When Ann and Bernard Williams reached 60 years of marriage, they asked their guests for one thing: no presents.
Instead, the 115 friends and family who packed the Old Brewery in St David’s for the party handed over what the gifts would have cost. The total for the Wales Air Ambulance: £1,220.
The couple, who live in Llandeloy and married in Haverfordwest 60 years ago, have three children and four grandchildren.
Ann spent 38 years as a healthcare assistant at Withybush Hospital, where colleagues called her Polly because she always had the kettle on.
These days the pair work in their garden and look after their son’s rescue dog, Kipper, who the charity says is “spoilt rotten” every day.
The £550 birthday that started it
It is the second time the family has turned a milestone into a fundraiser. When Bernard, a farmer, turned 80 last year, he asked for donations instead of gifts and raised £550.
Between the two celebrations, the couple have now handed the charity £1,770. And a third instalment is already planned.
Ann turns 80 on 19 March, and intends to mark it exactly the same way: donations, not presents.
‘A charity close to our hearts’
Their daughter, Jane, said: “The party was fab, everybody was so generous. It was a good party, which went really well. There were some nice speeches and mum and dad were quite emotional.”
The family’s reason for choosing the charity is personal. “My cousin had a horrific accident and needed the help of the Wales Air Ambulance and so did my neighbour,” Jane said. “The Wales Air Ambulance is a charity close to our hearts.”
Mike May, the charity’s regional fundraising manager for the area, collected the cheque at the couple’s home. “Asking for donations in lieu of gifts to mark their 60th wedding anniversary was a wonderfully selfless gesture, and we are extremely grateful they chose Wales Air Ambulance as the beneficiary,” he said.
“In total both fundraisers raised an incredible £1,770. We are also touched to hear Ann plans on doing the same to mark her 80th birthday.”
Hospital-level care at the roadside
The charity’s helicopters and rapid response vehicles carry NHS consultants and critical care practitioners who can put a patient under anaesthetic, give blood transfusions and carry out minor operations at the scene, before taking them straight to the hospital best suited to their injuries.
Its crews cover the whole of Wales, and the charity says it needs to raise £13m every year to keep its helicopters in the air and its vehicles on the road. Last month it honoured Gracie, the seven-year-old who raised £65,000 for the crews who saved her life.
The next Williams family cheque is pencilled in for the spring.
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