Andy James, a former pub landlord from Kirkbymoorside, found himself driving a second-hand pickup truck packed with generators and medical supplies more than 1,000 miles across Europe after volunteering with Drive 2 Save Lives (D2SL), an organisation delivering humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
The experience left a lasting impression on him, who has since made multiple trips delivering aid, including dog food and supplies for animal rescue shelters.
A quiet retirement turned into a life-changing mission of compassion and service.
Andy said: “I retired last year and I had a wonderfully uncomplicated plan.
“Find my forever home, watch as much football as possible, adopt a dog and enjoy a quiet life.
After 47 years of work, I thought I’d earned it.”
Andy’s career had taken him to Canada for 22 years before returning to Yorkshire, where he ran The Buck Inn in Wrelton and later re-opened the Middleton Arms near Pickering after its six-year closure.
Even after retiring, he helped refurbish another pub before finally stepping away from work.
Andy said: “A couple of months into retirement, I felt a bit adrift.
“I had my pensions lined up, I was going to be comfortable enough, but something was missing.”
Drawing on his experience as a field supervisor and camp manager in the Canadian oilfields, he contacted D2SL, hoping to help in a displacement camp or field kitchen in Ukraine.
Instead, he ended up driving a second-hand pickup truck filled with generators and hospital supplies more than 1,000 miles across Europe.
A week after that call, he found himself standing in Dover looking at a rather sad pickup truck that had previously belonged to a pig farmer.
Andy said: “It wasn’t exactly the vehicle you’d choose for a 1,000-plus mile drive across Europe.”
Despite speaking no Ukrainian and having never driven to Ukraine before, he set off on his journey.
Three days later, he arrived at the border.
He said: “The Ukrainian border guards are a different story.
“They are under a fair amount of pressure and there is a precise routine to follow, one I can now do in my sleep.
“If you get it wrong, the punishment is how long you will be held up.
“I could fill a whole chapter just on my experiences there.
“On that first trip, it was three hours, which is probably a good average.”
Once inside the country, he delivered aid to Lviv before exploring the city and meeting two off-duty Ukrainian soldiers in a pub.
They helped him with a taxi app, and in return, he bought them a drink.
Later, they revealed they were returning to the front the next morning.
Andy said: “We talked about politics.
“They shared their views on President Zelensky and Donald Trump.
“No surprise, they absolutely loved Boris Johnson.
“When I jokingly mentioned Liz Truss, they both burst out laughing.
“‘The lettuce!’ one of them said.
“It seems some political moments travel surprisingly well.”
The conversation turned to football, and for a few hours, the war faded into the background.
The two men thanked him repeatedly for his support, even gifting him two bottles of Ukrainian vodka.
Andy said: “They were heading into a war zone.
“I was heading home to Yorkshire and my next football game.”
“Early the next morning, my phone buzzed. It was one of the lads, messaging to make sure I hadn’t slept in and missed my train. Think about that for a moment.
“On the morning he was returning to a war zone, he was worried that I might oversleep and miss my train.
“That message has stayed with me ever since. It sums up the people I’ve met in Ukraine better than anything I could write. Despite everything they’ve endured, despite the uncertainty they live with every day, their class and kindness never seem to disappear.”
Andy has since made multiple trips delivering aid, including dog food and supplies for animal rescue shelters.
“I thought delivering that first vehicle would probably be a one-off venture. Something to tell friends about over a pint before quietly returning to my retirement plans. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
“The work isn’t glamorous. It isn’t headline news. In truth, that’s part of the problem. As the war drags on, it slowly disappears from the front pages and from everyday conversation. I’ve even found people are becoming bored with the subject. For the people living through it, nothing has changed.”
Andy said he plans to continue delivering aid until the war ends.
“I’m not a charity worker. I’m not a politician. I’m not particularly brave. I’m a retired Yorkshireman who thought retirement meant a quiet life. Instead, I’ve found myself driving old vehicles across Europe and into a country at war.
“I’ve met people I would never otherwise have met. I’ve made friends. And I’ve discovered that sometimes doing something useful is a much better retirement plan than sitting at home wondering what to do with yourself.”
Andy said he has set up a fundraising page towards helping his charity work.
“If you’d like to help, even a small donation can contribute towards getting another vehicle and essential equipment into Ukraine. It may seem like a small thing. But somewhere down the road, that vehicle is carrying something that makes a very big difference to someone who needs it, like my two young fellow football supporters, whom I now call friends. Perhaps that’s what retirement is really about. Finding something worth doing and getting on with it.
Anyone wishing to contribute can do so at www.goodhub.com/go/ukraineaid
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