World War 2 experience day - Willow Wood fundraiser - Not Really Here Group - Tameside Radio, Tameside Reporter, Oldham Reporter, Glossop Chronicle

Monday, 12 May 2025 at 13:20

Droylsden’s Ray Fricker came up with a great way to celebrate VE80 - by raising funds for Willow Wood Hospice.

Ray has amassed an amazing collection of war memorabilia, and so he devised a competition offer to give one lucky person a chance to enjoy a World War Two experience like no other.

To enter, participants simply had to make a donation to the hospice.

Ray’s collection includes gas masks, an air raid siren, helmets, a variety of guns and maps, an original VE Day flag and much, much more.

His winning World War Two experience included an opportunity to tour his collection, clamber aboard an armoured tank, watch Ray set off mortars and an air raid siren.

Even a bugler performed in front of the tank to add to the spirit of the occasion. The winner of the fundraiser, Peter Yates, even won a Bulgarian fireman helmet from Ray’s collection.

Peter said: “I was just trying to help Ray hit his target of £500 by donating.”

So far Ray has surpassed that target, raising more than £700 for the hospice.

Ray told us why he decided to do the fundraiser for Willow Wood: “I know they need all the help they can get. I have a war room, I have a siren, I have a massive collection, and it’s just there doing nothing, so it was time it started making some money for charities. It won’t be the end of the war room - this is only the beginning. I’d like to thank everybody once again for donating or sharing.”

Ray’s fundraiser is still open for donations at: https://www.justgiving.com/page/raymond-fricker-1736810497871?utm_medium=qrcode&utm_source=offline