Hull octogenarian's walk for Care International inspired by WW2

A woman who helped pack care packages for families in the aftermath of World War Two is about to complete a walking challenge in aid of the same charity.

Susan Walton, from Hull, was living in the US and just four years old when she put together parcels with her school friends for Care International.

Now 84, she is walking 100 miles throughout the month to raise money for the same cause.

She said: "There are so many families in dire situations. People all over the world are facing such fear, devastation, lack of food and lack of education. As I walk, I think of them and how they're coping - or trying to cope".

The BBC joined Walton as she completed her latest steps on Wednesday - one of the hottest days of 2026 so far.

Walton explained that her father could not join the Army during the war due to having asthma but was sent to the United States as part of the British Information Services.

Shortly after his posting, Susan, her mother and two sisters joined their father overseas.

"It was very dangerous," she says. "Ships were being sunk, but my mum was determined to unite the family."

In 1946, Susan and her family were able to visit relatives in Liverpool where they witnessed the devastation caused by German bombing raids.

"It must have had an effect on me. Even though I was young, I remember the poverty, the lack of food and the rationing."

Back in America, Susan and her siblings attended the country's first Montessori school and it was at The Scarborough School near New York, where she first encountered Care International.

Remembering the care packages she and her classmates would make, she recalls filling them with essentials such as "tins of food and toothbrushes" but adds: "Because I was a child, what I really remember is the sweets we put in."

Eight decades later, and living in a leafy neighbourhood in Hull, Susan came across the charity again and wanted to help.

"It's a wonderful charity, not only because they help people affected by wars and disasters but they have schemes that help women especially," she says.

Completing her latest walk, Susan fills in a paper record and realises she has clocked up 97 miles and has almost hit her £1,000 fundraising target.

"I don't have many of friends on Facebook," she says. "But people who I haven't seen for years have donated £10 or £20 here and there.

"Someone who I sponsored on a walk when he was 12 has now grown up and sponsored me too.

"I find it really moving how people have got behind me."

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