The Yorkshire Blood Bike charity, Whiteknights, has announced its latest Blood Bike will be adorned with reflective, high-visibility livery thanks to a Yorkshire based grant-making Charitable Trust.

Gay and Peter Hartley’s Hillards Charitable Trust has donated £1000 to equip the voluntary service Blood Bike before it is launched into service later this month.

Whiteknights Yorkshire Blood Bikes transport urgent Blood specimens, medications and donated breast milk completely free of charge to hospitals and hospitals across Yorkshire.

They have 50 volunteer motorcyclists who willingly ride through the night and at weekends to provide the service. Earlier this year, the charity, which responded to 3000 call-outs last year, received the MBE for Voluntary Groups – The 2024 Kings Award For Voluntary Service.

Regional Manager for Whiteknights West Yorkshire, Matthew Butterfield said: “We’re delighted to receive this donation from the Hillards Trust. High-visibility reflective livery on our small fleet of Blood Bike is essential for the operational safety of our volunteers and of the urgent items we transport.

“The livery will be added to a motorcycle which has been generously donated by a member of the public. We appreciate every gesture of giving we receive to enable our charity to support the care and treatment of patients in our region.

“Today we have presented the Hillards Charitable Trust with a Whiteknights Champions Award in recognition of their much needed support.”

Pictured are Whiteknights volunteer rider, Colin Barnes, Hillards Trust Secretary, Helena Wyles, and Whiteknights’ Manager, Matthew Butterfield.

Members of the Widows Sons Masonic Biker Lodge have announced their continued sponsorship of the official Widows Sons Lodge Blood Bike.

Ian Gregson, Worshipful Master of the Widows Sons Lodge in the Province of Yorkshire North and East Riding, presented another donation of £3000 to Whiteknights Yorkshire Blood Bikes Advanced Qualified Rider, John Driscoll.

Ian said, “We are extremely proud of the service to patients that the Widows Sons Blood Bike delivers in the North Yorkshire area. This will be the third donation we have made to support the motorcycle.

We are also delighted with the news that Whiteknights have been awarded the Kings Award For Voluntary Service. It’s very much deserved, the volunteers do a remarkable job 365 days a year.”

John presented Ian with a Whiteknights Champions certificate to recognise their fundraising contributions to the Yorkshire Blood Bike charity.

Thank you to colleagues & customers at Tesco Store Brighouse for presenting Whiteknights Yorkshire Blood Bikes with £384 raised through charitable book sales.
We appreciate all the support we receive in the West Yorkshire community.

On Friday evening Whiteknights Yorkshire Blood Bikes were presented with our Kings Award For Voluntary Service – the MBE for Voluntary Groups.

HM Lord-Lieutenant For West Yorkshire, Ed Anderson CBE presented the Award with a hand-signed certificate from King Charles III to our Chairman, Andrew Foster.Other guest dignitaries attending were two Deputy Lieutenants, The High Sheriff of West Yorkshire and the Mayor of Calderdale.

Thank you to Birties Events in Elland for excellent hospitality.

Members of the Dewsbury Rockers Motorcycle Club have become “Whiteknights Angels” in recognition of their fundraising.

The Yorkshire Blood Bike charity, Whiteknights presented the fundraising award to Paul Morley and Catherine Foster.

West Yorkshire Manager for Whiteknights, Matthew Butterfield said: “After more than a year of fundraising, we very much appreciate the donation of £500 to support our voluntary service. They really deserve the award.”

Pictured from Whiteknights are Matthew Butterfield and Laurence Turner alongside Paul and Catherine from Dewsbury Rockers Motorcycle club.

Whiteknights Yorkshire Blood Bikes publish their total statistics for 2024 – the year in which we were the only Blood Bike charity to achieve The King’s Award For Voluntary Service.

We remain on operational duty even through the recent snow and ice conditions. Our remarkable volunteers have adapted well to this and are taking extra care. The safey of our volunteers and the  safety of the Blood Samples we transport is our priority at times like this.

It’s fair to say that this year our overall totals are slightly lower than 2023. We remain a flexible and adaptable service – there to respond to the needs of hospitals and hospices only when they have an urgent delivery requirement.

However in other areas there has been an increase. The collection and delivery of consignments of Donated Breast Milk increases from 32 to 96 deliveries in 2024. So too did the delivery of items from Pharmacy to hospices and patient’s homes – from 971 to 1104.

Having covered over 90,000 miles during 2024 – we are pleased to be able to contribute alongside other neighbouring Blood Bike charities by participating in 146 national relays. That has more than doubled from the 2023 figure of 64 relays.

We would like to thank all our friends and supporters who have financially contributed to support the work of our charity during the year. Together we believe we saved the NHS £155,736. Thank you most sincerely. We hope you appreciate just how much we are able to achieve with the limited fundraising capacity we currently have.

We would love to hear from people who would like to volunteer their time to support us – perhaps by attending fundraising opportunities. Whiteknights Yorkshire Blood Bikes remains a modest, highly committed group of volunteers, who currently number approximately 60 people across the whole of Yorkshire. 

Contact us through our Facebook Page or email: info@whiteknights.org.uk

So please, continue your encouragement and support during 2025 we really appreciate it.

Donations in 2025 can be made through our Just Giving page:

https://www.justgiving.com/whiteknightsyorkshire-bloodbikes

Thank You!

Here they are members of the South Yorkshire Team, pictured outside Laboratory Medicine at Sheffield’s Northern General Hospital.

Well done to all the South Yorshire Riders for being awarded The King’s Award for Voluntary Service.

Pictured holding the presentation frame is South Yorkshire Manager, Roy Clark alongside Dean Tazzyman Laboratrory Manager, Northern General Hospitalm Sheffield

Whiteknights North Yorkshire Team celebrate The Kings Award For Voluntary Service at York Hospital.Well done guys.

Whiteknights Advanced-Qualified Volunteer Riders raise a glass in celebration of being awarded the Kings Award For Voluntary Service.

Well done guys!