John Burkhill: Why Sheffield loves the inspirational 'Man With The Pram'
He’s Sheffield’s own Man with the Pram, the green-wigged ‘mad walker,’ and the slow-and-steady force behind the Magic Million fundraising campaign - John Burkhill.
He’s the man who once told me in quick succession how Her Majesty The Queen was “a lovely lass” when he met her, how the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Phillip, told him “never lose that Yorkshire accent,” and of his sympathy for King Charles after his cancer diagnosis.
“It shows cancer can affect everyone,” said John. “In another life you or I could have been royals. You don’t choose that sort of thing.”
The Star’s #LoveYour campaign is our way of celebrating Sheffield’s unique character, but where would it be without its unique characters?
Now aged 86, John recently polished off his 1,050th race in his quest to raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Research.
It was John's dream to raise £1 million for Macmillan Cancer Support by his 85th birthday - but he accomplished this well in advance of his big day when he reached his goal in May 2023.
It was the culmination of over two decades of marathon running, bucket rattling and pushing his pram through Sheffield.
He was showered with praise by his countless fans both in Sheffield and nationwide.
I remember one fan, Mic Oshea, writing to The Star’s Facebook page: "We should be calling you Sir John. There are no words to describe the amazing things you have done. You are an inspiration to everyone in that if you put you mind to it you can achieve anything.
"You deserve to be recognised by the top brass. It’s a privilege to say I come from the same city as yourself.”
He hasn’t been handed his knighthood (yet) - but there was the well-deserved Pride of Britain Award 2023 in October that year.
John stole the show at the televised awards night. He had the audience in stitches when he joked that he used to be 6’6” when he first started pounding the streets for charity.
He told The Star afterwards: "It's absolutely unbelievable, a great, great honour for me and everybody who has donated by putting 1p, 2p or 10p in that bucket. To raise a million quid - fantastic.
"It's absolutely wonderful, wonderful, to win something like this. I'm moved to tears, really."
The Man with the Pram began fundraising in earnest 16 years ago in memory of losing his wife June to cancer in 1991, a year to the day after the unexpected death of their daughter Karen.
He has been a champion of Macmillan Cancer Research ever since. In fact, since hitting his Magic Million he has raised another £133,000. Figures show he raises another £250 with every passing day.
My favourite memory of him was an interview in May this year when I joined him on his route through town to ask about his latest fundraising efforts at that time.
As it would turn out (and captured in the video above), I couldn’t get a word in, because he has so many fans.
I would only ever get halfway through a question before someone else strolled up with a “hello John” and some coins for his bucket. I spent an hour with him and saw him raise another £35.
Many greeted John not as a local celebrity but as a close friend. More than a few told me they see him every week on his rounds and catch up. Quite a few had a hug with him, and another man called him a “true friend” following what had been a very tough year for him.
Several fans remarked that John was on his way to “his second million.”
John humbly brushed this off as a joke, but it’s obvious his friends around Sheffield really believe he can do it.
“As long as I can keep putting one foot in front of the other I’ll keep at it,” said John.
“I’ve been out in some terrible weather. Snow, rain... sometimes I end up with a bucket of water and five goldfish, but if there’s as much as 10p in there then that’s 10p more.”
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