack’ Rushton
Mr Rushton was born on May 24, 1924 in Doncaster, where he was brought up and educated before leaving school to become an apprentice joiner.
he was too young to enlist at the outbreak of World War II so he joined the Home Guard before volunteering for service shortly after his 18th birthday.
On the night of June 5, 1944, he set off from Portsmouth, having been sent in place of another marine who had fallen ill.
The crossing was made in a flat bottomed tank landing craft, and as the weather was poor, he sheltered with a comrade underneath one of the tanks, lying on top of the ammunition.
It was such a rough crossing, he later said he preferred being shot at in France to staying on board.
Arriving on the Normandy beach at 6am on June 6 he proceeded to deploy and arm his unit’s tanks and guns and spent much of the assault without his helmet or rifle as they impeded his tasks.
During that day, he narrowly avoided death three times, including when he ran over an anti-tank mine several times. He often said with a wry smile that only the good die young. He also said that the real heroes are the ones who didn’t return home.
Mr Rushton with his honours.
Having been promoted to sergeant, Jack was then sent to India, travelling by ship and often sleeping on riveted steel decks. On arrival in Bombay his unit was tasked with keeping the peace during the country’s internal struggles, and later training to join the war against Japan further east.
In 1945 he was sent to Malaysia to await deployment to the battlefront, however the atomic bomb spared him the ordeal of another fight.
After the war was over, his unit was sent back to India to quell a naval mutiny. As a result, he didn’t make it home until 1946, when he was demobbed, and returned to Doncaster.
He moved jobs and towns before he settled in 1972 with a final family move to Harrogate College of Further Education.
Jack retired in 1988 and turned to his interests in the local brass bands and the Royal Naval Association. He was widowed in 2012 after almost 61 years of marriage, which produced four children, four grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.