BEM for Have Stick Will Travel founder
DANIEL Edward Gallimore was born in Bristol, England in 1974, he is now a resident of Villamartín, but still runs a charity in England called Have Stick Will Travel that raises money to buy mainly electronic gadgets to enhance the lives of blind and poorly sighted people.
Dan’s efforts were recognised in the 2021 New Year Honours list when he was awarded the British Empire Medal.
Dan lost his own sight when he was 21, having gone to the aid of a young man of 18 who was being attacked by three older thugs at a bank cash machine in Bristol. The original victim got off lightly with just a broken nose and bruises, whilst Daniel was in a coma in Frenchay Hospital for several months, waking up to discover he had lost his sight.
His mother wrote a book called The Wind Beneath my Wings to detail this terrible time for the family. The book also explains why Daniel should not have acted as he did, for his own safety. He had suffered from an ailment called Behçet’s disease ever since he was eight years old.
For his original actions Dan received the Waley-Cohen award for bravery from the police. This was followed in 1998 by the Young Achievers Award and a visit to the Palace to meet the Queen and the majority of the Royal Family, which was amazing. He then became the first Outstanding Bravery Award winner at the Pride of Britain Awards in 1999, and attended two Palace Garden Parties, as well as receiving various other awards.
In 2002 Dan set up the charity Have Stick Will Travel once he realised how expensive items were for making life more normal for unsighted people. He also gave talks on how to interact with blind people. He especially enjoyed talking in schools to show children that losing your sight is not the end of the world, though it feels like it initially. He also wanted youngsters to understand how a moment’s madness, brought on by alcohol or drugs can ruin a person's life, explaining how he lost his sight. For many years the charity also organised long weekends away, combining the sighted members of the Somerville Club in Bishopston, Bristol with the poorly sighted members of Avon Sports and Leisure for the Visually Impaired.
A few years ago Daniel and his mother interviewed people sleeping rough on the streets of Bristol, and produced a book of poems called Sleeping Rough, to raise money for Shelter. Dan realised early on in life that having a family behind you makes most disabilities easier to manage.
Coronavirus made fundraising difficult in 2020 so Dan changed direction and now, with the help of Amazon selfpublishing, is having books published to raise money for his charity - every penny goes there. The first one came out a few months ago and is called The Penultimate Sacrifice - a reworking of a book he had earlier published about reoccurring dreams. The second book contains original fairy tales and is called The Unseeing Prince and other Fairy Tales written by Dan and his mother Sylvia. Both publications are available from Amazon in book form or as ebooks.