A Powys family have paid a tribute to their ‘much-loved grandfather’ with a fundraising challenge in aid of Wales Air Ambulance.
Richard ‘Gordon’ Bebb from Arddleen, suffered a heart attack at his home in January and was attended by Wales Air Ambulance.
The 79-year-old who had been a dairy farmer since the age of 11, was married to his wife Josie for 43 years.
His son Mike says the ‘sudden loss has been very difficult for everyone come to terms with’.
He explained: “My dad became very unwell, and I called 999, by the time I got to Arddleen, the aircraft had landed and the crew were with him. They were incredible and did all they could to help my father.”
Wales Air Ambulance is consultant-led, taking hospital-standard treatments to the patient and, if required, transferring them directly to the most appropriate hospital for their illness or injury.
It is delivered via a unique third-sector and public-sector partnership. The Wales Air Ambulance Charity relies on public donations to raise the £13 million required every year to keep the helicopters in the air and rapid response vehicles on the road.
The Emergency Medical Retrieval and Transfer Service (EMRTS) supplies highly skilled NHS consultants and critical care practitioners who work on board the Charity’s vehicles.
This advanced critical care includes the ability to administer anaesthesia, deliver blood transfusions and conduct minor operations, all at the scene of an incident.
As a pan-Wales service, its dedicated crews, regardless of where they are based, will travel the length and breadth of the country to deliver emergency lifesaving care.
Mike said: “Wales Air Ambulance is such an important resource, for communities like ours in Powys.
“It costs just over £3.5k, for a combined air and road mission, that is an extraordinary amount of money.
“I wanted to create a fundraising event, to try and help raise as much money as I could, as a way of saying thank you to the crew who attended my father.”
Mike organised a 13.5-mile unicycle challenge around Lake Vyrnwy, with his children, which took place on Friday, 7 August 2026.
When he was eleven, he asked his parents for a unicycle, which he used to use to do his paper round. He says it holds ‘many special memories.’
He continued: “It was lovely to have my son and daughter with me with me, a real support, but also important for them to have something special to remember their grandad too.
“I knew it was going to be a difficult challenge, emotional at times and to have that bit of motivation, made such a difference.
“We had amazing t-shirts made for us, which had dad and grandad written on the back.”
Mike hopes to raise £2,000 for Wales Air Ambulance and his Just Giving page https://www.justgiving.com/page/mike-bebb-2 is open for another week. He says the support he has received has been ‘amazing’.
“Our close friends and family have all been so generous. There have been so many anonymous people sponsoring me, it’s a shame as I’d like to know who they are to say thank you.
“It’s been surreal really, I was on BBC Radio Wales the morning of my event, and spoke live, going out to thousands of people, so that was quite a new experience. But it is all helping towards raising awareness about Wales Air Ambulance.”
Hugh Tamlyn, Wales Air Ambulance Regional Fundraising Manager said: “We are very grateful to Mike and his family for making us the beneficiary of their special tribute.
“Gordon sounds like an incredible man, someone who cared deeply about his family and friends, and committed a lifetime to farming.
“We extend our deepest condolences to the Bebb family. It is very moving that they are helping raise funds and awareness of the work of our service. Diolch yn fawr!”
