Retired Needham pair Peter Bee and Glyn Jordan return from second trip to Lviv, Ukraine
A pair of friends from Needham have returned from their second perilous journey delivering medical aid to Ukraine.
Last month, the Diss Express broke the story of 64-year-old Peter Bee and 70-year-old Glyn Jordan’s 2,200-mile round trip from their homes in High Road to western Ukraine, with £30,000 of essential supplies in tow.
Having spent little more than two weeks back home, the next-door neighbours headed back to the war-torn country on Thursday, March 31, this time making it all the way into Lviv, which is now being targeted by Russian air strikes.
“We had to go back, because people needed more supplies,” said Mr Bee, who had been liaising with the charity Caritas to get the goods into the right hands.
“This time, we went right into Lviv. They asked us if we wanted to stay but we thought it might be too dangerous,” added the grandfather-of-two, who used to work as an HGV driver.
“We had to be out by 10pm because there’s a curfew.
“Everyone there is very much on edge – people were traumatised because they had lost their family members.”
This time round, Mr Bee and Mr Jordan, also a grandfather-of-two and a former business owner, took with them £40,000 of supplies, including medicine, generators, irrigation fluid, high-protein foods and 50 pairs of steel toe-cap boots.
Having got back to Needham on Monday, Mr Bee was unwavering when asked if he plans to go back a third time.
“Yes, of course, what else can we do?” he said. “But I think Glyn and I need a break first, because we’re mentally exhausted and emotionally drained by the sadness of it all.”