A PUB landlady recalled the moment ‘Warrington came to a standstill’ at the funeral of a much-loved blood biker who died ‘suddenly’ in July.

Lynne Toher-Robinson described her quiz night regular, Gwin Roberts, as an ‘amazing man’ who would be ‘greatly missed’ by all the locals who spend their evenings in her pub, the Royal Oak Branch on Knutsford Road.

Gwin – better known as ‘Daddy Gwin’- had battled prostate cancer since being diagnosed in 2015, outliving his two-year life expectancy, but was struck down with an infection which sadly brought him to the end of his life on Wednesday, July 6 at Warrington Hospital.

Being one of the founder blood bikers, and a regular at Jims quiz night in his favourite local pub, Gwin became well-known in Warrington and on the day of his funeral, more than 100 bikers lined Liverpool Road to pay their respects.

And Lynne and the regulars at the Royal Oak Pub hosted a fundraiser racing night in honour of him, to raise money for Blood Bikers – a national charity whose members transport blood and other products for the NHS across the UK and sometimes further.

“He was an amazing man, did everything for everybody. He was such a big character – he lit up a room when he walked in – we all miss him so much,” Lynne said.

“I’ve done a lot of fundraising at the pub, so when Gwin passed, we decided to raise some money for Blood Bikers in honour of him. Jim who does the quiz night hosted it, we had virtual races and horses with wacky names that the regulars could bet on.”

Lynne, 56, explained how people could bet £1 per race and while there was the opportunity to win real money, the steaks were halved with half of each person’s winnings going to the charity.

The fundraiser, which took place on Friday, October 21, made a grand total of £700 and many blood bikers arrived on the night to show their support, while also revealing they had named their newest bike ‘Daddy Gwin’ also in his honour.Warrington Guardian: Daddy Gwin sadly lost his battle to prostate cancer in July and his local pub put on a racing event to raise money for the Blood Bikers charity in honour of him.Daddy Gwin sadly lost his battle to prostate cancer in July and his local pub put on a racing event to raise money for the Blood Bikers charity in honour of him. (Image: Fran Roberts)

And the bike made an appearance on the day with ‘Daddy Gwin’ visibly engraved into one of the front panels.

Gwin’s Daughter, Fran Roberts, explained how Gwin’s ‘positive outlook’ was one thing that kept him going for so long after his diagnosis. 

Fran, 46, and the rest of her family would attend ‘Jims Quiz’ every week with her dad and still attend it now, where a picture of Gwin rests on the windowsill of the pub where the family have always sat for the quiz.

And the picture seems to have become a lucky charm for the family, as landlady Lynne says they have racked up ‘several wins’ since it took its spot in the pub.

“He was a legend and a huge character,” Fran said, “He was one of the founder members of the blood bikers when it first started. He started doing it because when my brother was a baby he was quite poorly and ended up in Alder Hey and they saved Christophers life, so he wanted to give back to the NHS.”

As well as being a blood biker, Daddy Gwin worked as HGV driver after leaving the Royal Navy.

“Once you met him, you never forgot him,” Fran added.

To make a donation or find out more about the blood bikers, visit their website bloodbikes.org.uk/