Charity market raises record £3,150 in memory of Martin Holmes

A record-breaking Easter Charity Market has raised £3,150 for Portsmouth Hospitals Charity's Cancer Fund, with the donation made in memory of the late Martin Holmes.

The cheque was presented to Portsmouth Hospitals Charity Fundraising Manager Sally Hillyear outside Petersfield Festival Hall, where Martin and his brother Jeremy organised charity markets for many years. Joining Jeremy for the presentation were Martin's widow, Gerlie Holmes, and his lifelong friend John Westwood, owner of Petersfield Bookshop, one of the local businesses that continues to sponsor the charity events.

Martin, a former Petersfield Town Councillor and well-known local businessman, died from cancer in January this year. Together with Jeremy, he devoted many years to organising Easter and Christmas charity markets, raising thousands of pounds for Portsmouth Hospitals, including the QA Body Scanner Appeal, the Rocky Appeal for specialist medical equipment, and many other charitable causes.

This year's Easter Market proved to be the most successful ever, raising £2,075 for the Cancer Fund. A further £1,075 came from donations made at Martin's thanksgiving service in March and in the months that followed, bringing the total donation to £3,150.

The Easter Market also generated an additional £1,500 for a range of charities, including Petersfield Lions, the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, the Rosemary Foundation hospice at home nurses and the Petersfield Musical Festival.

Jeremy Holmes said the record-breaking event was a fitting tribute to his brother. The market opened with a special ceremony led by Petersfield Town Crier Faye Thompson, while the then Mayor, Cllr Chris Paige, paid tribute to Martin before a minute's silence was observed.

Jeremy thanked the many volunteers, stallholders and sponsors whose continued support has made the charity markets such a success over the years.

Sally Hillyear thanked Jeremy, his family and everyone involved for their continued commitment.

"It is always such a pleasure to come to Petersfield and see the Festival Hall full of people supporting these wonderful events," she said. "Your markets have been so successful over so many years. Thank you to your family and to everyone who helps. Martin would have been so pleased to see the continued success."

Jeremy is continuing the tradition of the charity markets, with the next Giant Christmas Charity Market taking place at Petersfield Festival Hall on Saturday, 19 December. If you would like to take a stall at the Christmas market, email Jeremy at [email protected]