John Burkhill: Happy 85th birthday to Sheffield's Man with the Pram who says 2023 was 'best year of my life'

Sheffield’s one and only ‘Man with the Pram’ John Burkhill has thanked his fans and beyond on his 85th birthday today.

It was John's dream to reach £1million of fundraising for Macmillan Cancer Support by his 85th birthday - but he accomplished this well in advance of his big day.

He hit the Magic Million in May 2023, after a dramatic increase in fundraising.

In what he described as "the best year of my life", John reflected on 2023, saying: “I can’t put it into words how I feel. I just want to thank everybody as much as I can. Last year has been one of the greatest years of my life. A million quid? It’s absolutely incredible.

“To do it well before my 85th birthday, it’s fantastic. Things have gone from strength to strength. I can’t get ten yards without someone coming to talk to me, even without the wig on! “All the football fans, Wednesday and United, and away fans, they’ve been brilliant with me and Mike Tomlinson at Run for All. It’s the pennies that have made the difference and I’ll carry on as long as I can, I’ve made my mind up.”

There’s certainly no slowing John down, after he completed his annual Christmas Day walk from NGS Macmillan Unit at Chesterfield to the Macmillan Palliative care unit at Sheffield Northern General, before heading to Bramall Lane on Boxing Day collecting before the Blades’ match. “I lost count at the number of photos I had on my Christmas Day walk. It was wonderful to see the staff at Chesterfield and I got to Sheffield at about 3.45pm. The lasses [staff] were ‘ruwerin’. They’re marvellous and they need medals as big as dustbin lids. The way they’re rushing about to look after people was unreal, that’s why I’ve got to carry on.

“It’s a new year, so I’d say to everyone to just be happy and look after your family. Look after each other. That’s all I’d ask of people.” A familiar figure on the streets of Sheffield and at races across the country, John pushes his late daughter Karen’s pram along the way. John and his wife June lost Karen during a routine procedure. June died of cancer a year later. John has completed 1,044 official races in his life. In 2023, he received the British Citizen’s Award for services to volunteering, a regional and national Pride of Britain Award, and Points of Light award from the Prime Minister. John quipped, “I’ve been polishing my trophies in the cabinet and there’s some in there that I’d forgotten about because there’s that many!”

Hannah Lumb, Macmillan’s relationship fundraising manager, said: “Everybody at Macmillan wishes John a huge happy birthday. If there’s anyone that deserves to put their feet up and relax, it’s John. But, knowing John like we do, that definitely won’t be the case.

"He is the epitome of selflessness and he’s as determined as ever to carry on raising funds for people living with and affected by cancer. He’s one of a kind.”

To support John’s fundraising for Macmillan, you can donate online at www.justgiving.com/madwalker or donate £5 by texting PRAM to 70550.