Britain's Oldest Poppy Seller Found Dead Aged 92 After 'Losing Faith In People'

Britain's oldest poppy seller has been tragically found dead in a gorge at the age of 92 after 'losing her faith' in people.

Olive Cooke started selling poppies in 1938 when she was just 16, after her father served in Gallipoli during WWI.

She vowed to continue after the death of her first husband Leslie in action during World War II when she was just 21.

Come rain or shine, the great-grandmother dedicated almost eight decades to raising thousands of pounds, selling an estimated 30,000 poppies in 76 years.

But a trusted friend said she 'lost faith in people' two months ago when £250 in cash she sent to a relative went missing in the post and she 'couldn't get it out of her system'.

Generous Olive - who was a postwoman for 17 years - was also getting harrassing phone calls and up to 260 letters a month from charities pestering her for cash.

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She had been forced to cancel some 27 direct debits payable to charities as in addition Olive had battled breast cancer and found her finances difficult to manage.

Olive found herself inundated by charities eager to get her to restart payments and close friend Michael Earley said she was struggling to cope.

Her body was found in the Avon Gorge in Bristol last Wednesday after onlookers saw her climb over the railings with the help of a stepladder.

The tragic discovery near the Clifton Suspension Bridge came two days before 70th anniversary of VE Day. Police are not treating the death as suspicious.

Mr Earley, 72, said the cash theft from the post was the start of her demise, which was compounded by the constant charity phone calls which left Olive feeling 'guilty'.

Distraught Mr Earley, who visited Olive every day, said: 'She thought the post office was always trustworthy and it brought her down terribly.

'She could not get it out of her system.  That was already beginning to make her suicidal; that was the beginning of it.

'I said to her 'you have to forget about that £250', but she couldn't get it out of her system.  She spent hours and hours talking about it on the phone.

'It was the loss of faith.  She always had a lot of faith in people and expected people to be the same.

'She thinks people should be honest and should respect each other.'

Mother-of-three Olive started selling poppies after listening to tales from her father Fred Canning, who served in the Royal Irish Regiment in the First World War.

She was further inspired when he helped to set up the Bedminster British Legion in Bristol which helped 12 returning soldiers gain employment at a tobacco factory.

Olive, from Fishponds, Bristol, met husband Leslie Hussey-Yeo in 1939, a handsome sailor with the Royal Navy who was about to leave the service and settle down.

But the start of the Second World War meant he had to continue serving on submarines and he was killed in action in 1943 when Mrs Cooke was just 21 and he was 28.

The poppy took on a new significance and she pledged to continue to sell them, despite remarrying twice.

The grandmother-of-four would stand every year in the doorway of Bristol Cathedral, proudly wearing Leslie's distinguished service medal awarded after his death for bravery in hazardous conditions.

Mr Earley said she was diagnosed with breast cancer in November 2013 and had a successful operation and chemotherapy, and was feeling better by June last year.

But she was finding it hard to get to the bank to make payments for her 27 direct debit charity donations, and with the help of Mr Earley, cancelled them in January this year.

She was already being pestered by up to ten charity begging letters and countless phone calls a day, which only increased when she cancelled her scheduled payments, he said.

Olive became Britain's most well-known poppy seller, and reckoned she sold about two boxes a year.

She was given a special medal from the Royal British Legion for her efforts and was last year honoured with the Points of Light award from the Prime Minister.

Friends said Olive also raised thousands of pounds for other charities over the years, and before her death was spending almost all of her state pension on monthly donations.

She leaves behind daughter Kathryn, son Del, grandchildren Louise, Kevin, Rhia and Jessica, and great-grandchildren Louis and Aeris.

Proud daughter Kathryn King said: 'My mum was much loved.  She lived a long life and achieved so much. We are all, as a family, so proud of everything she did.

'She was a humanitarian and would have done anything for anybody. She will be missed by us all.'

Granddaughter Louise added: 'She was a bit of a legend in Bristol, and was well known and well-liked by everybody.

'We want her life to celebrated and for people to remember all the amazing things she achieved. She is now at peace.'

A spokesperson for Avon and Somerset Police said: 'We recovered the body of an elderly woman from the Avon Gorge on Wednesday, May 6.'

An inquest into Olive's death is expected to open at Avon Coroner's Court in the coming week.