Act 7/40 #INSPIRE

John Beasley was just 15 when he left his home in Yorkshire to work in London for the organisation that is now known as Hope UK.

As a youngster, he was already involved in the Band of Hope, which had begun in his native Yorkshire in 1847. In 1960, the teenager arrived in the great metropolis with an enthusiastic determination to make his mark!

Eventually, John trained as a social worker and worked all his life in East London. He saw a lot of families impacted by alcohol dependency, which confirmed his personal decision to be alcohol-free.

One time he had a gun pulled on him while visiting a house in the course of his work. It was an experience that stayed with him and helped him to appreciate the danger that many people live with daily.

As a voluntary drug educator, John went to churches and youth groups to equip young people to make drug-free choices. In 1995, the organisation changed its name to Hope UK to better reflect its position as a modern drug education charity. John’s commitment continued and his impact has been immeasurable.

We often tell the true story of a 15-year-old girl who attended an awareness session about County Lines drug gangs. She lived in an area of London where gangs were prevalent and on one occasion she was stopped by a gang member. He asked her to do him a favour by taking a small bag over to another gang member: a seemingly simple and innocent task. Thanks to the training she had received, the teenager realised what was going on. She refused and walked away from what could have been a pivotal life event.

There was more to John than a worthy commitment to excellent causes. He was funny and extremely sociable, with many talents and deep interests. His Christian faith shone through all he did. 

John employed his talents to raise money for Hope UK throughout his whole life at sponsored events, quizzes and local history book sales – you name it, John did it! It meant that Hope UK was able to offer free places to Generation Hope (Hope UK’s youth branch) to help young people who could not afford to attend events. 

In later life, John’s activities turned to fundraising. He loved woodwork and sold whatever he made to raise funds. As a diehard Yorkshireman, cricket was of course another passion! Whenever anyone at Hope UK asked how he was, he would say, “Fit enough to play cricket!” At the age of 78, he challenged the young people at Hope UK to a fundraising race! Although he didn’t win, he did not finish last!

John’s story is an inspiration – an extremely generous person, he inspired all of us at Hope UK to practise generosity too. His passion for Hope UK, which lasted a lifetime, was truly infectious. He lived life to the full in so many ways and made a huge impact on the people he met.

His impact lives on at Hope UK, as it does in his adopted city, although he never relinquished his love for his true home, Yorkshire! When the Wood Dene Estate regeneration project was completed in Peckham in 2017, one of the residential buildings was named Beasley House in recognition of the contribution John made over the years to the community of Peckham – a fitting tribute to a remarkable man.