Dedicated 80-year-old war hero raises £45k for charity in just four years

dailyrecord.co.uk:

An 80-year-old war veteran and charity champion has stepped out again to add to his already outstanding total.John Thompson completed a 50-mile walk over five days in April, accompanied by his friend Derek Burns, and raised more than £4000 in the process.The former 1st Bn Royal Highland Fusiliers piper of has raised £45,000 in the last four years alone.John has been raising cash for various charities over the past 50 years and has raised tens of thousands of pounds in that time.This time John, who stays at the Bield Retirement Housing at Craigengar Park in Craigshill, had set his sights on helping Legion Scotland and he was delighted to hand over a cheque to the representatives from the charity.John said: “I’ve been raising funds for various charities over the last half century, including national, military and local charities for West Lothian and its communities.”“I’ve been doing this for such a long time that I didn’t know the total I had raised.“But just over the last four years I’ve raised £45,000 because there is a lot of people out there who need help and are less fortunate than others.“Doing things for Legion Scotland and Poppy Scotland covers help, advice and assistance for veterans and their families all over Scotland.“I received an invitation from Legion Scotland to attend a presentation in which the CEO Dr Claire Armstrong Legion Scotland and deputy head of Learning for Poppy Scotland Kerry Crichton, both presented me with a certificate and framed charity coins as a token of thanks“I was also given a tour of the recently refurbished Lady Haig Poppy factory and a sneak view behind the scenes.”Legion Scotland CEO Dr Claire Armstrong said:”Our thanks to John for all his fundraising efforts and the tremendous