Charity begins at home for former submariner Andy
Former submariner Andy Dinsdale, who grew up in Padiham and has immediate family living locally, remembered his roots when he took on the iconic London to Brighton bike ride to raise funds for two charities close to his heart.
Andy (58), who now works for a defence contractor following an almost 20-year Royal Navy career, raised just shy of £1,000, which he is sharing between local cause Rosemere Cancer Foundation and national charity The Submarine Family having completed the hilly 55-mile distance in just over four hours.
A former pupil of Padiham Green CE Primary School, Gawthorpe High School (now Gawthorpe Community Academy) and the demolished Habergham Sixth Form Centre, Andy, who lives near Fareham, Hampshire, with wife Tiffany and their 20-year-old son Owen, joined the Royal Navy as an apprentice engineer and spent four years working on surface ships before becoming a submariner.
He regularly visits East Lancashire to catch up with his Brierfield-based sister Tracy Hallows, head teacher at Wheatley Lane Methodist Primary School, Fence, and 86-year-old dad Frank Dinsdale, who lives in Nelson.
Frank also worked as an engineer and is a former Royal Airforce serviceman. In 2015, he became a volunteer for Rosemere Cancer Foundation having undergone successful treatment for both prostate cancer and bowel cancer.
Andy said: “After his treatment, dad dedicated all his time to raising money for Rosemere in an attempt to say thank you for their help.
“Dad was diagnosed shortly after my mum passed away. Staff at Rosemere Cancer Centre provided him with a genuine lifeline and were instrumental in getting him through his difficult times.”
Andy added: “Thank you to everyone who has helped me raise funds for two fantastic charities so that they can continue to help others in need.”
Rosemere Cancer Foundation works to bring world class cancer treatments and services to cancer patients from throughout Lancashire and South Cumbria being treated at Rosemere Cancer Centre, the region’s specialist cancer treatment and radiotherapy centre at the Royal Preston Hospital, and at another eight local hospital cancer units across the two counties, including those at Burnley General Teaching and the Royal Blackburn Hospitals.
The charity funds cutting edge equipment, research, training and other cancer services and therapies that the NHS is unable to afford in order to make patients’ cancer journey more effective, comfortable and stress-free. For further information on its work, including how to make a donation and how to volunteer, visit www.rosemere.org.uk