Important matters will be discussed at the AGM of the North Northumberland Committee of Macmillan Cancer Support as “current members are concerned for the future”.

But the event will also mark half a century of dedicated fundraising and community support.

The original North Northumberland Committee for ‘The National Society for Cancer Relief’, as it was known then, was first formed in 1975 with the then Lord Joicey as patron and Mr R. Scott Moffat as chairman.

The first AGM was held in The Tweed View Hotel, Berwick, on April 29, 1976, having raised £500 for the year. Lady Rose Crossman, who was present at this meeting, remained an active member of the committee until the AGM in March 2014 when she stepped down from her then role as president after 39 years of service.

Members of the North Northumberland Committee of Macmillan Cancer Support.

placeholder image — Members of the North Northumberland Committee of Macmillan Cancer Support.

The charity has had several name changes since it came into being and the first actual ‘Macmillan Nurses’ arrived into Northumberland in 1989.

Local Macmillan nurse Chris Foreman started in the Alnwick Infirmary in 1992 and served the North Northumberland area until retiring in 2015.

Over the past 50 years, the North Northumberland Committee has raised substantial funds – totalling nearly half a million pounds – through a range of events, coffee mornings, box collections and flag days, and played a valuable role supporting Macmillan’s work caring for families living with cancer.

It has also highlighted various Macmillan initiatives. Recently, this has included the Rural Communities Project in partnership with the Farming Community Network.

A spokesperson for the committee said: “Members past and present can take great pride in the significant contribution they have made over these five decades.

“However, with increasingly busy lives and growing competition from many other local worthy causes, current members are concerned for the future of the committee and have a difficult decision to make.

“This will be mooted at the forthcoming AGM to be held on Tuesday, March 31 from 9.30am The Lady Waterford Hall, Ford, to which everyone is welcome to attend, particularly if there is anyone who would like to take on the work of the committee.

“This does not prevent anyone wishing to raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Support independently as they may do so by contacting Sarah Goldie, relationship fundraising manager North East. Call 07801 307040 or email [email protected]”