John Richard Baker, Assistant National Park Officer for the Yorkshire Dales, died in July 1998 aged 54.

During his illness John's friends raised money for leukaemia & lymphoma research.

John's wife Angela and her friends are members of the local WI, and the idea of the "Alternative WI calendar" was born. This idea provided much mirth and entertainment for John throughout this difficult time. After his death, they were determined to continue.

John grew sunflowers from the onset of his illness and gave them to friends and family in the hope that he would have recovered by the time they flowered. Unfortunately, this was not the case, but the sunflower lives on as a reminder of John's life and has now become an unofficial symbol for all fund raising for leukaemia and lymphoma research by John's friends and family.