A charity metal-detecting rally set up in memory of a much-loved father has donated more than £40,000 to help fund a new state-of-the-art PET-CT scanner at the Royal United Hospital.
Presenting the cheque | Photo © Rodney Cook Memorial Rally / RUHX
The Rodney Cook Memorial Rally (RCMR), founded in 2018 by Gary Cook, was created to honour his father Rodney, who died at the RUH in 2017 following a battle with cancer.
Determined to give something back, Gary has dedicated the event to raising money for Cancer Services at the hospital, with proceeds from ticket sales, raffles and other activities supporting RUHX, the RUH’s official NHS charity, as well as other local causes.
What started as a tribute has grown into the largest metal detecting event in Europe, attracting enthusiasts from around the world.
In 2025, the volunteer team expanded their efforts by organising not one but three “no frills” charity weekends in Wiltshire during the autumn, boosting their fundraising tally even further.
Their latest £40,000 donation will support RUHX’s campaign to bring a cutting-edge PET-CT scanner to the RUH. Since the rally began, the RCMR team and their supporters have raised an extraordinary £280,000 for patients, families and staff at the hospital, contributing to major projects including the Dyson Cancer Centre, which opened in 2024.
Laura Snell, Events & Community Manager at RUHX, said: “Gary and the RCMR team are living proof that when ordinary hard-working people come together, they can achieve extraordinary things.
“Their dedication is inspiring and their determination to help others shines through in the fantastic events they put on.
“We are incredibly grateful to the RCMR team, their volunteer marshals and the landowners who make it all possible and the passionate community of detectorists, who travel far and wide and support so generously.”
Gary Cook, from Westbury in Wiltshire, said the care his father received at the RUH was the driving force behind the rally.
He said: “The staff who cared for my father at the RUH were quite simply incredible, caring, and wonderful people.
“I felt compelled to try and do something to raise some money for RUHX to repay that kindness. So, from something awful, the RCM Rally was born.”
The new PET-CT scanner is described as “more than just a machine”, representing hope, earlier diagnosis and faster, more accurate treatment “when time matters most”.
The Rodney Cook Memorial Rally will return in 2026, continuing to support cancer patients in Bath and beyond, and carrying forward Rodney Cook’s legacy of making a difference.
