A tragedy in a Huddersfield pub inspired fundraising for a defibrillator for the local community.

Roger Blackburn had been a regular at the Shoulder of Mutton in Lockwood for around 50 years but died suddenly after suffering a cardiac arrest there.

In the aftermath of losing Roger the pub set up a campaign to get a defibrillator. Huddersfield and District Round Table also made a large donation to make sure one was installed as quickly as possible on the wall outside the landmark hostelry.

Pub manager Sam Calvin was on duty when 75-year-old Roger suddenly collapsed on Thursday, May 28.

He said: “We knew Roger had serious health problems so we would often check on him if he was in the other room out of sight. I went in and realised he wasn’t breathing.’’

Shocked staff phoned 999 and a call handler told Sam he’d need to do cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on Roger until an ambulance arrived and advised him how to do it over the phone.

The handler also asked if anyone knew where the nearest defibrillator was in the Lockwood area but no-one did.

The ambulance arrived very quickly and the paramedics took over.

Sam said: “They were there incredibly quickly – I think perhaps under two minutes – and worked on Roger for the best part of an hour inside the pub before they put him in the ambulance but he sadly died shortly afterwards.

“We quickly decided the community needed a defibrillator at the pub and we’ve now bought one which is attached to the wall outside so it’s there for this part of the Lockwood area.

“With the generous donation from Huddersfield and District Round Table and our own fundraising it means we also have enough for the defibrillator’s maintenance too.’’

Roger’s partner, Maureen Rawlinson, said he had been ill with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease for a couple of years but the day before he collapsed and died doctors had told him he had terminal cancer in both lungs and his lymph nodes and there was nothing they could do.

She said: “On the night he passed away he wasn’t well but said he was going out for a drink, adding that he intended to keep going out for as long as he could. He loved the Shoulder of Mutton … it was somewhere very special to him.’’

Maureen was quickly alerted after Roger collapsed and rushed to the pub where the paramedics were doing all they could to save him.

She said: “Although they managed to start his heart a few times Roger never regained consciousness and I was by his side in A&E at Huddersfield Royal Infirmary when we lost him.’’

She said it was wonderful the pub had organised a defibrillator in his memory.

“I’ve lived in Lockwood all my life and had no idea where the nearest defibrillator was,’’ she said. “It’s something positive after losing Roger and let’s hope it can make all the difference for someone else.’’

Roger began his working life as a car mechanic and then became a specialist in spray painting vehicles based at a unit on Britannia Road in Milnsbridge.

Written by ANDY HIRST who runs his own Yorkshire freelance journalism agency AH! PR (https://ah-pr.com/) specialising in press releases, blogging, website content, copywriting and ghost-writing autobiographies.

Images by: Huddersfield Hub photographer SEAN DOYLE