100th quiz celebrates £17k for Maureen's fund

Fifteen teams, more than double the average, turned out to help David Church, aged 67 of Speen, raise funds for the Victoria ward at Royal Berkshire Hospital as a way of thanks for the care it provided to his wife, Maureen.
Mrs Church died three days before Christmas in 1999 following a long battle with severe diabetes, and on July 1, 2000, Mr Church held his first quiz to officially launch the Maureen Church Fund.
He has held a quiz every since weeks since it began and more than £250 was raised at the Wash Common community centre at the quiz on Saturday.
During the evening Mr Church presented a cheque to development manager for the Royal Berkshire Charity, Ian Thomson, for £2,800, taking the fundraising total to £17,000.
Mr Church said: “It was a wonderful night, really uplifting.
“Since Maureen’s death I can’t say I have had many occasions where I have been happy with something I have done.
“One of those special occasions is when I have been able to go to the hospital and present a cheque so that current and future patients get the treatment that they need [to] get back to their lives again, and that’s because of the stoic way that Maureen tried to fight to keep her life.
“The reason I set this fund up is for the saddest of reasons.
“[Maureen] put up a long fight to try to save her life, we can’t let that life go in vain.”
Money raised through the Maureen Church fund has paid for the restoration of the restroom on Victoria Ward and has provided three blood pressure machines and a portable heart monitoring machine.
The funds donated on the night will go towards an additional blood pressure and heart monitoring machine.
Mr Thomson, said: “It’s a very humbling experience to come here tonight to receive another donation from David, but also from people in the community.
“Without David Church, without people like you in the community, the charity would not exist, and I can’t thank you enough for that.”
Mr Church also took the opportunity to pay tribute to the quiz’s oldest member, Molly Anderson, who sadly died last month at the age of 103, having regularly attended the quizzes until she was 99-years-old, as well as the treasurer of the Wash Common community centre, Roger Gilbraith, who also recently passed away.