BOBBY by day and Bowie by night as Essex Police officer Dave Dunn and his tribute band Coldfire raised over £2,000 for Help for Heroes at a special night at Corringham Village Hall.
Dave was in the Army for 12 years and ended his service at the Military Corrective Training Centre in Colchester, before joining the Essex Police. He comes from a family tradition of military service, as his brother, father and uncles also served in the Armed Forces.
Ex-military and current serving personnel were in attendance. PC Dunn said: “Halfway through the evening we had a brief speech by a serving senior NCO from the Grenadier Guards. While he spoke, a DVD played that showed one of his friends who lost his life to a roadside bomb in Afghanistan. The film showed a young man full of spirit, pride, courage and with a zest for life.
“He played up to the camera and it really added something personal and poignant to the evening. As he finished and the film continued, Coldfire played and dedicated an arrangement of the Bowie classic, Heroes, to him. The donations came flooding in then, it was very emotional.”
Coldfire have sent the cheque to Help for Heroes, totalling £2,542 to Denise Speight, Help for Heroes Group Coordinator for Essex.
Pc Dunn would like to thank all that helped to raise money. He said: “I would like to thank Corringham Village Hall, who let us use the facilities for free and provided two bars and staff. Special thanks must go to Marc McLennan of Sport & Star Autographs (2000) Ltd as he donated an original authenticated signed boxing glove of Sugar Ray Leonard. Other local businesses provided some excellent and well received prizes, including Debenhams, Marks & Spencers, Asda, Vodaphone, Glory, Nando’s to name but a few.
“A very special prize came from Mr Terry Priest, 73, who served in the army in Tripoli as a Royal Military Policeman. Terry is colour blind and he painted an original colour oil painting especially for the raffle. There were around 26 raffle prizes on the night and all those that won were very pleased indeed. Rochford 100 Rugby Club also donated the proceeds of their Christmas raffle to the cause.
“We also received help from some serving soldiers, who not only helped out with decoration, but they also turned up prior to the event and helped set up. Our thanks must also go to Dolly’s Catering which is a catering business. They provided a hot and cold buffet for us. The disco was provided by The Lee Riches Disco who provided his services for free.”
