Locals from one of Worksop’s best kept secret pubs have recently raised a whopping £500.00 for The Royal British Legion at a memorial evening held in memory of Ray ‘Stringy’ Stringfellow. A former member of The Parachute Regiment and a patron of The Greendale Oak on Norfolk Street, Ray sadly passed away suddenly on the 5th November 2016.
Donna Whitfield, Landlady of The Greendale Oak, said “Ray was a dedicated supporter of The Legion and a big follower of horseracing, so it seemed perfect for us to hold a Memorial Race Night with the proceeds being donated to The Legion. We contacted the Worksop Branch through their Facebook page and they were extremely grateful for all our support.”
The Branch Chairman, David Scott, and Vice Chairman, Adie Platts, were delighted to attend a cheque presentation evening, where they were also able to spend time with several regulars learning more about the pub and the history of Norfolk Street.
Since then, through a project they have been working on, they have discovered that this tiny street in Worksop lost seven men in the Great War between 1914 and 1918. The Greendale Oak has a number of ties to the Armed Forces with some of our patrons being ex-forces, and many with family members who served in both wars. Relatives of one of The Fallen still live on Norfolk Street.
“It was a complete surprise to us when members of the Worksop Branch then popped into the pub to present us with a Roll of Honour dedicated to the men and boys of Norfolk Street, who sadly never came home,” Donna added.
“Although Ray is no longer with us in person, he will always remain with us in spirit, and for one night every year we will be raising money for his favourite charity, using his favourite sport, in his favourite pub”.
David Scott, Chairman of the Worksop Branch, said: “We are always overwhelmed by the people of Worksop, and the project that we are currently undertaking to remember Our Fallen has revealed the scale of the sacrifice that was made from Norfolk Street. We look forward to supporting The Greendale Oak at their future race nights and are extremely grateful for all their support.”