Remarkable Harrogate man, 85, about to embark on his 50th mission to the danger zone
An 85-year-old Harrogate man with a remarkable history of delivering humanitarian aid in an old ambulance to conflict zones worldwide is about to embark on his 50th – and possibly final – mission.
The mild-mannered John Shackleton, who earlier this year was awarded the MBE or services to fundraising for humanitarian aid, has risked his life on previous 49 missions to provide essential supplies to areas such as Romania, Kosovo, and Afghanistan.
Locked up, shot at, stranded in dire straits at times in the past, the Harrogate-basded great-grandfather is now focused on delivering a much-needed ambulance to Kiev, Ukraine.
But, to do his 50th mission, he needs to raise £30,000 to cover the costs of the ambulance, travel, and other vital supplies.
John Shackleton said: “It’s been very rewarding to do all this humanitarian work but it would have been possible without the generous support of many people who have provided time, money, articles for sale, medical equipment and services.”
The founder of Aid to Eastern Europe charity, the incredible Mr Shackleton first started his voluntary work in 1990 when he saw TV news reports about the desperate plight of children after the fall of Romanian dictator Ceaușescu.
Since then, he has been taking desperately-needed supplies abroad at regular intervals in a series of old ambulances; there’s been 35 different ones in total.
Shackleton’s extraordinary dedication and selflessness exemplify the true spirit of humanitarian aid.
Nothing, seemingly, can stop him, neither age, time nor his own health issues.
Last year Shackleton took much-needed supplies to Georgia – despite recovering from a heart attack.
Over the years, the extraordinary Harrogate man has delivered ambulances, minibuses and three fire engines packed with supplies to Russia, Armenia, Poland, Bosnia, Kosovo, Croatia, Afghanistan, Turkey, Albania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Romania, Moldavia, Transylvania, Latvia, Bohemia, Transnistria Ukraine and Negorno Karabakh.
Among the charity organisations he has helped are Red Cross, Caritas, Feed the Children and Mother Theresa Organisation, Kosovo.
Now he is looking for support from the public to do one last mercy mission.
More information on his charity: https://www.aidtoeasterneurope.co.uk/
To offer help, email [email protected]