Heroes' tribute for James Priestley and Luke Farmer
A RUGBY match in memory of two Upton men who died in January raised a tremendous £10,000 for charity.
James Priestley, 26, of Hill Estate, died on Monday, January 11, after a long battle with skin cancer.
And Rifleman Luke Farmer, 19, of Third Avenue, was killed while on foot patrol in Afghanistan on Friday, January 15.
Thousands of people turned up to watch the tribute match, at Upton Rugby Club on Saturday, which saw competitors donate 5 each to play.
There was also a bucket collection and an auction, with vouchers and gift sets donated by Next – where James worked as a warehouse operative – and signed Super League shirts among the items up for grabs.
Charity wristbands in memory of Luke were on sale and five bands entertained the crowds for free.
The 10,000 will be split between charities chosen by the families of Luke and James, who both played for Upton Rugby Club for several years.
James' family will donate funds to the Bexley wing cancer unit at St James' Hospital in Leeds, while Luke's family have chosen to split the money between Help For Heroes, which helps wounded troops, and the Army Benevolent Fund, which supports serving soldiers and veterans.
Luke's mum Angela Farmer, 44, said: "The event went as well as it could have done and a lot of people went along. It made me proud to see how many people were there for Luke."
James' fiancee Laura Hodgson, 21, said: "The match went really well. There was so many people turned up you could hardly move. I was very proud that so many people turned up – James would have loved it if he was there. It was a fitting tribute and it was good to see so many there for both James and Luke."
Club coach David Welsh said: "It was unbelievable – I have never ever seen so many people up there as there were on Saturday. It was a great turnout, not just from Upton, but from South Elmsall, South Kirkby and Hemsworth as well.
"We raised in excess of 10,000 for the three charities and we had so much stuff to auction and raffle that there is enough left to hold another fundraising event, which will probably be held in about four weeks' time. So many people donated things, which was really generous."
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Saturday 04 February 2012
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