A Cambridgeshire charity leader who helped raise more than £1.2 million for charitable causes has been honoured with a unique tribute that will continue helping patients across the region for years to come.
William Charles Mason Dastur, known to friends and colleagues as Bill, was left genuinely surprised at a farewell event at Bateman Street Masonic Hall when a Blood Bike was unveiled bearing his name.
The motorcycle, affectionately named The Bill Dastur Blood Bike, has been donated to SERV Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, The Bloodrunners, an award-winning volunteer organisation that provides a free emergency medical transport service for NHS hospitals, air ambulance services, hospices, pharmacies and vulnerable patients.
The charity transports urgently needed blood, blood products, patient samples, donated human milk, medicines and medical equipment across the region entirely free of charge. Since launching in 2011, SERV Suffolk and Cambridgeshire has completed an extraordinary 22,944 deliveries, including 1,453 deliveries already during 2026.
Founded in May 2011, the service initially supported Ipswich and West Suffolk hospitals before expanding into Cambridgeshire in 2012, serving Peterborough City Hospital, Royal Papworth Hospital and Hinchingbrooke Hospital. Later that year it launched its pioneering Donor Baby Milk Service, collecting and transporting donated human milk for premature babies in maternity units across Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and, when required, throughout the United Kingdom.
In recognition of its outstanding contribution to healthcare and local communities, the charity received the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service in 2019, the highest honour awarded to volunteer groups in the UK and widely regarded as the equivalent of an MBE for voluntary organisations.
The presentation was made in recognition of Bill’s ten years as Provincial Grand Master of Cambridgeshire Freemasons, a period marked by exceptional charitable fundraising, community engagement and support for local causes.
Among his most significant achievements was leading the Province’s Festival 2023 charitable appeal, which exceeded its target and ultimately raised more than £1.2 million despite the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The funds have supported a wide range of charitable initiatives, including dementia care, food banks, support for children and young people, family welfare programmes and community wellbeing projects throughout Cambridgeshire and beyond.
Under Bill’s leadership, grants were awarded to organisations including Cam Sight, Arthur Rank Hospice Charity, Maggie’s and STARS (Cambridgeshire Children’s Bereavement Support Service), helping provide practical support to some of the county’s most vulnerable residents.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, he encouraged extensive volunteering efforts across the county, supporting vulnerable neighbours, vaccination programmes, schools and healthcare services at a time of unprecedented need.
One of Bill’s guiding principles was that charitable giving should be measured not simply by the amount raised but by the difference it makes to people’s lives. Colleagues say he was always more interested in the impact of a project than the size of the donation behind it.
The naming of The Bill Dastur Blood Bike reflects that philosophy perfectly. Every journey undertaken by the motorcycle will help deliver lifesaving medical supplies and support healthcare services across the region, creating a lasting legacy of community service.
Guests at the presentation described the tribute as a fitting recognition of a decade spent championing charity, volunteering and community support.
As Bill steps away from public office, the charities he supported, the communities he helped strengthen and now the Blood Bike that bears his name stand as a lasting testament to the power of service and giving back.
