“To imagine Yorkshire may one day be free from cancer makes it worthwhile for all of us” - Marjorie’s experience

89-year-old Marjorie Hodgson is the longest-serving Yorkshire Cancer Research volunteer. Since its foundation in 1968, Marjorie has been a member of the Bingley local volunteer group, helping raise over £748,000 for pioneering cancer research in Yorkshire.

As well as being the 100th year anniversary of Yorkshire Cancer Research, 2025 is a very special year for Marjorie. Not only has she celebrated her 70th wedding anniversary with her husband Gordon, she will also turn 90 in May, just two days after the charity’s official birthday.

Marjorie lives in a quiet, leafy road on the edge of Bingley overlooking the West Yorkshire countryside. She has lived in the area all her life with Gordon, has two sons, and adores her doting golden spaniel Sasha.

When Marjorie founded the Bingley local volunteer group, the charity was called the Yorkshire Council of the British Empire Cancer Campaign. Marjorie agreed to help start a committee with her friend Tina Emmott, who was also the local milkman, or rather ‘milk lady’. 

“My friend and fellow committee member Maureen has a son, Alex, who was diagnosed with cancer when he was only 17 and doing his O Levels. He was the first person I knew who was receiving chemotherapy.” 

She smiles. “He’s still alive and well, and that’s down to how cancer treatments have moved on over the years. He’s 61 now, with two adopted children, and is fit as anything.”

Yorkshire Cancer Research has been funding cancer research and saving lives for 100 years. Since its foundation in 1925, the charity has united with researchers, cancer experts and people in Yorkshire to pioneer new cancer treatments and bring life-saving breakthroughs in cancer research to the region.

Marjorie has scrapbooks full of old photographs and press cuttings, charting the committee’s activities, from their first tentative coffee evening that raised 17 shillings, to large-scale community events generating thousands of pounds. 

The Bingley local volunteer group has always been creative and pushed the envelope to raise more money for life-saving cancer research.

Marjorie recalls the first year. “Gradually we became more adventurous, branching out from raffles to our first fashion show at Eldwick Memorial Hall. It’s often the weird and wonderful that have been the most successful events.” 

She recalls a ‘Grocery Grab’ trolley dash at her local supermarket, when one participant’s dream item was a large box of Persil. The committee once hired a train from Bingley to London King’s Cross, offering people a day out in London and refreshments on the journey there and back served by committee members.

Perhaps one of the most memorable photos was taken in 1975. It shows Marjorie and her committee friends, who had spent a wet Saturday pushing a pram round Bingley wearing black leotards and mini shorts in the name of cancer research. 

“I will never forget that event; one of us had to be in the pram the entire time while the others pushed. It was such fun.”

One of their most successful events in those early days was a barbecue held at the home of former international show jumper Harvey Smith, which raised £2,778 for the charity – “a phenomenal amount of money at the time”, according to Marjorie.

Marjorie recalls another stand-out moment a few decades later during a luncheon for 100 women at Shipley Golf Club. 

“Everybody was sitting down waiting for their lunch to be dished up when a digger outside dug up an electricity cable. All the lights went out, leaving us with a half-cooked chicken in the oven!”

With a smile, Marjorie added: “We thought it best not to give everyone food poisoning and serve the chicken. All the guests were very understanding and voted to reschedule the event, rather than receive a refund.”

Other events over the years have included a ‘Spring Fling’ dance, cocktail parties, carol singing, a sponsored ‘slim-in’, flower festivals, auctions, wine tasting evenings and an Elizabethan costume evening.

Marjorie remains a central member of the committee to this day and, although the group is smaller now, it continues to raise funds through collections and Christmas card sales. Over the last five years, the group has raised over £12,000 for ground-breaking cancer research and services in Yorkshire.

Marjorie’s husband Gordon became a press photographer after he finished his national service. He has supported Marjorie and Yorkshire Cancer Research over the years. “Lots of things we couldn’t do without our husbands, who have carted tables and chairs around and chatted up the local supermarket to give us good deals,” she says. 

"When I look back at everything the committee has done together, I think of my friends. Many have passed away, including Janet Hill and Maureen Smith. They did so much to make things better for people with cancer in our local communities. I don’t think I really did that much, but I was always there! I’m privileged to have the opportunity to represent them in the charity’s centenary year, so they are recognised for their contribution and their legacy to future generations.

“Amid the raffles, fashion shows and luncheons, the Bingley group and groups across Yorkshire have helped Yorkshire Cancer Research fund medical research to help people with cancer in this wonderful region we call home. To imagine Yorkshire may one day be free from cancer makes it worthwhile for all of us.”