A final fishing trip honors Herbert Wardle, ‘Bulwell’s Grandad’. It aims to raise funds for his memorial headstone.
Herbert was an engineer and lived on Crabtree Farm estate for years. He had seven kids, plus loads of grandkids and great-grandkids. A mural shows him with his owl near the estate’s underpass.
Sadly, Herbert passed away on February 12 at age 89. He had Bell’s Palsy. His granddaughter, Hannah Coppin, started a fundraiser to give him a good send-off.
On March 15, friends and family walked together from Bulwell to Rycroft Fisheries. This was Herbert’s favorite fishing spot. Donations will help fund his memorial, plus pay for a headstone to mark where his ashes rest with his wife.
Hannah said her grandad was amazing, as he always made time for others. Fishing was his way to relax, and he often went with his uncle and cousins. Everyone knew him as Bulwell’s grandad, Hannah noted.
He kept birds of prey, like owls, as pets. Herbert cared for his wife near the end of her life. He wanted to be cremated and instructed that his ashes should be spread on his late wife’s grave. This way, rain will wash him down to her, he had said before passing.
Herbert’s daughter, Mandy Makings, learned how to fish from him, and her husband also became a fishing buddy. He also taught her lots of other things. She added that he taught her gardening tips and tool skills, plus how to care for fish. They all miss him very much, she said.
The walk occurred on March 15 from Bulwell to Ryecroft Hemington Fishing Lake. The aim was to raise £1.6k.