Siblings from North Wales leave largest ever seven-figure donation to Welsh charity in their will

A brother and sister who died four months apart have left the largest ever donation to the Welsh Air Ambulance.

Margaret and Charles Davies left £1.3m to the charity after they came to Charles' aid when he had an accident on their Denbighshire farm.

The Welsh Air Ambulance said it was "humbled" by the "incredibly generous donation".

Margaret Davies, who was known as Peggy, lived with her brother Charles at the farm they were born and brought up on in Corwen, Denbighshire.The two were well-known in the village and dedicated their lives to the farm Tyn y Wern, Faerdref in Corwen. Peggy was 89 when she died in November 2019, followed by Charles, who was 92, four months later.

The “colourful characters” helped the local community by driving the school taxi and for many years Charles worked for Denbighshire Council on the highways while Peggy worked at home on the farm.

Before their deaths, they ensured that that Wales Air Ambulance was included in their wills. The siblings chose to leave their legacy to the charity as a thank you to the charity for coming when Charles had an accident with a tractor on the farm.

Merfyn Roberts is the National Farmers' Union area secretary and was close friends to Peggy and Charles. He was also an executor of their will and recalls a fond memory when the siblings bought a brand-new Mercedes, which they allowed "their chickens to roost on top of and make a mess of".

Mr Roberts added: “I remember Charles telling me about his accident and how grateful he was for the fantastic service he had received, but we didn’t know their intentions until after their deaths.“It was good to see that Charles and Peggy had both agreed to bequeath most of their estate to the charity - had we known, we would have encouraged them to meet the charity and see how their legacy would help continue to save lives.“It was pleasing to hear the legacy is the largest the charity has received, and we hope it may encourage more of our members to also leave a gift.”

Donations and legacies are a key source of income for the Wales Air Ambulance and the charity said that Peggy and Charles' donation will go on to fund "280 lifesaving missions".

Phae Jones, senior individual giving and legacy manager, said: “We are humbled by this incredibly generous donation, making it the largest legacy to have been left to the charity.

"It is a shame that we never got to meet Charles and Peggy, but it is clear to see from their generosity and from hearing the stories about them, the type of characters they were. Their gift will fund over 280 lifesaving missions.

"That’s over 280 patients and their families whose lives will be impacted by their extraordinary kindness.”

Merfyn Roberts said that their charitable nature is even marked on their graves.

He said: "On their headstone, they have ‘Rhoi eu hoes if ffermio’n gymen, Rhoi eu helw i elusen’, which translates to ‘they gave their lives to farming, they gave their profits to charity,’ which I think summed them up nicely.”

Wales Air Ambulance requires £11.2 million every year to keep its helicopters and rapid response vehicles operational.