Our Presidents and Honorary Presidents
Our Presidents and Honorary Presidents are a group of dedicated supporters who are extremely passionate about the work we do as a charity, and continuously support Blood Cancer UK in raising awareness of blood cancer.
Lord Botham
Founding President
Lord Botham is a long time supporter of Blood Cancer UK and since his first charity walk in 1985 has raised over £13 million to go towards beating blood cancer.
Sam Heughan
President, Blood Cancer UK Scotland
Sam has been supporting Blood Cancer UK since 2011, bringing our message to supporters on both sides of the Atlantic.
Simon Thomas
President
TV presenter Simon Thomas lost his wife, Gemma, suddenly to acute myeloid leukaemia in November 2017. He has been raising awareness of blood cancer symptoms ever since.
Angela Knowles MBE
Honorary President
Angela is one of the original Calendar Girls who created the ‘alternative’ WI calendar. The famous calendar followed the death of her husband to non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Angela and the girls have raised £5 million for Blood Cancer UK.
Photograph by Kippa Matthews
Past Presidents and Honorary Presidents
Ken Lomas MBE
Honorary President
Ken founded a Blood Cancer UK branch in the late 1970s, became a Trustee and set up the TV Times celebrity running team in 1982. Ken, who received an MBE, played a significant role at Blood Cancer UK for nearly 40 years.
Richard Delderfield MBE
Honorary President
Richard has dedicated himself to Blood Cancer UK since losing his son Paul to leukaemia in 1985. He was a trustee for over 20 years and Vice Chairman for seven years before retiring from his role as Honorary President in October 2023.
Lord Cadogan KBE DL
Honorary President
Lord Cadogan became an Honorary President of Blood Cancer UK in July 2019. This follows a long-standing commitment to the charity. He previously served as Chairman and was a Trustee for 29 years. Lord Cadogan sadly passed away in June 2023.
