A CHARITY golf day was held at Wessex Golf Centre in memory of a popular member of staff.

Willy Cox sadly passed away in March this year following a heart attack.

He worked at the golf centre in Weymouth for more than 16 years, so his friends and colleagues held a charity golf day as a fitting tribute to him.

The money raised went to Alzheimer’s Society, the UK’s which provides information and support for people with dementia and their carers.

The centre decided to fundraise for this charity as Willy had been caring for his wife Sarah for many years, following her diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease.

Fern Grimshaw, Golf Professional at Wessex Golf Centre and friend of Willy, said: "We chose to support Alzheimer’s Society because Willy wouldn’t have wanted the donations to go anywhere else. He would have wanted us to support a charity that would help make a difference to his wife and others living with dementia."

More than £2,800 was raised and around 150 people attended on the day, including Willy’s children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Miss Grimshaw said: “I worked with Willy for over 10 years and he was such a popular guy who knew everyone. We were so pleased to receive so much support on the day from friends, family and local businesses that donated raffle and tombola prizes."

Many local businesses gave generous donations to the raffle and Miss Grimshaw would like to give a special thanks to R & B Trophies in Weymouth for the trophies and medals they donated that were given out on the day.

Siân Johnson, Community Fundraiser for Alzheimer’s Society in Dorset and Somerset said: “We are extremely grateful to Wessex Golf Centre for organising such a fantastic charity golf day.

"One person every three minutes develops dementia and there is currently no cure. We’re here to change that, but we need more people like Wessex Golf Centre to join us as we take on dementia together.”

From running your local 5K to trekking the Great Wall of China, Alzheimer's Society has a fantastic range of fundraising events both in the UK and abroad.

To donate, call 0330 333 0804 or visit alzheimers.org.uk for more information.