Charity fundraiser who saved Dunkirk boat dies, aged 77

Annie Gabb, who lived near Bridgnorth, died peacefully in her sleep on January 18.

She was a tireless fundraiser for St John Ambulance and was honoured for her work for the charity.

Her widower Roger, who served as High Sheriff of Shropshire, says she would also be remembered for her great love of horse racing.

"She part-owned several horses over the years, which were trained by Henry Daley at Downton Hall, near Ludlow," he said.

"Some were successful, others less so."

Mrs Gabb made the news in 2017 after completing the restoration of her grandfather's pleasure boat, which was one of the heroic flotilla of "little ships" whose glorious exploits in 1940 are the stuff of legend.

For years Mrs Gabb and her family assumed the boat called Anne, after who she was named, had been sunk during the epic operation to pluck hundreds of thousands of Allied troops from the beaches of Dunkirk.

But when she discovered the boat on the auction website Ebay in 2015, she knew she had to buy it, and began the lengthy and expensive process of restoring the 30ft pleasure cruiser to her former glory.

'The Anne' as it was known in the family had been built in 1925 and belonged to Mrs Gabb's grandfather, Percy Darby. Mr Darby, who was usually known by his initials 'P J', lived at Green Royde, Hagley, near Stourbridge, but also had a house on the Welsh coast at Tenby.

After being requisitioned by the Royal Navy, the Anne was one of the flotilla of small boats used to rescue British, Belgian and French troops stranded on the beach at Dunkirk after they had been cut off by the Germans.

The boat never returned from France, and the family assumed she had been sunk, but when she began to research her history in 2015 she found that the Anne had indeed survived, and was rotting away having failed to sell on Ebay.

She bought the boat for £2,000, and then committed to a lengthy and expensive restoration.

"It's cost a huge amount, but it's been absolutely worth every penny," she said when Anne made her maiden voyage in 2017.

"Why did I do it? It was probably a moment of madness. I felt that if there was a boat that I was named after which had been so brave, I didn't want her to die in a car park in Shepperton."

Mrs Gabb was president of the Bridgnorth division of St John Ambulance, and also of the charity's East Shropshire region.

She raised £6,000 for the charity in six years, and was the driving force behind building a new headquarters at Oldbury Wells, which was opened by the Princess Royal.

In 1993 she was recognised for her efforts when she was invested as a serving sister of the order of St John in London.

Her husband Roger is known for creating the global Kumala wine brand.

Mr Gabb founded Telford-based Western Wines from his kitchen table in 1980, developing it into Britain's leading importer of South African wine.

She also leaves sons Caspar and Rollo, and grandchildren, Theo, Sylvie, Alfred, Nina and Percy.

A private family funeral will be held, with a celebration of her life for friends and family to be held at a later date.

A memorial web page anniegabb.muchloved.com has been set up where people can donate to kidney research.