Tributes paid to man who led business to 40-year milestone and supported medical charity as a thank you for cancer treatment

Organisers of a charity which has raised more than £20m to fund advanced screening for the detailed early detection of cancer, heart disease and dementia have led the tributes to a business owner who became one of its most passionate supporters.

George Baker, Managing Director of KRL Group, made the Daisy Appeal his company’s charity of the year for 2025 to coincide with its “Mischief of Rats” sculpture trail. The campaign culminates this weekend with a grand auction featuring the rat sculpture sponsored by the company.

The trail extended to locations across East Yorkshire from the beginning of May until the end of August, and George donated as a thank you to the charity which he said had helped to keep him alive after he was diagnosed with myeloma in 2010.

He died earlier this month but his support for the charity will continue with mourners asked to donate to the Daisy Appeal when his funeral takes place at St Helen’s Church, Welton, at midday on Monday 22 September. 

George was born in Rothwell, West Yorkshire, in March 1960 and worked as a mechanic after leaving school but soon made the move to a nearby office products business. 

He stayed in the sector, working in Leeds, Newcastle and then Hull where Kingston Reprographics initially hired him to look after clients in Leeds who included Burton Group, local authorities and transport businesses.

George left Kingston in 1984, a year before the company rebranded to KRL Group. He returned in 1995, bought into the company in 2000 and led a management buy-out in 2009, overseeing a move in 2013 to the current premises in Malmo Road, Hull.

A specialist in the servicing side of the industry, George focused on meeting the needs of clients as increasingly complicated technology brought demand for sale and lease of equipment and print management software, and for instant solutions to problems.

In recent years he led the KRL team of 30 people in developing an environmental and sustainability strategy designed to secure the future of KRL Group. In stepping up his support for the Daisy Appeal last year, he revealed how he and his wife Nicola – a director of KRL Group – had been affected by cancer over the years.

He told how he had lost his father to myeloma, and how Nicola’s father also died of cancer. He said they were thinking of lost loved ones and current friends undergoing treatment for serious illnesses when they met the Mischief of Rats team at Castle Hill Hospital in Cottingham.

George said: “I see the charity of the year commitment and the sponsorship of a rat as sound investments on behalf of the people living in our region. My dad died from myeloma in 1979. I’ve been ill with it since 2010 and that fact I’m still here is evidence of the medical advances that have been made.

“Castle Hill has done a lot for me. The consultants there have been brilliant and I felt I should give something back.

“Everybody has been touched by cancer at some point and people have a much better chance when it is found early. I was lucky because I had kidney stones, and the doctors looking into that found the cancer at a point where it wasn’t really active at all.”

Karen Guest, a Trustee of the Hull and East Yorkshire Medical Research Centre’s Daisy Appeal said: “George was an extremely passionate supporter of our work through his company in general and the recent Mischief of Rats project in particular. 

“He could see the potential of the advances we are making in early detection of cancer and other conditions to extend and save the lives of thousands of local people in the coming years. We shall miss him greatly and our condolences go to all his family and friends.”

George’s colleagues at KRL Group said: “George’s loss leaves a profound void, not only within the KRL Group, but across the industry.

“Throughout his remarkable career spanning more than 40 years, George made an extraordinary contribution to our industry. He was deeply respected for his leadership, admired for his kindness, and valued for his unwavering support of colleagues and peers.

“George faced his illness with immense courage and resilience, remaining an inspiration to us all. His strength, generosity of spirit, and dedication will continue to guide and inspire us every day.

“On behalf of everyone at the KRL Group, we extend our heartfelt condolences to George’s family, friends, and colleagues at this very difficult time. His absence will be deeply felt, and he will be greatly missed.

“George’s family has kindly asked that, instead of sending flowers or cards, those wishing to pay their respects consider making a donation in his memory to the Daisy Appeal.”

The auction of sculptures from the Mischief of Rats trail will be conducted by Gilbert Baitson auctioneers at the event space in Princes Quay shopping centre, Hull, on Saturday 20 September.

Donations can be made to the Daisy Appeal at https://daisyappeal.org/