An Anglesey man who sadly died just a day after this 36th birthday has been remembered with a fundraising rally in his memory.
The tribute was organised by Stef Canale, a design and technology teacher who started Gumball Cymru back in 2018.
The 45-year-old father of one from the Rhondda said: “We wanted to do something in memory of Paul Crane, he was such a wonderful character and well known across the whole of North Wales with friends across the world.
“His stepdad James and mum Gill who ran the Trecastell Hotel have been huge supporters of our event over the years.
“Gill asked if we could fundraise for the Wales Air Ambulance and obviously, I said yes. We wanted to repay their kindness by helping a cause close to their hearts, following the tragic loss of Paul.”
Paul who was originally from Liverpool but lived in Amlwch, was attended by the air ambulance in November 2022. He was flown to Ysbyty Gwynedd, Bangor where he sadly passed away.
The 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 Emergency Medical Retrieval and Transfer Service (EMRTS) supplies highly skilled NHS consultants and critical care practitioners, who work on board the charity’s vehicles.
Stef said: “It was an honour to be able to raise funds for the lifesaving service. It is an essential service, and I hope that I will never need to use it.
“But at the same time, it’s good to know that the service is there ready should it be needed.”
Gumball Cymru held it’s sixth event last year, and it was inspired by Stef’s love of the American film Gumball Rally which he used to watch as a child
He said: “We start at Barry Island, which is the nearest, lowest point of Wales and then travelled to the furthest North point of Wales which is Bull Bay.
“There is no racing it is literally enjoy the drive; we go through some roads which are not the standard driving routes through Wales.
“We travel along the backroads just to make sure we get to go up the mountains and take in all the views and then see the coast.”
He added: “We head through the centre of Wales and then towards Barmouth, there’s lots of lovely viewpoints along the route – we always look for the best roads to travel. It’s about making the journey as enjoyable as possible rather than just getting from A to B.”
The rally takes place in the 2nd week of September each year. Stef said: “It’s really grown over the years. We started off with only four cars and I think at its peak we had 26 vehicles.
“It’s an event that people want to come back to every year. Most people tend to hear about it through word of mouth, I also have a private Facebook page, so if people are interested in doing it they apply through there.”
Wales Air Ambulance needs to raise £11.2 million every year to keep its helicopters in the air and rapid response vehicles on the road.
Gumball Cymru helped raise £800 pounds through its Just Giving page for the lifesaving service.
Stef said: “We will definitely fundraise for the Charity again in the future. The backing that our event had this year from the team was fantastic.
“We were sent air ambulance t-shirts to wear on the day and it was lovely to have the support of volunteers at the event to cheer us on.”
Elaine Orr, Regional Fundraising Manager for North West Wales said: “It was incredibly moving to learn that Paul’s family had asked for the Wales Air Ambulance to be the beneficiary of this year’s Gumball Cymru.
“We are so grateful that they thought of us. Stef did an incredible job bringing everyone together for such a lovely tribute.
“It costs an incredible amount of money to run our lifesaving service, and we are hugely thankful to all those who helped raise £800 for our Charity.”
