On 18 March, three Taxi Charity Volunteers took WWII Royal Navy Veteran Ernie Davis from Hornchurch, out for lunch to celebrate his 97th Birthday.
Volunteers, London Cab Driver Brian Heffernan, Taxi Charity Vice President Dick Goodwin, and charity graphic designer Susy Goodwin took Ernie and fellow WWII veteran John King out for a birthday lunch, complete with a celebratory cake, to The Chequers in Wareside.
Dick Goodwin, Vice President, Taxi Charity said, “During WWII Ernie served on the minesweeper HMS Cotton, and saw action in both the Atlantic and Russian Convoys. On D Day he was in the Channel patrolling for German U Boats.
“Ernie is an important member of the Taxi Charity family and has been on many of our trips across the UK and the continent. In 2018 we flew him to Russia for The Spasskaya Tower International Military Music Festival in Red Square and in October 2021 we drove him to Portsmouth as a guest of the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre for their benevolent dinner on board HMS Victory in Portsmouth.
“We are well known for the free trips that we organise for veterans but our support for them also includes events like today when we try to spoil them with small gestures that they are not expecting.”
If you know a veteran who might benefit from becoming part of the Taxi Charity family do contact www.taxicharity.org
About the Taxi Charity
The Taxi Charity is run by volunteer London black taxi drivers and has been supporting thousands of veterans of all ages since 1948. The charity arranges free trips to the Netherlands, Belgium, and France, for acts of commemoration and days out to museums, concerts, or fundraising events in the UK, to catch up with friends and comrades.
The Charity worked tirelessly during the pandemic to ensure veterans received regular contact by sending out a greeting card each month, gifts to mark the 75th anniversaries of VE and VJ day, stockings at Christmas and arranging Guards of Honour at veterans’ funerals. Volunteers have also helped with regular phone calls, food shopping, transport to hospital appointments, and more recently taking veterans for their Coronavirus injections.
The charity was awarded the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service in June 2021.
To fund and facilitate their work, the charity is reliant on generous donations from members of the public, businesses, and trusts.
