Volunteer to retire after 40 years running Christmas meals

This Christmas marks the end of an era for David Mann, a 79-year-old Salvation Army member in Braintree, who will be spending his first Christmas Day at home with family, having dedicated more than four decades to making sure nobody in the community spends Christmas Day alone.

David, who first arrived at the church and charity on Rayne Road in 1969, launched the first Christmas Day meal in 1982 – an idea prompted after hearing about someone hosting a Christmas meal for those with nowhere to go. Discovering that no public Christmas Day meals were available locally at the time, he decided to act.

David said: “There were just seven of us in 1982, all connected with The Salvation Army. But if there is one day you don’t want to be on your own, it’s Christmas Day. It’s a time of friendship and fellowship – and if we can help people experience that, we should.”

Word quickly spread. After an article in the local paper encouraged volunteers and guests to get involved, numbers jumped to more than 50 the following year, and in some years as many as 80 to 90 people joined the celebration – with extra tables set up wherever they could fit. Guests have included people who are experiencing homelessness and are supported by local services such as New Direction, as well as older adults and individuals simply facing the day alone.

For many years, David was hands on with cooking, drawing on his experience running a lunch club. In recent years, the team started to deliver oven-ready meals, complete with fruit, sweets and chocolates to people’s homes. This year, they plan to deliver around 77 meals to people across the community and, while Braintree Salvation Army leader Rachel Hepburn will be leading the Christmas Day eat-in meal this year, David and his wife Cathy will still be delivering meals to those who won’t be able to come down on the day itself on 23 December.

Now at 79, his sons have gently suggested that he should become a guest rather than the coordinator.

David said: “It may finally be time to hand over the torch but I will miss it greatly. I’ll be thinking about what is going all day at The Salvation Army.”

What has kept him going over year after year? Gratitude, he says – from the guests, the volunteers and the community. 

He explained: “People expect The Salvation Army to do this type of thing and we’re privileged that we can.”

For David, this year will be his first Christmas at home with his family in decades – a well-earned rest after a lifetime of service.

If you want to join the Christmas Day meal at The Salvation Army in Braintree or would like a meal delivered, call 01376 346 487.

For more on The Salvation Army in Braintree, go to www.salvationarmy.org.uk/braintree