Sunderland Red Cross volunteer chosen to take part in London Remembrance commemorations 2022

Gordon Chalk, from Barnes, will be among Red Cross representatives from across the UK representing the charity.

Gordon, 55, a former firefighter, began volunteering with the Red Cross mobility aids service in 2013.

Since retiring as a firefighter in 2020, he has been a part-time member of staff with the service, loaning wheelchairs and mobility aids to people to enable them to live independently in their own homes and get out and about in the local community.

On Sunday, Gordon, who was part of the cerimonial squad with the fire service in Tyne and Wear, will join other Red Cross colleagues, along with representatives from other organisations in the Civilian Services Contingent, to take part in the march past on Whitehall during the Service of Remembrance organised by the Royal British Legion.

The event will be attended by thousands of former servicemen and women, politicians and the general public who gather to remember all who have suffered and died in conflict in the service of their country and all those who mourn them.

As well as working with the mobility aids service, Gordon has been trained to administer Covid-19 vaccines to people and says he has vaccinated more than 10,000 people.

He said: "I’m proud and privileged to be taking part in the Remembrance service because not many people get that opportunity. My granddad served in the First World War and my dad served in the Second World War. I was in the Territorial Army and have incredible respect for our armed forces.

“I’m also very excited to be there with the Red Cross because it will be King Charles’s first Remembrance service.”

The British Red Cross provides practical and emotional support to people in crisis in communities throughout the UK.

In 2021, staff and volunteers took more than 21,000 people home after they had been discharged from hospital and supported almost 86,000 people to live independently in their own homes.

The charity loaned almost 54,000 mobility aids to people and responded to almost 2,500 emergencies.

Visit www.redcross.org.uk to find volunteer opportunities near you