David John Dade selling poppies with former Islington Mayor Cllr Gary Heather

A POPPY appeal organiser who has raised more than half-a-million pounds for the Royal British Legion has been awarded Islington’s highest honour.

At a special ceremony in the Town Hall last night (Thursday), David John Dade was bestowed with the “freedom of the borough”.

Mr Dade has spent 54 years fundraising for the armed forces charity, 12 of which have been in Islington, and has spoken at countless primary schools across the borough about the importance of remembrance.

“I’ll be honest. I cried when I got the letter,” Mr Dade told the Tribune. “I was so surprised. It was a lovely, lovely feeling that I’d been recognised for what I do.”

The former army man first signed up to the merchant navy aged just 14 – he had lied about his age and said he was 15 – and recalled learning to cook and be a silver-service waiter.

“I enjoyed the bakery side the most. Mixing the dough and seeing how it grows from a little ball into a loaf of bread,” he said. Three years later he joined the army, aged 18, after refusing to take part in a National Union of Seamen’s strike.

Speaking about his time in the armed forces, he said: “We were a family. You are a different family to what you have in your own home. You are people from all over the country, you get together and you make friends.”

Mr Dade at the Town Hall

He added: “One of my closest friends was a lad from Glasgow. He got me interested in Glasgow Rangers football club and I’ve supported them ever since.”

Mr Dade worked in security after he left the army, getting a job at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. There, he met senior MPs, officers in the armed forces, and even royalty. “I met Princess Margaret,” Mr Dade said. “I would say she was very nice. She could be nasty, but whenever I met her, she seemed to be on a good day.”

Later, he worked in security for theatres in London, and recalled Princess Diana arriving and asking to speak to those on the door. “She was so, so nice,” he said.

Mr Dade met his wife Betty at a lock-in in the Army and Navy pub in Matthias Road in 2002, and moved in with her in the same street just a few months later.

They have six children, eight grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren between them. Two of his grandchildren have helped him for the past five years with the poppy appeal and attended last night’s ceremony.

“This year they’ll get their five-year certificate of thanks for helping with the appeal,” said Mr Dade. “I’m proud.”

At 77 years old, Mr Dade has no plans to retire quite yet.

He told the Tribune he would love to continue organising the appeal. “But I think my wife would like me to start winding down,” he added. “But until I find somebody that I feel is suitable to take over fully, I won’t give it up.”

The fundraiser said he works seven days a week during the months of October and November, and organises charity events throughout the year, many of which have been held in the Shakespeare’s Head in Arlington Way.

“I would like to thank all the people who support the appeal,” Mr Dade said. “The schools, the pubs, the shops, the churches, the tube stations, it’s the general public who are so generous.”