John’s three decades of service to Southern Area Hospice

Bus driver and lifelong charity worker, John Dalzell OBE has been speaking about what motivates his yearly Hospice collections, as well as how it all started.

John started from humble beginnings, working with the Salvation Army from when he was only 17 years old.

It was during this time he picked up an interest in music; joining the Salvation Army band and eventually forming a silver band (The Heatherbrook Silver Band) and became the lead conductor.

After his time with the Salvation Army, John went on to work with Cancer Research in the late 80s.

“Whenever the Hospice started in Newry, I thought, I might as well support my own town. So, I came up here to the sisters and Sister Theresa said, well John, we’ll give it a year and see how it goes.”

That was 32 years ago now, needless to say, it worked out.

Over time John increased the number of teams for collection points in Newry, one being outside B&Q, another being near Fiveways, and outside the Quays; with the most well-known spot being in Hill Street, which John runs himself.

“Hill Street used to be the main spot, I’d sit there with a wheelie bin, then after that I had the wooden hut made, then a friend offered to have a trailer made for me. If it wasn’t for it, I couldn’t do it,” he said.

Prior to the Hospice Sit-Out, John was involved in a variety of charity initiatives. Some of the notable charitable efforts include wells in Africa, an infusion pump located at the Belfast City Hospital and aid for children with night blindness.

After this, John established the Sit Out for Southern Area Hospice.

John added: “The help that this money brings is what keeps me going. People think the world of the donations, especially the people in here (Southern Area Hospice), they rely on these funds.”

He has also won some notable awards for his services, like an OBE, which was awarded during Covid, and and MBE for which John got a flight over to Buckingham Palace where he was presented his medal by Queen Elizabeth II.

However, the achievement John is most proud of is the overall amount of funds raised during his time, which amounts to £2.25million, with the most being raised being £156,000 during 2021.

John concluded our chat by saying, “I want to thank everyone for their help every year, it's them who keep me down in Hill Street, they are so generous.”