An 81-year-old from Bingley has picked up his second award in two months for his prolific fundraising – this time beating competition from across the country.
Military veteran Jeffrey Long received a £5,000 prize after being judged to be one of the UK’s most extraordinary retired people by developers McCarthy and Stone in their 2012 National Retirement Awards.
He was presented with the award less than a month after being named a “Diamond Champion” as part of a contest tying in with the Queen’s Jubilee.
Both awards stem from the former air maintenance officer’s tireless fundraising for the Royal British Legion, which include walking from London to Switzerland and running military obstacle courses.
A member of the legion for the past 20 years, he has raised about £160,000 for the charity – efforts that have also earned him an MBE.
Mr Long says he does not feel he is doing anything extraordinary. He said: “To me what I do doesn’t feel fantastic. I don’t feel my age, I feel years younger, so I just do these things.”
After learning he had won the latest award, he asked if it could be presented in Bradford to give the city some national attention.
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